Court Cards

The deck of cards that we all take for granted has a long history. What you look at in your local cardroom or online is neither standard nor did it always look that way. And now, different countries with their different languages have different-looking decks. The most common in the Western world are the English and French decks.

The most interesting cards in the deck are the facecards, also known as court cards. In both the English and French decks, the figure is duplicated in a continuous image from the middle of the card, so that each half looks the same when viewed from top or bottom.

The French have been designing and manufacturing playing cards since at least the 15th century, when they assigned to each of the court cards names taken from history or mythology. These designs appear somewhat different in the English deck. In the French deck, the facecards had specific meaning, whereas in the English deck, card historians generally accept that they probably do not represent anyone in particular.

The cards used by the English — and later, North Americans — were based on the designs of the French deck, though somewhat different.

Following are the members of the court. In the French deck, the indexes are V, for valet, the French word for jack; D, for dame, French for lady; and R, for roi, French for king.

Jack of clubs — English deck: Figure faces forward, tilted to the right. Holds in his left hand an unrecognizable object that was originally an arrow. A feather sticks out of his hat. French deck: Figure faces forward, tilted slightly to the left, and holds in his left hand something that looks like a shield attached to a string. Known in the French deck as Lancelot, from the famed knight of King Arthur’s Round Table.

Jack of diamonds — English deck: Figure faces forward, tilted to the left. Holds in his left hand a sword. French deck: Figure appears in profile, facing right. Known in the French deck as Hector, probably a classical reference to the hero of the Iliad, although some card historians say that it might represent a brother of Lancelot.

Jack of hearts — English deck: Figure appears in profile, facing left, and holding an axe behind his head. Has a mustache and is one of the two one-eyed jacks. French deck: Figure faces forward, tilted slightly to the left. Known in the French deck as La Hire, which may have come from a knight of the court of King Charles VII of France, Étienne “La Hire” de Vignolles (1390-1443), companion of arms to Joan of Arc.

Jack of spades — English deck: Figure appears in profile, facing right. Holds in his left hand an unrecognizable object that was originally a spear. Has a mustache and is the other of the two one-eyed jacks. French deck: Figure faces forward, tilted slightly to the right, and has a feather in his hat. Known in the French deck as Hogier, who may have been a cousin of Charlemagne, or perhaps Ogier the Dane from the Song of Roland, the oldest surviving major work of French literature, usually dated to the middle of the 12th century.

Queen of clubs — English deck: Figure faces forward, tilted slightly to the left. Holds a flower in her right hand like the other queens. French deck: Figure faces forward, tilted to the right. She is the only queen not holding a flower. Known in the French deck as Argine, which may be an anagram of regina (queen in Latin), or a corruption of Argea, a daughter of King Adrastus of Argos in Greek mythology.

Queen of diamonds — English deck: Figure faces forward, tilted to the right. Holds a flower in her right hand. French deck: Figure faces forward, tilted slightly to the right. A flower grows out of her left shoulder. Known in the French deck as Rachel, which probably comes from Jacob’s second wife in the Bible.

Queen of hearts — English deck: Figure faces forward, tilted slightly to the left. Holds a flower in her left hand. This is the only figure not facing the opposite direction of the French counterpart. French deck: Figure faces forward, tilted to the left. Holds a flower in her right hand. Known in the French deck as Judith, which may come from the Biblical Judith, who helped save the Jews from Assyrian rule by beheading their leader, Holofernes, an invading general of Nebuchadnezzar. The name also may come from Judith, Duchess of Bavaria, who lived in the 10th century.

Queen of spades — English deck: Figure faces forward, tilted to the right. Holds a flower in her right hand and a scepter in her left, the only queen to be holding such. French deck: Figure is seen in profile, facing left. Holds a flower in her right hand. Known in the French deck as Pallas, possibly named after the Greek goddess Athena, also known as Pallas Athene, the virgin patron of Athens.

King of clubs — English deck: Figure faces forward, tilted to the left. Holds a sword in his left hand. French deck: Figure faces forward, tilted slightly to the right, holding in his left hand a scepter with something that looks like a shield attached below it. Known in the French deck as Alexandre, the French spelling of Alexander, which probably comes from Alexander the Great.

King of diamonds — English deck: Figure appears in profile, facing left, with one hand sticking up in front of him, seemingly coming out of his shoulder. An axe appears behind his head. Often known as the one-eyed king, he is one of the three facecards known as the one-eyes. French deck: Figure appears in profile, facing right, with no distinguishing attribute, and no visible hands. Known in the French deck as César, which is the French representation of Caesar, and which likely came from Julius Caesar.

King of hearts — English deck: Figure faces forward, tilted slightly to the right, and holds a sword. Unlike the other kings, he does not have a mustache (and thus is sometimes known as the king without a mustache). He appears to be sticking the sword into his head, whence originates his sobriquet the suicide king. French deck: Figure faces forward, tilted slightly to the right, and holds a sword. The face has a full mustache. Known in the French deck as Charles, which may come from Charlemagne, or King Charles VII of France.

King of spades — English deck: Figure faces forward, tilted to the right. Holds a sword in his left hand. French deck: Figure faces forward, tilted slightly to the left, and holds a scepter, while a harp (King David’s instrument) appears below his scepter. Known in the French deck as David, which probably comes from the Biblical King David.

Michael Wiesenberg has been a columnist for Card Player since 1988. He has written or edited many books about poker, and has also written extensively about computers. His crossword puzzles are syndicated in newspapers and appear online. Send responses, ripostes, recommendations, and reproaches to [email protected].