John of Rheinfelden
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John of Rheinfelden (german: Johannes von Rheinfelden), also Johannes Teuto and John of Basle (born c. 1340), was a
Dominican friar The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
and writer who published the oldest known description in Europe of
playing card A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a fi ...
s.


Life and works

Brother John was born around 1340 in
Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...
. Little is known of his life, it is only substantiated by his
treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...
(''Traktat''), published in
Basle , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...
1377, and the personal information it contains. He was probably a member of
Basle , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...
's Dominican monastery, but lived in
Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...
. He is usually known as ''John of Rheinfelden'', although Dummett says this is "probably wrong." He wrote the treatise ''De moribus et disciplina humanae conversationis id est ludus cartularum'' (also referred to as ''Ludus cartularum moralisatus''), the oldest surviving detailed description of playing cards in Europe from the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, which he wrote in 1377 as bans on playing cards began to proliferate. The tract is modelled on the "Chess Allegory" (''Schachallegorie'') of fellow friar James of Cessoles. Card games are attested for the first time in Europe by the
Signoria A signoria () was the governing authority in many of the Italian city states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The word signoria comes from ''signore'' , or "lord"; an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government; governing authority; ...
of
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
on 23 March 1377. It is likely that they originally came from China and probably only reached Europe via India and Egypt a decade earlier. So Rheinfelden's treatise was very topical. Strasbourg, about 50 kilometres from Freiburg, became a centre of playing card production in the 15th century. In addition to other versions, the author mentions the still common 4x13 sheet as the basic template, whereby the
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
, Ober and Unter ("marshals") are mentioned as court cards, but Maids and Queens are also known. In the foreword, the author explains the purpose of his treatise: firstly to explain the pack of cards, its components and the rules of the game, secondly to derive moral instructions for nobles from the card game with reference to the different "courts" (suits) of the pack, thirdly similar instructions for the derive simple people by assigning professions to numerical cards. Johannes writes that the newly introduced cards seemed like a revelation to him and the knowledge that they could be used as a means of understanding and explaining the world had moved him. He uses his description of the card figures as the starting point for a broad presentation and interpretation of the corresponding functions at court. Thus, the tract also gives a general insight into the medieval way of thinking, how the social order is structured. He presents his enormous wealth of knowledge, for example by referring to the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
, the Latin classics, Boëthius,
church father The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
Isidor Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is an English and French masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος) and can literally be translated to "gift of Isis." The name has survived ...
and
Doctor of the Church Doctor of the Church (Latin: ''doctor'' "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: ''Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis''), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribu ...
,
Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
. Some of Rheinfelden's views seem natural to us and he is not afraid of more controversial topics. The original treatise, which was probably illustrated, has not survived (it may have been destroyed in the Franco-Prussian War) but has been handed down in four expanded manuscripts:''Johannes of Rheinfelden, 1377''
at triofi.com. Retrieved 9 May 2020. * Hs. F IV.43 ( University Library of Basel), 1429 () * Hs. 4143 (
Austrian National Library The Austrian National Library (german: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of V ...
Vienna), 1472
Digitalisat online
Johannes' Treatise begins at fol. 88r, d. i. p. 181 of the digitalised copy) * Hs. 225 (library of the
University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
), 1472 * Hs. Egerton 2419 (
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, London), 1472 So far there is no complete printed edition, a text-critical edition by Arne Jönsson, professor at the University of Lund, is in preparation.


References


Literature

* * Geisberg, Max (1910). ''Das Kartenspiel der Königlichen Staats- u. Altertümer-Sammlung in Stuttgart'', Strasbourg, pp. 14 f. (Reprint: ''Alte Spielkarten'') (= Studien zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte, Vol. 66, 132, 205), pp. 116f. Baden-Baden 1973. With an extract of the first chapter of the treatise. * Jönsson, Arne (2005). ''Card-playing as a Mirror of Society - On Johannes of Rheinfelden's Ludus cartularum moralisatus''. In: Ferm, Olle och Volker Honemann (eds.), ''Chess and Allegory in the Middle Ages ''(Sällskapet Runica et Mediævalia, Münster, Stockholm and Uppsala Universities), Stockholm 2005, pp. 359–372. * Jönsson, Arne (1998). ''Der Ludus cartularum moralisatus des Johannes von Rheinfelden''. In: ''Schweizer Spielkarten'', Vol. 1: ''Die Anfänge im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert'', pp. 135–147. Schaffhausen * * * * * *
Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche ''Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche'' (''Lexicon of Theology and the Church''; commonly abbreviated ''LThK'') is a German-language Catholic theological encyclopedia. Three editions have appeared so far, all published by Herder-Verlag in Freibur ...
, Vol. V, p. 1075


External links


Johannes of Rheinfelden, 1377, by Lothar Teikemeier
(English)
Johannes Teutonicus: De moribus et disciplina humanae conversationis
Handschrift Egerton 2419, British Library (with image of the front page) {{DEFAULTSORT:John of Rheinfelden Members of the Dominican Order German male writers Card game book writers Medieval Latin literature 14th-century writers 1340 births 14th-century deaths Year of birth uncertain