Ace of spades card dexks12/9/2023 ![]() The Jacks were originally called Knaves, referring to royal servants, but this was changed to Jacks because the use of Kn in the index caused confusion with the K of the Kings. The Queen of Spades is often called the "black lady" or even the "bedpost queen", while the Queen of Clubs is known as the "flower queen" since she is depicted holding a flower. Other interesting details include the fact that the King of Hearts is the only king without a moustache, while the King of Diamonds is called "the man with the axe" since he is the only king carrying an axe instead of a sword. The King of Hearts is typically considered the "suicide king", since he is pictured with a sword in his head. Today these designs are still the standard for playing cards. From this time onwards, new designs have always been considered temporary novelties, and serious card players have always opted to revert back to the traditional designs popularized by de la Rue, and later modernized and adjusted by Charles Goodall into a form very close to a typical Bicycle deck we use today. Under de la Rue, cards became standardized. Prices and taxes dropped, output and consumption increased, and the mass production that resulted from this saw the smaller workshops of designers disappear. But all that changed with the success of Londoner Thomas de la Rue, who first was granted Royal Letters Patent for printing playing cards by letterpress and lithography in 1832. Varying cultural and domestic influences shows a rich variation in the court cards used in different geographical areas, and there was still an enormous diversity in designs of the court cards. Different regions reflected their own preferences and interests, and while the original Italian cards used a King, Queen, and Knave, the Spanish replaced the Queen with a Knight, and the German deck similarly had two Knaves (upper and lower) as the two companions of the King. In the late 1500s there was even a trend among French producers to assign famous literary characters to specific court cards, such as David, Alexander, Charlemagne, and Caesar for the Kings. The French however did include a female in their set of royal courts, perhaps as a reflection of French gallantry and chivalry. Modern Italian, Spanish, and German decks still continue this tradition today. Early court cards had no queens, reflecting the male domination that was common in the royal courts of Europe at the time. We can't be definitive about this however, because there are also some instances as early as the late 14th century of the Ace being treated as the highest card.Ĭourt Cards The court cards have always had a variety of artistic designs. With the arrival of Napoleon in the early 1800s, the Kings, Queens, and Jacks made their return, but it's entirely possible that the rising of the Ace as a symbol of the lower class dominating the royalty may be traced to this revolutionary period in French history. After all, any revolutionary worth his salt wouldn't want to play with royal characters! At this time the traditional court cards of Kings, Queens, and Jacks were replaced with Liberties, Equalities and Fraternities. The special significance of the Aces in some regions may have its roots in the French Revolution in the 18th century. So why is it that today the Ace is considered the top dog in many card games? ![]() ![]() Ranking of the Ace The King was long considered the highest valued card in the deck. Even if this explanation doesn't account for the origin behind the make-up of today's deck, it certainly adds something interesting to its significance! With this explanation, the 12 court cards are connected with the number of months in a year, while the 13 cards in each suit are seen to correspond to the months in a traditional lunar year, and the number of weeks in each season. We can't be certain what exactly accounts for this number of cards, although there is a long tradition that connects the four suits with the four seasons, and the 52 cards with the number of weeks in a year. Although Spanish decks would later be reduced in size to a 40 card deck, and different sized decks have become standard in some parts of Europe due to regional variances and influences, the original Italian decks did consist of 52 cards in four different suits, much like today's deck of playing cards. Playing cards are first documented as appearing on the European continent in the 14th century. Number of Cards Why do decks of playing cards have 52 cards? It turns out that that this is the number of cards they have always had, at least dating back as far back as we can go based on evidence from their earliest days in Europe.
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