IS MANFREDA THE VISCONTI-SFORZA PAPESS?
Gertrude Moakley (1966) first proposed that the Papess of the Visconti-Sforza Tarot deck represented Manfreda, a Umiliata nun who was elected pope by an heretical sect. Moakley argued that Manfreda's relationship with the Visconti family and her status as heretical pope make her the natural candidate. Many of the facts that led Moakley to propose Manfreda as the Papess can be verified historically (Newman 1995). Manfreda (also written as Maifreda) da Pirovano was a cousin of Matteo Visconti. She was a Umiliati nun at Biassano a few miles north of Milan. She was named pope by a small heretical sect, the Guglielmites, and eventually executed by the Inquisition. According to her notes, Moakley's information about Manfreda came primarily from the records of her trial before the Inquisition (Lea 1906) and from studies of the Guglielmites by Tocco (1899, 1953).
The Guglielmites were followers of Guglielmina, a Bohemian princess, who appeared in Milan sometime in the 1260's (Newman 1995). What we know of Guglielmina comes mainly from a follower, Andrea Saramita, who maintained that she was the incarnation of the third person of the Divine Trinity, i.e., the Holy Spirit. Through Saramita, the sect became strongly influenced by the prophetic visions of Joachim of Fiore (Reeve 1969, Lambert 1992). Manfreda became a devoted follower and eventually served as leader and priest for the group after the death of Guglielmina (~1281). The sect was largely centered around Milan and the area to its north. An altarpiece at Biassono showed the Trinity with Jesus and Guglielmina side by side (Newman 1995). There also is a painting of Guglielmina ordaining Manfreda as Pope at Brunate, a town above Lake Como (Newman 2005). By 1300 at least four churches had paintings of Guglielmina who was buried as a saint at the abbey of Chiaravalle.
Moakley's proposal has a great deal of intuitive appeal and a solid historical basis. However, there is a serious problem with the proposal. Moakley states (p 72) "Her religious habit shows that she is of the Umiliata order...". This statement has been taken at face value, by this author and many others, though Moakley offers no supporting evidence. I hope to establish in this brief article that the Papess of the Visconti-Sforza deck is wearing a Franciscan habit and not the habit of the Umiliati.
The Poor Clares or Franciscans of the Second Order wore a dull brown tunic and mantle with a white bib and headpiece and a distinctive knotted cord about the waist. This is clearly the habit worn by the Visconti-Sforza Papess. The Franciscan nuns were founded by Clare of Sciffi (1193-1253) and many images of Clare in the formal habit can be found. In many images, the white headpiece is covered with a formal black veil (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) but the rest of the habit fits the Visconti-Sforza Papess precisely. In some images, the black veil is missing (7, 8). I do not know if the lack of the black veil on the Visconti-Sforza Papess indicates that the person was a postulate of the order who had not yet taken final vows, if the veil was replaced by the crown, or if the black veil was only used on certain occasions. The person may also have been a Franciscan Tertiary, members of the lay order, who did not wear the black veil (Kuhns 2003). But the absence of the black veil is a side issue. The remainder of the habit is Franciscan and the knotted cord is distinctive of this order with the three knots representing their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience (Kuhns 2003).
The Umiliati (or Humiliati) were members of an orthodox religious order that arose in northern Italy in the 1170's (Grundmann 1935). Their rule of life was approved by Pope Innocent III in 1201 and they largely sustained themselves in the textile industry (Andrews 1999). Early chroniclers place them in communities in and around Milan and note that they wore no colored cloth (Brasher 2003). Lay members lived at home with their families while others lived a monastic communal life. An inventory of 1344 indicates that there were 27 houses in Milan and immediately surrounding towns (Bresher 2003).
The habit or dress of the Umiliati was white (Koslin 2002). In most cases, a white cape and scapular were worn over an ashen grey tunic. A number of illustrations have recently become available to indicate the appearance of the Umiliati habit (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20). The images come from several different manuscripts and a statue and all agree on the white habit for both men and women of the order. Clearly the habit of the Umiliati is not what is depicted on the Visconti-Sforza Papess card.
I have considered the possibility that the Papess is indeed Manfreda and the artist was unaware of the difference between Franciscan and Umiliati habits. This explanation seems unlikely. Although the nuns of both orders were largely cloistered, Tertiaries, i.e., lay members, of both orders would have been familiar sights in the piazzas and churches. At least some of the lay members would have worn the characteristic habit on special occasions and to church. Franciscan friars frequently preached in churches throughout northern Italy. Male members of the Umiliati were active in the economic community, buying wool and selling cloth. If nothing else, surely, the duke and ladies of the court who commissioned the painting of the deck would have known the difference because of the close ties of the ducal family to both orders.
The most likely explanation is that the Papess depicts some other member or close associate of the Viscontis. I do not have a specific person to offer but, given the close ties of the Visconti with the Franciscans, there should be a number of potential candidates. The unknown person may have been a Franciscan postulate or Tertiary because of the absence of the black veil. The card may simply symbolize "Mother Church" with the Visconti acquaintance or family member appearing as the allegorical figure.
REFERENCES
Andrews, F. 1999. The early Humiliati. Cambridge University Press, NY.
Brasher, S. M. 2003. Women of the Humiliati: a lay religious order in medieval civic life. Routledge, NY.
Grundmann, H. 1935. Religious movement in the Middle Ages. (originally published in German. translation by S. Rowan 1995, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame).
Koslin, D. 2002. Value-added stuffs and shifts in meaning: an overview and case study of medieval textile paradigms. pp. 233-249 IN Koslin, D. and J. E. Snyder (eds.) Encountering medieval textiles and dress. Palgrave Macmillan, NY.
Kuhns, E. 2003. The Habit; A history of the clothing of Catholic nuns. Doubleday, NY.
Lambert, M. D. 1992. Medieval Heresy. Blackwell, Oxford.
Lea, H. C. 1955. A history of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages. (orig. 1887; reprint 1955, Harbor Press, NY).
Moakley, G. 1966. The Tarot Cards painted by Bonifacio Bembo for the Visconti-Sforza family; an iconographic and historical study. New York Public Library, NY.
Newman, B. 1995. From Virile Woman to WomanChrist. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
Newman, B. 2005. The heretical saint: Guglielmina of Bohemia, Milan and Brunate. Abstract of Keynote address at the New Medievalisms II Conference. University of Western Ontario.
Reeve, M. E. 1969. The influence of prophesy in the later Middle Ages: a study of Joachimism (orig. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford; reprinted 1993, Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame)
Tocco, F. (ed.) 1899. Il Processo dei Guglielmiti. Rendiconti della Reale Accademia dei Lincei: Classe di Scienze Morali, Storiche e Filologische. Series 5, volume 8 (Rome).
Tocco, F. 1953. Encyclopedia italiana. (articles on "Guglielmiti", "Storia di Milano", "Umiliati"). Fondazione Treccani degli Alfieri, Milan.
