Salvadori, SharonSmyth, CarolynSchembri, Elena2024-10-232024-10-232021Schembri, Elena. "The Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards: A Portrayal of 15th Century Courtly Society". BA Thesis, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy. 2021.https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14490/576Thesis (B.A. in Art History, Minor in Political Science and Legal Studies)--John Cabot University, Spring 2021.This thesis studies the Visconti-Sforza luxury cards, three illuminated tarot decks realized between Cremona and Milan during 15th century for the two ruling families, Visconti and Sforza. The three decks are a remarkable example of International Gothic style, but they also constitute a detailed representation of the Visconti and Sforza courts. This thesis specifically examines the way in which the gender and social extraction of the characters featuring on the cards determine their position within the hierarchical courtly system. Additionally, this thesis will aslso explain the way in which such hierarchical structure provides the basis for the rules of the games that were played with tarot cards during the 15th century. Ultimately, the game of tarot served the educational purpose of instructing the players of the game about how they should behave according to their gender and social position at court.xi, 56 pagesenAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Tarot cardsPrivate collectionsThesis