Folio 6 r. – In this one we summarize what is contained in the previous sheets.Here is that detail:
ON a chair sits Discretio, Virtutum mater [mother of virtues], a lady crowned, veiled, covered with a blue dress trimmed with green, who, in an attitude
34 LEONE DOREZ
immobile and almost reverential, holds her robe with her hands, in which are scattered flowers mixed with thorns.
Behind the chair stands a tree, from which depart seven branches ending in as many fruits, stylized in the form of a disc, on which are represented the seven cardinal and theological virtues.I interrupt here to give the detail of the four cardinal virtues. Observe the word "fortitudo" on the tower next to Fortezza, which is what Dorez calls the virtue on the left.
It should be noted that the symbols of the Virtues almost never appear the same as we saw those already assigned to them. The Four Cardinal Virtues sit on their usual chair, but if Justice, who is above Discretion, still holds in her right hand a drawn sword, in the left, instead of a book she carries a balance. Nor does the color of the dress remain the same: the blue robe has become red.
More remarkable still is the transformation of Fortezza. In place of Samson accompanied by the lion and Judith with Holofernes, the Virtue is here alone, dressed in a red and green robe; with her left arm she holds a crenelated tower and in her right the club of Hercules.I interrupt now to show you the detail of the the three theologicals, with Christ in back of Charity.
Opposite her, Temperance, in a green robe, has exchanged her tower and bridle for a gold pot and silver basin, in which she is mixing hot and cold water (or water and wine); on the left can be seen another jar on the chair. Above, most loyal to her first symbols, Prudence (green robe and blue cloak) again holds the lit candle in her right and in her left the disc with the words: Presens, preteritum et futurum.
The three theological virtues have suffered more profound changes. Faith, dressed in green with a white veil, kneeling, bears in her right, a crucifix and turns her eyes to the Christ in majesty, all covered with red and blessing, with his hands up, as does also Hope, wrapped up in a white cloak, kneeling, hands clasped, in the middle of a small boat, the mast of which is broken.
Finally, in a disc almost double the others, at the top, is Omnipotens Deus, dressed in green, and with clasped hands winged Charity (red robe, red mantle lined with green), to whom is reserved the place of honor.I interrupt to give you this detail.
In this summary, to give each its own greater variety, the miniaturist drew representations of the Virtues of which he spoke earlier by another series of paintings.
On the bottom margin, in another disc, we see the ugly face of an evil old man with beard and horns, it is Vice or the Devil, and out of him extends the heads of seven chimeras in green, the seven deadly Sins, which crush with their sharp teeth the bloody heads of Sardanapalus, Holofernes, Epicurus, Nero, Arius, Judas and Herod.
I continue with Dorez, including the original of the verses, as well as my translation, because I don't doubt that I have made errors.
Here now are the inscriptions of each verse placed in the mouths of the symbolic characters of the Tree:Above we see that Temperance's "water cold to death and hot" is the reason why Dorez characterizes her two vessels, normally water and wine, as cold and hot.
OMNIPOTENS DEUS: l' sono eterno et in eterno e' fui
E sserò sempre e son quel che mai fui.
LA CANZONE DELLE VIRTÙ E DELLE SCIENZE 35
KARITAS: Karità sum eh' in Dio sempre m' abraxo,
Et ello in mi se possa, et in lui giaxo.
SPES: Chon più me trovo in fievoletta barcha,
Più spiero in Dio, del ciel patre e monarcha.
FIDES: De vergen naque e po' fu crucifixo
Quel che de giudicare lo mondo è fisso.
PRUDENTIA: E m' aspiecho in tri tempi, e sì i dispono
Chon voi raxon: però Prudentia sono.
TEMPERANTIA: De l' apetito inordinà la falda
Cum l' aqua freda amorto e cum la calda.
FORTITUDO: Per mia forteza i' porto tutto il carcho
D'ogne vertute, e done ai mei lo barcho.
JUSTICIA: Defendo i boni e cum la spada offexo
O qui ch' a la stadiera enno a mal pexo.
DISCRETIO: Dicerno spin da belle roxe e fiuri,
Perch' o[m] no 'm lassi i primi e gli altri honori.
[VITIUM:] Sardanaphallo, Olofferne, Epichurio,
Nerone et Ario, Juda et Herode
Cum la mia spada percottendo i' schurio,
Chon voi l'eterno re degno di lode.
(OMNIPOTENS DEUS: I am eternal and in eternity was
And always will be and am that which ever was.
THE SONG OF VIRTUES AND SCIENCES 35
KARITAS: Charity I am and am always in God's embrace,
And as much as possible, in his glory.
SPES: The more I am in this feeble boat,
The more I have hope in God, heaven’s father and king.
FIDES: Of a virgin was born, and then was crucified
The one on whom judgment of the world is fixed.
PRUDENTIA: And I have aspects in three times, and yes, act
With a rational will, for I am Prudence.
TEMPERANZA: Those with inordinate appetite enfold
With water cold to death and hot.
FORTITUDO: By my strength I bear the whole load
Of every virtue, and given to me I exceed it.
JUSTICIA; I defend good men and with the sword injure
Or here on the scale the malefactors are hung.
DISCRETIO; I separate the thorns of the beautiful roses and flowers
So that the first are left and the others are honored.
[VICE] Sardanaphallo, Olofferne, Epichurio,
Nero and Ario, Juda and Herod
With my sword obtaining the darkness,
By will of the eternal king worthy of praise.)
The "forteza" in Fortitude's verse is the only occurrence I see of that word in the manuscript text.
Notice also that the order on the tree is different from the order in the book: Justice is here the first above Discretio, followed by Fortitudo and Temperantia, and Prudence the one immediately before Fides and Spes. It is only if you go from the top down, in each set separately, but go from the bottom up for the three sets (Discretio-Cardinals-Theologicals) that the order would be the same.
This part of the book concludes with its Coda:
Text of the Coda of the first part.In the Latin at the end we again have seen Bruzio's name (BREUZE) mentioned as the dedicatee.
Chanzone, ogne vertù ven giù dal cielo
Et al ciel tutte Charità le porta,
O' l'amor ce conforta,
Che de lei nasce, et ella in Dio ci anida.
Chossì schiven le strìda
Di sottoposti a le donne dolen[tri]
Che de l'inferno i centri
Provan per suoi difetti el caldo e 'l zielo.
Nesun lor nome i' cielo;
Mo i va narrando, e s' tu vi' che '1 sezorni
In vitio alehun, fa eh' a vertù mei torni.
(Song, every virtue comes down from heaven
And to heaven Charity bears,
Oh the love there, comfort,
He who is born of her, and she in God there nests.
So avoid the squeeling
Of the above-mentioned ladies’ grief
For one in hell’s center
Experiencing for his faults the heat and zeal.
None of their names in heaven;
Even now is the telling, and if you have the least
Of any vice, make it turn to virtue.)
EXPLICIT PRIOR PARS BREUZE CANTICE IN QUA
TRACTATUR DE VIRTUTIBUS VULGARITER DISTINCTIS.
AMEN.
To the right and left of Discretion reads the Coda of the first part of the Song.
And here is the original Italian of Dorez's commentary (omitting his transcriptions from the pictures):
Carta 6r. - In essa noi rinveniamo il riassunto di quanto contengono leI turn briefly to Part 2 of Chapter 4, which covers the Sciences, or Liberal Arts. In this section, there are three illustrations that might relate to the tarot. I will simply post them without Dorez's commentary. First, here is Grammatica:
carte precedenti.
Sopra una cattedra siede Discretio, mater Virtutum, donna incoronata,
velata, coperta d'una veste azzurra orlata di verde, che, stando in atteggia-
34 LEONE DOREZ
mento immobile e quasi ieratico, tien colle mani i lembi della veste, dove sono
sparsi de' fiorì misti a spine.
Dietro alla cattedra sorge un albero, donde partono sette rami terminati
da altrettanti frutti stilizzati a modo di dischi in cui sono rappresentate le sette
Virtù cardinali e teologali.
È da notare che i simboli delle Virtù non appaiono quasi mai gli stessi che
vedemmo già loro attribuiti. Le quattro Virtù cardinali seggono bensì sulla
solita cattedra ; ma se la GIUSTICIA, che sta al disopra della Discrezione,
stringe pur sempre nella destra la spada sguainata, nella sinistra, in luogo del
libro, porta una bilancia. Né il colore della veste rimane lo stesso : che la veste
azzurra è divenuta rossa. Più notevole ancora è la trasformazione della For-
tezza. In luogo d' essere accompagnata da Sansone col leone e da Giuditta
con Oloferne, la Virtù appare qui sola, vestita d'abito partito rosso e verde; col
braccio sinistro essa regge una torre merlata e col dritto la clava di Ercole.
Dirimpetto ad essa la TEMPERANZA, in veste verde, ha mutato la sua torre e
il freno in una brocca d'oro ed un bacino d'argento nel quale debbono mesco-
larsi l'acqua calda e l'acqua fredda (o l'acqua e il vino) ; a sinistra, sì vede
sulla cattedra un'altra brocca. Al disopra, più fedele a' suoi primi simboli, la
PRUDENZA (veste verde e mantello azzurro) tiene sempre nella destra il cero
acceso e nella sinistra il disco colle sole parole : Presens, preteritum et futurum.
Più profonde modificazioni hanno sofferto le tre VITRÙ TEOLOGALI. La FEDE,
vestita di verde, con un velo bianco, inginocchiata, porta nella destra un
crocifisso e rivolge gli occhi verso il Cristo in maestà, tutto rivestito di rosso
e benedicente con le mani alzate, come fa pure la SPERANZA, ravviluppata in un
bianco ammanto, inginocchiata, colle mani giunte, nel mezzo di una navicella,
l'albero della quale è spezzato. Finalmente, in un disco quasi doppio degli altri,
nel grembo dell'Omnipotens Deus, vestito di verde, sta colle mani giunte la
CARITA alata (veste rossa, mantello rosso foderato di verde), alla quale venne
riservato il posto d'onore.
In questo riassunto, per dare maggior varietà all'opera propria, trasse il
miniatore le rappresentazioni delle Virtù da un altro ciclo di pitture, di cui fra
poco parleremo più a lungo.
Nel margine inferiore, in un altro disco, vedesi il diabolico ceffo di un
vecchio con barba e corna ; è il VIZIO O DEMONIO, e da lui escono sette teste
di chimere di color verde, i sette Peccati mortali, che fra ì denti acuti maciul-
lano le teste sanguinose di Sardanapalo, Oloferne, Epicuro, Nerone, Ario, Giuda
ed Erode.
Ecco ora le inscrizioni metriche poste in bocca a ciascuno de' personaggi
dell'Albero simbolico:
...
Testo del congedo della prima parte.
...
A destra e a sinistra della Discrezione si legge il congedo della prima parte
della Canzone.
THE REST OF DOREZ'S BOOK
Chapter V deals with the book's influence over the next 50 years or so. I have already mentioned that in his view the illustratons of the virtues were more influential than those of the Sciences. For the Sciences, people went to St. Thomas Aquinas, as opposed to the Augustinians Hugh of St. Victor and .
Chapter VI deals with the issue of the artist. Unfortunately I have a great deal of trouble understanding the last paragraph, which sounds fairly interesting. You have to bear in mind that in his Chapter V, he has been investigating other places in the 14th century that exhibited the same style as the Chantilly illustrations. He uses his conclusions from that chapter here. For the frontispiece to which he refers, from da Luca by Niccolo da Bologna, I posted SteveM's colored version earlier.
VI. PLACE AND DATE OF EXECUTION OF THE CODEX.And the original Italian:
Now we know well our codex, for which it remains, however, to lay down precisely its homeland and date.
Where was this heirloom (cimilio) codex of the Condé Museum written and painted [dipinto]? It is fortunately not a very difficult question to resolve, because, as we have extensively demonstrated on the basis of his own words, the author was born in Bologna, and lived and worked in Bologna.
So it seems established that Bartolomeo, who in 1349 and again in 1374 he collaborated with his illustrious compatriot Niccolo, never left his native city. Hence it is fair to infer that the Chantilly codex was written and painted in Bologna.
Given this, it is easy to find the date of execution of the codex. As we have already said, Bruzio Visconti, to whom the work is dedicated, lived a long time in Bologna: he probably arrived in late 1354 or the beginning of 1355, and the following February he was driven out angrily by his cousin John Oleggio. Bartolomeo could then offer to Visconti his moral song in the course of 1355, i.e. at the same time in which the Dominican Luca de' Mannelli had Niccolò da Bologna paint for a similar purpose a similar moral treatise kept in Paris. It is therefore safe to assume Our Author’s codex was written and portrayed [dipinto] in 1355.
Unhelpful with much success, on the other hand, are the investigations [Inutili pur troppo sono invece riuscite] in which we attempted to discover who the painter was to whom Bartolomeo confided the decoration of the codex. Certainly it is not Niccolò da Bologna: one who has examined, without special knowledge of the art of the fourteenth century, the frontispiece of the Treatise of Luca de' Mannelli, which almost certainly is the work of Niccolò, also attending to (Fermera l’attenzione sulla) the paintings of the Codex of Chantilly, will not take long to be convinced. The initial letters of each stanza of the song is undoubtedly the work of some painter of the Bologna school, perhaps a pupil of Niccolò, graceful in women, dressed in ample cloaks of noble elegance, of immediately recognizable Giottoesque inspiration - refined, I would say, by the influence of the Sienese school, of which however
72 LEONE DOREZ
it does not have its character, a bit soft and monotonous. Here, on the contrary, the figures have a vigorous grace, a robust pliancy, so that it goes with the most beautiful Italian art creations that the mid-fourteenth century produced. A Florentine painter, therefore, must be considered, or at least one that had studied the masterpieces of contemporary masters in Florence.
But even though the artist is unknown, the work is wonderful, and after have determined the place and date of its composition, we must look for the earlier monuments from which the painter could draw for his own work. Almost all were remembered by us when we noticed the variety of symbols of the Virtues and Sciences. They are, in chronological order, the major fountain of Perugia (1280), the pulpit of the Cathedral of Pisa (1310), perhaps the capitals of the Doges’ Palace in Venice (1344), and the bas-reliefs of the Florentine campanile.
From the first two monuments and perhaps also in the last one, we infer with a certain latitude and independence our artist's figures of Science and Philosophy; of the third of their representatives, this provided us with a composition which closely agrees with the doctrines of Hugh of St. Victor. Where this conjecture will conclude, in the sign of the codex of Chantilly, we must recognize a work of art almost entirely Tuscan, and, one might even add, even Florentine, returning if possible to propose that the paintings themselves were originally devised with the intent of counterposing an artistic monument, inspired by Augustinian knowledge, which in Florence itself had already been known to marvelously stimulate Dominican activity.
VI. LUOGO E DATA DELL' ESECUZIONE DEL CODICE.At the end of the Chantilly codex are three illustrations of planetary gods (Saturn, Sol, Mars) done in a similar style. But these are not from the same manuscript as the other pages, Dorez says. At some point, somewhere I will discuss at least the the one of Saturn, as well as a 15th century account of another set of images of the planets that Dorez gives.
ORA conosciamo bene il nostro codice, del quale ci resta però a fissare in modo preciso la patria e la data.
Dove fu scritto e dipinto codesto cimelio del museo Condé? Non è fortuna- tamente questione molto ardua da risolvere, perchè, come abbiamo ampiamente dimostrato colla scorta delle sue stesse parole, l'autore nacque a Bologna, ed in Bologna visse ed operò.
Pare dunque cosa accertata che Bartolomeo, il quale nel 1349 e ancora nel 1374 collaborava col suo illustre compatriota Niccolò, non abbia mai lasciato la sua città nativa. Donde si può giustamente dedurre che il codice di Chantilly sia stato scritto e dipinto in Bologna.
Posto questo, è facile ritrovare la data deir esecuzione del codice. Come abbiamo già detto, Bruzio Visconti, a cui Topera è dedicata, dimorò lungo tempo in Bologna: vi arrivò probabilmente verso la fine del 1354 o sui primi del 1355, e nel febbraio seguente ne fu cacciato dall' irato cugino Giovanni da Oleggio. Non potè dunque Bartolomeo offrire al Visconti la sua canzone morale se non nel corso del 1355, cioè nello stesso tempo in cui il domenicano fra Luca de' Mannelli faceva anche lui da Niccolò da Bologna dipingere a simile scopo il trattato parimente morale conservato a Parigi. Ci sarà quindi lecito ritenere il nostro codice scritto e dipinto nel 1355.
Inutili pur troppo sono invece riuscite le indagini da noi tentate per scovrire chi fosse il pittore a cui confidò Bartolomeo la decorazione del codice. Di certo non è Niccolò da Bologna: chi dopo aver esaminato, anche senza conoscenze speciali sull'arte del secolo XIV, il frontispizio del trattato di Luca de' Mannelli, che quasi sicuramente è opera di Niccolò, fermerà l'attenzione sulle pitture del codice di Chantilly, non tarderà ad esserne convinto. Le lettere iniziali di ciascuna stanza della canzone indubbiamente sono lavoro di qualche pittore della scuola bolognese, di uno forse degli allievi di Niccolò; ma nelle donne leggiadre, vestite con nobile eleganza di ampt mantelli, si riconosce subito un'ispirazione giottesca, affinata, starei per dire, dall'influenza della scuola senese, di cui tuttavia
72 LEONE DOREZ
non ha i caratteri un po' molli e monotoni. Qui al contrario le figure hanno una grazia vigorosa, una pieghevolezza robusta, onde riescono fra le più belle creazioni che Parte italiana abbia prodotto verso la metà del secolo XIV. Il pittore dunque deve ritenersi fiorentino, o almeno tale che avea studiato in Firenze i capolavori de' maestri contemporanei. Ma checché ne sia dell'artista sconosciuto, l'opera è meravigliosa, e dopo aver determinato il luogo e la data della sua composizione, dobbiamo ricercare adesso i monumenti anteriori da cui il pittore poteva trarre ispirazione al proprio lavoro. Quasi tutti furono da noi ricordati mentre notavamo le varietà dei simboli delle Virtù e delle Scienze. Sono, in ordine cronologico, la fontana maggiore di Perugia (1280), il pulpito del duomo di Pisa (1310), forse i capitelli del palazzo ducale di Venezia (1344), ed i bassorilievi del campanile fiorentino.
Dai due primi monumenti e fors' anche in parte dall'ultimo, l'artista nostro desunse con una certa larghezza ed indipendenza le figure delle Scienze e della Filosofia; dal terzo quelle de' rappresentanti loro: offrendoci così una composi- zione che concorda fedelmente colle dottrine d' Ugo da San Vittore. Ove queste congetture colgano nel segno, nel codice di Chantilly noi dovremo riconoscere un' opera d' arte quasi interamente toscana ; e, si potrebbe perfino aggiungere, addirittura fiorentina, quando tornasse possibile mettere in sodo che le pitture stesse vennero originariamente escogitate all' intento di contrapporre un monu- mento artistico, ispirato dalla scienza agostiniana, a quello meraviglioso che in Firenze stessa aveva già saputo innalzare l'attività domenicana.
CONCLUSIONS
I have focused on the similarity of images in this codex to the imagery of the virtues in the Cary-Yale tarot done for a later Visconti. If it were not for the wide influence of this codex and its type of imagery in 15th century Italy, one might be tempted to conclude that the imagery of the Cary-Yale sprang from this codex and spread to the tarot of other regions from there. But of course one cannot say that. That the imagery of the CY conforms to that of the codex may indicate no more than a particular fondness for the codex on the part of Filippo Visconti or his card painter.
That the codex presents two sets of seven, each with a governing figure above them to make an eighth, suggests an affinity with the 16 pieces in two rows of chess, as tarot researcher "Huck" on Tarot History Forum pointed out in response to my presentation of this text there. The codex's pictures of the virtues even suggest the various pieces. Fortitude and Prudence both have towers in the background; chess also has cards that look like towers, i.e. Rooks. There are two pictures of figures with sword and shield, like knights. Faith and hope, being theological virtues, might correspond to the bishops. Meanwhile, Caritas, with wings at the top, would be the Queen, and Theologia, at the top of the other array, would correspond to the King.
Another place where we have 16 is in the representation of Faith, with 15 subdivisions plus itself as 16th. "Huck" has worked all this out at http://forum.tarothistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=862&start=20#p12612
The 16 total also suggests the 16 special cards of the so-called "Michelino" card deck designed for Filippo Visconti, themselves assigned to the four suits, making the total in each suit 16 cards (10 number cards, king, 4 gods and demigods). And there is also the 16 figures of geomancy, a popular form of divination at that time and place. It becomes one instance of the binary thinking that pervades gaming and divination, as I have suggested (again following Huck) in another essay.
It also may not be coincidence that the figure of Grammatica coincides with that of Caritas in the Cary-Yale tarot. Here I report "Huck's" suggestion at http://forum.tarothistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=862&start=20#p12635. The three theological virtues correspond to the three liberal arts that make up the "trivium", grammar, logic and rhetoric, all arts involving language, while the four cardinal virtues correspond to the quadrivium, arts requiring mathematics: arithmetic, geometry, music, and poetry (counting beats). Grammar is the foundation of rhetoric and logic and so corresponds to caritas as the foundation of theological virtue. At least this is one possibility.
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