
The king is a
playing card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a f ...
with a picture of a king displayed on it. The king is usually the highest-ranking
face card. In the
French version of playing cards and
tarot
Tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play t ...
decks, the king immediately outranks the
queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
. In
Italian and
Spanish playing cards, the king immediately outranks the
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
. In
German and
Swiss playing cards, the king immediately outranks the ''
Ober''. In some games, the king is the highest-ranked card; in others, the
Ace is higher. Aces began outranking kings around 1500 with
Trappola being the earliest known game in which the aces were highest in all four suits.
In the
ace–ten family of games such as
pinochle and
Schnapsen
Schnapsen, Schnapser or Schnapsa is a trick-taking card game of the bézique (ace–ten) family that is very popular in Bavaria and in the territories of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and has become the national card game of Austria and Hung ...
, both the ace and the 10 rank higher than the king.
History

The king card is the oldest and most universal court card. It most likely originated in Persian
Ganjifeh where kings are depicted as seated on thrones and outranking the viceroy cards which are mounted on horses. Playing cards were transmitted to Italy and Spain via the
Mamluks and
Moors
The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a s ...
. The best preserved and most complete deck of Mamluk cards, the
Topkapı pack, did not display human figures but just listed their rank most likely due to religious prohibition. It is not entirely sure if the Topkapı pack was representative of all Mamluk decks as it was a custom-made luxury item used for display. A fragment of what may be a seated king card was recovered in Egypt which may explain why the poses of court cards in Europe resemble those in Persia and India.
Seated kings were generally common throughout Europe. During the 15th century, the Spanish started producing standing kings. The French originally used Spanish cards before developing their regional deck patterns. Many Spanish court designs were simply reused when the French invented their own suit-system around 1480.
The English imported their cards from
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
until the early 17th century when foreign card imports were banned. The king of hearts is sometimes called the "suicide king" because he appears to be sticking his sword into his head. This is a result of centuries of bad copying by English card makers where the king's axe head has disappeared.
Starting in the 15th century, French manufacturers assigned to each of the court cards names taken from history or mythology. This practice survives only in the Paris pattern which ousted all its rivals, including the Rouen pattern around 1780.
The names for the kings in the Paris pattern (''portrait officiel'') are:
Paris and Rouen pattern figures
at the International Playing-Card Society. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
File:King of spades fr.svg, David
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
File:King of hearts fr.svg, Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
File:King of diamonds fr.svg, Cesar
File:King of clubs fr.svg, Alexandre
Most French-suited continental European patterns are descended from the Paris pattern but they have dropped the names associated with each card.
Example cards
Kings from Russian playing cards:
Image:Атласная колода король экстра трефы.jpg, King of Clubs (Russian pattern)
Image:Атласная колода экстра король бубни.jpg, King of Diamonds (Russian pattern)
Image:Атласная колода экстра король черви.jpg, King of Hearts (Russian pattern)
Image:Атласная колода экстра король пики.jpg, King of Spades (Russian pattern)
Image:Taroky honery.JPG, Industrie und Glück
Industry may refer to:
Economics
* Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity
* Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery
* The wider industrial sector ...
pattern
Kings from Italian playing cards:
Image:Bergamo Deck - Wands - King.jpg, King of clubs (Bergamo pattern)
Image:Bergamo Deck - Coins - King.jpg, King of coins (Bergamo pattern)
Image:Bergamo Deck - Cups - King.jpg, King of cups (Bergamo pattern)
Image:Bergamo Deck - Swords - King.jpg, King of swords (Bergamo pattern)
Kings from Spanish playing cards:
Image:Aluette card deck - Grimaud - 1858-1890 - King of Clubs.jpg, King of clubs ( Aluette)
Image:Aluette card deck - Grimaud - 1858-1890 - King of Coins.jpg, King of coins (Aluette)
Image:Aluette card deck - Grimaud - 1858-1890 - King of Cups.jpg, King of cups (Aluette)
Image:Aluette card deck - Grimaud - 1858-1890 - King of Swords.jpg, King of swords (Aluette)
Image:TuteFourKings.jpg, Catalan pattern
Image:Reyes Tute.jpg, Castilian pattern
Kings from German playing cards:
Image:Saxonian Deck - Acorns - King.jpg, King of acorns (Saxon pattern)
Image:Saxonian Deck - Bells - King.jpg, King of bells (Saxon pattern)
Image:Saxonian Deck - Hearts - King.jpg, King of hearts (Saxon pattern)
Image:Saxonian Deck - Leaves - King.jpg, King of leaves (Saxon pattern)
In Unicode
The kings are included in the Playing Cards:
*
*
*
*
See also
* List of poker hand nicknames
References
{{Playing cards
King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...