I recently wrote about the Art of Memory on this blog, and it’s an ongoing interest of mine. Robert O’Neill has a surprisingly complicated article about Tarot and the Art of Memory on Tarot.com. I’m not sure why I didn’t come across it before. It’s worth a read.
Though O’Neill has a great collection of references, where his article really shines is in the in-depth discussion of the creation of memory images. Check it out.
This is a lovely article. One of the things that I hadn’t thought to do, before now, was to make a Memory Palace of the names of people who had something to do with teaching memory arts. Behold, a hall, with pagans on one side, and Christians on the other:
Simonides on the end wall, the founder,
then on his right, our left, the Pagans:
Plato
Aristotle
Iamblichus
Quintillian
Seneca
Cicero (with the pseudo-Cicero standing in the shadows behind, slipping a book Ad Herennium on to the pile of Cicero’s writing)
Martanus Capella, the turning point, on the short wall of the gallery, facing Simonides
And then the Christians:
Augustine of Hippo
Albertus Magnus
Thomas Aquinas
Ramon Llull
Giovanni da San Gimignano
Bartolomeo di San Concordo
Giordano Bruno, tucked into the last corner behind an iron grate in the fireplace.
That’s a good idea, but don’t forget Giulio Camillo!
Where do you put him? Oh, right. In the theater!