The essays included in this page to date are:
Essay 1: "Ludus cartarum and the joc of the Alphabet" - discussing the nature of the "joc" as a verbal game, and use of tokens in play.

Essay 2: Hempen birds: pattern of reference to hemp from China to Spain in relation to card-use.

Essay 3: The hempen Almanac: the probable origin of cards.

Essay 4: Michael Scot's astronomical rebus figure of Jupiter as prototype for the tarot's "Magus" figure.

Essay 5: The Place of the Fool: Charles VI "Fool" as another example of the medieval memory-picture and a discussion of the numerical value for the Fool and its role in ordinary games played with a tarot deck.

Essay 6:

Essay 7:



Note: all essays extracted from an original body of research, the manuscript entitled "Rational Constructions: a discussion of the "Moorish Quarters" wqith particular reference to the Charles VI and Visconti-Sforza cards. Copyright Diane O'Donovan, 1998, 2002, 2007. PLEASE acknowledge the author if making use of these fruits of original research.