Document 05

In the late 40ies it seems that card prohibition in Florence was stronger than before. In the year 1450 suddenly some freedom is developed. Probably this should be seen in context to the general political development: Sforza, friend and ally of Cosimo de Medici, had taken Milano in 1450 und with that a periode of 30 years of wars ended between Milano and Florence. Sforza was, all what we know, friendly to card-players. Being a condottieri himself in long years of his life (condottieri and mercenaries loved card-playing and couldn't hardly be controlled by city rules) he had all reasons to be tolerant in this question. Probably this new condition changed the politic i Florence. The biographer Vespasiano da Bisticci noted, that Cosimo did play occasionally chess, but not cards. But Bisticci is by far a "nice-talking" biographer, so one shouldn't be sure about it. Compare my summary about Franco Pratesi's articles Prohibition in Florence and my article Prohibition Theory

1450 [10th of December, from Franco Pratesi's study of playing card references in the Florentine Archivo di Stato], also refering to a similar entry from 1463