Which Tarot Decks Were The Earliest Ones?

Tarot decks were first documented between 1440 and 1450 in Italy, where they were invented in the 1430s by adding a fifth suit of 21 specially illustrated cards called trionfi to the existing four-suit pack. Etteila was the first to create a tarot deck specifically for divinatory, esoteric, and ritualistic use around 1788. Jean-Baptiste Alliette, a French occultist, created the first ever deck of tarot cards in 1791, treating its designs with the symbolism of divinity as we know today.

Initially, tarot decks were primarily used for playing card games. The earliest known surviving tarot deck, the Tarot de Marseille, dates back to the 15th century. The origins of the Tarot de Marseille are rooted in the historical development of playing cards in Europe during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The first deck of cards with an extra trump suit was commissioned by Duke Filippo Maria Visconti of Milan no later than 1425.

The oldest surviving tarot cards are the 15 or so decks of the Visconti-Sforza Tarot, painted in the mid-15th century for the rulers of the Duchy of Milan. The oldest surviving set, known as the Visconti-Sforza Tarot, is believed to have originated in northern Italy during the late 14th or early 15th century. The origin of playing cards has long been debated, but it is likely that they were born in Asia, possibly as early as the 800s.

In the early 20th century, American-born occult scholar Bonifacio Bembo collaborated with artist Pamela Colman Smith to create the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, which was first published in 1898.

What are the oldest card decks?

From 1418 to 1450, professional card makers in Ulm, Nuremberg, and Augsburg created printed decks, with playing cards competing with devotional images as the most common uses for woodcuts. Most early woodcuts were colored after printing, either by hand or stencils. The Flemish Hunting Deck, held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is the oldest complete set of ordinary playing cards made in Europe from the 15th century.

As cards spread from Italy to Germanic countries, Latin suits were replaced with the suits of leaves, hearts, bells, and acorns. France initially used Latin-suited cards, but around 1480, French card manufacturers simplified versions of German suit symbols. This resulted in the French suits of trèfles (clovers), carreaux (tiles), cœurs (hearts), and piques (pikes). The names pique and spade may have derived from the sword (spade) of the Italian suits.

In the late 14th century, Europeans changed the Mamluk court cards to represent European royalty and attendants. The earliest courts were originally a seated “king”, an upper marshal holding his suit symbol up, and a lower marshal holding it down. The Ober and Unter cards still found today in German and Swiss playing cards were replaced by the “Knight” and “Fante” or “Sota” before 1390. In England, the lowest court card was called the “knave”, which originally meant male child. Queens appeared sporadically in packs as early as 1377, especially in Germany. Packs of 56 cards containing a king, queen, knight, and knave were once common in the 15th century.

What is the oldest deck of cards?

From 1418 to 1450, professional card makers in Ulm, Nuremberg, and Augsburg created printed decks, with playing cards competing with devotional images as the most common uses for woodcuts. Most early woodcuts were colored after printing, either by hand or stencils. The Flemish Hunting Deck, held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is the oldest complete set of ordinary playing cards made in Europe from the 15th century.

As cards spread from Italy to Germanic countries, Latin suits were replaced with the suits of leaves, hearts, bells, and acorns. France initially used Latin-suited cards, but around 1480, French card manufacturers simplified versions of German suit symbols. This resulted in the French suits of trèfles (clovers), carreaux (tiles), cœurs (hearts), and piques (pikes). The names pique and spade may have derived from the sword (spade) of the Italian suits.

In the late 14th century, Europeans changed the Mamluk court cards to represent European royalty and attendants. The earliest courts were originally a seated “king”, an upper marshal holding his suit symbol up, and a lower marshal holding it down. The Ober and Unter cards still found today in German and Swiss playing cards were replaced by the “Knight” and “Fante” or “Sota” before 1390. In England, the lowest court card was called the “knave”, which originally meant male child. Queens appeared sporadically in packs as early as 1377, especially in Germany. Packs of 56 cards containing a king, queen, knight, and knave were once common in the 15th century.

What is the world’s oldest tarot deck?

The Visconti-Sforza Tarot, painted in the mid-15th century for the rulers of the Duchy of Milan, is the oldest surviving tarot cards. In 15th century Italy, the set of cards included in tarot packs, including trumps, was consistent, with two main exceptions. Some late 15th century decks, like the Sola Busca tarot and the Boiardo deck, had four suits, a fool, and 21 trumps, but none of the trumps match tarot ones. The Visconti di Mondrone pack, one of the Visconti-Sforza decks, originally had a Dame and a Maid in each suit, along with the standard King, Queen, Knight, and Jack.

The pack also included three trump cards representing the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Despite a Dominican preacher’s criticism of the evil inherent in playing cards, no routine condemnations of tarot were found during its early history.

What is the oldest tarot deck?

The Visconti-Sforza Tarot, painted in the mid-15th century for the rulers of the Duchy of Milan, is the oldest surviving tarot cards. In 15th century Italy, the set of cards included in tarot packs, including trumps, was consistent, with two main exceptions. Some late 15th century decks, like the Sola Busca tarot and the Boiardo deck, had four suits, a fool, and 21 trumps, but none of the trumps match tarot ones. The Visconti di Mondrone pack, one of the Visconti-Sforza decks, originally had a Dame and a Maid in each suit, along with the standard King, Queen, Knight, and Jack.

The pack also included three trump cards representing the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Despite a Dominican preacher’s criticism of the evil inherent in playing cards, no routine condemnations of tarot were found during its early history.

What was the original tarot deck?

Tarot cards originated in Europe during the mid-15th century, with the earliest known decks being created in Italy for a game called tarocchi. These decks, like the Visconti-Sforza deck, were hand-painted and commissioned by wealthy families as symbols of their status. The Major Arcana, consisting of 22 cards, represents life lessons, spiritual themes, and archetypal energies, with each card having its own unique symbolism.

The Minor Arcana, consisting of four suits (Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles) corresponds to the elements of fire, water, air, and earth, focusing on everyday matters, personal experiences, and challenges and opportunities encountered in life.

What is the oldest known tarot spread?

Tarot card reading is a form of cartomancy where practitioners use tarot cards to gain insight into the past, present, or future. The first to assign divinatory meanings to tarot cards was cartomancer Jean-Baptiste Alliette (also known as Etteilla) in 1783. A traditional tarot deck consists of 78 cards, divided into the Major Arcana and Minor Arcana. French-suited playing cards can also be used. The first written references to tarot packs occurred between 1440 and 1450 in northern Italy, where additional cards with allegorical illustrations were added to the common four-suit pack.

These new packs were called carte da trionfi, triumph packs, and the additional cards known simply as trionfi, which became “trumps” in English. One of the earliest references to tarot triumphs is given c. 1450–1470 by a Dominican preacher in a sermon against dice, playing cards, and ‘triumphs’. References to the tarot as a social plague or exempt from bans that affected other games continue throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, but there are no indications that the cards were used for anything but games.

Is tarot ok for Christians?

The notion that tarot cards can exert control over one’s life is a pervasive one, yet there is a paucity of empirical evidence to substantiate this claim.

What were the first tarot playing cards?

Tarot decks were invented in Italy in the 1430s, adding a fifth suit of 21 specially illustrated cards called trionfi (“triumphs”) and an odd card called il matto (“the fool”). These cards bore Italian suitmarks and belonged to an experimental period of card design when queens were often added to the series of court cards previously consisting of only a king and two male figures. In standard cards, the four figures were subsequently reduced to three again by suppressing the queen, except in French cards, which suppressed the cavalier (knight).

The trionfi each bore a different allegorical illustration instead of a common suitmark, possibly representing characters in medieval reenactments of Roman triumphal processions. They were originally unnumbered, so it was necessary to remember their order. When added to the pack, trionfi functioned as a suit superior in power to the other four, acting as a suit of triumphs or “trumps”.

What country did tarot come from?

The tarot cards, originating from ancient Egypt, China, and France, have gained resurgence in recent years. The oldest known deck was made in northern Italy in the 15th century, not for fortune-telling but as a card game. However, the allegorical structure and universal symbolism of the tarot have great potential, and it has become a versatile tool for self-empowerment, psychological therapy, and divination.

The exact etymology of the term “tarot” is unknown, but it is a French word that identifies the 78-card deck from Italy, where it was called Tarocco. The word Tarocco was only used a century after the first decks appeared, and they were originally labeled “cartes da trionfi”.

Various theories have been established, including the Taro River in northern Italy, which could have powered early paper mills for cardmaking, and the name “Tara”, a goddess in Hinduism and Tibetan Tantrism. The Hill of Tara, the seat of ancient kings of Ireland, shares a pronunciation with the Roman word for earth, “terra”.

What is the oldest extant tarot deck?

The Sola Busca tarot is the earliest 78-card tarot deck, featuring all plain suit cards illustrated and trump card illustrations deviating from classic tarot iconography. Created by an unknown artist in the late 15th century, the deck is notable for its age and quality of artwork, featuring expressive figures engraved with precise contours and shading. The Sola-Busca deck comprises 78 cards, including 21 trumps (trionfi), the Fool (Matte), and 56 suit cards.

The names and illustrations on the trump cards are somewhat idiosyncratic for its time, a trait shared by later French suited tarot decks like the Bourgeois Tarot and the Industrie und Glück Tarock decks.

The characters depicted in the Sola-Busca cards include Nebuchadnezzar and Gaius Marius, the uncle of Julius Caesar. Trump cards loosely follow the rise and fall of the Roman Empire but also include members of the Roman Pantheon such as Bacchus. All characters can be easily linked to their equivalents in standard tarot decks.

What religion is tarot cards from?

This literature review examines the interconnection between Tarot cards and New Age religion, with a particular emphasis on their function within the context of the twenty-first-century New Age movement and their utilization by practitioners. It elucidates the religious import of Tarot cards and delineates the various methods through which they can be employed.