The king is a playing card with a picture of a king displayed on it. The king is usually the highest-ranking face card. In the French version of playing cards and tarot decks, the king immediately outranks the queen. In Italian and Spanish playing cards, the king immediately outranks the knight. In German and Swiss playing cards, the king immediately outranks the Ober. In some games, the king is the highest-ranked card; in others, the ace is higher. Aces began outranking kings around 1500 with Trappola being the earliest known game in which the aces were highest in all four suits.[1] In the Ace-Ten family of games such as pinochle and schnapsen, both the ace and the 10 rank higher than the king.[2]
French Rouen pattern on the left, Spanish Toledo pattern on the right
The king card is the oldest and most universal court card. It most likely originated in Persian Ganjifeh where kings are depicted as seated on thrones and outranking the viceroy cards which are mounted on horses. Playing cards were transmitted to Italy and Spain via the Mamluks and Moors.[3][4] The best preserved and most complete deck of Mamluk cards, the Topkapı pack, did not display human figures but just listed their rank most likely due to religious prohibition. It is not entirely sure if the Topkapı pack was representative of all Mamluk decks as it was a custom-made luxury item used for display. A fragment of what may be a seated king card was recovered in Egypt which may explain why the poses of court cards in Europe resemble those in Persia and India.[5]
Evolution of the King of Hearts from the Rouennais pattern to the English pattern
Seated kings were generally common throughout Europe. During the 15th century, the Spanish started producing standing kings. The French originally used Spanish cards before developing their regional deck patterns. Many Spanish court designs were simply reused when the French invented their own suit-system around 1480.[5] The English imported their cards from Rouen until the early 17th century when foreign card imports were banned.[6] The king of hearts is sometimes called the "suicide king" because he appears to be sticking his sword into his head. This is a result of centuries of bad copying by English card makers where the king's axe head has disappeared.[7][8]
Starting in the 15th century, French manufacturers assigned to each of the court cards names taken from history or mythology.[9] This practice survives only in the Paris pattern which ousted all its rivals, including the Rouen pattern around 1780.[10][11] The names for the kings in the Paris pattern (portrait officiel) are:[12]
^"Playing Cards - The Unicode Standard, Version 13.0" (PDF). Unicode. 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
April 08, 2023
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King of clubs King of diamonds King of hearts and King of spades redirect here For other uses see King of clubs disambiguation King of diamonds disambiguation King of hearts disambiguation and King of spades disambiguation The king is a playing card with a picture of a king displayed on it The king is usually the highest ranking face card In the French version of playing cards and tarot decks the king immediately outranks the queen In Italian and Spanish playing cards the king immediately outranks the knight In German and Swiss playing cards the king immediately outranks the Ober In some games the king is the highest ranked card in others the ace is higher Aces began outranking kings around 1500 with Trappola being the earliest known game in which the aces were highest in all four suits 1 In the Ace Ten family of games such as pinochle and schnapsen both the ace and the 10 rank higher than the king 2 King cards of all four suits in the English pattern Contents 1 History 2 Example cards 3 In Unicode 4 See also 5 ReferencesHistory Edit French Rouen pattern on the left Spanish Toledo pattern on the right The king card is the oldest and most universal court card It most likely originated in Persian Ganjifeh where kings are depicted as seated on thrones and outranking the viceroy cards which are mounted on horses Playing cards were transmitted to Italy and Spain via the Mamluks and Moors 3 4 The best preserved and most complete deck of Mamluk cards the Topkapi pack did not display human figures but just listed their rank most likely due to religious prohibition It is not entirely sure if the Topkapi pack was representative of all Mamluk decks as it was a custom made luxury item used for display A fragment of what may be a seated king card was recovered in Egypt which may explain why the poses of court cards in Europe resemble those in Persia and India 5 Evolution of the King of Hearts from the Rouennais pattern to the English pattern Seated kings were generally common throughout Europe During the 15th century the Spanish started producing standing kings The French originally used Spanish cards before developing their regional deck patterns Many Spanish court designs were simply reused when the French invented their own suit system around 1480 5 The English imported their cards from Rouen until the early 17th century when foreign card imports were banned 6 The king of hearts is sometimes called the suicide king because he appears to be sticking his sword into his head This is a result of centuries of bad copying by English card makers where the king s axe head has disappeared 7 8 Starting in the 15th century French manufacturers assigned to each of the court cards names taken from history or mythology 9 This practice survives only in the Paris pattern which ousted all its rivals including the Rouen pattern around 1780 10 11 The names for the kings in the Paris pattern portrait officiel are 12 David Charles Cesar Alexandre Most French suited continental European patterns are descended from the Paris pattern but they have dropped the names associated with each card 10 Example cards EditKings from Russian playing cards King of Clubs Russian pattern King of Diamonds Russian pattern King of Hearts Russian pattern King of Spades Russian pattern Industrie und Gluck patternKings from Italian playing cards King of Clubs Bergamo pattern King of Coins Bergamo pattern King of Cups Bergamo pattern King of Swords Bergamo pattern Kings from Spanish playing cards King of Clubs Aluette King of Coins Aluette King of Cups Aluette King of Swords Aluette Catalan pattern Castilian patternKings from German playing cards King of Acorns Saxon pattern King of Bells Saxon pattern King of Hearts Saxon pattern King of Leaves Saxon pattern In Unicode EditThe kings are included in the Playing Cards 13 U 1F0AE KING OF SPADES U 1F0BE KING OF HEARTS U 1F0CE KING OF DIAMONDS U 1F0DE KING OF CLUBSSee also EditList of poker hand nicknamesReferences Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kings playing cards Parlett David 1990 The Oxford Guide to Card Games Oxford Oxford University Press p 252 McLeod John Ace Ten Games at pagat com Retrieved 25 February 2016 Tor Gjerde Mamluk cards ca 1500 old no Wintle Simon Moorish playing cards at World of Playing Cards Retrieved 25 February 2017 a b Dummett Michael 1980 The Game of Tarot London Duckworth pp 10 64 English pattern at the International Playing Card Society Retrieved 25 February 2017 The Rouen Pattern whiteknucklecards com Wintle Simon Suicide King at the World of Playing Cards Retrieved 25 February 2017 The Four King Truth at the Urban Legends Reference Pages Retrieved 25 February 2017 a b Mann Sylvia 1990 All Cards on the Table Leinfelden Jonas Verlag pp 115 124 Pollett Andy France and Belgium at Andy s Playing Cards Retrieved 25 February 2017 Paris and Rouen pattern figures at the International Playing Card Society Retrieved 25 February 2017 Playing Cards The Unicode Standard Version 13 0 PDF Unicode 2020 Retrieved 6 April 2021 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title King playing card amp oldid 1104925228, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
