The Ober, formerly Obermann, in Austrian also called the Manderl, is the

court card A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts gene ...

in the German and

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

styles of playing cards that corresponds in rank to 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 French packs. The name ''Ober'' (lit.: "over") is an abbreviation of the former name for these cards, ''Obermann'', which meant something like 'superior' or 'lord'. Van der Linde argues that the King, Ober and Unter in a pack of German cards represented the military ranks of general, officer (''Oberofficier'') and sergeant (''Unterofficier''), while the pip cards represented the common soldier. The figure depicted on an Ober is usually a nobleman or officer. It is distinguished from the lowest court card, the Unter (lit. "under", formerly ''Untermann'' or "vassal", "subject", "subordinate"), by the figure's suit sign located in the upper range of the card. In the Württemberg pattern the Ober appears on horseback, as they were inspired by Cego packs whose face cards included a Knight or Cavalier as well as the Jack,

and

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, ...

. The earliest description of playing cards in Europe comes from John of Rheinfelden in 1377. He describes the recent introduction of cards in his region. For packs he regards as common, beneath the seated King were two

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

s (cavalry commanders), with one holding his suit sign up while the other held his hanging down. This corresponds with modern Obers and Unters with the exception that they are no longer mounted on horseback. Card packs that contain four Obers are used, for example, in Skat, Mau Mau, Bavarian Tarock and Schafkopf. By contrast, the packs used to play Gaigel and Doppelkopf have eight Obers. In Schafkopf, the four Obers are the highest trump cards, in Doppelkopf the eight Obers are the highest trump cards after the two tens of hearts. In the Bavarian card game, Grasobern, tricks that contain the 'Grass Ober' (i.e. Ober of

Leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

) are to be avoided.

References

Literature

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External links

{{Playing card Playing cards Card game terminology