In the 15th century, what we now call tarot cards were referred to as ‘triumph cards’ and the earliest evidence of this is dated 1442, when they are mentioned in an Este inventory. The commission of specially miniated triumph cards for the Este family dates from around 1470 and was probably executed for the marriage of Ercole I and Eleonora of Aragona in 1473, as the respective family insignia on the cards suggest. The queen of swords, the queen of clubs as well as the horse of the same suit bear the Este coat of arms, while the king and the horse of swords are decorated with the Aragonese insignia. Unfortunately, the loss of the Love card makes it impossible to understand whether the deck was made on the occasion of the wedding or at a later date.
Sixteen cards are preserved from the deck, divided into eight triumphs and eight figures, which are kept at the Yale University Library. The cards have a gilded background decorated with punch-stamped floral motifs, while the frame has a silver rosette motif. The cards that have come down to us are: the Fool, the Bat, the Pope, the Temperance, the Star, the Moon, the Sun and the World; while of the other eight figures, the King, the Queen and the Knight of Swords; the King, the Knight and the Knave of Wands; the Queen of Cups and the King of Deniers.
Traditionally, the origin of playing cards, consisting exclusively of numbered cards, dates back to the Arab area where they were identified with the term naibi. After their appearance in Italy, figures called triumphs were added and although it is not possible to indicate a precise centre of origin, their diffusion was wide and fast and started in northern Italy. The four suits of the tarot are linked to a philosophical interpretation of the most important inclinations of the human soul in which the denarius suit recognises activities directed at accumulating wealth, swords the activity of war, clubs are connected to the power of magistrates and public officials, while cups allude to pleasure. The twenty-two triumph cards are divided into two groups and their intent is to warn of the dangers of life and teach how to avoid them.
The tarot game quickly became very popular and became part of the pastimes of the courts. Victory was not exclusively dictated by luck in the distribution of cards, but the player had to be gifted with talent and intuition. In the absence of written traces, the rules remain obscure to this day. We do know, however, that the game strategy was complex and at the end there were two rankings, one for score and one for the value of the cards. In any case, we know that there could be at least two players and one card at a time was placed in the centre of the table and to that the players had to respond with suits or triumphs. The highest card would take the others and the player could lower another card first. The score was awarded according to the value of the cards obtained and increased depending on certain combinations.
