These ten cards depict the hierarchy of 15th-century society. Perhaps as many as 20% of Italians at this time were homeless. In the middle, guilds of craftsmen, merchants, and bankers were gaining a greater degree of independence, and merchants and bankers were gaining wealth and power. At the top ruled marquesses, doges both hereditary and elected, kings, and the Pope. The Holy Roman Emperor was also nominally King of Italy. The Mantegna was produced during a period of peace, but the rivalry between the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy kept knights engaged in combat for much of the century.
I Misero (wretch)
An old man, clad in rags, leans on his staff in front of a crumbling brick wall and a couple of small, leafless trees. At his feet are two small, lean dogs, one of which is attacking his leg. The rags, the stick, and the attacking dog show a similarity to the Fool of the tarot, although this man stares pensively, while the tarot Fool strides resolutely onward.
II Fameio (servant)
We have skipped over the laboring class to this well-dressed servant of a prosperous household. The fine clothes are intended to reflect on the prosperity of his master, and belie his lowly status. Like Misero, Fameio is bareheaded. As all the higher ranks of society depicted here have some sort of headgear, this might be indicative of his lack of status. This young man resembles the Page of Cups in a tarot deck.“
Fameio” means household servant in the Venetian dialect of the time. Such individuals were often without family, and served in return for room and board.
III Artixan (artisan)
Here is a craftsman at his workbench, in his workshop, with an apprentice (or son) looking on. As a skilled and independent worker, he would be at the upper end of the working class of his time. This is the only Mantegna card which shows an actual interior scene.
This card can be likened to the tarot Magician
(il Bagatto in old Italian decks), as it features a man behind a table with the tools of his trade.
IIII Merchadante (merchant)
A well-dressed man stands studying a piece of paper. As Europe emerged from the Middle Ages, merchants and bankers accumulated both wealth and power. The governments of many of the Italian city-states were run by powerful merchant guilds; in the republics, it was they who elected the Doges.
V Zintilomo (gentleman)
Here is a young gentleman in the field, perhaps the son of a wealthy merchant. A servant boy has a pair of dogs on leash; the gentleman holds a hawk on his gloved left hand. He and the hawk regard each other intently.
VI Chavalier (knight)
Knighthood in the 15th century was more than just an honorary title; aside from a period of relative peace from 1454 to 1482, there was almost always a war going on somewhere in Italy, as the city-states fought each other and foreign attackers. This knight holds a short sword while his page brings his long sword.
VII Doxe (Doge)
Doxe was the Venetian word for Doge. Doges in 15th century Italy could be hereditary rulers, but in Venice and some of the other Italian republics, they were elected or appointed. The man shown here may have been Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice 1423-1457. He is wearing a corno ducale, the customary headgear for a Doge.
VIII Re (King)
The last three cards show crowned and seated rulers. Here is a young king, holding a scepter. At the time these images were created, Naples and Sicily were the only kingdoms in Italy.
VIII Imperator (Emperor)
This emperor is shown as an old man with long hair and beard, seated on a marble throne in front of a curtain. He is looking down at the orb in his right hand, symbol of his rulership. At his feet is another imperial symbol in the flesh, an eagle. The crossed legs is a formal signal that he sits in judgement. Two hundred years after this image was engraved, the Tarot de Marseille L’Empereur imitated his crossed legs and hand in his belt.
The Emperor would be the Holy Roman Emperor, who at the time also bore the titles King of Italy and Germany, and Archduke of Austria.
X Papa (Pope)
In 15th-century Europe, the Pope was not only recognized as the spiritual leader of the entire Christian world, but exercised considerable wordly power as well. Much of the warring that went on between the Italian city-states in the 15th century was fueled by the ongoing struggle for political dominance between the Holy Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church.
As symbols of rank, he holds a pair of keys and wears a triple crown. The gold and silver keys represent the keys to the kingdom of heaven which Jesus gave to Peter (Matthew 16:19). The triple tiara is said to represent the Pope’s position as “father of princes and kings, ruler of the world, and vicar of Christ” as cited in the coronation ceremony. However, it has been suggested that it was originally to match the Holy Roman Emperor, who received a triple coronation as king of Germany, king of Italy, and Roman emperor.
