Playing cards

Playing cards . It is a traditional board game, also called a card or deck game. It consists of a set of cards, made mainly from cardboard, represented by figures that have a symbolism or meaning, according to the culture of each place, since there are different types of cards. These are mixed or shuffled by the players, there are several game modes, although they are also used in magic tricks or in religious acts or acts of superstition, as is the case of Cartomancy , where powers are attributed, which is subject to subconscious of each person.

Table of Contents

Summary

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1 Story
- 1 First cards from the East
- 2 European playing cards
2 types
- 1 Spanish deck
- 2 German deck
- 3 Swiss deck
- 4 French deck
  - 4.1 Name of the figures
- 5 English deck
  - 5.1 Figures
- 6 Tarot
3 Symbols and meanings
4 Prohibition
5 News
6 Sources

History

The origin of the playing cards or cards has not yet been precisely established, despite the great efforts made by the researchers. Determining the shape and historical moment that define the origin of the cards has been revealed as an enormously complex task. However, it seems that finding the inventor of the cards and explaining how they spread from one country to another throughout the world should be an easier task.

After all, playing cards have just over 600 years of existence in Europe : the earliest testimonies of European playing cards are from the late 14th century . Throughout the following century they spread throughout Europe with enormous speed and, surprisingly, it is possible to know this expansion not by the cards themselves, but by the numerous prohibitions that card games were subject to throughout the continent. Although it has not been possible to know precisely how this rapid expansion took place, some of its milestones are known, through which various theories have been ventured that subsequent discoveries have confirmed or denied.

First playing cards from the East

The cards arrived in Europe from the East, but not as a tangible object, but as a description in the stories and texts of different travelers. In this way the idea of playing cards spread throughout Europe, which later generated the various models of “national” decks.

Card from a 15th century Turkish deck . To affirm that the cards arrived from the East is only a first and imprecise one; approximation to their origin, since this evidence only serves as an indication that they are not a European creation. Throughout the history of humanity, it can be seen that each more or less broad human group has coined some term to describe other human groups than its own. For the Romans, for example, all the tribes located to the north and east of its borders were barbarians, that is, foreigners. The same happens with the name “East”: at that time (late fourteenth century, early fifteenth), the East included North Africa, the south of the Iberian Peninsula occupied by the Arabs, eastern Europe and the Asian countries between the Mediterranean and Red seas and the Persian Gulf . They were also a part of the East, as it happens today, the countries located to the east of the Himalayas ( Far East ). Therefore, it is obvious that pointing out that the cards came from the East does not provide too much precision to the unknown about their origin.

As for the routes by which the cards arrived in Europe, multiple theories have also been ventured. At first its introduction was attributed to the Arabs, who brought so many things to the West, but the Arabs had no letters, nor did their religion allow them to reproduce anthropomorphic images. In fact, the only preserved ‘ Arab ‘ card game is Turkish. The gypsies and their divinatory decks have also been mentioned, but when the great gypsy migrations arrived in the West long ago, since the cards were well known in Europe. Playing cards or cards to play with have also been attributed to Marco Polo, who would have brought them from China , but it seems that Marco Polohe did not make it to China and that all the stories he told there he had heard in the Middle East. Other theories attribute the expansion of cards in the West to the Crusades, and even stories circulated for a long time attributing the invention of the cards to certain characters (Vilhán, Nicolás Papin), which in many cases were fictitious.

European playing cards

Traditionally there has been a great interest in demonstrating the European origin of playing cards. It is undoubtedly a somewhat paradoxical effort, when, as it seems generally admitted, the idea of playing cards comes from the East. The answer to this puzzle is, however, very simple. Most of the cards currently used around the world are, in their conception and characteristics – four suits, a series of number cards and three figures – of European style, as well as the majority of card games (considering that the majority of American and Australian games are also of European origin).

The cards arrived from the East evolved in Europe and from this continent they expanded to the last corner of the world, mainly through the Spanish and English decks. A sample of this influence can be seen in Japan, where the Portuguese-Spanish missions of the 16th century – at that time Portugal and the rest of the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula were ruled by the same king: Felipe II ; This union lasted until the middle of the 17th century when, under the reign of Philip IV , Portugal separated from the Spanish empire again – they introduced, among other customs, the game with the cards of the Spanish deck, especially the Portuguese variant. Thus “letter” became karuta, “cups” in koppu, “golds” in oru, and “horse” in uma (literally “horse”). In Indonesia , the word “letter” became kertu.

Older Italian playing cards that are preserved, were a European creation or originally came from the East, what does seem clear is that the cards began their expansion across the European continent from Italy . At least from that country the oldest specimens and testimonies come. From Italy they quickly passed through southern France – or directly through the kingdom of Naples , then belonging to the Aragonese crown – to Catalonia and the rest of the Iberian Peninsula . The playing cards were extended north to France and Germany, giving rise to the national decks of both countries. From France the cards went to England, where the French model would take the form of what is currently known as the English deck. Except in the case of the latter deck, which was physically carried from France to England by French printers and engravers, it seems that the playing cards were transmitted through the news and descriptions of travelers crossing Europe. This explains the emergence of the various European deck models.

Types

Spanish deck

The Spanish deck is unique in the world due to the absence of the queen and the richness of her designs. Its figures are of medieval inspiration and its sticks represent the most important estates of the time, merchants (golds), clergy (cups), nobility (swords) and servants (clubs). It consists of a deck of 48 cards or cards, classified into 4 “suits” and numbered from 1 to 12 (in the 40 card deck, the eights and nines are missing). Certain decks also include 2 jokers. The figures of the Spanish deck corresponding to the numbers 10, 11 and 12, and are called “jack”, “horse” and “king” respectively and, unlike the French deck, are represented in full length. The four suits are: gold, swords, cups and clubs (in their respective ascending order).

German deck

There are two types of deck that can be included under the generic German deck qualification. On the one hand is the deck of 52 cards, a German version of the French and English decks, and on the other the deck of German symbols, which usually consists of 32 or 36 cards. The 52-card deck consists of the well-known four suits of clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades. Each suit is made up of 13 cards: ace (A), two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten, plus the three figures, which are called Bube (B), equivalent to the French Valet and the English Jack; Dame (D), equivalent to the French Dame and the English Queen; and König (K), equivalent to the French Roi and the English King. The drawings of these figures are those that appear more elaborate in the three types of German deck.

Swiss deck

It is an evolution of the German deck that is characterized by the different symbols used to mark the suits. The Swiss deck has the same figures -König, Ober, Unter- and elements as the German deck: flag instead of ten, absence of aces and a special honor role of the twos in the design and in the game. However, the suits in the Swiss deck include shields or blazons instead of hearts, and flowers instead of leaves. Acorns and bells are kept .

French deck

The French deck is the immediate antecedent to the English, that of poker, that is, the most used in the Anglo-Saxon world and a fundamental element in the operation of almost all casino games. It is made up of 52 cards, divided into four suits: hearts, diamonds, spades and clovers. Its history dates back to the 15th century , although theories differ when determining its geographical origin, whether its creation is influenced by the Italian deck (due to the artistic nature of its figures) or the German deck (due to the schematic nature of its suits). ). Poker, blackjack, baccarat, all western games make use of this deck.

As almost always happens, the evolution of the French deck to the English took place by accident: in 1628 , to favor the internal manufacture of playing cards, the importation of the renowned French cards was prohibited; English engravers, less talented than their continental colleagues, opted for simpler strokes. During the following decades, with voracious British colonialism, the English deck became the most used in the entire world.

Name of the figures

Some of the names used are:

Kings: David (King of the Jews), Charlemagne (Emperor of the Holy Empire), Caesar (representing ancient Rome ) and Alexander (representative of classical Greece );
Ladies: Argine (anagram of Regina, by Queen Maria de Anjou, wife of Charles VII), Raquel (biblical character), Palas (Greek goddess of wisdom) and Judit (biblical character);
Valets: Lancelot and d’Ogier, knights of the legendary King Arthur’s Round Table ; Héctor and La Hire , knights of King Carlos VII .

During the Revolution, kings became citizens and were represented by classical characters ( Solon , Plato , Cato , Brutus ) or famous French writers ( Moliere , Voltaire , La Fontaine , Rousseau ); the ladies were personifications of virtues ( Justice , Prudence, Union, Force), and other characters such as Hannibal, Decius, Horace and Scavola replaced the traditional valets. Also during the revolutionary era the figures were replaced by symbolic letters ( law , freedom , providence and equality), by the four seasons of the year or the four elements of the Greeks ( water , fire , air and earth ).

With the post-Napoleonic monarchical restoration, kings (Charlemagne, Saint Louis, Francis I and Henry I ), ladies ( Hildegard , Blanca de Castilla , Margarita de Valois and Juana de Albret ) and valets (Roland, Bayard, Joinville and Crillon) were used again. The literature and politics contributed in the nineteenth century its own iconography, it is possible to find decks figures which were inspired by famous novels like ” The Three Musketeers ” and even a deck where kings are Victor Hugo , Mac Mahon , Thiersand Jules Ferry .

English deck

The English deck is a derivation of the French deck, so like this it consists of 52 cards that are grouped into four suits of 13 cards each: hearts (hearts), spades, diamonds and clovers (clubs). Spades and clubs are black suits, while hearts and diamonds are red suits.

The names of the red sticks are clearly related to the signs that represent them. There is also a correspondence between the Castilian and English names of these suits. However, the English names of the black sticks are somewhat surprising: the clover is called club (stick) and not clover or trefoil, and the pica, represented by a lanceolate leaf, is called spade (shovel) and not pike or throw. The reason perhaps lies in the extraordinary influence that the Spanish game of El Hombre and the suits of the Spanish deck had in England: from “swords” he derived spades (for the pikes) and the English name of the “clubs” (clubs) was used to name the club of clovers. As in the French deck from which it derives,

The name “as” (in English ace) that designates the letter of each suit with a single symbol comes from the Latin name as and from the Greek heis, both denominators of the unit. It should therefore be the lowest card in the deck, however, in most games, it is the top card. The origin of this transposition of values is unknown, which some attribute to the changes that occurred during the war of independence of the United States and the French Revolution, when the people in both countries rebelled against their respective sovereigns. Whether this explanation is correct or not, the truth is that before these historical events occurred, the ace had a higher card value in many games. The drawings of the figures in the English deck are derived from the French model called “de Rouen”. In 1628During the reign of Carlos I, the importation of all kinds of playing cards was prohibited to favor national manufacture. From this prohibition and from the less skill of the English engravers in comparison with the Germans and the French derive the current figures of the English deck, which present more abstract and simplified features. The expansion of the British empire across the globe made the English deck the standard model for playing cards.

In 1712 an obligation was established to print the tax stamp on the ace of spades, which must also include the manufacturer’s name. In 1882 British card manufacturers created the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards, which has since met annually at a banquet in which a master playing card is elected. This teacher presents at the next annual banquet a deck with an allegory of the most important event of the year on its reverse, and his portrait in the ace of spades. Reversible figures appeared around 1850, although they did not begin to be accepted in traditional British clubs until at least ten years later.

Figures

A current English deck can be seen that the king of hearts seems to hide a sword behind his head. Originally, this sword was an ax that it held up in a threatening attitude. The figure of this king wielding the ax caused many to see in it the portrait of King Henry VIII and an allegory of his bloody history; however, the design of the figure predates that king. The four queens hold flowers in their hands, but the one with spades also has a scepter, which seems to be a memory of the original sword. A final peculiarity of the English figures is that the leaves that the Jack of Hearts holds in her right hand derive from the hilt of the sword that she originally held.

Tarot

It is a deck, with which you can play and also allows you to guess the future. The Tarot cards are full of symbols of all kinds. Despite the fact that the Tarot as such is believed to have originated in Italy in the fourteenth century in a card game, it is known to be inspired by similar games, which existed long before: in China in the year 1120 a game of ivory cards and chess ; or in India , a guessing card game.

After Italy it went to France and from there to the rest of Europe . For others the Tarot was introduced in Europe by the gypsies, who came from Central Asia . For a scholar of the subject of the nineteenth century , Oswald Wirth , the Tarot is a work of imagery born in the Middle Ages as a fusion of various symbols and ancient philosophies: the naibis, the numerology , Kabbalah and the symbolism of astrology .

Symbols and meanings

The 52 cards in the deck are said to represent the weeks of the year; the 12 figures, the zodiacal signs ; the 13 cards of each suit, the 13 lunar months, and the four seasons. However, this theory is quite improbable considering that after the elapsed time they should have been affected by mutations in their symbols and shapes. Somewhat more credible is the consideration that the suits of the deck have much more concrete meanings.

In the Spanish Deck of 48 cards, divided into the 4 fourth pointed symbols: Golds would symbolize trade; the Swords , the nobility and the army; the Wands , agriculture or plain state, and the Cups , religion. Each series is twelve cards each, being numbered from one (known as “Ace” to twelve. This last card and the previous two, that is, 11 and 10, are known by the names of King, Horse and Sota respectively.

In the French Deck (also called the American Deck) it is made up of 52 cards, also divided into four suits that are called Pica, Clover, Diamond and Heart. The symbolism of these sticks is in the style of Spanish, since hearts represent the Church; diamonds, as an emblem of wealth, to the aristocracy; clovers symbolize the army and pikes symbolize the workers.

Prohibition

The acceptance and popularity of card games gained so much importance, and were all the rage, to the point that in many nations they were banned. In 1331 , in Spain, the Knights of the Band spent their leisure hours intervening in different card games, it was for this reason that Alfonso XI prohibited them from participating in any type of card game. Later, in 1387 , Juan I issued an ordinance that prohibited the practice of card games, generalizing what had been done by Alfonso XI a few years earlier. But it was not only in Spain, in the year 1397 , in France, the Provost of Paris also prohibited the use of letters.

However, over the years the different rulers began to realize the magnificent business that playing cards could be. This is how, for example, in 1543 , the entry of cards into Spain was prohibited, so that, one more year, the Medina banker was granted exclusivity in the sale of cards and, in the 17th century , imposing a tax known as Rent of Playing Cards.

According to a legend, the cards were an invention of the Chinese, more precisely of the women of the Chinese harems, as an attempt to distract themselves in the face of so much boredom. In 969, a Chinese emperor named Mu-Tsung of the Liao dynasty publicly denounced this practice and blamed it on all the misfortunes of the family. This legend would indicate that the cards stimulated the game. Perhaps it is for that reason, or way of thinking, is that later, over the years, playing cards were banned, to the point that in 1400, card games would be banned in France, Switzerland, Germany and Netherlands.

However, despite the pros and cons of playing cards, as early as the fourteenth century , card games had become the hobby of choice for people around the world. Private clubs, private houses and casinos were incorporating this entertainment that, without a doubt, became the most popular entertainment of all time.

Present

Today the decks have lost all the symbolic power that they were loaded with in previous centuries, and their figures and particularities survive as a witness to a sublanguage that future generations will probably ignore. Although they will continue playing, because playing is the essence of the human being. This has been understood by a multitude of firms, companies and institutions, which in their desire to extend their image in a world marked by advertising and corporate branding, have often opted for the deck of cards as one more item of merchandising.

Most of the time it has been very simple, illustrating the back of the letter with the corresponding bank logo or cigar brand; other times the innovation goes further, creating a whole new design for the deck, adopting novel motifs. Some beautiful example could be used to finish this small hagiography of the card, such as the special series created by the historic Vitorian brand Fournier for soccer teams, the magazine El Jueves or the successful Kukuxumusu.