Sunday, February 26, 2012

Useless Information

Did you know:

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:

Spades - King David

Hearts - Charlemagne

Clubs -Alexander, the Great

Diamonds - Julius Caesar
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10 comments:

OrbsCorbs said...

Do the queens and jacks represent real people, too?

February 26, 2012 at 2:47 AM
Tender Heart Bear said...

I never knew that one!

February 26, 2012 at 9:04 AM
SER said...

Orbs...

The Queen is a playing card with a picture of a queen on it. The usual rank of a queen is as if it were 12 (or 13), that is, between the King and the Jack, or Knight.

In the standard English playing card deck, the Queen and the other face cards represent no one in particular, although legend states the Queen of Hearts is a representation of Elizabeth of York, queen consort of Henry VII of England. Certainly the headdress the queen wears under her crown is of the Early Tudor era.

In contrast, French deck manufacturers traditionally assigned each court card a particular historical or mythological personage. The Queens in a French deck have traditionally assigned names as follows:[1][2]
Queen of Spades: Athena
Queen of Hearts: Judith (Biblical figure)
Queen of Diamonds: Rachel (Biblical figure)
Queen of Clubs: Argine (an anagram of Regina, Latin for "queen")

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In decks with English faces, the jack and the other face cards represent no one in particular — this is in contrast to the historical French practice, in which each court card is said to represent a particular historical or mythological personage. The jacks in a French-styled deck have traditionally assigned names as follows:[2][3]
Jack of Spades: Ogier the Dane (legendary hero of the chansons de geste)[4] or Holger Danske (a knight of Charlemagne)
Jack of Hearts: La Hire (French warrior)
Jack of Diamonds: Hector (mythological hero of the Iliad)
Jack of Clubs: Lancelot or Judas Maccabeus

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And all the time I thought they were pimps for the Queens....!

February 26, 2012 at 3:26 PM
OrbsCorbs said...

I've always felt that the jacks were untrustworthy fellows. I mean, what are they doing there? You have your kings and queens, nice couples. Then the jacks are lurking about. Are they there to cause rouble between the kings and queens?

February 26, 2012 at 3:46 PM
kkdither said...

Well... you know Kings are busy guys, with all that kinging they need to do. Maybe the knights hang around to keep the Queens happy? You've heard the saying, "when the woman isn't happy, no one is." ;>

February 26, 2012 at 4:13 PM
Toad said...

KK, I never heard that one. Now I know where I went wrong.

February 26, 2012 at 5:11 PM
OrbsCorbs said...

While the kings are kinging, the queens should be queening, and nobody should be jacking around.

February 26, 2012 at 5:53 PM
drewzepmeister said...

And that's a fact, Jack!

February 26, 2012 at 6:21 PM
SER said...

I think the Joker has them all fooled!

February 27, 2012 at 9:22 AM
OrbsCorbs said...

You're probably right, SER. ;-)

February 27, 2012 at 7:51 PM

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