CHAPTER IV.

OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF CARDS AND THE MARKS OF THE SUITS.

Having in the preceding chapters endeavoured to trace the origin of Playing Cards, and to show their progress from the time of their first introduction into Europe, I shall now proceed to give collectively some account of the different kinds of cards, of the various marks that have been employed to distinguish the suits, and of the changes that they have undergone at different periods.

Most authors who have expressly written on the subject, agree in distinguishing two kinds of cards, namely, those which they call Tarocchi, or Tarots; and those, consisting of four suits, which are in common use throughout Europe. It is a subject of dispute, among the learned in these matters, which of those two kinds are of the greatest antiquity; Court de Gebelin considers that Tarocchi cards were known to the ancient Egyptians;[220] and Mons. Duchesne is pleased to assume that certain so-called Tarocchi Cards, preserved in the Bibliothèque du Roi, belonged to one of the three packs painted for Charles VI, by Jacquemin Gringonneur, in 1393. Mons. Duchesne is also of opinion that these cards were the same as those which were formerly called Naibi in Italy; and in support of it, he alleges several authorities, which seem to him to be decisive of the fact, but which really prove nothing more than that Chartæ and Naibi were synonymous.[221] He produces no evidence to show that the series of painted and engraved figures, now usually called Tarocchi, were originally known either by that name, or by that of cards; while from a passage cited by Mons. Leber, from Raphael Volaterranus, it would appear that Tarocchi Cards, properly so called, were not invented till towards the close of the fifteenth century; and from the same author we learn that a pack of such cards consisted of the four suits of common cards, together with twenty-two symbolical figures, similar to those which are assumed by Mons. Duchesne to have been the original Tarocchi. Tarocchi cards--called Tarots by the French--are still used in several parts of France, Germany, and Italy; and an account of the manner of playing the game is to be found in the edition of the 'Académie des Jeux,' published by Corbet, Paris, 1814.

Mons. Duchesne calls this game Tarocchino, and distinguishes it from that played with the old series of figures, which he supposes to have been the original Tarocchi; but so far from there being any evidence to show that these figures were at their first introduction known either by the name of Tarocchi or of Cards, there seems greater reason to conclude that they have only obtained this name in comparatively recent times, in consequence of some of them being used in combination with common cards, at a game called Tarocchi, which was also the name given to the cards with which it was played. The earliest writers who mention Tarocchi as a kind of cards, always speak of them as consisting of four suits,--Swords, Cups, Batons, and Money,--together with a certain number of other cards, representing various characters and emblematical figures.

A pack of Tarots,[222] as at present used in France, corresponds in every particular with those called Tarocchi by writers of the sixteenth century. It consists of seventy-eight cards; that is, of four suits of numeral cards, and twenty-two emblematic cards, called Atous.[223] The marks of the suits are usually Swords, Cups, Batons, and Money; and each suit consists of fourteen cards, ten of which are "pips" or low cards, and the other four are coat cards,--namely, King, Queen, Chevalier, and Valet. Of the Atous, twenty-one are numbered consecutively from 1 to 21; that which is not numbered is called the Fou,--the Clown or Buffoon,--and in playing the game is usually designated "Mat." The Fou has of itself no positive value, but augments that of any of the other Atous to which it may be joined. The other Atous are numbered and named as follows:

1. The Bateleur, or Juggler; called also Pagad. 2. Juno. 3. The Empress.[224] 4. The Emperor. 5. Jupiter. 6. L'Amoureux. 7. The Chariot. 8. Justice. 9. The Capuchin, called also the Hermit. 10. The Wheel of Fortune. 11. Fortitude. 12. Le Pendu--a man suspended, head downwards, by one leg. 13. Death. 14. Temperance. 15. The Devil. 16. The Maison-Dieu, or Hospital--a tower struck by lightning. 17. The Stars. 18. The Moon. 19. The Sun. 20. The Last Judgment. 21. The End of the World.--Of these the first five are called _petits atous_, and the last five _grands atous_. Seven cards are also especially distinguished as Tarots, or Atous-tarots; these are the End of the World, the Buffoon, the Bateleur, and the four Kings.[225]

According to Cicognara,[226] the inventor of the game of Tarocchino,--or Tarots, as above described,--was an Italian, who resided at Bologna, prior to the year 1419; and the account which he gives is to the following effect: "There is preserved in the Fibbia family, one of the most ancient and illustrious of that city, a portrait of Francis Fibbia, Prince of Pisa,--who sought refuge at Bologna, about the commencement of the fifteenth century,--in which he is represented holding in his right hand a parcel of cards, while others appear lying on the ground; among the latter are seen the Queen of Batons, and the Queen of Money, the one being ornamented with the arms of the Bentivoglio family, and the other with the arms of the Fibbia. An inscription at the bottom of the picture informs us that Francis Fibbia, who died in 1419, had obtained, as the inventor of Tarocchino, from the _Reformers_ of the city, the privilege of placing his own shield of arms on the Queen of Batons, and that of his wife, who was of the Bentivoglio family, on the Queen of Money; "a distinction," observes Mons. Duchesne, "which nevertheless does not exclude the supposition that Francis Fibbia, Commander-in-chief of the Bolognese forces, had rendered more important services to his countrymen than teaching them to play at Tarocchino."

Supposing Cicognara's account to be correct, it yet proves nothing with respect to the comparative antiquity of the two kinds of cards which compose the pack for the game of Tarocchino, or Tarots. Mons. Duchesne, however, having assumed that the old series of emblematic figures called Tarocchi cards were the oldest, sees no difficulty in the matter, but unhesitatingly concurs with Cicognara in ascribing the invention of Tarocchino to Francis Fibbia, without inquiring whether Fibbia had merely combined into one pack two kinds of cards already well known, or whether he was the first deviser of the four suits which constitute the most important portion of the pack, and which give to the game all its spirit. Seeing that Fibbia was honoured for his invention by the _Reforming_ magistracy of Bologna,--where both card-playing and the manufacture of cards appear to have been pretty extensively carried on about 1423,--the most probable conclusion would be, that he had deserved well in their opinion, not from having converted by new combinations a previously innocent and amusing game into a hazardous and exciting one, but in consequence of his having shuffled a few moral Tarocchi into the old pack of numeral cards of four suits, whether of Swords, Cups, Batons, and Money, or of Bells, Hearts, Leaves, and Acorns. In support of this conclusion, it may further be observed, that though the manufacture of cards was extensively carried on both in Italy and Germany, before the year 1450, no so-called Tarocchi cards of that period have been discovered which can fairly be supposed to have been intended, either from their size or execution, for the common purposes of play; while, on the contrary, there are in existence several specimens of numeral cards of four suits, either stencilled or engraved on wood, and evidently of a cheap manufacture, for common use, of a date not later than 1450.

The kind of game for which the emblematic figures usually called Tarocchi cards were used, remains to be discovered. Mons. Duchesne has, indeed, hazarded a conjecture on the subject, which is equally incapable of refutation or of proof. "The number of players," he says, "necessary to form a party, would scarcely be limited to two, and probably might vary from three to twelve, or rather from three to eight; and the manner of playing might simply consist in the appropriate laying down of such of the figures as, according to an order agreed upon, might belong to the suit of the card first played. The holder of certain privileged cards would have doubtless some additional advantage; and we may further suppose that each player being obliged, in turn, to lay down a card drawn at random, striking contrasts resulting from unexpected combinations would afford a subject of amusement. This supposition would seem to agree with the subject of a book entitled 'Les Cartes Parlantes,'[227] printed at Venice, in 1545; each card there has conferred on it an interpretation or allusion, more or less ingenious, applicable to the figure which it represents: thus the Pope represents fidelity in the game and sincerity in the player; the Emperor, the laws of the game; the Valets, the service attached to the game; the Swords, the death of despairing gamesters; the Batons, the punishment of those who cheat; Money, the sustenance of play; and the Cups, the drink over which the players settle their disputes." Mons. Duchesne's conjecture can scarcely be said to be supported by the conceits of Aretine; who, moreover, in the whole course of his book, speaks of cards as a hazardous, exciting game, at which both money and credit might be lost; while Mons. Duchesne asserts that the game played with Tarocchi was merely one of amusement, originally devised to instruct children under the semblance of play.

The earliest known specimens of what are called Tarocchi cards are those preserved in the Bibliothèque du Roi, at Paris, and which are supposed by Mons. Duchesne to have formed a portion of one of the three packs painted for the amusement of Charles VI, in 1393.[228] They formerly belonged to Mons. de Gaignières, who had been governor to the grandchildren of Louis XIV, and who bequeathed them, together with his entire collection of prints and drawings, to the king, in 1711. Those cards appear to have been seen in the possession of Mons. de Gaignières by the Abbé de Longuerue;[229] and also by Dr. Martin Lister, who thus mentions them in his account of his journey to Paris, in 1698: "I waited upon the Abbot Droine to visit Mons. Guanieres [de Gaignières] at his lodgings in the Hostel de Guise. One toy I took notice of, which was a collection of playing cards for 300 years. The oldest were three times bigger than what are now used, extremely well limned and illuminated with gilt borders, and the pasteboard thick and firm; but there was not a complete set of them."

The following particulars respecting those cards are chiefly derived from Mons. Duchesne's description of them in his 'Observations sur les Cartes à jouer,' published in the 'Annuaire Historique' for the year 1837. There are seventeen of them, and there can scarcely be a doubt of their having formed part of a set of what are called Tarocchi cards, which, when complete, consisted of fifty. They are painted on paper, in the manner of illuminations in old manuscripts, on a gold ground, which is in other parts marked with ornamental lines, formed by means of points slightly pricked into the composition upon which the gilding is laid. They are surrounded by a border of silver gilding, in which there is also seen an ornament, formed in the same manner, by means of points, representing a kind of scroll or twisted riband. Some parts of the embroidery on the vestments of the different figures are heightened with gold, while the weapons and armour are covered with silver, which, like that on the borders, has for the most part become oxydized through time. There is no inscription, letter, nor number, to indicate the manner in which they were to be arranged. Mons. Leber agrees with Mons. Duchesne in ascribing them to a French artist of the time of Charles VI, and even seems inclined to conclude that they might have been intended for the amusement of that lunatic king. Looking at those cards, however, as they appear in the fac-similes published by the Society of Bibliophiles Français, I should rather take them to be the work of an Italian artist, and be inclined to conclude, as well from the general style of the drawing as from the costume, that they were not of an earlier date than 1425.

The following is Mons. Duchesne's enumeration of the seventeen cards which he supposes to have been executed by Gringonneur: the names in capitals are those which occur in a series of so-called Italian Tarocchi cards, with which he considers them to correspond.

1. _Le Fou_--the Buffoon. This figure is found in the Tarots of the present day, and is perhaps the same character as that which in the series of old Italian engraving--called Tarocchi cards--is inscribed MISERO I.

2. _L'Ecuyer_--the Squire. CHEVALIER VI.

3. _L'Empereur_--the Emperor. IMPERATOR VIIII.

4. _Le Pape_--the Pope. PAPA X.

5. _Les Amoureux_--the Lovers. Young men and women courting, while two winged Cupids are discharging arrows at them. Mons. Duchesne gravely queries whether this subject does not represent Apollo and Diana killing the children of Niobe, and whether it ought not to be considered as corresponding with APOLLO XX. It has, however, as little relation to the story of Niobe as it has to Apollo, as figured in the engraving referred to.

6. _La Fortune_--Fortune. This figure, standing on a circle which represents the world, holds a globe in one hand, and in the other a sceptre. Mons. Duchesne considers that it corresponds with that named ASTROLOGIA, in the series of Italian engravings, and there erroneously numbered XXXVIIII, instead of XXVIIII.--Bartsch, it seems had not observed this error.

7. _La Tempérance_--Temperance. TEMPERANCIA XXXIIII.

8. _La Force_--Fortitude. FORTEZZA XXXVI.

9. _La Justice_--Justice. JUSTICIA XXXVII.

10. _La Lune_--the Moon. LUNA XXXXI.

11. _Le Soleil_--the Sun. SOL XXXXIIII.

12. _Le Char_--the Chariot. The subject here is a figure in armour, standing on a kind of triumphal car, and having in his right hand a battle-axe. Mons. Duchesne says that this subject certainly corresponds with MARTE XXXXV.

13. _L'Ermite_--the Hermit. This figure is supposed to correspond with that named SATURNO XXXXVII.

The four following subjects have no corresponding figures in the series of old Italian engravings, supposed by Mons. Duchesne and others to be Tarocchi cards: they are, however, to be found among the "Atous" of the modern game of Tarots.

14. _Le Pendu_--A man hanging from one leg, head downwards. Court de Gebelin, speaking of this figure as it is seen in a modern pack of Tarots, conjectures, with his usual absurdity, that the card-maker had erroneously represented it upside down. On turning it the contrary way, he sees in it an emblem of Prudence,--to wit, a man standing upon one foot, and sagely deliberating where he has to place the other.--The figure of Le Pendu, even when thus viewed, is much more like a capering opera-dancer, than a prudent philosopher cautiously picking his steps; and bears not the slightest resemblance to the figure of Prudence, in the series of old engravings, called Tarocchi cards.

15. _La Mort_--Death.

16. _La Maison-Dieu_--The Hospital. A tower struck by lightning.

17. _Le Jugement dernier_--The last Judgment.

[Illustration: Old Painted Cards ascribed to Gringonneur.--'La Justice.' (p. 198)]

[Illustration: Old Painted Cards ascribed to Gringonneur.--'La Lune.' (p. 198.)]

These seventeen subjects, engraved in lithography, and carefully coloured by hand after the original drawings, are given in the 'Jeux de Cartes Tarots et de Cartes Numérales,' published by the Society of Bibliophiles Français, 1844. The two annexed cuts will afford some idea of the style of the drawing, and of the manner in which the ornaments are pricked into the gold ground. They are of the same size as the originals; the one is that named Justice, No. 9, and the other that named La Lune, No. 10, in the preceding enumeration. It may be here observed that the latter is totally different from that named LUNA XXXXI, in the series of old Italian engravings, with which it is supposed by Mons. Duchesne to correspond: the only figure common to both is that of a crescent moon. The drawing indeed seems to be an emblem of Astrology, which, in the Italian engravings, is represented by a winged female figure, having on her head a crown of stars, and holding in her left hand a book, and in her right a divining rod.

The complete series of old Italian engravings, known to collectors of prints by the name of Tarocchi cards, consists of fifty pieces, divided into five classes distinguished by the first five letters of the alphabet, A, B, C, D, E, but numbered consecutively from 1 to 50, commencing with the class marked E. At the foot of each subject is engraved its name; together with the letter of its class, and its number, which is given both in Roman and Arabic numerals,--the Roman being placed immediately after the name, and the Arabic on the extreme right. The distinctive letter of the class is on the left. Zani[230] has conjectured that the letters might have been intended for abbreviations of Atutto, Battoni, Coppe, Denari, and Espadone,--Atous, Batons, Cups, Money, and Swords. _Spadone_, however, and not _Espadone_, is the proper Italian name for swords; but as the names are in the Venetian dialect, Mons. Duchesne appears inclined to allow that the form _Espadone_ might have been admitted into it at that period. That the letters, however, had no such meaning, and that they were merely used to mark the order of each class, seems to be proved by the fact that in another set of the same subjects, executed about the same period, the numeral 5 is substituted for the letter E. Even if Zani's supposition were correct, it would only strengthen the conclusion that those so-called Tarocchi cards originated in an attempt to recombine, under new emblems, the principles of an old game which had acquired a disreputable character. Whatever the game might have been, it has long become obsolete; and the only reason for supposing it to have been cognate with that of cards, is grounded on the fact that a certain number of the characters of those so-called Tarocchi cards occur as Atous in the pack of Tarocchi or Tarots, previously described.

Of those old Italian engravings there are two series known to amateurs, agreeing in the subjects, but differing in their style of execution; though it is evident that the one has been copied from the other.[231] In one of them, which is considered by Bartsch to be the earliest, the date 1485 is inscribed on a tablet in the hands of the figure named Arithmeticha XXV.[232] In the other series, which is by much the best engraved, and is certainly the earliest, there is no date; and the figure which there represents Arithmetic, appears to be counting money. This series Mons. Duchesne thinks was executed about 1470; and some writers have supposed that the subjects were engraved by Tomaso Finiguerra. Zani, however, is inclined to believe that they were engraved at Padua; while Otley ascribes them to a Florentine artist. Seeing, however, that the names are in the Venetian dialect, and that authorities on the subject of old Italian engraving disagree with respect to them, I am inclined to suppose, without any regard to their style of execution, that they were either engraved by a Venetian artist, or for the Venetian market. It has also been supposed, but erroneously, that they were designed by Andrea Mantegna, to whom a number of other things of a similar kind have, with equal probability, been ascribed; and amongst the dealers in old engravings, at Paris, they are commonly known as Cartes de Baldini. Both the originals and the copies are of great rarity; and though several single subjects are to be found in the possession of amateurs, it is questionable if there be more than four collections in Europe, whether private or national, that have either the one series or the other complete. In the British Museum there is a complete series of the originals, and also forty-five of the copies; the five pieces wanting in the latter are: MISERO I, FAMEIO II, IMPERADOR VIIII, PRIMO MOBILE XXXXVIIII, and PRIMA CAUSA XXXXX. There is also a complete series of the originals, in the 'Bibliothèque du Roi;' and copies of them are given in the 'Jeux de Cartes Tarots et de Cartes Numérales,' published by the Society of Bibliophiles Français. Fac-similes of two,--PAPA X and RHETORICA XXIII,--are also given by Singer in his 'Researches into the History of Playing Cards.' From their size--about nine inches and three quarters high, by about four inches wide,--as well as from other circumstances, Mr. Singer considers that they were not intended for any game analogous to that of cards, properly so called. Mons. Leber considers them to have been merely "Cartes de Fantaisie," and observes that subjects so delicately engraved on copper, when the invention of the art was still recent, could scarcely have been intended to receive the colouring required for the completion of a pack of cards.[233] It, however, may be observed that colour is not essential to a pack of playing cards; and that several packs of cards of four suits, evidently intended for play, without being coloured, were delicately engraved on copper, before the end of the fifteenth century.

Even Mons. Duchesne, while contending that those fifty old engravings were really Tarocchi cards, admits that they bear no relation to any games played with numeral cards, which, according to the number of players, and the regulations of each game, always consist of a number which is divisible by four; for instance, 20 for Bouillotte; 28 for Brelan; 32 for Piquet, and several other games; 36 for Trappola; 40 for Ombre; 48 for Reversis; 52 for Lansquenet, and several other games; 96 for Comet; 104 for Lottery; 312 for Trente-et-un; and 78 for Tarots. "The ancient Tarocchi cards," he says, "have not then been intended for games of calculation [jeux mathématiques], but solely for an instructive game. In this game, consisting of five classes, we find the seven planets, representing the celestial system; the seven virtues which constitute the basis of all morality; the sciences, which man alone is capable of acquiring, and the knowledge of which raises him above all other animals; the Muses, whose cultivation yields so many charms to life; finally, several of the conditions of life in which man may be placed, from misery, the most painful of all, to that of the most elevated, the Sovereign Pontificate."[234] A complete series of those old engravings consists of fifty pieces, as has been previously observed, named and numbered as follows:

[CLASS E.--_The Conditions of Life._]

E MISERO I 1 E FAMEIO II 2 E ARTIXAN III 3 E MERCHADANTE IIII 4 E ZINTILOMO V 5 E CHAVALIER VI 6 E DOXE VII 7 E RE VIII 8 E IMPERATOR VIIII 9 E PAPA X 10

[CLASS D.--_The Muses._]

D CALIOPE XI 11 D URANIA XII 12 D TERPSICORE XIII 13 D ERATO XIIII 14 D POLIMNIA XV 15 D TALIA XVI 16 D MELPOMENE XVII 17 D EUTERPE XVIII 18 D CLIO XVIIII 19 D APOLLO XX 20

[CLASS C.--_The Sciences._]

C GRAMMATICA XXI 21 C LOICA XXII 22 C RHETORICA XXIII 23 C GEOMETRIA XXIIII 24 C ARITHMETICHA XXV 25 C MUSICHA XXVI 26 C POESIA XXVII 27 C PHILOSOFIA XXVIII 28 C ASTROLOGIA XXXVIIII[235]39 C THEOLOGIA XXX 30

[Class B.--_The Virtues._]

B ILIACO XXXI 31 B CHRONICO XXXII 32 B COSMICO XXXIII 33 B TEMPERANCIA XXXIIII 34 B PRVDENCIA XXXV 35 B FORTEZA XXXVI 36 B JUSTICIA XXXVII 37 B CHARITA XXXVIII 38 B SPERANZA XXXVIIII 39 B FEDE XXXX 40

[Class A.--_The Celestial System._]

A LUNA XXXXI 41 A MERCURIO XXXXII 42 A VENUS XXXXIII 43 A SOL XXXXIIII 44 A MARTE XXXXV 45 A JUPITER XXXXVI 46 A SATURNO XXXXVII 47 A OCTAVA SPERA XXXXVIII 48 A PRIMO MOBILE XXXXVIIII 49 A PRIMA CAUSA XXXXX 50

Having now given such an account of the so-called Tarocchi cards, as may enable the reader to determine for himself, both with respect to their original use, and their relation to playing cards proper, I shall now proceed to notice some of the principal varieties of numeral cards; that is, of cards consisting of four suits, and each suit containing a certain number of coat cards, together with eight or ten lower cards, having their numeral value designated by the marks of the suit to which they belong.

The oldest specimens of undoubted playing cards are either stencilled, or engraved on wood; and of a date which, looking at the style of their execution, the drawing, and the costume of the figures, cannot fairly be supposed to be later than 1440. Amongst the earliest are the stencilled cards preserved in the print-room of the British Museum, and previously described at page 89. In these the coat cards appear to have been a King, a Chevalier, and a Fante, Footman, or Knave; without any Queen. The marks of three of the suits are Hearts, Bells, and Acorns; the mark of the fourth suit does not occur,--as the specimens preserved are far short of a complete pack,--but it is highly probable that it was Leaves, called Grün by the Germans, as in the old pack formerly belonging to Dr. Stukeley, and described by Mr. Gough, in the eighth volume of the 'Archæologia.'

The cards formerly belonging to Dr. Stukeley were given to him by Thomas Rawlinson, Esq.[236] They were found in the cover of an old book,--supposed to be an edition of Claudian, printed before the year 1500,--and one or two leaves of an edition of the Adagia of Erasmus were interspersed between the layers of the cards, thus forming a kind of pasteboard. The marks of the suits are Hearts, Bells, Leaves, and Acorns; and the coat cards are the King, Chevalier, and Knave. The numeral value of the lower cards, from the Deuce to the Ten, is indicated by a repetition of the marks of the suits, as in modern cards. As there is no Ace, this pack, supposing it to be complete, would consist of forty-eight cards. These cards are rudely coloured, and of smaller size than those in the British Museum. On the Deuce of every suit is a shield, displaying what is supposed to be the card-maker's arms, namely, a kind of pick-axe, with one of the ends blunt like a hammer, and a mallet, in saltire. Fac-similes of Dr. Stukeley's cards are given in Singer's Researches.

As the distinctive marks of the suits on the oldest cards in existence are Hearts, Bells, Leaves, and Acorns, it may reasonably be supposed that these marks were used at as early a period as any of the others which occur on cards of a later date, but yet executed before the close of the fifteenth century. Next to these in point of antiquity, and perhaps of as early a date, are Swords, Cups, Batons, and Money, which would appear to have been the most common marks on early Italian cards, and to have been almost exclusively adopted in Spain. For the sake of distinction, in future, cards with these marks will be referred to as Spanish cards, as in Spain the suits are still distinguished by Swords, Cups, Batons, and Money; while cards having Hearts, Bells, Leaves, and Acorns, will be referred to as German cards, as such appear to have been the kind most generally used in Germany. Of the marks on what were more particularly called "French cards," in the sixteenth century,--Cœur, Trèfle, Pique, and Carreau, or as we call them, Hearts, Clubs, Spades, and Diamonds,--two of them at least, the Cœur and the Pique, are evidently derived from the Heart and the Leaf of the earlier pack, while there is good reason to believe that the form of the Trèfle was copied from that of the Acorn.[237]

The mark now called the _Trèfle_, in France, was formerly known as the Fleur. Peignot, referring to a poem entitled "La Magdaleine au Désert de la Sainte-Baume en Provence," printed at Lyons, in 1668, says: "We learn from this poem that, in 1668, the word _Trèfle_ was not yet in use, as the designation of one of the suits of cards; that suit was then called _Fleurs_. The Valets were also then termed _Fous_."

The type of the Carreau, or Diamond, is not to be found in any of the marks of the other two packs above noticed. In the time of Pietro Aretine, the suits of French cards appear to have been known in Italy by the names of Cori, Quadri, Fiori, and Cappari,[238] as we learn from his 'Carte Parlanti,' first printed in 1545, in which a Paduan card-maker holds a long dialogue, moral and entertaining, with his cards:

"_Paduan._ As French cards are used in Italy, tell me, I pray, what, amongst that people, may be the signification of Capers? [Cappari.]

_Cards._ Their piquancy whets the appetite of tavern-haunters.

_Paduan._ And the Diamonds? [Quadri.]

_Cards._ The firmness of the player.

_Paduan._ And the Hearts? [Cori.]

_Cards._ Inclination to cheat in play.

_Paduan._ And the Flowers? [Fiori.]

_Cards._ The pleasure of saying a good thing."[239]

The invention of cards with these marks, and having a Queen for the second coat card, instead of a male figure, as in the Spanish and German cards, has been claimed by the French; and this substitution has been considered by some French writers as peculiarly characteristic of the gallantry of their nation. The French also appear to have been the first who gave to their coat cards the names of historical personages. From those names, and the marks of the suits, Père Daniel has been enabled to discover the origin and meaning of the game of Piquet, which he supposes to have been devised about 1430, in the reign of Charles VII; admitting, however, that Playing Cards of another kind were of a much earlier date, but yet considering even these to have been of French invention.

In the time of Père Daniel, the coat cards were named as follows:

SUIT. KINGS. QUEENS. VALETS.

CŒUR. _CHARLEMAGNE._ _JUDITH._ _LA HIRE._ CARREAU. _CÆSAR._ _RACHEL._ _HECTOR._ TREFLE. _ALEXANDER._ _ARGINE._ _LANCELOT._[240] PIQUE. _DAVID._ _PALLAS._ _HOGIER._

These names, which appear to have been given to the French coat cards, at an early period, were not uniformly retained; in the time of Henry IV, the Kings were Solomon, Augustus, Clovis, and Constantine; and the Queens, Elizabeth, Dido, Clotilde, and "Pantalisea;" while the Valets had no proper names, but were merely designated from their office, and all the characters appeared in the costume of the period. In the reign of Louis XIV, however, the former names and an antique costume were restored.

According to Père Daniel's reading of the cards, which is of the same ingenious character as that of the soldier who is said to have used his pack as a Manual of Devotions,[241] the Ace is the Latin As, a piece of money, which also signifies wealth; and as money is the sinews of war, the Ace has for this reason the precedence at Piquet. The Trèfle, or clover plant, which abounds in the meadows of France, denotes that a general ought always to encamp his army in a place where he may obtain forage for his cavalry. Piques and Carreaux signify magazines of arms, which ought always to be well stored. The Carreaux were a kind of heavy arrows which were shot from a crossbow, and which were so called from their heads being squared [carré]. Cœurs,--Hearts,--signified the courage of the commanders and the soldiers.

David, Alexander, Cæsar, and Charlemagne are at the head of the four suits at Piquet, because troops, however brave and numerous, yet require prudent and experienced leaders. The Queens are, Argine, for Trèfle; Rachel, for Carreau; Pallas, for Pique; and Judith, for Cœur. In Argine, Père Daniel finds the anagram of Regina, and having made this capital discovery, he is enabled to determine that this Queen was Mary of Anjou, wife of Charles VII. Rachel represents the fair Agnes Sorel, mistress of Charles VII; and the chaste and warlike Pallas is but an emblem of Joan of Arc. Judith is not the Jewish heroine who cut off the head of Holofernes, but the Empress Judith, wife of Louis le Debonnaire; but even this Judith is merely a representative of Isabel of Bavaria, wife of Charles VI. In David he sees a typification of Charles VII, in consequence of a conformity in their destinies: David, after having been long persecuted by Saul, his father-in-law, at length obtained the crown; but, in the midst of his prosperity, was troubled with the revolt of his son Absalom: and Charles VII, after having been disinherited and proscribed by his father Charles VI,--or rather by Isabel of Bavaria,--gloriously reconquered his kingdom; but the latter years of his life were rendered unhappy by the restless spirit and wicked character of his son, Louis XI.

In his account of the Valets, Père Daniel is not so imaginative as in the explication of the double and triple characters which he sees represented by the Kings and Queens. La Hire is the famous Stephen de Vignoles, surnamed La Hire, a devoted adherent of Charles VII; while Hector is supposed to be intended for Hector de Galard, another famous captain of the same period. Hogier and Lancelot are allowed to pass simply in their own proper characters, as heroes of romance.[242]

It would appear to be the opinion of Mons. Duchesne, that the oldest French Piquet cards that have been discovered, are those formerly belonging to a Mons. Henin, who found them in the cover of an old book. Mons. Henin having disposed of them to Messrs. Colnaghi, the well-known printsellers, of London, they were purchased of the latter for the Bibliothèque du Roi. They are engraved on wood, and coloured; and in the table of contents prefixed to the 'Jeux de Tarots et de Cartes Numérales,' it is asserted they were executed about 1425.[243] But whatever may be their date, they are not, in my opinion, of so early a period as either the old uncoloured cards, preserved in the British Museum, previously described at page 88; or as those formerly belonging to Dr. Stukeley. I indeed question much if they be really older than the coloured French cards, the four Valets, now in the British Museum, and of which some account will be found in a subsequent page.

The old French cards in question have the outlines printed in pale ink, and the colours appear to have been applied by means of a stencil. There are ten of them, all impressed on one piece of paper; and they are placed in two rows, of five each, in the following order:

VALET, KING and QUEEN of _Trèfle_. KING and QUEEN of _Carreau_. VALET, QUEEN and KING of _Pique_. QUEEN and KING of _Cœur_.

On each of those cards, except the King of Cœur, there is an inscription in Gothic letters. On the Valet of Trèfle is the name ROLAN, while the King is named FAUT-SOU,--Penniless; and the Queen, TROMPERIE,--Deceit. The King of Carreau bears the name COURSUBE, which in old romances is the name given to a Saracen King; and on the Queen of Carreau is the inscription _En toi te fie_,--Trust to thyself; "that is," says Mons. Duchesne, "ne te fie qu'en toi,--trust to thyself only. The Valet of Pique bears an inscription which Mons. Duchesne reads _ctarde_, and of which he says he can make nothing. On the Queen of Pique is an inscription which appears to Mons. Duchesne to be _te aut dict_, but the meaning of which he cannot divine. Mons. Leber, however, reads it _Léauté due_,--leal homage; and so gives it, in unmistakable characters, in the copy of this card, in his 'Etudes Historiques.' The King of Pique bears the name of APOLLIN, which is the name given to a Saracen idol in old romances. The inscription on the Queen of Cœur is _la foy et pdu_--la foi est perdue,--faith is lost.

It is supposed that there was also an inscription on the King of Cœur, but that it has been cut off, as this card is deficient in its due proportions.[244] The annexed four cards, executed in their proper colours, are copied from those given by Mons. Leber in his 'Etudes Historiques.' The whole ten are given in the 'Jeux de Tarots et de Jeux Numérales,' published by the Society of Bibliophiles Français.

Mons. Leber considers that the names Coursube and Apollin, which occur on these cards, corroborate his opinion that cards were of Eastern origin, and introduced into Europe by the Saracens, or Arabs.[245] Though agreeing with Mons. Leber, in the opinion that cards are of Eastern origin, I cannot yet see how this opinion is confirmed by two names, which, as designating a Moorish king, and a Mahometan idol, appear to have been merely the invention of a French romance writer, and to have been capriciously bestowed upon a King of Diamonds and a King of Hearts by an old French card-maker. The supposition, indeed, that figures with these names were to be found on old Arabic cards is most preposterous; there is not a shadow of evidence to show that any characters, whether real or imaginary, were ever popularly known by these names, amongst people of Arabic origin; and even if there were, the painting them upon cards would have been considered as a violation of the law of Mahomet, by whom all such representations were strictly prohibited. With equal probability, Mons. Leber might assert that cards were a Jewish invention, because the names of David, Rachel, and Judith are to be found on them; or that Piquet was invented in the time of Charlemagne, in consequence of one of the Kings bearing his name, and two of the Valets being named after two of his Paladins,--Hogier and Roland. The long note in the 'Précis Historique sur les Cartes à jouer,' pp. 13-17, on the subject of Coursube and Apollin, and Mons. Leber's more lengthy comment on it, have much of the character of that kind of discussion which was compared by Demonax to one man milking a he-goat, and another holding a sieve to catch the milk.

[Illustration]

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The originals of the annexed four cards, representing the Valets, or Knaves, of the four suits known in England as Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades, are, in my opinion, of, at least, as early a date as the cards containing the names Coursube and Apollin. Mons. Duchesne and Mons. Leber, judging from the costume of the last-named cards, agree in supposing, or, rather, confidently asserting, that they were executed about 1425, in the reign of Charles VII. Conclusions, however, drawn from the costume displayed on cards are not of much weight in the determination of a date, seeing that persons supposed to be well acquainted with the subject of costume have not been able to determine, from that alone, the date of any old drawing, even within fifty years. To whatever period the costume of the "Coursube" cards may belong, that of the four Knaves may be fairly presumed to be of as early a period; but yet, looking at the costume of the latter, and the style of their execution, I should not take them to be of an earlier date than 1480. Supposing them to be of that date, I think it will be generally admitted, by all acquainted with the subject, that, in point of drawing, as expressive of action and character, they may fairly rank with the best specimens of wood-engraving executed previously to that period.

Those four Knaves, which are now in the print-room of the British Museum, were discovered by the writer, in the covers of an old book, which he bought of Mr. Robert Crozier, bookseller, 27, Bow Street, about the latter end of December, 1841. The book, which is a small quarto, had formerly belonged to the Cathedral Library of Peterborough,[246] and its subject is the Sermons of St. Vincent de Ferrer, a Spanish friar, of great repute in his day, who died in 1419: it wanted both the title-page and the last leaf, and, consequently, had no date; but, looking at the character of the type,--old Gothic--and the rude execution of the initial letters, I should conclude that it was printed in France, within the last ten years of the fifteenth century. The other leaves forming, with the cards, the "boards" of the cover, were portions of the gloss, or commentary, of Nicholas de Lyra, on the Old Testament; which leaves, apparently, are of a date somewhat older than the volume. Seeing that old cards have so often been found in the covers of old books, it might be conjectured that certain pious persons had made it a point of conscience to thus employ them, for useful purposes; this supposition is, however, rendered untenable by the fact of those cards being intermixed with the pious lucubrations of Nicholas de Lyra. Besides the two squares of paper containing the four Knaves, there were also two other squares, consisting of "pips" of Diamonds and Hearts, which were so arranged that each square of paper might be cut into four cards: the low cards on one square were, the Nine, Four, Five, and Seven of Diamonds; and those on the other, the Ten, Four, Five, and Eight of Hearts. The "pips" on those low cards were evidently impressed by means of a stencil.

[Illustration]

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On one square of paper were the Valets of Clubs and Spades,--Lancelot and Hogier; and on another, the Valets of Diamonds and Hearts,--that of Diamonds being named Rolant, and that of Hearts containing the inscription, "Valery: f." Though each piece of paper contained _four_ cards, it yet displayed only two different characters,--the Valet of each suit occurring on it being repeated in the alternate compartments. The outlines of the figures and the names have evidently been engraved on wood, and are printed in a brownish colour,--something like Indian ink mixed with bistre; and the colours have been laid on by means of stencils. The names of these Valets,--Rolant, "Valery: f," Lancelot, and Hogier,--compared with those occurring on other French cards of an early date, seem to prove that, originally, the French coat cards received their names merely at the caprice of the card-maker. Any argument, therefore, respecting the origin of cards, or the invention of Piquet, as founded on the names of the coat cards, must be utterly without foundation.

With respect to the names of those Valets, it seems to be generally agreed that Roland, spelled Rolant on the cards, was the nephew of Charlemagne, so famed in romance, and that Hogier, or Ogier, was the renowned Hogier of Denmark. According to a modern author, this hero was a grandson of Pepin of Heristal, the great-grandfather of Charlemagne; and the appellation, "of Denmark," was conferred on him, not from his being of that kingdom, but from his being a native of Dane-marche, that is, of the district now called Ardennes. The same author also informs us, that Hogier was a descendant of St. Hubert of Ardennes; and, for a confirmation of the fact, refers to the dog seen in an old Valet of Spades, of which he gives a copy in his work: in the irregular line of the more distant ground, in the same card, he sees an indication of the uneven surface of the district of Ardennes.[247] An inspection of the four Valets in question will enable any person to decide on the value of his speculations: three of those Valets,--Rolant, Hogier, and Lancelot,--are accompanied by dogs; and the line of the more distant ground in two of the subjects is nearly level; while the slight eminence in the third--Rolant--evidently indicates a rabbit-burrow. If such stuff as Mons. Barrois drivels forth on the subject of cards pass for antiquarian knowledge in France, it would seem that an ass-load of useless book-learning constituted the grand qualification of a French antiquary.

With respect to Lancelot, the reader is left to determine whether the name were intended for one of the Paladins of the court of Charlemagne, or Lancelot du Lac, one of the Knights of King Arthur's Round Table. The appearance of this name on the Valet of Clubs proves that Daniel was right in his conjecture, as has been previously observed; though Mons. Leber seems to argue that he either was, or ought to have been, wrong.[248]

The name VALERY, which occurs on the Knave of Hearts, has not been found on any one of the other old cards hitherto discovered; and from the circumstance of its having the letter _f_ after it, which might be intended to signify "_fecit_" it might be supposed that it was the card-maker's name. It is, however, to be observed that the word "_fecit_" is of very rare occurrence, as signifying the work of the artist whose name precedes it, on engravings, for whatever purpose executed, of the fifteenth century. It may even be asserted, with small hazard of contradiction, that _f_ as an abbreviation of "_fecit_," in its artistic application, is not to be found on a single engraving, whether on wood or copper, executed previous to the year 1500.

For whatever person the name of Valery may have been intended, it seems certain that it is not to be found as that of a distinguished character in any of the old French romances. Mons. Paulin Paris, having been consulted on this subject, thus gives his opinion, in a letter addressed to his friend, Thomas Wright, Esq., so well known for his numerous publications on Middle-Age Literature: "The name of the Valet of Hearts seems to me extremely curious, for it ought necessarily to bring to mind the name of _Erart de Valeri_, the famous companion of Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily, to whom his contemporaries chiefly ascribed the gain of the battle of Tagliacozza, in which Manfred [the opponent of Charles] was killed.[249] It might, therefore, be supposed that the pack [to which the four Valets in question belonged] was either of Sicilian or Italian fabrication; for the names Lancelot, Roland, Ogier, and Valeri were equally familiar to the Sicilians of the fourteenth century. I have said a few words about this Erard de Valery in the article on Charles of Anjou, in my Romancero François."[250]

Though by no means agreeing with Mons. Paulin Paris, that these cards were either of Italian devising, or manufacture, I am yet inclined to think that his conjecture about the name of Valery is correct, and that a corroboration of it is to be found in the inscription on the Valet de Pique, in the "Coursube" cards, previously noticed at page 211. This inscription is read _ctarde_, by Mons. Duchesne; but, to my eye, the letters, as they appear in the fac-simile given in the specimens of cards published by the Society of Bibliophiles François, appear much more like the name _erarde_; and if, on a careful examination of the original, it should be ascertained that this was the word intended, I should then unhesitatingly conclude that the person represented by this card was Erard de Valery. The objection that one of those cards is the Valet of Hearts, and the other the Valet of Spades, is of no weight, for the old French card-makers were by no means consistent in the practice of always giving the same name to the same card. From the red rose which appears on the shield held by Valery, an Englishman might be justified in supposing that those cards, if not of English manufacture, were more especially, if not exclusively, fabricated for the English market, at a period shortly after the accession of Henry VII,[251] when the Red Rose of Lancaster had obtained the ascendency. By assuming, indeed, a small portion of French license on this subject, it might even be asserted that those cards were of English manufacture; seeing that they were discovered in the covers of a book which had formerly belonged to an English monastery, and that the features, expression, and bodily proportions of the Valets are rather characteristic of Englishmen than Frenchmen. In support of this speculation, it may further be observed that, in former times, monks were accustomed to act as their own bookbinders, and that there is reason to believe that playing cards were manufactured in England as early as 1463.[252]

In the latter quarter of the fifteenth century, several packs, or sets, of cards were engraved on copper, having the suits distinguished by figures evidently introduced according to the fancy of the artist, and bearing no resemblance to those which occur on cards of an earlier date. As the art of engraving on copper was then of recent invention, and its productions comparatively scarce and high priced, it may be concluded that those cards were chiefly intended for the amusement of the wealthier classes. Though Mons. Leber is of opinion that such cards were not intended for the purpose of play, it is yet certain that they might be so employed; seeing that they consist of the same number of suits as the common cards of the period, and have also in each suit, like the latter, a certain number of coat cards, and a certain number of others which have their value determined by the number of marks impressed on them. One of Mons. Leber's reasons for concluding that such cards were not intended for the purposes of play, is, that being delicately engraved on copper, it cannot be supposed that they were meant to receive the colouring which, in his opinion, was essential to a pack of cards.[253] It may, however, be observed that people may play very well with uncoloured cards, more especially when the suits are so strikingly distinguished as in the cards alluded to.

Perhaps the earliest specimens of the cards in question are those which have Hares, Parroquets, Pinks, and Columbines as the marks of the suits, and of which a complete pack, or set, of fifty-two pieces, is now in the Bibliothèque du Roi.[254] They are not cut up, but appear just as they came from the hands of the printer, and each separate piece of paper contains either four or six cards. The four Aces form one plate; the numeral cards from Four to Nine are contained on four plates; and the Twos and Threes appear promiscuously mixed with the coat cards on five plates more.

[Illustration: 1 Circular Cards. XVth Century. (p. 222)]

[Illustration: 2 Circular Cards. XVth Century. (p. 222.)]

[Illustration: 3 Circular Cards. XVth Century. (p. 222.)]

[Illustration: 4 Circular Cards. XVth Century. (p. 222.)]

The form of these cards is circular, and in each suit there are four coat cards, namely, a King, a Queen, a Squire, and a Knave.[255] The distinction between the two latter is not indeed very clearly expressed in the costume; though there cannot be a doubt that the lowest character is that which in each suit is represented as running, and thus plainly corresponding with the Italian Fante. The highest of the numeral cards is the Nine, there being no Ten in this pack. The respective number of each is marked at the top in Arabic cyphers, and at the bottom in Roman numerals. At the bottom also, within the outer circle of the border, are the letters T. W., probably intended for the initials of the engraver.[256] Whoever he might be, his name is unknown; and only one other subject of his engraving is noticed by Bartsch. In the annexed specimens are shown the King, Queen, and Ace of Hares; the Squire of Columbines; the Deuce and Squire of Pinks; and the Knave and Nine of Parroquets. On each of the Aces there is an inscription on a scroll, as on the Ace of Hares; on the latter, the language is low German--"Platt Duitsch"--and the words form a rhyming couplet:

AV͞E MI DRINT MĒ VIN, DAEROM MOT IC EN LEPUS SIN.

The precise meaning of this it is not easy to make out; but taking the contracted word AV͞E to have been intended for _Auwe_, a meadow, the couplet may be thus "done into English:"

Me o'er fields men keen pursue, Therefore I'm the Hare you view.

But supposing the word AV͞E to have been meant for _Augen_, the eyes, and giving a slight turn to one or two other words, the meaning would be that the hare was called LEPUS--quasi _Lippus_--on account of its blear eyes.

Mons. Duchesne says that, on the plate containing the Aces, there is a date written in an old hand, but he omits to mention what it is. In the 'Jeux de Cartes Tarots et de Cartes Numérales,' where all the fifty-two pieces are given, they are said to have been engraved about 1477. These cards, though of the same form, and having the same marks of the suits as those described by Bartsch, and noticed by Singer, are yet the work of a different engraver.

In the circular cards described by Bartsch and Singer, the inscription on the Ace of Hares is in Latin, and the initials of the engraver, T. W., are wanting. From a wrapper, of which a fac-simile is given by Singer, it would appear that those cards were engraved at Cologne; and it has been supposed that they are of as early a date as 1470. They are unquestionably the work of either a German or a Flemish artist; and some amateurs of engraving have erroneously ascribed them to Martin Schön, or Schöngauer. Bartsch, in his description of them, includes a fifth suit, namely, that of Roses; and says that each suit consisted of thirteen cards, which would thus give sixty-five pieces for the complete pack. Mr. Singer, also, in his account of such of those cards as were formerly in the collection of Mr. Douce, gives it as his opinion, that the complete pack ought to consist of five suits of fourteen cards each,--in all, seventy pieces.[257] Mons. Duchesne, however, thinks that those authors are wrong, and that the complete pack consisted of only four suits of thirteen cards each, as displayed by those preserved in the Bibliothèque du Roi. But as he entirely overlooks the difficulty of accounting for a suit of Roses, engraved in the same style, he does not seem to be justified in pronouncing so decisively that Bartsch and Singer are wrong in supposing that a complete pack consisted of five suits; for it is by no means unlikely that a fifth suit might have been introduced by the artist, with a view of giving variety to the game, but which might have been subsequently discarded, as inconsistent with the old established principles of the game, and as only making it more interesting.

There is another pack, or set, of cards, also engraved on copper, and of the same period as those last described, which seems to require some notice here, not only on account of the marks employed to distinguish the suits, but also on account of the means by which those marks were repeated on the different cards. The complete pack appears to have consisted of fifty-two pieces; each of the four suits containing four coat and nine numeral cards--the place of the Ten, as in the other two packs, being supplied by a fourth coat card. The marks of the suits are: 1, Human figures; 2, Bears and Lions; 3, Deer; and 4, Birds. These cards are of large size, being about five inches and seven eighths high, by about three and a half wide. The name of the engraver is unknown; but they are believed to be the work of the German artist usually known to amateurs as "The Master of 1466." In the coat cards the mark of the suit is impressed from a different plate; and as it sometimes occurs surrounded by the work of the coat card, it has been ascertained that in such instances a blank space had been left for its subsequent impression. The marks on the numeral cards were also printed in the same manner, by means of impressions from separate plates.

In the collection of Thomas Wilson, Esq., there were twenty-nine of those cards, together with fourteen drawings of other cards of the same pack, and eleven animals on separate plates, forming the marks of the suits.[258] Those cards were purchased of Mr. Wilson by Mr. Tiffin, printseller, West Strand, who again sold them to the Bibliothèque du Roi, where others of the same pack are also preserved. Fac-similes of thirty-seven are given in the 'Jeux de Cartes Tarots et de Cartes Numérales,' published by the Society of Bibliophiles François. In the Table des Matières prefixed to that work, it is indeed said that there are forty; but, on looking at their plate, No. 91, it will be perceived that the three coat cards there given do not properly belong to the pack in question; for the mark on two of them is a kind of flower something like a sweet-pea, and on the other it is a rose.[259] Mons. Duchesne, who appears to have supplied the Précis Historique prefixed to the work above named, should have distinctly mentioned that the three coat cards in question were not of the same pack or set, which has Human figures, Bears and Lions, Deer, and Birds, as the marks of the suits. If they really did belong to the same pack, it must then have consisted of at least six suits.

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The annexed four cards, engraved on copper, are copied from specimens given by Breitkopf, in his 'Enquiry into the Origin of Playing Cards;' who there describes them as "German Piquet cards of the fifteenth century with Trappola characters."[260] The complete pack appears to have consisted of fifty-two cards; each of the four suits containing a King, Queen, and Valet, or Knave, as we term the character; together with ten numeral cards. The marks of the suits were Swords; Clubs (proper, not Trèfles); Cups; and Pomegranates. The latter mark is substituted for that of Money; and was perhaps intended by the artist to commemorate the marriage of Philip the Fair, son of the Emperor Maximilian, with Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Spain; who, on their subjugation of the kingdom of Grenada, in 1497, appear to have adopted the _Granada_, or Pomegranate, as one of their badges.[261] The cards unquestionably belong to that period; and in support of the speculation, it may be further observed that they are generally ascribed to Israel van Mecken; who, as a native of Bocholt, was a subject of Philip, who inherited the Netherlands, in right of his mother, Mary of Burgundy.

Von Murr, in the second volume of his Journal, gives a description of a nearly complete pack of those cards, which were then in the possession of a gentleman named Silberrad, residing at Nuremberg, but which are now in the British Museum.[262] He calls them old Trappola cards, and says that they are certainly of an earlier date than the time of Israel van Mecken the younger; or rather, that they were engraved by Israel the elder. "The suits," he says, "are distinguished, after the Italian manner, by SPADE; COPPE; DANARI (represented by Pomegranates); and BASTONI."[263] The cards displayed in the preceding specimens are: the Deuce of Swords; the Valet of Cups; the Ten of Pomegranates; and the Ten of Clubs. In the latter, the Club seen on the banner is rough and knotty, and not an artificially-formed Baton, as is sometimes seen on old Italian cards: it has previously been observed that the Bastoni were sometimes called Colonne, from their being something like slender pillars.

[Illustration: Swords. (p. 227.)]

[Illustration: Cups. (p. 227.)]

[Illustration: Batons. (p. 227.)]

[Illustration: Money. (p. 227.)]

It would appear, from the testimony of contemporary authors, that the cards most commonly used in Italy in the latter part of the fifteenth century, were those which had SPADE, COPPE, BASTONI, and DANARI--Swords, Cups, Batons, and Money,--as the marks of the suits. These continued to be the common marks on Italian cards in the sixteenth century, and even to a much later period; and such also would appear to have been the marks of the cards used in Spain, from the period of their first introduction into that country, to the present day. The annexed woodcuts, copied from a plate in Breitkopf,[264] are the Sevens of each of the four suits in a pack of Tarots. The marks are precisely the same as in modern Tarots; and there is reason to believe that they are nearly the same, with respect to form, as those of the earliest Italian Tarocchi cards, properly so called.

The relation which the marks of the suits bear to each other in the three varieties of cards most generally known in Europe, will perhaps be best understood from the following summary, which shows, at one view, the names given to the suits of each variety in the country where such cards were chiefly used.

GERMAN CARDS.

_German Names of the Suits._

HERZEN, oder ROTH. GRÜN. EICHELN. SCHELLEN. (HEARTS, or RED. GREEN (LEAVES). ACORNS. BELLS.)

SPANISH AND ITALIAN CARDS.

_Spanish Names._

COPAS. ESPADAS. BASTOS. OROS.

_Italian Names._

COPPE. SPADE. BASTONI. DANARI. (CUPS. SWORDS. CLUBS, or BATONS. MONEY.)

FRENCH CARDS.

_French Names._

CŒUR. PIQUE. TRÈFLE. CARREAU. (HEARTS. SPADES. CLUBS. DIAMONDS.)

In the oldest cards of the German and Spanish type there appears to have been no Queen. In the German pack, the second coat card was a kind of superior officer, distinguished as OBER,--Upper, Superior; while the third, corresponding with our Knave, was named UNTER,--Inferior.[265] The Spaniards called the second coat card CABALLO,--the Horseman or Knight;--and the Knave they called SOTA, a word which, in the Dictionary of the Spanish Academy, is said to be derived from the Italian _soto_, signifying 'under.'[266] The Italians called their second coat card CAVALLO, and the third FANTE; in each of the four suits the principal coat card was the King. It would, however, appear that at an early period, the Italians occasionally substituted a Queen for the Cavallo; and if the cards formerly belonging to the Marquis Girolamo be really of so early a date as is assigned to them by Millin,[267] it would seem that the French have no just title to the "honour" of being the first to introduce a Queen as the second coat card, and that in having made "Place aux Dames," in the pack, they had only followed the example set them by the Italians.

Millin's notice of those cards is to the following effect: "In the collection of the Marquis Girolamo, at Venice, there are some cards of very early date,--about the beginning of the fifteenth century. They are larger than the ordinary cards of the present day; they are also very thick; and the material of which they are formed resembles the cotton paper of ancient manuscripts. The figures, which are impressed--'imprimées'--on a gold ground, consist of three Kings, two Queens, and two Valets, one of the last being on horseback. Each figure has a Baton, a Sword, or a piece of Money [as the mark of the suit]. The design is very like that of Jacobello del Fiore; but the work has the appearance of impression, and the colours seem to have been applied by means of a stencil. They are the most ancient specimens of their kind."[268]

As the names, Clubs and Spades, given to two of the suits in this country, by no means correspond with the marks by which they are distinguished,--to wit, the French _Trèfle_ and _Pique_--I am inclined to consider them as the old names for the suits of Bastoni and Spade; Clubs being merely a translation of Bastoni, and Spades probably a corruption of Spade, or Espadas,--Swords.[269] From these names, indeed, it may be fairly supposed that the cards first known in England were those having Swords, Clubs, Cups, and Money, as the marks of the suits; and that two of those suits retained their names when the old cards of Spanish or Italian type were superseded by those of more recent French design. There are also other circumstances which strengthen the conclusion, that cards, on their first introduction into England, as a popular game, were brought either from Spain or Italy; the character of the third coat card, the Knave, or Jack, is more in accordance with the Spanish Sota, or the Italian Fante, than with the French Valet, which, in the earliest French cards, always bears the name of some person of note, either in romance or history. The term Valet, at the time when it was first bestowed on the third coat card by the French, did not signify a "Gentleman's Gentleman" or a menial servant; but was more especially applied to young noblemen--the "Dilecti Regis"--holding appointments at court. The term Knave was never applied, like Valet, to signify a courtier, or person of distinction; it was used to signify a serving-man of low condition. It seems to be derived from the same root as the German _Knabe_, the primary meaning of which is a Boy, but which was also used, in the same way as the Latin _Puer_, to signify a servant. Subsequently the term Knave became obsolete in the sense of servant, and was exclusively applied to designate a dishonest person. The term Jack, another name for the Knave of cards, was in former times very frequently applied to a "serving-man of low degree," without any regard to the name which might have been given to him by his godfathers and godmothers.

Though Dr. Johnson, and most other English lexicographers, derive the term Jackanapes from Jack and Ape, and though this derivation seems to be supported by the meaning attached to the term by one of the earliest writers who makes use of it, yet "Jack-a-Naipes," that is, Jack of Cards, is at least as probable an etymology; and much more so than that of "Jack Cnapa," suggested by Sharon Turner, in his 'History of England,' from which the following passage is extracted.

"In the British Museum, Vesp. B, 16, is a ballad written at this time on the catastrophes of the Duke of Suffolk and his friends. (Temp. Henr. VI, May, 1450.) It treats these horrors with an exulting levity, which shows the barbarous unfeelingness of political rancour; but it is curious for giving the names of those friends of the government who were most hated by the people. They are the clerical statesmen who were employed either in the offices of government or on its embassies, and it shows how much the dominant church had, by these employments, become identified with the crown. It designates the Duke of Suffolk by the cant term of 'Jac Napes,' and is perhaps the earliest instance we have of the abusive application of the word Jackanapes. Our lexicographers derive this word from Jack and Ape; but the ballad shows, that Napes was a term of derision signifying a Knave; and must therefore be the Saxon Cnapa, which bore also this meaning. This will explain the reason why our third figured card is called Jack, and also Knave. The word Jackanapes therefore seems to be Jack Cnapa, and to mean Jack the Knave. In this sense it is applied to Suffolk; and as the Knave is next in power at cards to the King and Queen, the nickname may be used in the ballad with an allusion to Suffolk's being the prime minister of Henry and Margaret."[270]

The following are two of the stanzas of the ballad in which the term occurs:

"In the moneth of May, when grass grows grene, Fragrant in her flowres with swete savour, Jac Napes wold on the see, a maryner to ben, With his clogi and his cheyn to seke more tresour.

"Swych a payn prikked him, he asked a confessour; Nicholas said, I am redi the confessour to be; He was holden so, that he ne passed that hour: For Jac Napes saule, 'placebo et dirige.'"

Mr. Turner's remark, that "the ballad shows that Napes was a term of derision, signifying a Knave, and must therefore be the Saxon Cnapa," does not appear to be well founded; for if it were derived from Cnapa, and merely signified a Knave, or Cheat, it is difficult to conceive why it should be written Napes, and not Knave, or Knape, as required, according to Mr. Turner's etymology; besides, it is evident from the context, that, in the mind of the writer, the idea of a Jac Napes was associated with that of a monkey, or an ape, with his clog and his chain. That this was not the primary signification of the term, may be confidently asserted; and no writer who has derived it from Jack and Ape, has produced any authority to show that it originally meant a man who travelled about with apes or monkeys. In the following passage, from a tract printed about 1540,[271] the term "_Yack an napes_" evidently refers to a mummer or buffoon in a particoloured dress, like that of a knave of cards. The writer, after having noticed the assembling of the poor on holidays, at the "personis barne,"[272] and there committing "ydolatre in mayntenynge his ambision, pride, and bestly lyvinge," thus proceeds: "Nobyl statis were better to hunte the bull, here, hert, or ony othere thynge lyke to suckure the powre with the mette, then to here Sir Jhon Singyl Sowle stombel a payer of mattens in laten, slynge holy water, curse holy brede, and to play a caste lyke _yack an napes_ in a foles cotte." When John Bale, in his work entitled, 'Yet a Course at the Romish Foxe,' speaks of Jack-a-Naipes "swearing by his ten bones," it would seem that he in some manner or other associated the term with the Jack-a-Naipes, or Jack of Cards; for his ten bones can only be supposed to relate to the numerical value of the Jack of Naipes, as a coat card. In Bale's time a "card of ten" would appear to have been a general expression for a coat card, as well as for a card distinguished by that number of pips.

Fyrste pycke a quarell, and fall out with hym then, And soo outface hym with a carde of ten.

_Skelton's Bowghe of Court._

From the following passage in Pulci's 'Morgante Maggiore,' it would seem that, in Italy, in the fifteenth century, the King of cards was occasionally referred to as the type of a presumptuous person:

"E com' e' giunse, gridava il gigante; Tu se' quì, Re di Naibi, o di Scacchi, Col mio bataglio convien ch'io t'ammachi."

"And when the two together came, the giant shouted out, And here you are, my King of Cards, or e'en of Chess, pardie! My club then with your shoulders must without delay make free."

In Scotland, about 1508, the Knave of cards was the representative of a forward impertinent person,--a very Jack-a-Naipes,--as is evident from the "Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy," where the latter, among other bad names, calls the former "Valet of cards":

"Waik walidrag, and verlot of the cairtis."[273]

Even in modern times the Knave of Hearts has been referred to as the ideal of a presumptuous, thickset little man, as appears from the following passage which occurs in the second edition of Brockett's Glossary, 1829, under the word Purdy.

"PURDY, a little thickset fellow.--I owe this word," says Mr. Brockett, "to the communication of a clerical friend in the county of Durham, who first heard it at Barnard Castle. On ascertaining the meaning, the following dialogue took place.

_Q._ What does _Purdy_ mean?

_A._ A little _throstan-up_ thing like a _Jack at Warts_. [Jack o' 'Arts,--Jack of Hearts.]

_Q._ What's that?

_A._ Something like a _lime-burner_.

_Q._ What is a lime-burner?

_A._ Oh, nobbut a _Kendal stockener_.

_Q._ What is that?

_A._ A little thickset fellow."

If cards were actually known in Italy and Spain in the latter part of the fourteenth century, it is not unlikely that the game, as a common amusement, was introduced into this country by some of the English soldiers who had served under the banners of Hawkwood, and other Free Captains, in the wars of Italy and Spain, about the period in question. But, however this may be, it seems at least certain that the earliest cards commonly used in this country, were of the same kind, with respect to the marks of the suits, as those used in Italy and Spain.

The German cards of the fifteenth century, and even of a much later period, display more of fanciful embellishment than the cards of other countries; more especially in the numeral, or low cards; which, in addition to the "pips," or marks of the suits, frequently contain figures of men and women, quadrupeds, birds, foliage, and such like, introduced by way of ornament, at the caprice of the designer. These ornamental appendages are frequently of a grotesque character, and sometimes indecent. The two annexed figures are the second coat cards of the suits of Grün and Eicheln,--Leaves, and Acorns,--in a pack of German cards engraved on wood, of the date 1511. The figures are drawn with great freedom, and are much in the style of Lucas Cranach. On the Two of Acorns are the letters F.C.Z.; the F and the C being probably the initials of the designer, and the Z signifying that he made the drawings,--_zeichnet_. On the Two of Leaves are two shields suspended from a tree; the one displays two strait swords, in saltire; and the other the arms of the house of Saxony, the same as are frequently seen in wood engravings designed by Lucas Cranach. In a third shield at the bottom of the same card, are a pic-kaxe and mallet, in saltire, the same as in Dr. Stukeley's cards, and probably the mark of the card maker. Thirty-six cards of this pack, which appears to have originally consisted of fifty-two, are preserved in the Bibliothèque du Roi; and fac-similes of them are given in the 'Jeux de Cartes Tarots et de Cartes Numérales,' published by the Society of Bibliophiles Français, planches 92-95.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

Specimens of a pack of cards designed by Erhard Schön, and engraved on wood, are given by Singer in his Researches. In this pack, the marks of the suits are Flowers, Pomegranates, Leaves, and Roses.[274] These cards are very inferior, both in design and execution, to those just described, of the date 1511. Erhard Schön flourished about 1530. About 1550, Virgil Solis engraved a pack of cards on copper, with Lions, Apes, Peacocks, and Parrots as the marks of the suits: they are noticed by Bartsch, in his 'Peintre-Graveur'; and six of the pack were recently in the possession of Messrs. Smith, of Lisle street.

The best of all the fanciful cards that appeared in Germany during the sixteenth century, are those engraved on wood from the designs of Jost Amman. They were published at Nuremberg in 1588, in a quarto volume, with illustrative verses, in Latin and German, composed by J. H. Schroter, the imperial poet-laureate.[275] From the following verses,--'Liber de Seipso,'--it would seem that those cards were not designed for the purposes of play:

"CHARTA mihi titulum tribuit LUSORIA; lusus Et chartæ in pretio munera vulgus habet. Sed nec ego laudes moror aut convicia vulgi; Sit mihi sat claris posse placere viris. "Hos rogo, ut a rerum quondam graviore vacantes Cura, si chartis ludere forte velint, Colludent nostris: sine rixis, vulnere, morte, Ludenti quoniam lucra benigna dabunt."

In this set of cards, the marks of the suits are Books; Printers' inking balls; Wine-cups, of metal "formed by the skill of the goldsmith;" and Goblets, with bosses of glass or earthenware. Correct and beautifully executed specimens of those cards are given in Singer's 'Researches,' pp. 180-96.

[Illustration: Bells. (p. 239.)]

[Illustration: Hearts. (p. 239.)]

[Illustration: Leaves. (p. 239.)]

[Illustration: Acorns. (p. 239.)]

The four annexed German cards, are the Sevens of the four suits: _Schellen_; _Herzen, oder Roth_; _Grün_; _Eicheln_,--Bells; Hearts, or Red; Green, or Leaves; and Acorns. They are copied from Breitkopf, and are of the seventeenth century. The four small ones given below are of the same period, and were probably intended for the amusement of children,--like the "pretty little cards for pretty little fingers," manufactured at the present day. The subjects are, the second Coat card and the Three of Leaves; the Four of Acorns; and the Six of Hearts.

[Illustration]

As small bells were worn as ornaments by the emperors of Germany and the higher classes in the 12th and 13th centuries, Breitkopf is inclined to think that bells might have been introduced on cards as a distinctive mark of the class of kings and nobles; and that cards might even have been known in Germany at the period referred to. In corroboration of his opinion, he gives a plate, entitled "_Alte Deutsche Furst Schellen-tracht_,"--that is to say, Ancient German Princely Bell-costume,--containing four figures, all adorned with small bells. The first figure is that of the Princess Wulphilde, who was living in 1138; the second and third represent the Emperor Henry VI, who died in 1197; and the fourth is that of the Emperor Otho IV, who died in 1218.[276]--Breitkopf's conjecture is undeserving of remark: had he asserted that his old German emperors and princes were adorned with bells to indicate their rank and precedence, in the manner of leading packhorses, he would perhaps have been as near the truth.

The tinkle of the bell rouses the questing spirit of Mons. Leber, who pursues the inquiry with singular ardour and perseverance, though not with success. His researches, however, on the subject of bells, though throwing not a glimmer of light on the history of cards, are yet so amusing, that they are here given entire, notes and all. They also furnish an additional proof of the wide field afforded for speculation by the history of cards.

"After the _Fou_ of European Tarots, the Bells on Indian cards are another proof of the Oriental origin of the game. The use of bells in India, whether as a mark of distinction and greatness, or as a means of diversion, is of remote antiquity; while everything shows that they were not known to the ancient nations of Europe. The Baladins and female dancers of India have their legs decked with small bells, which they shake when dancing; and certain idols are decorated with the same ornament; girdles formed of bells are also worn by infants, without any other clothing; and sometimes a single bell supplies the place of the girdle. Herbert relates that 'as this bell contains a viper's tongue, it might be supposed to be annoying and disgraceful. It is, however, neither the one nor the other, for it is made an ornament, and it is esteemed one of their most superb, when given by the king to a person whom he wishes to honour.'[277]--We have already said that the use of bells for various purposes is of great antiquity; and a proof of this is furnished by the Pentateuch.[278] Bells appear to have passed from the Hebrews to the Arabs, and to have been with these two nations the same as we see them to have been in India, a sign of distinction and power, when not prostituted to the use of the Baladins. An English author, who has not been unmindful of the remarks of Calmet,[279] mentions, in the following terms, a kind of devotion paid to the bell among the Arabians: 'The Arabian courtesans, like the Indian women, have little _golden bells_ fastened round their legs, neck, and elbows, to the sound of which they dance before the king.--The Arabian princesses wear golden rings on their fingers, to which _little bells_ are suspended, as in the flowing tresses of their hair, that their superior rank may be known, and they themselves receive in passing the homage due to them.'[280]--Such are bells in the East: let us now see what they have been in Europe at different periods.

"The Emperor Henry IV, who died in 1197, and Wulphilde, the wife of Count Rodolph, living in 1138, are represented in ancient monuments in habits ornamented with bells similar to those which are seen on Tarots. It would seem that this singular ornament, which subsequently became the attribute of the buffoon, or professional jester, was then a mark of dignity in the West as well as in the East, and that it held a conspicuous place amongst the distinctive ornaments of the princes and nobles of Germany, from the eleventh to the thirteenth century.[281] Some English critics, however, have supposed that the bell indicated falconry,[282] a sport which the high nobility only had the privilege of indulging in; and it is certain that small bells were attached to the feet of trained falcons.[283] But the question is, did the bells stand for the falcon, and was the falcon, indeed, a mark of high nobility?

"What renders this conjecture probable is, that we find the use of the small bell [grelot] established in the West before the introduction of heraldic signs, and that we have no evidence of its having been known to the ancient Greeks and Romans.[284] As the bell was used in falconry by princes and nobles of the first class, it might thus become the emblem of the falcon, and, subsequently, that of the nobility to whom it was confined. The falcon, and things pertaining to falconry, were certainly among the marks of grandeur with which the sovereigns and barons of the middle ages loved to surround themselves in their formal displays, and which alone were sufficient, in the same manner as armorial bearings, to indicate the rank of the persons to whom they belonged. In the tapestry ascribed to Queen Matilda, Harold is seen travelling with his falcon on his fist; and the Count Guy de Ponthieu, who conducts him prisoner to Beaurain, carries also his bird in the same manner, although he, doubtless, had no thought of the chase.[285] Besides, sceptres are surmounted with three-branched _fleurons_, like those which form the ornament on the top of a falcon's hood.[286] We also see hawks and falcons on ancient tombs; and it is not unlikely that they were there placed as indications of rank before the introduction of armorial bearings. The same conventional distinctions were still in existence in much more recent times; for Anne de Montmorency made his entry into London as ambassador of Francis I, preceded by twenty-six gentlemen of the best houses of France, each bearing a falcon on his fist;[287] and even our kings themselves, on occasions of grand display, were preceded by their falconers fully equipped. Falconry was not known to the ancients; but it is certain that it was in use among the nations of the North before the conquest of the Gauls by the Franks. Sidonius Apollinaris commemorates the skill of a person named Vectius in the art of training dogs, horses, and birds of prey: "In equis, canibus, _accipitribus_ instituendis, spectandis, circumferendis, nulli secundus."[288]

"The question, however, would still be, 'if bells were used in falconry at so early a period?' and it may be presumed that they were not so used until long afterwards. German princes, as referred to by Breitkopf, are decorated with them as marks of high birth, on monuments from the eleventh to the thirteenth century. Now, it was just towards the close of the eleventh century, that the intercourse between Europeans and Orientals became more extended by means of the crusades; and the invention of heraldry is of the same period. Armorial bearings, which originated in over-sea expeditions and in tournaments, are not of higher antiquity than the eleventh century; their use became more frequent in the twelfth; and, in the thirteenth, we find them generally established.[289] From the concurrence of these circumstances, it may be concluded that bells of this kind were brought into Europe from the East, towards the end of the eleventh century; and, that on their first introduction, the German nobility adopted them as marks of distinction, either from the idea of grandeur attached to them by the people from whom they had them, or on account of the noble bird to whose use they had dedicated them; and that this mark of nobility fell into disuse when heraldry could supply its place by signs better adapted to gratify the pride of the great, on account of their indicating, at the same time, both rank and personal distinction. The Bayeux tapestry, already referred to as the work of Queen Matilda, seems to confirm this opinion. The conquest of England by William Duke of Normandy was achieved in 1066; and the tapestry representing it is supposed to be of the same century: and of this there could be no doubt, if it were true that the work was executed by the wife of William, and her attendants.[290] It may thus have been worked about twenty or thirty years before the first crusade, which was determined on at the council of Clermont, held by Urban II, in 1095. Now, the birds of chase which some of the persons in this tapestry carry on their fist, have no bells at their feet. We perceive there only the _jesses_, or leathern strings with tassels at the ends, which serve to retain the bird.[291] These jesses, without any appearance of bells, are easily to be distinguished in the compartment which contains the inscription, DUX WILLELM: CUM HARALDO: VENIT: AD PALATIN. If this be not evidence that bells of this kind were not then common in Europe, it is at least a proof that they were not then used in falconry, although this sport had been practised for several centuries."[292]

Mons. Leber calls both Spanish and German cards Tarots, even though they may contain no Atous; which yet appear to have been the very pieces which were more especially distinguished as Tarocchi or Tarots; and from the use of which, in combination with other cards, a particular kind of game was called Tarocchino, or Tarocchio. Thus, in consequence of his not sufficiently distinguishing between Spanish and German cards, he speaks of the marks which occur on them indiscriminately; and explains SWORDS and MONEY as if they belonged to the same pack which has one of its suits distinguished by Bells. His account of the marks on the French cards is to the following effect. "The _Cœur_ explains itself; it is a symbol of the most noble and generous sentiments, and more especially indicates courage, valour, and intrepidity, qualities the most brilliant in princes. The _Trèfle_ has its name from its resemblance to the plant so-called; though properly it is a Flower, or rather a _Fleuron_ with three branches, symbolical of the mysterious number Three, which, in ancient times, was regarded with religious veneration. This number being the first which contained in itself the principal characteristics of numbers,--namely, Unity and Plurality, Odd and Even,--became the symbol of a union of the most excellent virtues, such as Power, Wisdom, Love; and, by analogy, Sovereignty, Wisdom, Justice. It is this three-branched Fleuron which appears on the monuments of the French kings of the first and second race; but, in consequence of its being badly designed and worse understood, it became confounded with the heraldic Fleur-de-Lis, and is in fact now displaced by it. The _Carreau_ seems to have been better understood by the French than their neighbours, with whom this figure is a jewel, a precious stone, an ornamental article. The English take it for a diamond, and the Spaniards, for a jewel worn by ladies, or for the decoration of the toilet. Their error has doubtless arisen from the comparison which they made between the _Carreaux_ of cards and the figures of precious stones which they had before their eyes.[293] The diamonds and precious stones forming the ornaments of royal vestments, and of dresses of court ladies, have usually the form of carreaux, and are painted in vermilion, or in carmine in the manuscripts of the middle age; and this conventional form, having been adopted by heralds, was introduced into armorial bearings as the _macle_ and _lozenge_. The Carreaux of cards, however, have no connexion with diamonds and precious stones, any more than they have with the _quarrells_ or square-headed arrows of a crossbow. The Carreau, as well as each of the other marks of the suits, is a symbol, and not a rebus. All iconographers represent Fortune as standing, upon one foot, on a wheel or a ball, to signify her instability. The contrary idea was necessarily attached to the figure of a square or a cube, considered as a firm and immoveable base. It was for this reason that the ancients placed the figure of Wisdom and Firmness on a cube; and Aristotle speaks in the same sense when he informs us that a true philosopher ought to be square,--carré--that is to say, immoveable in courage and virtue. Heraldry has also admitted the square, placed lozenge-wise, as an emblem of Constancy and Firmness; and the Squares of cards, called Carreaux, can only be supposed to have the same signification. As to the _Pique_, there can be no doubt with respect to its meaning. It represents the head of a lance, and is thus an emblem of military force. The Germans, however, seem to have misconceived the character of this figure, which they converted into a Leaf,--_Grün_;[294]--but this mistake, or rather this difference, may be ascribed to the imperfection of the painting in ancient cards; and more especially to the coarseness of the first essays of wood-engraving, in which it was almost impossible to distinguish the figure of a leaf from that of a pike-head. On comparing the earliest German cards with shields of arms, of the same period, and with old wood-engravings which contain trees, it will be immediately seen how easy it was to confound the two forms. There is no difference between the Piques of cards and the leaves of the tree on the right of the woodcut of St. Christopher of the date 1423; and the _Crequier_[295] of heraldry is precisely the same as the seven of Pique[296] in German cards of the fifteenth century. But whatever may have been the cause of this anomaly, it is generally admitted that the Pique in French cards is the figure of a weapon; and it can scarcely be doubted that it was the equivalent of the Sword in the Tarots. In this respect the Spanish and Italian nomenclature is in perfect accordance with our own. In the southern parts of Europe the French _Pique_ is _La Picca_ or _La Spada_."

Thus, according to Mons. Leber, the four suits of French cards have the following signification: CŒUR, valour, greatness of soul; TRÈFLE, wisdom and justice united with power; CARREAU, firmness, stability, constancy; PIQUE, physical force, or the power of the military. The suits, again, may be considered as representing four monarchies, or political societies; namely, CŒURS, governed by a generous and courageous prince; TRÈFLES, by a sovereign just, wise, and powerful; CARREAUX, by a king consistent in principle, and decided in action; and PIQUES, by a warlike prince, who owes his power to his arms.

Though Mons. Leber has freely censured Daniel for writing on the subject of cards chiefly from books, without referring to cards themselves, he is yet exceedingly prone to follow Daniel's example; and though his explanation of the symbolical meaning of cards be less extravagant than the latter's account of the origin and signification of the game of Piquet, it can scarcely be called more reasonable; since both writers interpret the marks on the cards according to their own conceit. The one informs us that the Trèfle signifies that a general ought only to encamp in a place which affords plenty of fodder for his cavalry; and the other says that the Carreau, which, as it stands, in the cards, seems the very emblem of instability, signifies firmness, stability, constancy; an interpretation which seems to rest chiefly on the ingenious hypothesis of the Carreau being an emblem of the cube.

The variations which occur on cards from the commencement of the sixteenth century, either as regards the marks of the suits or the names of the coat cards, throw no light on their origin; as such variations have evidently been introduced merely at the caprice of the card-maker in accordance with the prevalent taste of the period. In a pack of French cards, engraved by Vincent Goyraud, in the time of Henry IV, all the coat cards appear in the costume of the period; though the Kings and Valets still display in their dress that variety of colour which is to be seen on cards of an earlier period, but which, at that time, appears to have been out of fashion. Such cards would appear to have been in common use in England in the early part of the reign of James I. In Rowland's 'Knave of Hearts,' first printed in 1612, the Knave, in his supplication to the card-makers, complains of the pie-bald suits which he and his fellows are compelled to wear.[297] In the pack referred to the names and designations of the Coat cards are as follows:

Suits. CŒUR. CARREAU. TRÈFLE. Kings. _Salomon._ _Auguste._ _Clovis._ Queens. _Elizabeth._ _Dido._ _Clotilde._ Valets. _Valet de Court._ _Valet de Chasse._ _Valet d'Eté._

Suits. PIQUE. Kings. _Constantine._ Queens. _Pantalisee._ Valets. _Valet de Noblesse._

The Valet de Court has his hat under his arm; the Valet de Chasse holds a dog in a leash; the Valet d'Eté carries a large flower; and the Valet de Noblesse bears a hawk on his fist. The mark of the card-maker appears on two of the Valets, namely, on the Valet of Cœur, and on the Valet of Pique. A pack of those cards is preserved in the Bibliothèque du Roi; and fac-similes of the Kings, Queens, and Valets, in their proper colours, are given in the 'Jeux de Cartes Tarots et de Cartes Numérales,' published by the Society of Bibliophiles Français. From those fac-similes the outlines of the four Valets here given have been copied.

[Illustration: Valet de Cour. (p. 250.)]

[Illustration: Valet de Chasse. (p. 250.)]

[Illustration: Valet de Été. (p. 250.)]

[Illustration: Valet de Noblesse. (p. 250.)]

In the same work are given fac-similes of coat cards executed in the reign of Louis XIII, and displaying the costume of that period. The names given to the Kings, Queens and Valets on those cards are: _Cœur_, Alexandre, Pentasilee [Penthesilea], Roland. _Carreau_, Cirus Major, Roxane, Renault. _Trèfle_, Ninus, Semiramis; the name of the Valet wanting.[298] _Pique_, Jule Cæsar, Pompeia, Roger. Each of the Aces is surrounded with an ornamental bordering; and at the foot is an inscription, which, when read consecutively, through all the four, is as follows: "_Vive le Roy_ | _Vive la Reyne_ | _J'ayme l'Amour_ | _Et la Court_."

Some of the specimens of Portuguese cards given in the 'Jeux de Cartes Tarots et de Cartes Numérales' have very much the appearance of having been originally suggested by, if not copied from, an Oriental type; more especially in the suits of Danari and Bastoni,--Money and Clubs. In those cards the circular figure, generally understood as representing Danari, or Money, is certainly much more like the _Chakra_, or quoit of Vichnou, as seen in Hindostanee drawings, than a piece of coin; while on the top of the Club there is a diamond proper, which is another of the attributes of the same deity. The dragon seen on each of the Aces is perfectly Oriental in character; and the shields which appear on the Kings and Queens are very much like those which are to be seen in Hindostanee drawings. The coat cards in this pack are King, Queen, and Horseman; and the suits are Coppe, Danari, Bastoni, and Spade--Cups, Money, Clubs proper, and Swords. The Queen, which here appears as the second coat card, is of unusual occurrence in cards of this kind, and more especially in such as are of Spanish or Portuguese manufacture.[299] In two of the suits,--Clubs and Swords,--the Queen appears in the act of encountering a dragon. The coat cards and aces have letters both at top and bottom, indicating the suit, and the rank or name of the card. Specimens of those cards, which appear to have been executed in 1693, are preserved in the Bibliothèque du Roi. The four annexed cuts show the outlines of the four Valets. The letters CC, CD, CB, CS, signify respectively the Caballo, or Chevalier of Coppe, Danari, Bastoni, and Spade.

[Illustration]

The most remarkable changes that cards have undergone, with respect to the characters displayed on them, are to be found in certain packs manufactured at Paris in the time of the Revolution. Specimens of the coat cards of two of those packs engraved by Chossonnerie and Gayant, in 1793-4, are given in the 'Jeux de Cartes Tarots et de Cartes Numérales.' In one of them the places of the Kings are occupied by four Philosophers, namely, Molière, La Fontaine, Voltaire, and J. J. Rousseau; the Queens are substituted by the four Virtues, Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude; while the Valets are superseded by four Republicans, one of whom is a grim-looking ruffian, with a red cap on, and his shirt-sleeves turned up, brandishing a pike; the second is a soldier armed with a musket; the third an artilleryman; and the fourth a young man, in fancy costume, armed with a musket. In the other pack, four Sages, Solon, M. P. Cato, J. J. Rousseau, and J. J. Brutus, serve instead of Kings; four Virtues, as in the other pack, represent the Queens; though with this difference, that Temperance is displaced by Union; while four "Braves,"--Annibal, Horatius, P. Decius Mus, and M. Scævola, supply the place of Valets.

Another pack of Republican cards of the same period is thus described by Peignot, in his 'Analyse de Recherches sur les Cartes à jouer.'

"For Kings we have _Genii_; for Queens, _Liberties_; and for Valets, _Equalities_. In place of the King of Hearts there is the Genius of War,--'GÉNIE DE LA GUERRE.' This Genius, which is winged, is seated on the breech of a cannon; he holds in the right hand a sword and a wreath of laurel, and in the left, a shield, round which is the inscription, '_Pour la République Française_.' On the right, read vertically from the top, is the word '_Force_.' At the feet of the Genius are a bomb, a lighted match, and a heap of bullets. At the bottom of the card is the inscription, '_Par brevet d'invention. Naume et Dugouec, au Génie de la Rép. franç._'

"For the Queen of Hearts: 'LIBERTÉ DES CULTES,'--Religious Liberty. This is a female seated, very badly draped, and with her legs bare. She holds a pike surmounted with a red cap; and on a bannerol attached to the pike are the words '_Dieu seul_.' Towards her feet are seen three volumes, inscribed '_Thalmud_,' '_Coran_,' and '_Evangile_.' The vertical inscription is, '_Fraternité_.'

"Knave of Hearts: 'ÉGALITÉ DES DEVOIRS,'--Equality of Duties. This is a soldier seated on a drum, with his musket between his knees. In his left hand he holds a paper containing the words, '_Pour la patrie_.' The vertical inscription is '_Sécurité_.'

"King of Spades: 'GÉNIE DES ARTS,'--the Genius of Arts. The figure of Apollo with a red cap on his head; in one hand he holds the Belvedere statue of himself, and in the other a lyre. The vertical inscription: '_Goût_.' At the bottom, emblems of painting, sculpture, and such like.

"Queen of Spades: 'LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE,'--Liberty of the Press. A female figure with a pen in one hand, and with the other sustaining a desk, on which lies a roll of paper partly unfolded, and displaying the words '_Morale_, _Religion_, _Philosophie_, _Physique_, _Politique_, _Histoire_.' At the bottom, masks, rolls of manuscript, and such like.

"Knave of Spades: 'EGALITÉ DE RANGS,'--Equality of Ranks. The figure of a man whose costume accords rather with that of a '_Septembriseur_' than with that of a mere '_Sans-culotte_' of the period. He wears sabots, and has a red cap on his head. He has no coat on, and his shirt-sleeves are tucked up to the elbows. His small-clothes are loose at the knees, and his legs are bare. He is seated on a large stone, on which is inscribed: '_Démolition de la Bastille_. _10 Août, 1792_.' Under his feet is a scroll inscribed '_Noblesse_,' and displaying shields of arms. The vertical inscription is '_Puissance_.'

"King of Clubs: 'GÉNIE DE LA PAIX,'--Genius of Peace. In his right hand he holds the '_Fasces_' and an olive branch, and in the left a scroll containing the word '_Lois_.' The vertical inscription is '_Prospérité_.'

"Queen of Clubs: 'LIBERTÉ DU MARIAGE,'--Liberty of Marriage. The figure of a female holding a pike surmounted with the red cap; and on a scroll attached to the pike is the word '_Divorce_.' The vertical inscription is '_Pudeur_.' On a pedestal is a statue of the crouching Venus entirely naked,--without doubt intended for the emblem of Modesty.

"Knave of Clubs: 'EGALITÉ DE DROITS,'--Equality of Rights. A judge in tricolor costume, holding in one hand a pair of scales, and in the other a scroll containing the inscription '_La loi pour tous_.' He is trampling on a serpent or dragon, the tortuous folds of which represent legal chicanery. The vertical inscription is '_Justice_.'

"King of Diamonds: 'GÉNIE DU COMMERCE,'--the Genius of Commerce. He is seated on a large bale, which contains the inscription '_P. B. d'inv. J. D. à Paris_.' In one hand he holds a purse, and in the other a caduceus and an olive-branch. The vertical inscription is '_Richesse_.' At the bottom are an anchor, the prow of a ship, a portfolio, and such like.

"Queen of Diamonds: 'LIBERTÉ DES PROFESSIONS,'--Liberty of Professions and Trades. A female figure who, in the same manner as the other three Liberties, holds a pike surmounted with the red cap. With the other hand she holds a cornucopiæ and a scroll containing the word '_Patentes_.' The vertical inscription is '_Industrie_.'

"Knave of Diamonds: 'EGALITÉ DE COULEURS,'--Equality of Colours. The figure of a Negro, seated, and leaning upon a musket. Below is the word '_Café_.' Near to him are a sugar-loaf, a broken yoke, fetters, iron collars for the neck, and such like. The vertical inscription is '_Courage_.'

"Such are the coat cards of this Republican pack. The numeral cards are the same as the old ones, with the exception of the Aces, which are surrounded by four fasces placed lozenge-wise, with these words: '_La Loi. Rép. Franç._;' the whole coloured blue. It is scarcely necessary to say that those ridiculous cards had not even a momentary vogue."[300]

The coat cards of a Republican pack, of recent American manufacture, have been forwarded to me by a friend, resident at New York. From the name of the maker,--R. SAUZADE,--which occurs on the Ace of Spades, I am inclined to think that their invention is to be ascribed rather to a Frenchman than to an American. For the Kings we have: _Hearts_, WASHINGTON; _Diamonds_, JOHN ADAMS, the second President of the United States; _Clubs_, FRANKLIN; _Spades_, LA FAYETTE. For the Queens: _Hearts_, VENUS,--modestly concealing her charms with a mantle, in accordance with American notions of delicacy. _Diamonds_, FORTUNE; _Clubs_, CERES; _Spades_, MINERVA. The Knaves are represented by Four Indian chiefs. The figures appear to be engraved on copper, and are coloured. The marks of the suits are the same as those on the cards in common use in England. Those cards, I am informed, are held in no estimation by the card-players of America, who continue to prefer those of the old pattern.--The chief town in America for the manufacture of cards is Boston; whose discreet, meeting-going people seem to have no objection to make a profit by supplying the profane with the instruments of perdition.

No cards of an "instructive" character have ever obtained popularity amongst regular card-players; for when people sit down to play at cards they do not like to have their attention withdrawn from the game by the historical or biographical reminiscences suggested by Coat cards, either containing portraits of distinguished characters, or commemorating remarkable events; and least of all can they bear that the heads of a sermon or moral lecture should be presented to them in the shape of the four cardinal virtues; which are just as appropriate in a pack of cards as they would be on the proscenium of her Majesty's Theatre.

The best of the costume cards that I have seen are those designed by Armand Houbigant, a French artist, who named them "Cartes Royales," and obtained from Louis XVIII, a license to manufacture them for general use, in 1818. They did not, however, acquire any vogue, and are now seldom to be met with, except in the collections of amateurs of prints. The coat cards, which are etched, and delicately coloured by hand, display the costume of the French Court at four different periods. The characters represented are as follows.

_Spades._ King, CHARLEMAGNE, "Carolus Magnus;" crowned, and seated on a throne, with a globe in the right hand, and a long sceptre in the left.--Queen, HILDEGARDE, second wife of Charlemagne; erect, crowned, and holding a book in her hands.--Knave, ROLAND, described in romances as the nephew of Charlemagne; and said to have been killed at the battle of Roncevalles in 778; holding a spear and shield, and clothed in armour, which appears rather to belong to the sixteenth century than to the time of Charlemagne.

_Diamonds._ King, Louis IX, "Sainct Loys;" crowned, seated on a throne, wearing a blue robe powdered with fleurs-de-lis, and having a sceptre in his left hand.--Queen, BLANCHE DE CASTILLE, wife of Louis VIII, and mother of St. Louis; erect, crowned, and holding a rosary in her right hand.--Knave, SIRE DE JOINVILLE, the biographer of Louis IX, and one of the nobles of his court; clothed in chain-mail, over which is a surcoat of arms.

_Clubs._ King, FRANCIS I; seated, wearing the broad bonnet in which he is usually represented, and holding a sceptre.--Queen, MARGUERITE DE VALOIS, Queen of Navarre, sister of Francis I; erect, holding a rose in her right hand.--Knave, BAYARD; in plate-armour, leaning on a kind of pedestal on which is inscribed "_Sans peur, sans reproche_."

_Hearts._