Imperatori sources and discussion

1
Imperatori cards references
There are ten from the Este records. A further reference to a card game called Imperatoris in Würzburg between 1443 and 1455.

I.

1423 12 October
1423, adi VIIII de octobre
Giovani Bianchin de havere per uno paro de carte da VIII imperdori messe d'oro fino che elo fé vegnere da Fiorenza per Madona Marchexana, le quale have Zoexe famio de la dicta dona; costono fiorini 7, nove, e per spexe da Fiorenza a Ferrara soldi 6 de bolognini; in tuto valgono … L. XIIII.VI. De bolognini
Io Giovani Bianchini scripsi adi soprascripto

Mandato Illustris domine nostre domine Parisine Marchionisse Estensis etc., vos generales factores solvi facite suprascripto Iohanni suprascriptam quantitatem denariorum pro suprascriptis cartis habitis per ipsam dominam Marchionissam.
Ugo Mazolatus cancellarius prefate domine scripsit die XII octobris 1423.

Ortalli 1996 p. 180 note 30
Franceschini 1993 p. 120 n. 297i

II – VI.

1443 “Carte da Inperaturi per uxo de li chavalieri ... L(ire) - , s(oldi) 12, d(enari) – lo paro”.
1443 “Carte da Inperaturi dipinte da lato roversso … L. - , s. 18, d. - lo paro”.
1443 “Carte da Inperatore mezane dipinte da lato roversso … L. -, s. 12, d. - lo paro”.
1444 “Carte da Inperatori depinte da lato roversso ale devixe del Signore … L 1 lo paro”.
1444 “Carte depinte al dito modo, non cossì belle … L. - , s. 12, d. - lo paro”. (Ortalli thinks this is an Imperatori deck)

Ortalli 1996 p. 187 note 63
Franceschini 1996 pp. 170-171
This is all that Franceschini published of the entries.

VIIa (Ortalli's suspicion that they are Imperatori)

1446 14 May
Piero Andrea de Bonssignore de avere lire due, soldi dixe marchesani per sua fatura de avere dipinto para due de carte da zugare, grande, da lato drieto e a lato roversso ale devixe de lo Signore, poste per Galioto a soldi 25 per paro; ave Piero de Schiveto per uxo de la sala de lo Signore... L. II. X.

Ortalli 1996 p. 187 note 65
Franceschini 1993 p. 265 n. 555m
Ortalli remarks in the note: “I believe that the cards painted by Piero Andrea in 1446 were “emperor” cards: “para due de carte da zugare grande, da lato drieto e a lato roversso ale devixe de lo Signore.” The reason for this is not only that Andrea was usually linked with “emperor” cards but also because these cards are “large” - the typical characteristic of the two 1450 packs.”

VII.

1450 29 August
Illustro nostro Signore, al suo capitolo, de dare adi XXVIIII de agosto lire due marchesane, per lui a Magistro Pedro Andrea de Bonsegnore per sua faticha de havere dipincto para dua de carte da imperaduri grande da zugare dal lato drito, et dal lato roverso schachate, a soldi 20 marchesane lo paro, per la sala del Illustro nostro Signore... L. II

VIII.
1450 28 July
Maistro Piero Andrea de Bonsignore de avere adi XXVIII de luglio lire due de marchesani per sua fatura de havere depinto para doa de charte da Inperaduri da zugare, grande, da lato drito, e dal roverso depinte a schachiti, a soldi XX de marchesani per paro, per uxo dela sala delo Illustro nostro Signore.... L. II

Ortalli 1996 p. 187 note 65
Franceschini 1993 pp. 334, 342, nn. 645T (29 August), 647h (28 July).

IX.

1452 11 February
Maistro Piero Andrea de Bonsignore de avere sino adi XI de febraro per sua merzede de avere fato una pignata de negro, havuta la roba da la spenderia, zoè libre doe de vernixe liquida et quatro de raxa, fatone la dita pignata de negro per mandare al Mantoano a Sasuolo per stanpire charte da Inperaduri da zugare, per uxo delo Illustro nostro Signore; chome apare mandato signato n° _: lire una, soldi diexe de marchesani …........ L. I. X.

Ortalli 1996 p. 187 note 66
“...the last known mention of the game of “emperors” in 1452 (at the time of Borso) refers to printed production: Piero Andrea di Bonsignore had to send a pot of black paint to Sassuolo where the Mantovano whom we met in 1436 and 1437, had to print “emperor” cards: “stanpire charte da inperaduri da zugare.”
Franceschini 1993 p. 381, n. 688a


Prices
1423 7 florins
1443 12 soldi, 18 soldi, 12 soldi
1444 1 lira, 12 soldi
1450 20 soldi (= 1 lira)

Ortalli notes:
“As I said, these were inexpensive cards compared to the price of tarot packs and were more like the cost of normal cartexelle or “carte da zugare.” This suggests that in the game of “emperors” the pack must have been very like ordinary cards and had nothing along the lines of the trumps, which made the tarots so rich and interesting.” (p. 187)
“We find there was considerable specialisation in the years when all three types [of cards] were ordered (until 1452). Sagramoro began as a painter of cartexelle, but after the appearance of trumps in 1442, he only painted tarots, as did Gherardo da Vicenza and, according to 1454 documents, the court workshop. Piero Andrea di Bonsignore only handled “emperor” cards, although by 1452 he no longer painted them but collaborated with the printer. Ordinary packs became increasingly rarely dealt with by painters.” (pp. 188-189)

References

Franceschini 1993 = Adriano Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara in età umanistica e rinascimentale. Testimonianze archivistiche, vol. I, Dal 1341 al 1471, Corbo, Ferrara-Roma, 1993.
Franceschini 1996 = Adriano Franceschini, "Note d'archivio sulle carte ferraresi," Ludica 2 (1996), pp. 170-174.
Ortalli 1996 = Gherardo Ortalli, "The Prince and the playing cards. The Este family and the role of courts at the time of the Kartenspiel-Invasion," Ludica 2 (1996), pp. 175-205.

Re: Imperatori sources and discussion

2
As I recently had shown ...
viewtopic.php?p=24663#p24663
... there is the word "imperatorj" mentioned in an article of Franco Pratesi about 2 decks produced by Ser Ristori in 1434 in Florence.
Franco's older text of 1990 ... http://www.naibi.net/A/30-PRISECO-Z.pdf
"nel 1434 il Marchese Nicolò III faceva pagare a Ser Ristoro e compagni in Firenze sette fiorini d’oro prezzo di due mazzi di carticelle mandatogli a Ferrara" (Campori 1874)
Naibi.net text of 1995:
http://naibi.net/A/55-IMPER-Z.pdf

Image



The prices have not the same format, it might be that Campori had shortened the document (?). The 1995 document has the word "imperatorj", the Campori text had lost it. Both documents have "2 decks".
Huck
http://trionfi.com

Re: Imperatori sources and discussion

3
Ortalli notes the German reference:

"And it was probably to this same game that Paul Wann de Kemnaten refers in a passage on Würzburg (around 1443-1455) when he mentions "ludum ad cartas, vocatum imperatoris."

His first citation is Wilhelm Ludwig Schreiber, Die ältesten Spielkarten und die auf das Kartenspiel Bezug habenden Urkunden des 14. und 15. Jahrhunderts, Heitz, Straßburg, 1937.
Image

Re: Imperatori sources and discussion

6
Ross Caldwell wrote: 29 Apr 2022, 09:38 Ortalli notes the German reference:

"And it was probably to this same game that Paul Wann de Kemnaten refers in a passage on Würzburg (around 1443-1455) when he mentions "ludum ad cartas, vocatum imperatoris."

His first citation is Wilhelm Ludwig Schreiber, Die ältesten Spielkarten und die auf das Kartenspiel Bezug habenden Urkunden des 14. und 15. Jahrhunderts, Heitz, Straßburg, 1937.
Jonas Richter, who had worked on the Nördlingen Karnöffel note 1426 in a useful manner, gave for the Imperatori note in Würzburg the following cryptic information ...
ca. 1460? (Leyden: “1443-1455 oder später”): Würzburg, Paul Wann = Paul(us) de Kemnaten, Tractatus de avaritia et filiabus avaritias. CLM 4695, f. 37r oder CLM (Tractatus de contractibus). “ludens ad cartas ludum vocatur imperatoris”. Ausschnitt zitiert in Schmeller/Frommann 1,770
VL 10,718 datiert Paul Wanns Tractatus de contractibus “(vor?) 1470” und gibt drei Hss. an:
clm 4695, 1ra - 69rb (Katalog 1894 K. Halm, S. 229) a. 1463 (= zit.!)
clm 12730, 1r - 106r (Katalog 1876 K. Halm, S. 90f.) a. 1470
St. Paul i. Lavanttal, Stiftsbibl., cod 245/4
Generally it is doubtful, if the Würzburger note refers to the same type of game as the Ferrarese records.

Paul Wann
https://books.google.de/books?id=8mFNAA ... en&f=false
https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz84507.html
https://data.cerl.org/thesaurus/cnp01004164
Huck
http://trionfi.com

Re: Imperatori sources and discussion

8
Paul Wann
https://books.google.de/books?id=8mFNAA ... en&f=false
https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz84507.html
https://data.cerl.org/thesaurus/cnp01004164

Leyden text ...
https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=b ... 78:37::230
"Ebenfalls um 1450 wurde ein Mann in Würzburg von Bischof
Gotfrid zum Tode verurteilt, weil er beim Kaiserspiel — ludens
ad cartas ludum vocatur imperatoris — Gott gelästert habe.'
Footnote 9: "' Kemnaten Paul van de, Tractatus de Avaritia et Filiabus Avaritias, Ms. CLm 4695, S. 37r, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, München." ... as Jonas Richter had noted it.
Huck
http://trionfi.com