Printing on Paper
Tags: paper, history, printing
660-670, China: First example of printing on paper. Early xylography was accomplished with hemp paper and woodblocks.
The ancient wisdom of the cards
The reformation saw the beginning of printing, which came hand in hand with playing cards. Moreover, in Germany many playing cards were a direct reflection of the ideals of the Reformation. Even German suit marks harken back to early Christian ideals.
It was during the same era that manuals for cartomancy, or fortune telling by cards, started to appear, starting with Marcolini's Le Sorti. Sortilege with cards was strictly forbidden by the church, which helps us to know that it was happening.
history, the reformation, europe, germany, cartomancy, sortilege
Tags: paper, history, printing
660-670, China: First example of printing on paper. Early xylography was accomplished with hemp paper and woodblocks.
Tags: chinese, dice, china, history, 0827, asian
The game was often referred to as "gold speckled leaves", which does make it sound quite a lot like early gold-leaf Tarot cards. Many scholars will tell you that playing cards were invented in 827 because they have conflated these two games. If there is any relationship between these games, which I doubt, it is this:
Tags: france, occultists, kabbala, cartomancy
Alphonse Louis Constant (a.k.a. Éliphas Lévi Zahed) was a famous French occultist and kabbalist who revolutionized the field of cartomancy. Had it not been for Lévi, the theories of Court de Gebelin might never have become popular.
Tags: france, occultists, divination, cartomancy
Jean Baptiste Alliette (a.k.a. Etteilla) was an influential French occultist who helped establish the occult nature of the Tarot. Had it not been for Etteilla, the theories of Court de Gebelin might never have become popular. It was Alliette who made divination with the Tarot popular.
Tags: chinese, china, playing cards, asian, 1294, history
On the twenty-third day of the sixth month in the thirty-first year of the zhiyuan period (17 July 1294), we caught Yan Sengzhu and Zheng Zhugou playing cards, and have also found wood blocks to print cards. Each person has admitted to the truth of the accusation. We have, according to the rules, passed judgement and punished correctly the organizer Lu Donger, accessory to gambling Zheng Zhugou, the owner of the premises Jiang Sier, and the block printer Ye Lin, and dispatched to the Ever-abundant Treasury for deposit the nine cards (zhipai) that were about to be destroyed, and...
Tags: 1364, games, 14th century, history, early references
1364, St. Gallen, Switzerland. A local ordinance forbids dice, allows board games, and leaves the subject of cards untouched. This is often cited as the date before which cards could not have been known in Europe.
Tags: early references, 14th century, history, 1377
1377, Basel, Switzerland. A Dominican friar by the name of John describes various types of playing cards in detail.
Tags: 14th century, early references, history, 1379, games
We know playing cards entered Europe in the 1370s because there are no references before this time, and suddenly they start appearing across the continent. In St. Gallen, an ordinance made in 1379 forbade the use of playing cards.
Tags: 14th century, medieval, 1372, history, trumps-16
In 1372, the belfry was added to the already leaning tower of Pisa, completing the structure.