Originally a synonym for "magician," mountebank's negative connotations stem from unfavorable views about magicians, not the other way around.
- The term "mountebank" comes from Italian and meant "someone who mounts a platform," typically to sell potions and elixirs.
- Mountebanks were formerly wandering occultists, sometimes alone, sometimes in the accompaniment of a traveling medical show.
- Some were real practitioners, while others were charlatans, and yet others fit every description of “conjurer” at the same time.
- In other words, just because someone is a charlatan and illusionist doesn't rule out the possibility of them also being a real practitioner, and vice versa.
Mountebank is now often associated with the term "scoundrel," particularly those who come in town, create havoc, and then go.
- The Mountebank is a nickname for an older version of the Tarot card "The Magician."
- The mountebank's table is typically present even when the character is referred to as "The Magician."
MAGICAL ARTS: Tarot; Conjurer, Goes.
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