Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1909-08-20
FIRST PLAYING CARDS
They Seem to Have Sprung From
the Naibis of the Saracens.
INVENTION OF A VENETIAN,
The Evidence Appears to Prove That
Games With Cards Originated To-
ward the End of the Fourteenth Cen
tury-Thc Cards of Charles vi.

ne GStdencc appears 10 rroNe tnet
Games With Cards Originated To-
ward the End of the Fourteenth Gen.
tury-Thc 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:
In the year OF 1879 was brought
into viterbo the game OF cards. which
comes from the country OF the Sara
Gems and Is with them called neib."
Ii Is worthy OF remark that Covel-
luzzo did not write at that date he
mentioned. but century later. In
1850. and II is quite possible that he
may have been mistaken In attribut-
ing the cards TO Saracenic origin or
may have simply been quoting a popu-
lar tradition. The Saracens were ia
mlllar with palb;s. 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 es a matter of his personal ex-
perience is that discovered In the reg
lister of the court treasurer OF France,
10 the reign OF Charles VI. The entry
Is under the date OF Feb. I. 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 Sc soils OF Paris"
This Is the foundation upon which
Is based the popular notion that play
Ing cards were invented for the amuse-
meut of n 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. IL has been
proved that the cards shown I'm Paris
are really very fine Venetian tarok
cards and are part Of an edition made
mt least az late as 1la5.
During the twenty years that follow
this date OF the royal treasurer's (I392j
literature is full OF references 10 play
Ing cards. Almost every author that
mentions games OF gambling parapher-
MALTA particulnrizes one or more games
OF cards. But before that date no al
nslou has been found TO n game that
could be construed ms 4 card game. al
though there are several writer's who
might reasonably be expected to men,
tion cards IL they were acquainted
with them.
Hugh won Tymberg who wrote In
the second half OF the thirteenth and
the beginning OF the fourteenth CEN
fury: IVtr;Ir'h. who wrote I'm the first
half of tho fourteenth century; Chau-
Ger. who wrote I'm the second half OF
the fourteenth century. made no men
ti"r at cards. although In the writings
of all al them there are references to
gambling tables and implements.
In the Escurial library there is
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.
hut one naturally asks II the earliest
mention Of cards * To be found in the
register OF the royal treasurer Of
France where did cards come from IL
they were not Il new thing 10 him?
l" 90 back little IL Is we'll known
that there existed long before the date
or any mention OF playing cards n So
ricS OF embiematic pictures called
naiblS. which were used hy gypsies
and others for the purpose OF fortune
telling and sorcery. 1t is probably
these naibis that were brought 10 Eu-
rope by the Saracens. aml perhaps
'hey were supposed to be OF Saracenic
origin.
Authorities seem to he pretty well
agreed that toward the end or the
fourteenth century some inventive
genius, probably n Venetian. selected a
number of these naibls or pictures and
added 10 them series OF mineral
cards 80 as Ia convert them into Inn.
PIGMENTS by which the excitement of
chance and the interest OF gaming
might he added TO the amusement az
f"rdcd by The original naibis.
The principal reason for assuming
that cards originated I'm Italy and not
III France Is that the names OF the
cards themselves and the names OF the
earliest known games played with
them are a'l Italian and that these
Italian terms were carried all over
Europe. II they were OF French ORR
gin The nomenclature might he expect
ed To he 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 CARDS the emblems OF
the suits were changed to please the
national fancy until there Is nothing
left Today OF the original faith. char
lily. justice and fortitude which were
represented or the first Italian packs.