The Unter, formerly Untermann, nicknamed the Wenzel, Wenz or Bauer, and (in Swiss) also called the Under, 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 ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 ...

-suited

playing cards 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 Pap ...

that corresponds to the Jack in French packs. The name ''Unter'' (lit.: "under") is an abbreviation of the former name for these cards, ''Untermann'', which meant something like 'subordinate' or 'vassal'. 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 Unter is distinguished from the ''

Ober Ober may refer to: * Ober (playing card), court card in the German and Swiss styles of playing cards * Ober, Indiana, an unincorporated community in Washington Township, Starke County * Oberek (also ''ober''), a lively Polish dance in triple metre ...

'' (lit. "over", formerly ''Obermann'') by the fact that the suit sign is located in the lower part of the image on single-headed cards or in the centre of the image on double-headed cards. Unters or ''Untermänner'' were described soon after the introduction of playing cards in Europe. In 1377, John of Rheinfelden wrote that the lowest court card was a

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 ...

(cavalry commander) who held his suit sign hanging down. It is likely that the horses were dropped to simplify production in the late 14th or early 15th centuries. In the Spanish pack, jacks are known as ''sota'' which also means "under", a vestigial remnant of their common origin. The most common motifs used to depict the Unter are simple

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 ...

s or even farmers. Packs with four ''Unters'' are used in

card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

s such as Skat, Mau Mau, Bavarian Tarock and

Schafkopf Schafkopf (, lit. 'sheep's head'), also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German Trick-taking game, trick-taking card game of the ace–ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. ...

, while packs used in games such as

Gaigel Gaigel is a card game from the Württemberg region of Germany and is traditionally played with Württemberg suited cards. It is a Swabian variant of Sechsundsechzig and may be played with 2, 3, 4 or 6 players. However, a significant difference from ...

and

Doppelkopf Doppelkopf (, lit. ''double-head''), sometimes abbreviated to Doko, is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game for four players. In Germany, Doppelkopf is nearly as popular as Skat (card game), Skat, especially in Northern Germany and the R ...

use eight ''Unters''. In Skat games using the German style cards, and in

German Schafkopf German Schafkopf () is an old German, ace–ten card game that is still played regionally in variant form today. It is the forerunner of the popular modern games of Skat, Doppelkopf and Bavarian Schafkopf. It originated in Leipzig in the Elect ...

, the ''Unters'' are the highest trump cards. The German nickname ''Bauer'' ("farmer") for the Unter has given rise to the name "Bower" for the Jack in certain English card games such as

Euchre Euchre or eucre ( ) is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game played in Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Upstate New York, and the Midwestern United States. It is played with a deck of 24, 25, 28, or 32 standard playing cards. There are no ...

. Blumen-Unter (Meister der Spielkarten).png, Early example: Unter with flower design, mid-15th century Vogel-Unter (Meister der Spielkarten).png, Early example: Unter with bird design, mid-15th century Swiss card deck - 1850 - Under of Acorns.jpg, An Under of Acorns in a Swiss German pack, c. 1850, with the acorn near the bottom

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