Court de Gebelin
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[edit] Tarot contribution
Included two essays in Volume 8 of his Le Monde Primitif, 1781, which were prove hugely influential for the development of the 'occult' tarot. Included one the earliest examples of cartomancy, claimed the Tarot were of Egyptian origin and were spread by Gypsies, and made a correspondence between the 22 trumps and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Claimed that the sequence should be read as an allegory backwards, from XXI the World to 0, Madness, so the correspondence with the Hebrew letters went from Alef – XXI, Beith – XX, Gimel to XIX, etc to Tau – 0. Claimed many errors had been introduced in to the trump sequence by German Cartiers, including that card XII which is a representation of Prudence had been turned upside down to become the Hanged Man.
[edit] Biography
ANTOINE COURT DE GEBELIN (1728-1784), French scholar, son of Antoine Court, was born at Nimes in 1728. He received a good education, and became, like his father, a pastor of the Reformed Church. This office, however, he soon relinquished, to devote himself entirely to literary work. He had conceived the project of a work which should set in a new light the phenomena, especially the languages and mythologies, of the ancient world; and, after his father's death, he went to Paris in order to be near the necessary books. After long years of research, he published in 1775 the first volume of his vast undertaking under the title of Le Monde primitif, analyse et compare avec le monde moderne. The ninth volume appeared in 1784, leaving the work still unfinished. The literary world marvelled at the encyclopaedic learning displayed by the author, and supposed that the French Academy, or some other society of scholars, must have combined their powers in its production. Now, however, the world has well-nigh forgotten the huge quartos. These learned labours did not prevent Gebelin from pleading earnestly the cause of religious tolerance. In 1760 he published a work entitled Les Toulousaines, advocating the rights of the Protestants; and he afterwards established at Paris an agency for collecting information as to their sufferings, and for exciting general interest in their cause. He co-operated with Franklin and others in the periodical work entitled Affaires de l'Angleterre et de l'Amerique (1776, sqq.), which was devoted to the support of American independence. He was also a supporter of the principles of the economists, and Quesnay called him his well-beloved disciple. In the last year of his life he became acquainted with Mesmer, and published a 'Lettre sur le magnetisme animal'. He was imposed upon by speculators in whom he placed confidence, and was reduced to destitution by the failure of a scheme in which they engaged him. He died at Paris on the 10th of May 1784.
He was also active in various Freemasonic Lodges in Paris, including Les Amis Réunis and Les Neuf Soeurs, famous for including amongst its members Voltaire and Benjamin Franklin. His works also had an influence in developments within Freemasonry during both the late 18th and the 19th centuries.
[edit] Publications
His major literary work, Le Monde Primitif, analysé et comparé avec le monde moderne. The Primitive World, Analyzed and Compared to the Modern World was published in nine volumes between 1773 and 1782. Two essays on Tarot, 'Du Jeu Des Tarots' by himself and 'Recherches sur les Tarots' by Comte de M***'s appeared in Volume VIII in 1781.
[edit] decks
Commissioned drawings of the 22 trumps to illustrate his essay in Le Monde Primitif. Innovations included the hanged man being turned round to stand on tiptoe as a representation of Prudence. Jean-Marie Lhôte in Court de Gébelin 1983 identifies the anonymous illustrator who Gebelin only identifies as 'Mll L' as Mademoiselle Limote, an artist of some acclaim in her day.
[edit] books
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[edit] papers
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[edit] Website
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[edit] Books and sites of significance on this author
- Decker, Ronald; DePaulis, Thierry; Dummett, Michael. (1996). A Wicked Pack of Cards: The Origins of the Occult Tarot. New York: St. Martin’s. ISBN 0312162944.
- Lhôte, Jean-Marie. (1983). Court de Gébelin: Le Tarot présenté et commenté par Jean-Marie Lhôte. Court de Gébelin: The Tarot Presented and Commented Upon by Jean-Marie Lhôte. Paris: Berg International. ISBN 290026930X.
- Online biography at villarevak.
