The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1909-09-30
FIRST PLAYING CARDS
They Seem to Have Sprung From
the NaiDis of the SaraCens.
INVENTION OF A VENETIAN.
The Evidence Appears to Prove That
Games With Cards Originated To-
ward the End of the Fourteenth Gen.
tury-The Cards Of Charles vi.

| ne GNt0SuSo <APPS~~ ~ ~sS '''~'
| Games With Cards Originated To-
ward the End of the Fourteenth Gen.
| tury--The Cards Of Charles vi.
The earliest direct mention Of play
ing cards discovered so far Is In the
"History Of the City Of Viterbo," says
the New York Telegraph. The author
quotes Covelluzzo. who wrote about
the end Of the fifteenth century:
| I'm the year of 1879 was brought
into viterbo the game Of cards. which
comes from the country Of the Sara
Gems and ia with them called naib."
| 1t is worthy of remark that Covel-
luzzo did not write at that date he
mentioned, but a century later. in
1880. and IL is quite possible that ne
may have been mistaken in attribut-
| ing the cards to Saracenic origin or
may have simply been quoting popu-
lar tradition. The Saracens were ia
miliar with naibis, the predecessor OF
cards, but they did not invent the
game of cards. Of which naibis were
only part.
The earliest date about which there
can be no dispute at which playing
cards are directly mentioned by a
writer as a matter Of his personal ex-
perience is that discovered in the reg
lister Of the court treasurer Of France,
in the reign Of Charles vi. The entry
is under the date Of Feb. /, 1892, as
follows:
"Given to Jacquemin Gringonneur,
painter, for three packs of playing
cards. in gold and various colors and
ornamented with several devices, to
carry before the lord our king for his
amusement 56 soils Of Paris"
This Is the foundation upon which
is based the popular notion that play
ing cards were Invented for the amuse-
ment Of a crazy French king. Critics
have pointed out that the amount paid
Is simply for the hand painting and
decoration of the cards. There Is moth
ing In the entry that gives ground for
supposing that the cards themselves
| were new.
There are on exhibition today at the
/ National library in Paris what are
supposed to be seventeen Of these
cards that were painted for Charles
VI. and this has strengthened the i'm
preston that they are the original
model from which all playing cards
have been copied. Unfortunately for
/ the fame of the exhibit. 1t has been
proved that the cards shown In Paris
are really very fine Venetian tarok
| cards and are part Of an edition made
at least as late as 1425. fi9
| During the twenty years that follow
this date OF the royal treasurers 1892
literature is full Of references to play
ing cards. Almost every author that
mentions games Of gambling parapher-
MALTA particularizes one or more games
of cards But before that date no al
fusion has been found to game that
could be construed as card game. al
though there are several writer's who
might reasonably be expected to men
ton cards If they were acquainted
with them.
Hugh von Tymberg. who wrote in
the second half of the thirteenth and
the beginning Of the fourteenth CEN
fury; Petrarch. who wrote In the first
half Of the fourteenth century; Chau-
Ger. who wrote in the second half of
the fourteenth century. made no men,
tion of cards. although in the writings
of all Of them there are references to
gambling tables and implements.
In the Escurial library there is a
manuscript composed by order of Don
Alphonso the Wise. dated 1921. which
gives the rules for number Of games.
especially chess and dice. but does not
contain word about cards.
But one naturally asks If the earliest
mention of cards is to be found in the
register Of the royal treasurer Of
France where did cards come from II
they were not a new thing to him?
To go back a little. 1t Is well known
that there existed long before the date
OF any mention of playing cards Sc
RIGS of emblematic pictures called
naibis, which were used by gypsies
and others for the purpose of fortune
telling and sorcery. 1t is probably
these naibis that were brought to Eu-
rope by the Saracens, and perhaps
they were supposed to be OF Saracenic
origin.
Authorities seem to be pretty well
agreed that toward the end of the
fourteenth century some inventive
genius. probably Venetian. selected
number of these naibis or pictures and
added to them series or numerai
cards so as TO convert them into i'm
plements by which the excitement OF
chance and the interest OF gaming
might be added to the amusement at
forded by the original Daibis.
The principal reason for assuming
that cards originated in Italy and not
In France is that the names OF the
cards themselves and the names OF the
earliest known games played with
them are all Italian and that these
italian terms were carried all over
Europe. If they were of French ORR
gin the nomenclature might be expect
ed to be French.
There is an abundant evidence that
the playing cards which rapidly found
their way all over Europe were made
IN Venice. AS each country got to
| making its own car6s, the emblems Of
the suits were changed TO please the
| national fancy until there Is nothing
left today Of the original faith. char
ity. justice and fortitude which were
represented on the first Italian packs
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