THE HOSPITAL OF INCURABLE MADMEN
by Tomaso Garzoni da Bagnacavallo
L’Hospidale dei Pazzi Incurabili (The Hospital of Incurable Madmen) by Tomaso Garzoni da Bagnacavallo was simultaneously published in 1586 in Venice, Ferrara and Piacenza, as a demonstration of the consolidated fame of the author. The plot consists in a visit offered to the readers behind remuneration of a coin of 20 soldo to a universal insane asylum where are confined the representatives of the different forms of madness, ancient and contemporary. The centre of the hospital is constituted by the “King of Fools” that means the vainglorious madmen, to which the author dedicates the fifteenth discourse of the thirty of that compose the first part of the. Every typology of madness is reported through a Discourse to which follows the Prayer to a divinity, a tutor numen to which the visitors can address particular exhortations with the purpose to make the sick poor men heal. A female section exists as well, that the author circumscribes in an only Reasoning, whose typologies of madness result identical to those of men, but with the variation that women has not the possibility to heal, since there is the lack of the Prayers. While every Discourse is expressed with examples of masculine characters drawn by history and by the chronicle of the time, the same names of the women - for instance Domitilla Feronia, Ostilia Mutinense - denounce that they have not historical contingencies while the Enterprises set above their cells have the purpose to represent the typology of madness they have, to be individualized by the visitors through the visual interpretation of the Enterprises and the women oral reasoning.
The different forms of madness are not inserted by the author according to a precise logical-classificatory plan, while it is evident the architectural concreteness of the building with its rooms displaced from right to left with cells set “under” or “down” until reaching the last room, the one of Ostilia Mutinense, tormented by diabolic madness and situated just in the lowest part of the building, conceived with the purpose to create the idea of the infernal descent, toward a madness without name.
The work, that opens with a Dedication to which follow two Sonnets, introduces the Discourses through a Prologue of the author to the Spectators. It is in this Prologue that we find the first reference to tarots whereas Garzoni at paragraph 6 ironically writes “…those fools of tarot that consider themselves as Nestor”, or rather those people without quality who believe to be wise. Son of the king of Neleus and Chloris, Nestor became famous to have been the oldest and the wisest man fighting under the walls of Troy and still today many adages quote him as synonym of “old wise man.”
To the Prologue follow 30 Discourses with beguiling titles as: about frantic madmen and deliriums, about bizarre and furious madmen, about madmen unbridled as a horse, about awkward and fatuous madmen.For what concerns our investigation in reference to tarots, it results of a great importance the Discourse XIII: About spiteful or of tarot madmen that here I report integrally comprehensive of Prayer. The edition of reference is the one printed in Piacenza by Gio. Bazachi in 1586.
DISCOURSE XIII - ABOUT SPITEFUL OR OF TAROT MADMEN
Some people have in their brain insert a spirit so done what, when they think to be offended by someone, with a crazy wish they start to contend with that one; and if the offender multiplies the offenses, so from his part grow up hate and continuous spites; whence the thing reduces him a madman with his brain, he finally gets the name of spiteful madman and of tarot. It could be maybe set among the ancient examples that of Clicomede Astipalense, man of prodigious strengths quoted by Plutarch which, defrauded of a certain prize convenient to his virtue, he was so much in spite for this thing, that one day he approached with his shoulders to a column, that sustained the school, in which there were all the sons of important people, and furiously throwing it on the floor, he killed the teacher and all that young people together. It could be even count that Marganore of Ariosto (1), who for the death of his two sons, started hating women, that how many women come in his reign, so many were treated badly and with ugly jokes.
For a great madman of tarot in modern times and baptized by everybody a certain know-it-all for letter or a certain stupid so done that for a beak of a flea he wants to kill the whole world, and when it jumps on the crazy wagon is not afraid of the whole artillery of the duke of Ferrara, because the spite and malice remove the capability to see, the danger and the blow whose rage is above all: about this some tells that one day, a person told him «head of violin», and he moved by a big outburst for cause of this word, give him a punch so strong that, bumping in a column, he had a whole hand and his arm broken; and then since he saw the apparent damage, getting angry and angry, he threw them of a marble bundle, to hit him on his forehead, but it going on the wall and striking back again, hurt him in his stomach, so much that, powered with double fury, went with his head to hit the belly of the other man; and, going back he knocked against on the wall, and broke it all: and at last, not having something else to vent himself, he indiscreetly burped saying; “Now take this, since I cannot avenge in another way!”.
A great spiteful of tarot madman was Cristoforo from Crispino, who, since a person one day told him (he was ugly): “You are an handsome young man”; and hating irony, he threw a piece of cheese in his stomach; and since the other was going to take the cheese away to eat it, he threw a knife; and since the other as well was going to take a knife to cut the cheese, being near a bakery, he threw a piece of bread, that the other picked up to eat together with the cheese; he then threw a jug without wine, that came into his hands against the man: but the other man said: “Brother, please fill it with wine and throw it to me!”, he became so angry that, going near a fountain, he threw the jug full of water; but the one running away laughing said: “Companion, I will have the knife, bread and cheese, and you’ll stay with the jug and water, and we’ll be almost equal”, and so he avoided the last hit of the spiteful madman, who at least realized, that he remained humiliate after this mad enterprise. A more signalled example of spiteful madness is the one of the divine Ariosto in the perverse one and wicked Gabrina, in that great stanza that begins:
Listen (she said) you, who are
So proud, and you do deride and despise me;
If you knew what I know about her
You do believe is dead, you would be kind,
But rather to tell you,
I would prefer you to strangle me and tear me to shreds (2).
Since the cursed old woman with rage tried to vent herself on poor Zerbino, having not pity of him, since she truly was a diabolic and iniquitous witch. These are rightly said madmen of tarot, and they have in the Hospital a cell with the sign of the goddess Nemesis, to whom they demand help, since that goddess is the one who takes care of the destiny of these madmen.
PRAYER TO GODDESS NEMESIS
FOR THE SPITEFUL OR OF TAROT MADMEN
With the greatest ardour and vehemence, to you, diva Ranusia so called by ancient people because in Rannunte, town of Asia there is your statue made by Phidias, we demand your help and favour, because against these spiteful madman we don’t know a better remedy than the one of the goddess, who punishing and chastening violent and delinquent people, is rightly considered healthfully for the sores of these madmen. If we trust in help of such just goddess, know that we, grateful to your favours, we’ll offer in the temple of Adrasteia dedicated to you, a basket of garlic and shallot, and we all will greet the name of Adrasteia, snorting out the spiteful odours, evident signs of the health of the ones for whom we dedicate to you the prayer; please save them and keep them in peace.
Notes
1 - Marganore: a character from Orlando Furioso, XXXVII, 43 and followings.
2 - Orlando Furioso, XX, 138
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