Introduction

 Last modified Jan. 12, 2025

Franco Pratesi has an impressive list of publications on the history of the tarot and playing cards generally that goes back to 1986, both in print publications and on various websites, including his own at http://www.naibi.net/. However, many of the most important, especially in the last ten years or so, are in Italian only. In an effort to make his research more widely available, I have been translating selected essays and notes into English, starting with Google Translate and then correcting it by my understanding of Italian grammar and reference to online dictionaries for the word that fits the context best. Even then, I have routinely been going to Franco himself for advice on certain passages, especially in translating old documents, the proportion of which increased dramatically in 2023 and after. I have tried to make the English conform as closely as possible to the original Italian, sometimes resulting in awkward transitions in English but which in the development of ideas follow the Italian.  For safety's sake, any quotations by others of my translations should probably include the original Italian, since I do not guarantee the accuracy of my admittedly amateur work (or combination of two amateurs).

At the right of this introduction on the web-page is a list of months and years. These are mostly when I posted a particular essay. The essays themselves, with only a few exceptions, are arranged in the order in which Franco published them on the internet, going down from later to earlier. So for essays dated earlier than those in a given month (when I posted the translation), it is necessary to click on an earlier month, until the desired note is found - or else use the link in this introduction, where I have listed the notes or essays by subject-matter, the subjects arranged more or less by when Franco addressed these subjects, earlier below later.

For the list on the right in this blog, there are three exceptions to my rule of listing them chronologically in order of publication. One is a series of articles by Franco originally published in Italian in the The Playing-Card, the journal of the International Playing Card Society. They are mostly about 18th century books on how to play minchiate, the game with the expanded tarot deck of 97 cards. When I resumed translating his work in 2023 (after he paused his research in 2017), I didn't notice them and didn't leave space for them in the series. So they are all together in my postings for June of 2024, along with what seems to have been the last one in that series, a note first published on naibi.net on a book in German containing a chapter on minchiate.

Another exception is a series of four notes on 18th-century Milanese tarocchi. Franco posted his originals in July-August 2023, but I didn't translate them until July of 2024. You will find them posted in that month here. 

The third exception is some articles written by Franco before I started translating him, selected by him after I asked for the titles any old articles that are in Italian only but are fundamental enough to deserve special attention. He has so far selected thirteen, six of them listed under December of 2024, with headings all beginning "Old essays," then seven more under January of 2025, with headings beginning just "Old."

I have written short introductions to each translation. In some of the blog-posts, after the translation and in the same post, I have put my own reflections on Franco's note or thoughts relating to the same theme. I also have comments in square brackets within the note itself, for clarification, after first consulting with Franco. Both the translation and my comments originally appeared on Tarot History Forum, then pasted onto the blog for a more orderly arrangement, as they are scattered in various threads there. Some received discussion by Forum participants. In those cases, I have given a link to the Forum post.

To get to a particular translation in this blog, click on either the title in English, if underlined, or the link after the title. You may notice that the url title sometimes suggests something other than the essay in question. That is because, forgetting how Google blogs work, I had to occasionally move essays around to keep them in order, and Google doesn't change the link to fit the new title. 

Below, I have not listed the six most fundamentalessays (of December, 2024), because that is the most important thing about them, and they cover a lot of ground among them. The other essays, including the second set of "Olds" (January 2025), fall readily enough into special categories, in which they can be listed together with links to both the English and Italian versions and sometimes a brief statement of what specifically they are about.  There are over 100 translations altogether.

•  Information from inventory and other account records in Tuscany (16 entries) 

Nov. 12, 2024: Information about Antonio di Luca (Florence 1385-1428), originally Notizie su Antonio di Luca (Firenze 1385-1428) (12.11.2024). While Antonio di Luca had been known already as a card maker in Florence, no one before now had published the full inventory of his household and business goods that was done after his death, which is now the earliest known inventory of a card maker, from which much information can be derived about his home, which also seems to have been his workplace.

Sept. 30, 2024: Florence 1636 and 1637 - Gambling Accounts of Grand Duke Ferdinand II, originally Firenze 1636 e 1637 - Conti di gioco del granduca Ferdinando II (30.09.2024). Found by Franco in the vast Medicea Miscellany, a series of balance sheets, transcribed verbatim (and translated the same way), show considerable sums being spent, but are they by the Grand Duke or others'?

Aug. 28, 2024: The Countess's embroidered trionfi. Originally  1505 - Trionfi ricamati della contessa (28.08.2024). An instance of "a pack of trionfi, embroidered, on parchment" in a 1505 inventory of the possessions of Ginevra Pico, daughter of Antonio Pico, granddaughter of Ginevra Sforza and Julia Boiardo. great-granddaughter of Alessandro Sforza.

Aug. 25, 2024. Florence 1430: Naibi found again. Originally Firenze 1430: naibi ritrovati (25.08.2024). An instance of "naibi" (early name for playing cards) in successive inventories, with comments on why such entries are so rare.

July 28, 2024: 1498 – Trionfi, books of the Tornabuoni. Originally Firenze 1498 – Trionfi, libri dei Tornabuoni (28.07.2024). Two inheritance inventories of this illustrious Florentine family, each singling out a copy of Petrarch's Trionfi for special mention while leaving other titles unsaid.

July 24, 2024: 1480s - Triumphs in Florence and Pistoia. Originally Anni 1480 Trionfi a Firenze e Pistoia (24.07.2024) Two inheritance inventories mentioning Trionfi, Petrarch's and otherwise, the second with a commentary.

July 21, 2024: Poppiano 1523 - Rather arcane triumphs. Originally Poppiano 1523 – Trionfi piuttosto arcani (21.07.2024). An entry in an inheritance inventory made mysterious for its Xs: "Un paio di triomphi del XX . . ."

April 2, 2024: "Florence 1736-1737. Accounts in the shop of the abbot," at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/05/april-2-2024-florence-736-1737-accounts.html. The original, "Firenze 1736-1737. Conti della bottega dell’abate," is at https://www.naibi.net/A/BOTTEGA.pdf.

March 16m 2024, with May 3 addendum. "Florence 1478 and 1479: Petrarch's triumphs in private homes," at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/03/florence-1472-1474-worn-out-naibi-and.html. The original, "Firenze 1478 e 1479: Trionfi del Petrarca in case private," is at https://naibi.net/A/TRIOPETR.pdf. 

 

March 13, 2024. "Naibi for sale and worn-out naibi," at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/. The original is "Firenze 1420 e 1424. Naibi in vendita e naibi triste," at https://naibi.net/A/NAIBBI.pdf.

Feb. 23, 2024, "Florence 1472-1474. Worn-out naibi and triumphs in a bag," at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/blank_22.html. Franco's original at Firenze 1472-1474. Naibi tristi e trionfi in un sacchetto (23.02.2024).

Feb. 22, 2024. "Pontormo 1479. Playing cards in a haberdasher's house," at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/blank_14.html. Original at 8/06. Pontormo 1479. Carte da gioco nella casa di un merciaio (22.02.2024).

Feb. 12, 2024. "Florence 1426. Naibi in a large family," at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/blank.html. Original is Firenze 1426. Naibi in una grande famiglia (12.02.2024).

Dec. 2, 2023."Florence 1462: Playing Cards in a dry goods Store," https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/florence-1462-playing-cards-in-dry.html. Original is "Firenze 1462: carte da gioco in una merceria" (02.12.2023)  

October 18, 2023. "Florence - Three account books of the 1400s," at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/october-18-2023-florence-three-account.html. Originally Firenze – Tre libri di conti del Quattrocento (18.10.2023).

April, 2015. "1499-1506: New information on Florentine cards," http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/april-2015-new-information-on.html. Originally (1499-1506: Firenze - Nuove informazioni sulle carte fiorentine. The Playing-Card, Vol. 44, No. 1 (2015) 61-71)

• Historical (18th-early 19th century) books or booklets on how to play Minchiate (10 entries).
  

May 6, 2024: 1756 Vienna, and Nuremberg - the game of minchiate. Original is 1756 Vienna, e Norimberga – Il gioco delle minchiate (06.05.2024). This is a translation of Franco's discussion and translation into Italian of the chapter on minchiate in a book published in German in Vienna and Nuremberg of 1756, making it the earliest known describing the 18th century game.

 

June 1, 2024 - autograph note of Paul Minucci. The original is Minchiate – Nota autografa di Paolo Minucci (01.06.2024). Minucci's note is the earliest presentation known of the game of minchiate, dating back to 1688. Franco transcribes the author's own handwritten draft and places it alongside the printed version.  

 

March 14, 2024: Minchiate - A handwritten copy of Paolo Minucci's note. Original at Minchiate – Una copia manoscritta della nota di Paolo Minucci (14.03.2024). This is an anonymous manuscript copy of Minucci's note on minchiate, the earliest known writing on how to play the game, placed alongside the printed version.

Aug. 20, 2023: Fourteen minchiate cards of the 1700s. Originally Quattordici minchiate del Settecento (20.08.2023). This is a discussion of fourteen cards that came with the book discussed in the entry immediately below, twelve from the same deck, with the stamp and signature of the tax stamp manager 1750-1780 on one of them.

 

Oct.-Dec. 2023: General Rules on the Game of Minchiate. Originally Regole Generali sopra il Gioco delle Minchiate, The Playing-Card, Vol. 52, No. 2 (2023). The same essay not in journal format is at Regole Generali sopra il Gioco delle Minchiate (10.08.2023) .

 "1747 book on minchiate and other games" (The Playing-Card 49:2 (Oct.-Dec. 2020)), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/oct-dec-2020-1746-book-on-minchiate-and.html. Originally "Libro del 1747 sulle minchiate, e altri giochi," at https://www.naibi.net/A/86.pdf.

 

"The Regoli Generali in Florence" (The Playing-Card 49:1 (July-Sept. 2020)), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/july-sept-2020-regoli-generali-in.html. The original, "Minchiate, le Regole Generali di Firenze," is at https://www.naibi.net/A/85.pdf.

 

 "Minchiate, the General Rules of Rome and Macerata" (The Playing-Card 48:3 (Jan.-March 2020)), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/jan-march-2020-minchiate-general-rules.html. The original is "Minchiate, Le Regole Generali di Roma e Macerata," at https://www.naibi.net/A/84.pdf.

 

 "Comments on the Regole delle Minchiatta" (The Playing-Card 47:3 (Jan.-March 2019)), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/jan-march-2019-comments-on-regole-delle.html. The original, 

"Commenti sul Regole delle Minchiatta,"is at https://www.naibi.net/A/81.pdf. 

 

 "The Capitolo delle Minchiate (Chapter on Minchiate)," The Playing-Card 47:2 (Oct.-Dec. 2018), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/oct-dec-2018-capitolo-delle-minchiate.html. The original, "Il Capitolo delle Minchiate," is on naibi.net at https://www.naibi.net/A/80-CARDS.pdf

• Information from academies, literati, entertainers, poets, educators, and letters (15 entries)  
  

Oct. 20, 2024: Noto 1737 - geography with tarocchi and other games. Originally Noto 1737 – geografia con tarocchi e altri giochi (21.10.2024). Franco reports a proposal for educational card and board games that the authors think will be more effective than previous  ones, which would have made some students "inauseated to the point of vomiting."  Meanwhile, we learn about card decks used in 1837 Sicily.

 

July 18, 2024: Various Card Games. Originally Diversi Giochi di Carte (18.07.2024). A booklet describing how to perform various card tricks; of indeterminate date, but probably around the year 1700.

 

June 10, 2024: 1712 - The games of Lorenzo Stecchi. Original: 1712 - I giochi di Lorenzo Stecchi (10.06.2024). A book of card tricks: table of contents and examples of the tricks described.

 

June 8, 2024 - Games of cards, bussolotti, and more. Original: Giuochi di Carte, Bussolotti, e altro (08.06.2024). A book of card tricks: table of contents and examples of the tricks described.

 

June 6, 2024 - white magic, card games. Original: La Magia bianca – Giochi di carte (06.06.2024). A book of card tricks: table of contents and examples of the tricks described.

 

May 17, 2024: a jealous husband. Original: Firenze 1713 - Un marito geloso (17.05.2024). A young gentleman's attentions to a lady playing cards gets challenged by the husband. What would have earlier led to a duel gets adjudicated by an expert on the laws of chivalry.

 

May 3, 2024: Florence in the 1700s. Octaves on Bassetta. Originally Firenze nel Settecento – Ottave sulla bassetta (03.05.2024). A poem in eight-line stanzas on the evils of the gambling game.

 

May 1, 2024: 1748 - Incomplete minchiate of an Arcadian shepherd. Originally 1748 – Minchiate incomplete di un pastore arcade (01.05.2024). The Arcadia here is an academy in Florence, and its shepherd has designed a deck of minchiate with historical information on the cards, to be read each time the card is played, thus imprinting the information in the memory of the players.

April 20, 2024: Florence 1783: The mystery of the Devil. Originally "Firenze 1783 ‒ Il giallo del Diavolo," at https://www.naibi.net/A/BACCANO.pdf. The Devil card of Florentine minchiate speaks - in invitations to a social event, ending with a humorous short poem.

April 17, 2024: Florence in the 17th c.: Octaves on the Game of Ombre. Originally Firenze nel Seicento ‒ Ottave sul Gioco dell’Ombre (17.04.2024) A poem in eight-line stanzas recounting a friendly game of Ombre among five ladies, with young gentlemen attending.

 

April 13, 2024: Minchiate, a field too vast for the academy. Originally Minchiate, un campo troppo vasto per l’Accademia (13.04.2024). In an Academy speech, the author criticizes the subjects on the cards of minchiate and proposes his own replacement images, by which the history of ancient civilizations may be pleasantly taught while playing the game.

 

April 4, 2024: Playing cards in defense of church and academy. Originally Carte da gioco difese in accademia e in chiesa (04.04.2024). Two speeches in a Florentine academy, neither very original, defending the morality of playing cards.

 

April 3, 2024: Florence in the 18th c.: Card games in the theater of the Pergola.  Originally Firenze nel Settecento - Giochi di carte al Teatro della Pergola (03.04.2024).

March 27, 2024: Florence ca. 1720. Minchiate and knights without cavalry. Originally Firenze circa 1720. Minchiate e cavalieri senza cavalleria (27.03.2024).

Dec. 2, 2023: 1700s in Florence: Conversations in the casino of St. Trinita. Originally Settecento a Firenze: Conversazione del Casino di Santa Trinita (02.12.2023). The  "conversations" here are social interactions in a setting reserved for the nobility, including games with cards supplied by the house. Franco documents a squabble among players and, among loose sheets of paper, the purchases of playing cards by this social club.

October 16, 2023: Games played with tarocchi in the seventeenth century. Originally Giuochi che si fanno con le carte ‒ nel Seicento (16.10.2023). The "games" here are card tricks, delineated in a book not easy to decipher. However, we have figured out all but one of the explanations for hohe tricks are done.

April-June 2019: Pocket atlas and minchiate from 1780. Originally Atlante tascabile e minchiate del 1780. The Playing-Card, Vol. 47, No. 4 (2019). This is about a minchiate deck with maps of various regions of the world on its cards and geographical information instead of the usual images, for the purpose of learning geography as one plays.

 Old 10, Aug. 8, 2015: 1595 Florence - Special carte from Venice." Originally "1595: Firenze - Carte speciali da Venezia." (08.08.2015). A maker of somehow special carte - which could mean either cards or sheets of paper - in Venice, esteemed in Florence, sets terms for his return to that city.

• Information from the taxation system in Tuscany (7 entries)
  

 Oct. 2, 2024. 1785 and 1786 - Sale of playing cards in Tuscany, originally 1785 e 1786 - Vendita di carte da gioco in Toscana. This is from records of the Playing Cards Tax Stamp Company, a division of the grand-ducal administration, showing types of decks received by the Administration, how many of each, and where and how many sold, in various locales of Tuscany outside of Florence as well as their Florentine producers.

"Florence 1743-1778: Licenses for games" (Jan. 20, 2024), https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/jan-20-2024.html, Franco's original is at Firenze 1743-1778. Le licenze sui giochi (20.01.2024)).

"Florence 1843-1845. Foreign cards and bureaucracy" (Jan. 2, 2024) https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/01/. Original at Firenze 1843-1845. Carte forestiere e burocrazia (02.01.2024).

"Florence 1814: Restoration, also for playing cards" (Jan. 2, 2024), https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/01/jan-2-2024-florence-1814-restoration.html. Original at Firenze 1814: Restaurazione, anche per le carte da gioco (02.01.2024).

"Florence 1766 - Domenico Aldini under investigation (November 21, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/november-21-2023-florence-1766.html. Franco's original is at Firenze 1766 - Domenico Aldini sotto inchiesta (21.11.2023) .

"Reform of the stamp duty on cards (October 31, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/october-31-2023-reform-of-bolo-on-cards.html. Franco's original is at Firenze 1781: riforma del bollo sulle carte (31.10.2023).

"Cortona 1767-1781 - Playing Cards in Customs" (October 25, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/october-25-2023-cortona-1767-1781.html. Franco's original is Cortona 1767-1781 – Carte da gioco in Dogana (25.10.2023).

• Information from 18th-early 19th century almanacs, booklets, or book chapters in Lombardy addressing tarocchi (7 entries)

Aug. 20, 2023: Brescia 1786 - almanac on the tarot. Franco's original is Brescia 1786 – Almanacco sul tarocco (20.08.2023). This is the earliest of various short Lombard tracts on how to play tarocchi well. It either shows a very primitive approach to the game, close to superstition, or else (more likely) is meant as a joke. 

Aug. 18, 2023: Instructions for the Milanese game of tarocchi (1793-1827). Original: Istruzioni per il gioco milanese di tarocchi (1793-1827) (18.08.2023). Comparison of the 1793 book with the next one seen with similar contents, from 1827.

Aug. 3, 2023: More Lombard editions from Court de Gebelin. Originally Più edizioni lombarde da Court de Gébelin (03.08.2023). This is a follow-up on the note listed immediately below this one, promulgating the ideas of de Gébelin on the origin of the tarot, with a lengthy quotation from Leopold Cigognara.

July 11, 2023: The game of tarocchi - Milan 1789 and 1792. Original: Il Giuoco de’ tarocchi ‒ Milano 1789 e 1792 (11.07.2023). Quotations in the 1793 book from an earlier book of 1789 reprinted 1792, with the 1793 author's comments, usually contemptuous.

July 10, 2023: For one who plays tarocchi - Milan 1793. Original: Per chi tarocca ‒ Milano 1793 (10.07.2023). Table of contents and extensive quotation and summary of contents, one part on strategy quite different from the 1794 and 1811.

July 5, 2023: Ideas of an Egyptian: Cremona 1795. Originally Idee di un egiziano. Cremona 1795 (05.07.2023). Court de Gébelin's ideas summarized in a publication in Cremona.

July 1, 2023: Milan 1794: an unknown book on tarocchi. Original: Milano 1794: uno sconosciuto libro sui tarocchi  (01.07.2023). Table of contents and sample passages from the text, compared with an 1811 version that is seen to be similar, despite not appearing so at the outset. Mostly concerns penalties for fouls.

• Information from laws and criminal records in Tuscany (9 entries)
  

Nov. 26, 2016: "1426-1440 Florence: Convictions for card games in the Books of the Lily," http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/nov-26-2016-1426-1440-florence.html, originally"1426-1440: Firenze - Condanne per giochi di carte nei Libri del Giglio." (26.11.2016))

Nov. 21, 2015: "1514: Florence: Law on games" (synopsis) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/nov-21-2015-1514-florence-law-on-games.html, originally 1514: Firenze - Legge sui giochi. (21.11.2015))

Nov. 7, 2015: "1450, 1473, 1477: Florence: Laws on games," http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/nov-7-2015-1450-1472-1477-florence-laws.html, originally "1450, 1473, 1477: Firenze - Leggi sui giochi." (07.11.2015)

Oct. 31, 2015: "1451: Siena - New law on games," http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/essay-2.html, originally "1451: Siena - Nuova legge sui giochi." (31.10.2015))

Oct. 12, 2015: "1440-1450: Florence - Convictions for card games in the Books of the Lily," http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/oct-12-2015-1440-1450-florence.html. Originally 1440-1450: Firenze - Condanne per giochi di carte nei Libri del Giglio. (12.10.2015). This time period is late enough that trionfi is included among the games for which people are arrested and sentenced.

Oct. 9, 2015: "1377: Florence - Convictions of players of naibi". Originally 1377: Firenze - Condanne ai giocatori di naibi." The Playing-Card , Vol. 44, No. 3 (2016), 156-163.) The earliest record in Florence of those sentenced for playing at cards, based on a law passed earlier the same year.

Aug. 28, 2015: 1388-1396: Florence - Convictions by the Executor for naibi." Originally 1388-1396: Firenze - Condanne per naibi da parte dell'Esecutore. (28.08.2015). The Executor was one of several officials who, with his entourage, caught and sentenced players of card games.

 Aug. 26, 2015, "1398: Florence -First naibi in the books of the Lily." Originally "1398: Firenze - Primi naibi nei Libri del Giglio." (26.08.2015). Playing cards mentioned in a 14th century record of those convicted for certain offenses, including playing card games.

  July 3, 2015. "1405: Florence - Convictions by the Captain for cards or naibi." Originally "1405: Firenze - Condanne del Capitano per carte o naibi." (03.07.2015) An examination of the books of one of several roving companies of police, with particular attention to the words used to describe cards.

• Playing card documentation outside Tuscany and Lombardy (7 entries) 

"Cards and Tarocchi at the end of the 1700s in Sardinia" (Sept. 17, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/october-16-2023-cards-and-tarocchi-at.html. Originally "Carte e tarocchi alla fine del Settecento in Sardegna," at https://www.naibi.net/A/SARDCAT.pdf. 

 

"Cards and Tarocchi in Sassari, beginning of the 19th century" (Aug. 2, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/09/v-behaviorurldefaultvml-o.html. Originally "Carte e tarocchi a Sassari all’inizio dell’Ottocento," at https://www.naibi.net/A/TASASSA.pdf

 

 "1501-1521: cards from Perugia and nearby cities" (Jan. 5, 2017) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2017/02/jan-5-2017-1501-1521-cards-from-perugia.html (1501-1521: Carte da Perugia e città vicine. (05.01.2017))

"The 3rd Rosenwald Sheet" (June 27, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/june-27-2016-3rd-rosenwald-sheet.html (Il terzo foglio Rosenwald. (27.06.2016))

"Assisi c. 1510: Complete deck of 48 cards" (Dec. 22, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/dec-22-2016-assisi-c-1510-complete-deck.html (1510 ca: Assisi - Mazzo completo di 48 carte. (21.12.2016))

 "1477 Bologna: Arithmetic for cards and triumphs" (June 9, 2014) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/blank.html (Carte da gioco a Firenze: il primo secolo (1377-1477). The Playing-Card , 19 No. 1 (1990) 7-17.))

June 13, 2015. "1542: Arrone - Large Triumphs." Originally 4/09. "1542: Arrone - Trionfi grandi" (13.06.2015). What are "large triumphs"? An examination of the statute in a small Umbrian town, also in relation to a famous comment by the Florentine Francesco Berni.

• Triumphs and the minor arts (5 entries)
  

 "Siena 1438: From Angels to Love" (Dec. 7, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/dec-7-2015-siena-1438-from-angels-to.html  (1438: Siena - Dagli Angeli all'Amore. (07.12.2016))

"ca 1450: Triumphs and Triumphi" [i.e. in illuminated manuscripts], (Oct. 15, 2016)  http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/oct-15-2016-triumphs-and-triumphi.html (1450ca: Trionfi e Triumphi. (15.10.2016))

"ca 1450: Triumphs and Civic Processions" (Oct. 11, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/nov-10-2016-ca-1450-civic-processions.html (1450ca: Firenze - Trionfi e cortei cittadini. (10.11.2016))

 "ca 1450: Triumphs and marriage chests," (Aug. 31, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/aug-31-2016-triumphs-and-marriage-chests.html (1450ca: Firenze - Trionfi e cassoni nuziali. (31.08.2016))

"ca 1450: Triumphs and birthtrays," (May 13, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/may-13-21016-ca-1450-florence-triumphs.html (1450ca: Firenze - Trionfi e deschi da parto. (13.05.2016))

• Earliest playing cards in Europe, by place (9 entries)

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Holland" (Jan. 18, 2017 and March 9, 2017) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2017/02/jan-18-2017-playing-cards-in-europe.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Olanda. (18.01.2017) and Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Olanda. Addendum. (09.03.2017))

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Aragon" (June 21, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/translators-introduction-by-michael-s_6.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Aragona. (21.06.2016))

 "Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Buja" (June 15, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/translators-introduction-by-michael-s.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Buja. (15.06.2016))

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Bohemia" (June 7, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/june-7-2016-before-1377-bohemia.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Boemia. (07.06.2016))

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Poland" (June 2, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/june-2-2016-before-1377-poland.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Polonia. (02.06.2016)

 "Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Italy" (May 5, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/feb-8-2015-comments-on-islamic-cards.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Italia. (05.05.2016))

"Various cards at Basel in 1377 or 1429" (April 26, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/april-26-2016-various-cards-at-basel-in.html (Carte varie a Basilea nel 1377 o nel 1429. (26.04.2016))

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Berne" (April 26, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/sept-24-2016-before-1377-berne.html (Carte varie a Basilea nel 1377 o nel 1429. (26.04.2016))

  "Comments on Islamic cards" (Feb. 8, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/feb-8-2015-comments-on-islamic-cards.html (Commenti sulle carte islamiche. (08.02.2016)

• General reflections, mostly on trionfi (6 entries)

Dec. 6, 2024: Pairs of cards in the 16th century and beyond, originally Paia di carte nel Cinquecento e oltre (06.12.2024).  A deck of cards was called a "paio di naibi" in the early years, up until sometimes in the second half of the fifteenth century, then "paio di carte" throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as well as occasionally later. "Paio" means "pair," as in "pair of shoes," but how can a pack of cards be called a pair? Here are Franco's speculations on this question.

"Minchiate, Reflections on Design" (Dec. 2, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/december-12-2023-minchiate-reflections.html. Franco's original is at Minchiate. Riflessioni sul design (02.12.2023).

 "Imaginary origins of triumphs and minchiate" (Nov. 19, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/nov-12-2016-imaginary-origins-of.html (Genesi favolosa di trionfi e minchiate. (19.11.2016)   

"Earliest Triumphs: Contrasting Proposals and Outlooks" (Oct. 4, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/oct-4-2016-earliest-triumphs_7.html (Primi trionfi, proposte contrastanti e prospettive. (04.10.2016))

 "Milanese and Florentine Triumphs" (Feb. 12, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/blank_22.html (Trionfi milanesi e fiorentini - ipotesi e commenti. (12.02.2016))

"Cremona 1441? Ruminations on the Visconti-Madrone" (Jan. 17, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/jan-17-2016-ruminations-on-visconti-di.html (Cremona 1441? - Elucubrazioni sui tarocchi Visconti di Modrone o Cary-Yale. (17.01.2016))

 "Other comments on the triumphs" (Jan. 11, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/jan-11-2015-other-comments-qabout.html (Altri commenti sui trionfi. (11.01.2016))

A complete list of Franco's essays on playing cards, with links to their texts in their original language, is at http://naibi.net/p/index.html. Those originally published at trionfi.com, all but one originally in English, also appear online at that site. All of the web-pages at trionfi.com can be read in other languages via Google Translate, by entering the page's url into Google Translate's slot for websites and then clicking on "translate this page." The result is usually adequate English, except for quotations from historic texts (and remember that the slang term for bull manure, when it appears in a translation, is Google's idea of what minchiate means; of course here it invariably means the Tuscan card game and deck). 

To use Google Translate for the essays on Franco's own site, it is necessary to download them to your computer and then have Google translate them as a "document" rather than a "website."

Old 13, Oct. 9, 2015: 1377: Florence - Convictions of players of naibi

The last in the present series (Old Essays 7-3) is one I have already translated once, in 2016, and forgot that I had done so. This translation is probably slightly better and more readable, so I include it with the others here. It is of "1377: Firenze – Condanne ai giocatori di naibi," dated Oct. 9, 2015, https://naibi.net/A/423-1377-Z.pdf. 1377 is the first year in which playing cards are documented in Florence, in a prohibition of the same year. The note was first published in The Playing-Card 44, no. 3 (Sept-Oct. 2015), pp. 166-173. Comments in square brackets are mine for clarification, in consultation with Franco.

1377: Florence – Convictions of players of naibi

Franco Pratesi

English abstract

Two books of the Podestà of Florence, with records from July to October 1377, have been examined for this study. In addition to the expected captures of gamblers playing the dice game of Zara − about one hundred − a dozen captures can be read there for players of Naibi, at such an early stage. All these players were Florence dwellers, living in six different parishes all around the town. The spread of the game in Florence is commented on, as well as the implicit confirmation that a remarkable production of playing cards was already established there.


Introduction

In the history of playing cards and card games, the Florentine provision of March 1377 has a peculiar role. In the older contributions, this law was not known; when it was known, there were many uncertainties and inaccuracies before the document was checked against the originals and recognized as valid; for a long time, it was considered the oldest testimony for all of Europe. More recently, the genuineness of other documents has been recognized, and the Florentine testimony seems to have lost its primacy, but it remains, in any case, one of the oldest documentations in this regard.

Here we are not concerned with other cities, and the Florentine provision of 1377 remains the natural starting point. A study on that document appeared years ago in this journal; [note 1] rereading it after a quarter of a century, I find it still valid overall. One of the points that should be retouched concerns the idea that the word naibi was practically unknown in Florence, for the reason that even in official documents it was written differently; this remains true, but only in part, because writing naibi or naibj cannot be attributed to ignorance of the term, but only to an alternative way of writing the final letter I, which is also observed for the most familiar names.

Reading the provision leaves us with strong doubts about the situation in previous months, if not also several years before. That we can go back much further in time, at least for Florence, is excluded both on the basis of documents from other sources, and for reasons internal to the text, considering that it speaks of noviter in(n)olevit [recently implanted] and that noviter is there to demonstrate that it could not have been a long Florentine tradition. However, it is also true that if the new game was spreading in the city to the point of worrying the city councils, it could
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1. F. Pratesi, The Playing-Card, 17 No. 3 (1989), 107-11 [in English, https://naibi.net/A/20-INTROFLO-Z.pdf].

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not have been something isolated, known only to a few, perhaps a merchant who had brought back to his family, or to his business partners, a deck of playing cards found in an exotic location.

Assuming that such an event actually occurred, before playing cards took on the character of a mass game, so much so as to be taken into consideration by city councils, a lot of time would have been needed. In fact, the presence of a souvenir object was not enough; for its reasonable use in the game, knowledge and acceptance of the relevant rules was indispensable, to be observed in agreement by the various players; furthermore, the number of decks of new cards had to be multiplied in some way.

In short, what happened in Florence before March 1377 remains a mystery to be investigated; now, however, we can leave aside any possible hypothesis in this regard and move on to reading other documents from that same year 1377, simply moving from spring to summer.


The books of the podestà studied

This study is part of a larger investigation conducted in the State Archives of Florence (ASFi) on documents relating to the history of card games in Tuscany. One branch of this research has concerned the books of foreign rectors and the Books of the Lily [where the Lily, Giglio, was a specially designed emblem of Florence] of the Chamber of the Commune; most of this documentation studied so far concerns the fifteenth century, but some data relating to the end of the fourteenth century has been extracted from the Books of the Lily [note 2] and from those of the executor; [note 3] however, the books of the captain and the podestà [chief magistrate] have not yet provided useful results for those years.

As regards the series of books of the podestà, considerable difficulties are encountered in selecting the units of possible interest, and also in being able to consult them once selected. In particular, the books that, from reading the old Inventory [note 4] available in the ASFi, appear to be dedicated to inventiones [discoveries], that is, to the capture of offenders caught red-handed, are very rare; when these archival units are not found indicated, it remains to be verified whether the related documents were inserted into any book of the Officium extraordinariorum.

An attempt in this direction led to the choice of two units for the year 1377, the same year as the first Florentine testimonies on naibi. The aim was not to find others so early, but only to check the situation of gambling convictions at the time when naibi were introduced. These are two books that are practically identical externally, with the same dimensions of 30x23 cm and with a parchment cover on which are painted a central coat of arms and four similarly sized ones at the vertices.
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2. www.naibi.net/A/416-GIGLIO300-Z.pdf [translated here at viewtopic.php?p=26690#p26690.
3. www.naibi.net/A/417ESECUTOREZ.pdf [translated here at viewtopic.php?p=26691#p26691].
4. ASFi, Inventario N/26.


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The first book, [note 5] of 28 folios, contains the registration of various activities and, above all, the bans [declarations of the prohibitions and other matters] with the standard formulas that record both their promulgation and their notification to the citizens by the official herald. On the part of the podestà's “family,” there are no arrests of citizens caught with weapons or out at night or gambling, precisely what would interest us; these registrations are in the second part of the other book examined. This second book, [note 6] of 48 folios, begins with a couple of folios relating to the installation of the new podestà, Marquis Pietro of the marquises of Monte Santa Maria. The podestàs of Florence were chosen from among the foreign knights of more or less ancient nobility; in this case the marquis was undoubtedly from an ancient family and also of imperial nomination.

The notary who wrote this book is Matteo di Pizzica, and he comes from the same marquisate of Monte Santa Maria from which the podestà came; his handwriting is particularly beautiful and clear, apart from some of the abbreviations. As usually happens, we immediately find a summary list of the delegations conferred by the podestà to the various officials and employees. Of interest to us are the three knights (indicated by the corresponding medieval Latin term milex sotius) Aloisio, Antonio, and Bellaccio, and above all, the notary delegated to extraordinary matters, as we read on f. 3r: “Item elegit et deputavit in suum notarium extraordinariorum viz. Ser Guelfutium Francisci de Civitate Castelli” [Also, he chose and deputed as his extra-ordinary notary, viz. Ser Guelfuzio son of Francesco of Città di Castello].

On folios 4-10, all the sessions presided over by the podestà are recorded; these are stereotyped texts, usually inserted five or six per page, in which the only significant detail is the date. The second part of the book, starting from folio 12r, corresponding to July 10, contains the records of the outings of the podestà's “family” in search of potential violators of the laws on weapons, nighttime outings, and gambling. Finding these convictions in a podestà's book cannot cause great surprise, because similar convictions can be found recorded in previous decades. However, there was a huge surprise in finding that in this early period, already some convictions of naibi players are recorded.


Gambling convictions

The three knights of the podestà regularly take turns on their inspection tours of the city, leading the “family” of berrovieri [police], and a continuous record of all these outings is kept in the book under examination, specifying in the header when the inspection took place at night. Many times it is recorded, with a standard and also rather verbose formulation, that the “family” returns without having made any captures. The captures by the knights recorded are exclusively for carrying weapons and for going out at night. At the end of August, a fourth name of a knight of the podestà appears, Blaxius, probably to be read in Italian as Blasio. It seems that the new arrival has a
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5. ASFi, Podestà, 2261.
6. ASFi, Podestà, 2262


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more zealous behavior, so much so that among his captures are also included some zara [a dice game] players, those indicated in the following table in italics and with an asterisk.

All the data in the table with convictions for gambling, excluding the three mentioned above, result from the activity of a single officer of the podestà, the notary Ser Guelfuccio, delegate for extraordinary cases, coming from Città di Castello, a town not far from Monte Santa Maria. Clearly, this officer is particularly dedicated to captures for gambling. In particular, among those convicted by his action, none appear for night-time outings, while these are the most frequent convictions for the knights of the podestà; but this can immediately be explained by the fact that there are no nocturnal outings of the “family” under the command of the notary. Apart from two cases in which Ser Guelfuccio has men convicted for carrying prohibited weapons, all his convictions are for gambling and are of great interest to us.

------------------------------------[Day-----Naibi-------Zara--------Weapons----------Folio
------------------------------------------in the months of July-October 1377]

 

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Unlike previous years, here naibi appears next to zara. In the Latin text, zara is systematically indicated as ludus çardi, but ludus tassillorum [game of dice] also appears at times, which probably did not indicate a different game. The game of naibi, however, is always indicated as ludus nayborum. As was to be expected, the sentences for playing are largely associated with the game of zara. For this game, it was quite common at the time to find quite large groups of players captured together, something that would become less and less frequent as the years went by; here, the number of zara players captured simultaneously varies from one up to even thirteen.

In particular, a clear decline in captures can be noted towards the end of the period. This also occurs for the other officers of the podestà, so much so that the last recorded capture is for one surprised at night by Blasio on 30 September, while in October there are eighteen recorded outings of the podestà's “family,” all without captures, until the last one on 9 October on f. 46r, followed only by a couple of blank folios.

The captures for the game of naibi might seem to be a negligible contribution, but they are not. Even numerically, they represent a good ten percent of the total, eleven cases compared to the 105 total of zara, and this is certainly not a small thing for a new game compared with the most popular one during the entire Middle Ages; in short, the game of naibi had evidently already become familiar among Florentines.

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The players of naibi

The Latin text of the book is not transcribed here, but it is necessary to at least report the names of these first Florentine card players of whom we have news. It should be noted in this regard that the passage from Latin to current Italian can lead, among other things, to the confusion of the patronymic with the surname: the families who at the time had a surname were relatively few, and therefore it may be that in the table one should read di Donato, di Cecco, etc. A reference number is inserted in the last column, which has the sole purpose of making the related parish seat more clearly visible in Fig. 1.

Name--------Name of the father-------Parish---------[Ref.] No.
------------------or the family

Francesco--------di Jacopo -------San Pier Maggiore--------1
Domenico----------Donati----------Sant’Ambrogio--------------2
Nanni-------------di Bartolo---------Sant’Ambrogio--------------2
Bettino--------------Ciardi-----------Sant’Ambrogio--------------2
Antonio -------------Cenni----------San Pier Maggiore---------1
Lorenzo----------Benincasa--------Santa Reparata------------3
Ceccandrea--------Cecchi---------Santa Reparata------------3
Lodovico--------di Giovanni--------San Giorgio-----------------4
Pierozzo--------di Francesco------San Giorgio-----------------4
Cione--------------di Lapo-----------Santa Felicita---------------5
Giovanni---------di Sandro---------San Frediano---------------6

It may be significant that in all cases, the players were Florentine, because in the captures for the game of zara the presence of foreigners is frequent. Again, comparing the data on naibi with those on zara, one can note a smaller variation in the number of players captured for the infraction: in our case it goes only from two to four. These data are certainly not sufficient to conclude that the game of naibi was for two, three, or four players. If one thought it possible to deduce participation from the number of those captured on the basis of later testimonies, one would have to conclude that naibi could also be played alone, which is clearly absurd. However, it remains significant that for naibi one never encounters, not even later, captures of large groups of players, as sometimes happens for zara.

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Unlike other cases of this kind, the profession of these Florentines is never indicated in the document under study; however, their popular character is confirmed by their names and the parishes they come from.

Eleven players from six parishes are encountered, which are distributed across a wide radius of the city. The first three are on the right bank of the Arno (S. Ambrogio, S. Pier Maggiore and S. Reparata), the last three on the left bank (S. Felicita, S. Giorgio, S. Frediano). Most of these churches still exist; only S. Reparata was demolished, for the construction of the new cathedral, and S. Pier Maggiore, because the structure had become unsafe. Fig. 1 shows the position of the churches within the last circle of the city walls, built half a century earlier; compared to the previous circle, they are almost all located outside. The wide dispersion in the city is evident, but of particular interest is the fact that both the peripheral areas richer in manufacturing are represented, with large employment of low-level workers, who also had their poor homes precisely in these two rather unhealthy areas, let's say to the E and SW of the ancient center.


The spread of playing cards

So far we have seen how the documents studied could provide us with useful information on Florentine card players and how the new game had already spread throughout the city. Alongside this aspect there was inevitably another, equally important: the production and trade of playing cards. There are significant elements, again in Florence, that indicate how it was precisely in this city that a rapid development of the new game would have been possible. Here, we must be clear: in any location, a new game could have quickly taken hold of the population and gained its favor; but this was not the game of morra, which is played with the fingers of one hand: also, new cards were needed to be able to play.

In this regard, it is often read that the first playing cards were not only new objects, but also expensive and valuable, made with sheets of parchment with chalk primer, perhaps covered in gold, as well as having paintings on the front face so beautiful that they were usually sought after in court environments. (It is very often forgotten that the testimonies from those high-level environments were recorded and then also preserved more and better than any testimonies from popular environments.) And so it is assumed that it took a more or less long time before playing cards could "descend" to the common people, if only because of their high cost, which prevented widespread distribution among the people.

On the court environments and the related testimonies, I have nothing to add to the too much that can be read, but on the popular character, yes. First of all, I would like to point out that in Florence there was a typical and highly appreciated production of orpelli and argenpelli [animal skins, pelli, beaten and then coated with metallic paint simulating gold, or, and silver, argento], which as objects, apart from their different use, were not very different from naibi. Florentine production was

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highly appreciated, and even Francesco di Marco Datini and his associates and successors in Avignon imported hundreds of dozens of them from Florence over the course of several decades in the second half of the fourteenth century. On this point, I must refer to a previous study of mine, also published in this journal. [note 7] In fact, going from a bundle of orpelli to a pack of naibi would not have entailed great variations in workmanship.

Figure 1 – Schematic layout of the churches mentioned in the text.

Conclusion

Two books of the podestà of Florence for the period July-October 1377 have been studied. Among those caught red-handed by the podestà's “family,” those convicted of gambling were selected: around one hundred captures were recorded for the game of zara and eleven captures for the game of naibi, surprisingly, considering that only in March of the same year had the provision prohibiting them been approved. The eleven players were domiciled in six different parishes in poor areas of the city. The spread of the game in Florence is commented on and the logical consequence is deduced that there was already a notable production of playing cards; this could have been based on the experience gained over several decades by Florentine artisans in the sector of working with paper and leather (including orpelli and argenpelli).

Florence, 9 October, 2015

Old 12, Aug. 28, 2015: 1388-1396: Florence - Convictions by the Executor for naibi

 This is one of a series of notes on the earliest Florentine convictions for gambling with cards, then called naibi more often than carte (with various spellings for each). Franco's original is "1388-1396: Firenze − Condanne per naibi da parte dell’Esecutore," https://naibi.net/A/417-ESECUTORE-Z.pdf, dated August 28, 2015. Comments in brackets are mine, in consultation with Franco, for clarification purposes.

1388-1396: Florence − Convictions by the Executor for naibi

Introduction

This note is part of a long investigation on the early days of playing cards in Florence. After the well-known provision of 1377, it is not clear how the new game of cards, or rather naibi, as playing cards were then called, spread throughout Florentine territory. In particular, the possibility that the prohibitions actually succeeded in hindering the popularity of the new game remains very doubtful. In the event, if naibi players were convicted, they could be convicted by the same foreign rectors who had the power, and also the task, to repress the vice of gambling. The first of these officials was certainly the Podestà [chief magistrate], the only one also present in the smaller towns. In Florence, however, there were at least two other “families” of policemen who also had police functions and who in particular watched over the city with the task of capturing those who carried weapons, those who went out at night, and those who gambled. The two foreign rectors in question were the Captain of the People, whom we have already met in a previous study, [note 1] and the Executor of the Ordinances of Justice, whom we examine here.


The Executor of the Orders of Justice

The figure of this foreign rector is typically Florentine; in other cities, it would not even have been conceivable. The magnates, eminent figures, usually belonging to families of the ancient nobility, those who in other cities would have had the reins of city government in their hands, in Florence constituted the target of the main actions of control and conviction by the Executor. We are only interested in the activity of combating gambling, but this, as for the Podestà and the Captain, was only a rather secondary part of all the activities of the Executor's “family,” so much so that for these three foreign rectors, the books with the related information are found inventoried under the title of Ufficium
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1. https://naibi.net/A/413-CAPINAIB-Z.pdf [translated in the present thread at viewtopic.php?p=26685#p26685].

2
Extraordinariorum [Office of Extra-ordinary matters]; in short, a sort of supplement to institutional duties.

The executor was one of four foreign rectors, with the fourth, the judge of appeals, having a lesser importance, so much so that in 1412 that office was suppressed. There was, however, a characteristic that necessarily distinguished him from the others, who usually came from the noble families: precisely because of his institutional function, the executor could not be a noble.

For this job, a knight was not chosen, because he had to keep an eye on the magnates and apply the laws enacted against them. He had to be: “an honest, expert plebeian, a scholar of legality, someone who in the Florentine vernacular is called a popolano”. […] The official headquarters of the executor was located in the rear part of the Palazzo dei Priori, next to that of the Capitano del Popolo. […] He also had a “family” at his disposal, made up of his deputy and a judge, as well as notaries and policemen on foot and on horseback, only that these were not called “berrovieri,” like the others, but “masnadieri.” [note 2]

The books studied

In the ASFi [State Archives of Florence] there is a section with the documentation that was collected by the executors. It is a set of archival units that, although numerically smaller than the similar ones of the podestà and the captain, still presents a more than respectable consistency, with its 2283 pieces that cover the time interval 1343-1435. An old inventory [note 3] of this collection is also available in the ASFI that permits the selection of those books that may be of greatest interest for research on games, namely the Libri inventionum [books of discoveries], belonging to the sector of the Ufficium extraordinariorum. These books of our greatest interest are not recorded in the Inventory for all the executors. It is possible that there are others not examined in this study, capable of providing further information regarding its particular purpose: to identify the appearance of naibi among gambling games, already during the fourteenth century.

The books examined are listed in the following table, where the letter in the first column has been assigned in this order only to simplify the related description; instead, the number in the second column is that of the signature in the ASFi collection.
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2. R. Davidson, Storia di Firenze. IV, Parte I, Florence 1973, pp. 160-162.
3. ASFI, Inventario N/03.


3
Books of the Executors studied
Letter-----Number----Years
A-------------819-------1378
B-------------953-------1383
C------------1012-------1386
D------------1050-------1387-8
E------------1077-------1388
F------------1098-------1389
G------------1130-------1390
H------------1228-------1394
I-------------1242-------1394-5
L------------1276-------1395
M------------1309-------1396-7
N------------1404-------1400

A − Register of 261 written folios, not bound. It contains mostly trial records. The initial ban [bando=declaration of prohibitions and other matters] begins with blasphemy. The part of interest, with the “discoveries,” begins only at f. 251. Initially, there are mainly captures for prohibited weapons; then, together with the euntes de nocte [people going out at night], there are also players of zare [a deice game], in one case seu tasilorum ["or dice"]. Indeed, there are often several players present and captured together, as on f. 260v two Neapolitans, a Pistoian, and others Florentine.

B – Unbound register of 27 folios. The “discoveries” are on folios 19-21. The ludus azardi [game of zara] is spoken of, and several cases are found with 5-8 players. As usual, sometimes the cloak left by the fugitive player is recorded. Overall, those captured for gambling are more than usual, much more numerous than those convicted for other crimes.

C – Register of 80 folios with parchment cover and coat of arms of the executor. In the initial ban, the usual list of the main crimes begins with blasphemy. The “discoveries” are listed from f. 15r to f. 28r. The majority of cases are those captured at night, followed at a distance by those captured with weapons, and finally for gambling. At least one person “baptized” [dunked in the Arno or given a cold shower], on f. 15v. The game always seems to be zara, as on f. 20 with six captured people, including two Sienese players and one from Pozzolatico. As a rule, only the verb ludere [playing] is indicated, without any attribute.

D – There are 4 books loosely sewn together. Only the first has the front of a parchment cover with the coat of arms of the executor. They are mostly trial records. Only the third book has, from f. 102r to 109r, the

4
usual list of “discoveries.” The game is called ludus açardi [game of zara] or l. aççardi, and also çardi. In one case the location is indicated, ad pontem Refredi [at the Refredi bridge]. The captured are numerous, also for weapons and at night. Important for the present study is capture for naibi, which will be examined again later.

E – Register of 22 folios without cover. It begins with the list of delegations and the general ban in which the crime of gambling is found rather low in the list, after blasphemy, weapons, counterfeiting money, hosting rebels. The “discoveries” go from f. 17r to 22, the last one. It is normally written ludus zardi or azardi, but in tassillos, or cum taxillorum [with dice], and ad ludum vetitum tassillorum [at the forbidden game of dice] are also found. Captures at night are predominant compared to those for weapons, and those for gambling are even less frequent.

F – Register without cover of 33 written folios. It begins with the delegations and bans up to f. 13. Here, too, the order of the crimes listed in the general ban is blasphemy, weapons, money, rebels, and only fifth gambling, indicated as ludus çardi. After some blank folios, we find the “discoveries” from f. 22. Here, too, the most common form is l. çardi. Among the objects abandoned by the players we find on f. 22v a board and wooden dice. On f. 27v we find the note that Benignus Alberti de Lamania bactiçatus fuit per ludum [Benignus Alberti of Germany {Lamania=Allemagna} was baptized for gambling.] (It must have been more difficult for a foreigner to put together the money to pay and leave the Stinche free without being “baptized.”)

G – Register of 30 folios with parchment cover and coat of arms of the executor. It is normally written ludus zardi or çardi. In the recurring formula used to specify the game, the entire related clause is often added, which usually also appears in the statutes: in quo vincebatur et perdebatur contra formam statutorum communis Florentiae [in which one was defeated and lost against the form of the statutes of the Florentine commune, i.e. Republic]. On f. 11, for one case, the location of the game is also indicated: ex porta sancti nicholai. In this case, the gate of San Niccolò is involved, as on other occasions some of the other gates were reported.

H – Register of 32 folios bound in parchment with the unusual coat of arms of the executor, with five beautiful white butterflies. The “discoveries” are listed from f. 28r to 32v. It is usually written ludus açardi or aççardi. In this book, the majority of the captures are for those taken at night. An entry of a capture on f. 29v for ludum ad marellas is later deleted as having been recorded in error. Evidently, the police had been too diligent in carrying out their mission, so much so that they considered a permitted game to be prohibited. Some historians of the game of checkers would be very happy to recognize in this case an early documentation of that game (which was probably played for quite a long time before being called checkers), but here it was more likely a game of the filetto [morris] type.

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I – Thin register covered in parchment with the coat of arms of the executor. The folios of interest for captures are those from 29r to 37r, the last written folio of the 46 total. For the games, the ludus is indicated above all taxillorum. In one case we find ludere ad lapides seu sassos, in short, stone-throwing. More important for us are two entries in which the game of naibi is explicitly indicated, which will be examined later.

L – Register bound in parchment, of 54 folios, with the coat of arms of the executor. The captures are listed from f. 43 to f. 53. The game is indicated in most cases as ludus azardi. Also found there are l. sassaioia [stone throwing] and ludus puxillorum, boxing. Also in this book, we find one citation for naibi, on f. 43v relating to 25 December 1395, examined later.

M – Register without cover of 45 written folios, including blanks. The general announcement at the beginning lists the crimes in order: blasphemy, weapons, counterfeit coins, gambling, assemblies. The captures are listed from f. 23r to 28v. Gambling is usually indicated as ludus açardi, rarely tassillorum. On November 18, 1396, several captures were made for gambling and for night outings. Next to the ludus açardi, we find cases of naibi, indicated here differently from the usual as ad carticulas. They will be examined again later.


Convictions for naibi

Considering the purpose of this study, it seems necessary to recap the gambling captures in which naibi are expressly mentioned.

19.12.1388. (N. 1050, f. 107r): Cherricus Michaelis de Salseburge de Alamania inventus fuit per militem et familiam praesentis domini Executoris ludere ad ludum naiborum contra formam statutorun communis Florentiae. [Cherricus Michael of Salzburg of Germany {Alamania, for Italians, included Austria} was found by the knight and family of the present lord Executor to be playing at the game of naibi, contrary to the form of the statutes of the Florentine commune.] This capture, expressly indicated for the game of naibi, presents several noteworthy points. The date appears very early and shows us that at that time the laws prohibiting naibi were already enforced. To what extent they were enforced we remain in doubt. The noteworthy point here is that a "German" from Salzburg is captured, and that this is the only player captured. It is certainly not possible to think that he was captured while playing solitaire with cards! Then perhaps, with the Florentine players, the “family” of the perpetrator was ready to turn a blind eye.

22.11.1394 (N. 1242, f. 29v): Nicholaus Ser Anthonij populi S.ti Johannis de Florentia repertus fuit per militem et familiam predicti(?) domini executoris ludere ad ludum nayborum seu cartarum contra formam

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(…) statuterum… [Nicholas, Ser Anthony of the parish of St. John of Florence, was found by the knight and family of the aforementioned(?) lord executor to be playing at the game of naybi or cards, contrary to the form (…) of the statutes]. Here, and also in the next entry, we encounter an interesting fact: next to the original name of naibi, that of carte is added, which later becomes the only common name.

20.01.1395 (N. 1242, f. 31v): Grassus Grassi ferrator populi S.te Lucie de Magnolis de Florentia repertus fuit per me notarium( ?) et familiam predictam ludere ad ludum cartarum seu nayborum contra formam statutorum et ordinament(orum) dictis communis… [Grassus Grassi, blacksmith of the parish of St. Lucie de Magnoli in Florence, was found by me, the notary(?) and the aforementioned family, to be playing at the game of cards or naibi against the form of said statutes and ordinances of said commune …] None of the players we meet here are distinguished by family or professional celebrity, but this Grasso Grassi ferrator may constitute a good antidote for scholars accustomed to investigating the playing cards of princely courts.

25.12.1395 (N. 1276, f. 44v): Bertus(?) Zenobij de populi S.te Marie Maioris de Florentia - Andreas (+++) - repert(i?) per familiam domini executoris ludere ad ludum naiborum contra formam statutorum communis Florentiae… [Berto(?) Zenobij of the parish of St. Mary Major of Florence - Andreas (+++) – found by the family of the lord executor playing at the game of naibi against the form of the statutes of the Florentine commune …] Here the players captured together are two, Berto and Andrea, but the record is not entirely clear about this. In this case, the date is also important. Christmas Day, or Easter [Pasqua] of the Nativity, as it was called then, is not part of the end-of-year celebrations, which in Florence began with the Incarnation on March 25, but it remained one of the main religious holidays, a day to be celebrated with the family, in church... or playing cards.

11.18.1396 (N. 1309, f. 24r): Johannes a Ture(?) stipendiarius inventus fuit per familiam domini executoris ludere ad carticulas contra formam statutorum communis Florentiae et captus fuit familiam dicti domini Executoris. − Nannes Becholj(?) stipendiarius de civitate Castelli inventus fuit per familiam domini Executoris ludere as carticulas contra formam statutorum communis Florentiae et captus fuit per Anthonium de perusio(?). [John of Ture(?) stipendiary was found by the family of the lord executor to be playing at cards against the form of the statutes of the Florentine commune and was arrested by the family of the said lord executor. − Nannes Becholj(?) a stipendiary from Città di Castello was found by the family of the lord executor to be playing cards against the form of the statutes of Florentine commune and was arrested by Anthony of Perugia(?).] On the same day different captures are listed, but these two would seem to have been made together: there are then two players caught playing the forbidden game of cards. Both are indicated as stipendiari, simple wage earners. At least the second one is not Florentine, but comes from Città di Castello, a city between Arezzo and Perugia that in those years had freed itself from papal domination with the help of the Florentines. Another noteworthy thing is that the noun naibi is not used, but already that of cards, or rather of carticulae, those that in other cities we often find indicated as carticelle. Let's be clear: this does not mean that the name naibi had fallen into disuse: attestations of it will be found for a long time afterwards.

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Comment on naibi players

We read in several publications that naibi were, at least initially, playing cards of considerable value, which were used especially in courts and among the privileged classes, but of this aspect, important or not, we can find no trace in the documentation studied in this case. What we find here corresponds to a completely different situation.

None of the players we find convicted for being caught playing naibi are presented as people of importance; indeed, a considerable number of those captured are foreigners who presumably would have found little assistance from their Florentine acquaintances. It is no coincidence that the first player we find convicted, and at a rather early date, is a “German” from Salzburg. It also appears significant that almost always only one player is captured, while for the game of zara we also find several multiple captures recorded. At most, one can admit that the game of naibi was predominantly a game played between two players, but even in this case, it is perplexing that one of the two almost always manages to get away with it, without even being reported as having escaped.
However, it is clear that the game of naibi was widespread. Any foreigner who wanted to play naibi during his stay in Florence would have easily found company; he just had to move to the most suitable places, in some public loggia or near the city gates.


Conclusion

The study was based on a dozen books of the executors of the justice systems. In particular, some captures of naibi players carried out in Florence by the executor's “family” were reported and discussed. These cases are few: two together in 1396, two in 1395, one in 1394, and one even in 1388, when naibi had been in use for little more than a decade.

It is possible (but impossible to determine with certainty) that other cases of games of naibi were included under the name of zara, possibly intended in a generic sense for prohibited games. Other cases may be recorded in books of that series not yet studied. In the period examined, however, one does not perceive the presence of a drastic change in the laws on gambling, but rather a more or less severe attitude in controls.

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The presence of several foreigners among the convicted and the very fact that often only one of the players who were certainly present was convicted suggests that the executioner's “family” acted severely only in some cases, possibly excluding Florentines and certainly people of importance. From what we find here, it is clear that the game of naibi had entered into the favor of the people, even at the lowest levels. This cannot exclude that at the same time there existed practices of playing naibi in socially elevated environments, involving the richest Florentine ladies and even the children that we glimpse from some testimonies; obviously, in none of those cases can one expect an arrest by the police, an action that was able to bring other situations to light, thanks to the registers preserved.


Franco Pratesi – 28.08.2015