The Evolution Of A Deck Of Cards: Suits
Cards, known as Saracen cards, were introduced to Europe in the second half of the 14th century. The people in more rural areas, having survived the “Black Death” were moving to the cities. Here they began a class of merchants and artisans who became middle class urbanities. Coming out of the dark ages with its superstition, ignorance and poverty, guilds and universities made a reappearance, scientific experimentation was once again allowed and thrived, and the populace now had time for leisure and play.
During the early Renaissance, books, cards, and paintings were manufactured by hand. A community of art and science appreciators formed and became the primary factor in the spread of card games across Italy. By late–th century many illustrated card-manual manuscripts had appeared in a number of key cities in several countries, including Viterbo near Rome in Italy, in Paris, and in Barcelona. Thanks to traveling artists and scholars, the popularity of the game steadily grew: in the early 15th century a single craftsman sufficed to satisfy the card requirements of a city; but by mid century there was need in multiple fulltime shops.
Card manuscripts were not loved by everyone. Indeed many were threatened by this foreign entertainment and saw it as a force to promote gambling and as an immoral and counter cultural product of the devil. At the time of the protestant Reformation, the cards were referred to as “Devil Pictures.”
In spite of or because of this, the popularity of cards persisted. Even Mary, Queen of Scots was a major bettor and enjoyed the game, shockingly, even on Sunday. The compleat Gamester was published in the late 17th century in London, relating details of more than a dozen games and their basic strategies. Particular facilities – casini – were established in Venice for aristocrats and courtesans especially for card games. From these Venice casini, a game called primero found its way all over Europe and was transformed into poker some time later.
In time, women as well as men, farmers and merchants as well as courtesans and nobles were able to enter the games and found symbols of themselves represented in the cards. A Swedish deck that became very much the rage, was comprised of these suits in order of ranking: sun, king, queen, knight, dame, valet and maid. Those ribald Florentines played with cards that pictured nude dames and dancers, with the dancers being the low suit.
The design and number of cards in a deck was not uniform at the time, varying from 36 to 40 or 52 cards. Popular suits were symbols of wealth, victuals, military security, and popular court sports: coins, cups, sabers, and clubs. Already in the 15ht century signs familiar to us were used in France: in red, Coeurs (hearts) symbolized the church, and carreaux (a rectangle floor tile) symbolized the merchant class; in black, piques (spear and arrow heads) standing for state authority, and trefles (trefoil clover leaf) symbolizing farmers. At some point, a daring artisan substituted the precedent vice-royals with queens.
Eventually a deck of cards made it to the form that we all recognize and understand today. 52 cards of- different ranks make up 4 different suits. Clubs, Spades, Diamonds and Hearts make up the suits, while Ace, King, Queen, and Jack make up the card ranks rounded out by ten through two.
The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Rakeback at Aced Poker and Rakeback at NoiQ Poker.
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