Naming of the Court Cards

[firemaiden]

In Mystical Origins of the Tarot, Paul Huson writes in his section called "The Naming of the Court Cards": (p 8)

The French notion of naming the court cards of their decks emerged in the early to mid-1400's, about the time the tarot trumps first appeared. The court cards' names would have been bywords for the French nobility, as the names were taken from popular medieval romances written in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Indeed, many of the male court card names in French card decks are drawn from a medieval grouping of heroes known as the Nine Worthies, three of whom derive from the legendary world of biblical Judaism, three from classical pagainism, and three from legendary Christendom.

As Huson goes through the history of meanings for each card in the tarot deck, he spends time considering how the tarot courts might have derived their meanings and characters from the most popular names for their counterparts in the Paris pattern french playing cards.

These were (as culled from Huson):

Cups (Coeur/Hearts)
-King: Charlemagne
-Queen: Judith (slayer of Holofernes)
-Page: Paris of Troy (seducer of Helen) or La Hire (champion of Joan of Arc.

Swords: (Pique/Spades)
-King: David, King of Israel (slayer of Goliath)
-Queen: Pallas (Athena) "la Pucelle" - sometimes Joan of Arc
-Page: either 1) Ogier or 2) Renault of Montaubon

Wands (Carreaux/Diamonds)
-King: "Cezar" - Julius Caesar
-Queen: 1) Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons, or 2) Rachel, wife of Job.
-Page: 1) Roland (Song of Roland) or 2) Hector (Trojan hero, slayer of Achilles)

Coins (Trèfle/Clovers)
-King: Alexander the Great
-Queen: "Argine" (Huson says the name is arcane, but lists as possibilities "Regina" Mary of Anjou, or Marie de Médecis, or Argea, daughter of the King of Argos, or Argea Queen of the Fays, alter ego to Morgan le Fay)
Page: Lancelot

Has anyone an opinion about this? Have the historical playing card names for the courts any significance in the development of the Tarot courts? Has there been any disscussion of this?

 

[jmd]

There are a number of texts that make a connection between both characters from legend and history, and the courts - from memory, even the essays in De Gebelin do so.

We have discussed this a little in the past - I would have to do a search (about to leave, so do not have the time right now, but a search with "King David" may yield results)

What is possibly more at question here is what is at times a stated or implied correlation between the more modern French suits and the traditional Tarot suits. For example, what is the suit of Diamonds connected to in Tarot?

The naming of court suits and famous characters, by the way, for me only adds to the courts as presenting characterological traits - even in times past.

 

[firemaiden]

Well, diamonds has to be batons I think, because trefle has to be coins becuase the trefle looks exactly like the design inside the coin.

 

[Teheuti]

Have the historical playing card names for the courts any significance in the development of the Tarot courts?

Who knows? You'd have to get inside the head of the makers of the cards.

You will find, however, several other names/identities frequently given to the Court Cards in my book _Understanding the Tarot Court_ (written with Tom Little). I found it interesting when thinking about the meanings I associate with these cards

Mary

 

[Huck]

Well, diamonds has to be batons I think, because trefle has to be coins becuase the trefle looks exactly like the design inside the coin.

diamonds = baton is probably only very seldom suggested.

http://trionfi.com/0/p/16/

Anyway, everything is only suggestion. Likely every cardmaker had opportunity to have his own ideas about the meaning of suit siugns.

This one connected hearts to birds and Pique to animals (early 17th).
http://trionfi.com/01/j/i/gambler_ru/d02251.htm
And the whole court cards to Greek gods.

In this deck (ca. 1650)
http://trionfi.com/01/j/i/gambler_ru/d00618.htm
diamonds are connected to birds.

and here again
http://trionfi.com/01/j/i/gambler_ru/d02260.htm
hearts = birds.

And in the Michelino deck we had 4 different bird suits and in old German decks lots of birds as suits.

The French suit signs developed, cause they were easy and cheap to produce. And cause of this use for the mass market they became finally "most successful".