Facts and Speculations on the Origin and History of Playing Cards

by William Andrew Chatto

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.
Valet, Queen and King of Pique.
King and Queen of Carreau.
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.