What is the derivation of the pictures of kings, queens and jacks variously portrayed on a pack of playing cards? Are they based on historical figures?

Nick Wallis, Darlington, UK

• The origins of European playing cards are highly speculative, with Chinese, Indian, and Persian parentage all claimed of them. The composition and design of playing card decks varied with time and locale (particularly the number of cards in a deck), but the inclusion of both numbered cards and court cards (or "royals") -- and the division of cards into different suits -- were standard features from early on. Italian decks contained fifty-six cards, included four types of court cards (king, queen, knight, and knave) and were divided into four suits (cups, swords, coins, and batons). As the popularity of card games spread throughout Europe and the demand for decks of playing cards increased tremendously, they ceased to be expensive, hand-painted luxuries and became cheaper, mass-produced commodities manufactured by master card makers via the use of stencils. Around the same time, knaves were dropped from the subset of court cards to bring the composition of a standard deck down to fifty-two cards.

  The French suit symbols were more easily stencilled than their earlier counterparts, and the French card masters soon realized they did not need to engrave each of the twelve court cards separately, as their German competitors did. The French simply created one wood block or copper plate for each of the three royals, printed the cards from them, and stencilled the suits in later. The French were thus able to outproduce German card makers, and so the French design eventually became the standard for most of Europe. It was at about this time that the French card masters also started the practice of assigning identities to the royals pictured on their court cards . All of the court cards (not just the kings) were named, and the identities assigned to them (and printed on the cards) were by no means consistent. The choice of names differed from master to master, often with no apparent reason behind them other than personal preference or whim.

  Early choices for the identities of the kings included Solomon, Augustus, Clovis, and Constantine, but during the latter part of the reign of Henry IV (1553-1610) they were more or less standardized as representing Charlemagne (hearts), David (spades), Caesar (diamonds), and Alexander (clubs). The names of the queens -- Judith or Judic (hearts), Pallas (spades), Rachel (diamonds), and Argine (clubs) -- have been a continual object of speculation, as the real-life personages they represent are not so easily identified. Some suggestions for their origins have included the Empress Judith (wife of Charlemagne's son) or Isobel of Bavaria (wife of Charles VI and mother of Charles VII) for Judith, Joan of Arc or the eponymous Greek goddess of war (also known as Athena) for Pallas, Agnes Sorel (mistress of Charles VII) or Jacob's wife for Rachel, and Mary of Aragon (wife of Charles VII) or Juno (Greek queen of the gods) for Argine (which is itself an anagram of 'regina'). Curiously, the identities of the knaves seem to have remained constant: La Hire (Etienne de Vignoles, Knight and Hero of France) as the knave of hearts, Ogier (one of Charlemagne's knights in the Chansons de Geste and the knight who is carried off by the witch Morgan la Fay in Arthurian legend) as the knave of spades, Hector (the hero of Troy) as the knave of diamonds, and Lancelot (another knight from Arthurian legend) as the knave of clubs.

  In summary, the court cards in decks of playing cards were not initially identified by name. The assignation of identities to the kings (as well as the queens and knaves) was a temporary practice unique to French card masters that began around the mid-15th century, was not standardized for some time, and was discontinued at the end of the 18th century. The royal figures on modern playing cards no more represent specific persons than do the kings and queens in chess sets.

  Ray Parnell, Lincoln, UK