| King | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Other Names |
Cowboy, Monarch, David, Charles, Cesar, and Alexandre |
|
First Appearance |
European/Middle Eastern Card Games |
|
Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
The king is a playing card with a picture of a king displayed on it. The king is usually the highest-ranking face card. In the French version of playing cards and tarot decks, the king immediately outranks the queen. In Italian and Spanish playing cards, the king immediately outranks the knight. In German and Swiss playing cards, the king immediately outranks the Ober. In some games, the king is the highest-ranked card; in others, the Ace is higher. Aces began outranking kings around 1500 with Trappola being the earliest known game in which the aces were highest in all four suits. In the ace–ten family of games such as pinochle and Schnapsen, both the ace and the 10 rank higher than the king.
The king card is the oldest and most universal court card. It most likely originated in Persian Ganjifeh where kings are depicted as seated on thrones and outranking the viceroy cards which are mounted on horses. Playing cards were transmitted to Italy and Spain via the Mamluks and Moors. The best preserved and most complete deck of Mamluk cards, the Topkapı pack, did not display human figures but just listed their rank most likely due to religious prohibition. It is not entirely sure if the Topkapı pack was representative of all Mamluk decks as it was a custom-made luxury item used for display. A fragment of what may be a seated king card was recovered in Egypt which may explain why the poses of court cards in Europe resemble those in Persia and India.
Seated kings were generally common throughout Europe. During the 15th century, the Spanish started producing standing kings. The French originally used Spanish cards before developing their regional deck patterns. Many Spanish court designs were simply reused when the French invented their own suit-system around 1480. The English imported their cards from Rouen until the early 17th century when foreign card imports were banned. The king of hearts is sometimes called the "suicide king" because he appears to be sticking his sword into his head. This is a result of centuries of bad copying by English card makers where the king's axe head has disappeared.
Starting in the 15th century, French manufacturers assigned to each of the court cards names taken from history or mythology. This practice survives only in the Paris pattern which ousted all its rivals, including the Rouen pattern around 1780. The names for the kings in the Paris pattern (portrait officiel) are: David, Charles, Cesar, and Alexandre.
Other names include:
- King (K): Cowboy, Monarch
- King of Clubs (K♣): Alexander
- King of Spades (K♠): David
- King of Diamonds (K♦): Julius Caesar, Man with the Axe, One-Eyed King
- King of Hearts (K♥): Charlemagne, Charles, Suicide King
Most French-suited continental European patterns are descended from the Paris pattern but they have dropped the names associated with each card.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of the King playing card from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- The Queen of Hearts
- The King and Queen of Hearts: With the Rogueries of the Knave Who Stole the Queen’s Pies (1805)
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
- The Queen of Hearts: A Dramatic Fantasia, for Private Theatricals by James B. Greenough (1875)
- The Knave of Hearts: A Fourth‐of‐July Play in One Act by Albert Lee (1895)
- Wonderland by Glen MacDonough, music by Victor Herbert (1905)
- Mrs. Goose: Her Book by Maurice Switzer (1906)
- Jingles for Singles by Ida H. Juillerat (1910)
- The Modern Mother Goose: A Play in Three Acts by Helen Hamilton (1916)
- The Human Touch with Fantasy and Poems by Leonard A. Compton‐Rickett (1921)
Public Domain Film Appearances[]
- Alice in Wonderland (1903)
- Alice in Wonderland (1915)
Public Domain Comic Appearances Inspired by the King (Playing Card)[]
- Zip Comics #21:Black Jack battles the the King of Diamonds who is out to take revenge on his criminal friends who once left him for dead.
- Funny Book #1: Alice follows the White Rabbit into Wonderland, changing sizes several times as she meets the Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, King of Hearts, and Mad Hatter, then plays croquet with the Queen of Hearts, is placed on trial and finally wakes up to find her trip to Wonderland was all a dream.
- King of Diamonds #1: Adapted from the American TV series starring Broderick Crawford which ran from 1961 to 1962, the men responsible for the protection of diamonds are John King and his sidekick Al Casey. King works out of New York City covering the world protecting the diamond industry against smugglers, thieves, sharps, dips and switches.
- Captain Marvel Jr. #7: The Black Ace Gang were a band of violent armed robbers with a flair for the dramatic, who liked to dress up like characters from playing cards. They included the Black Ace, King Clubbo, the Queen of Hearts (Queenie Hart) and Diamond Jack. They were ultimately defeated by Captain Marvel Jr.
Notes[]
- The Royal Flush Gang is a group of supervillains appearing in DC Comics. The group, which debuted in Justice League of America #43 (March 1966), use a playing card theme. Their code names are based on the cards needed to form a royal flush in poker: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten.