Who are the monarchs pictured on a deck of cards?

Question

Are the monarchs in the four suits drawn from once royal families in eastern Europe and in what time period?

Answer 1

the king, the queen, the jack and the joker.  Actually, the whole British royal family are a bunch of jokers.

Answer 2

In the French version of deck of cards, the figures represent:

King of Spades: David (c.1037 BC - 967 BC)

King of Hearts: Charlemagne (742/747 – 28 January 814), Charles VII of France (1403–1461)

King of Diamonds: Julius Caesar (July 13, 100 BC – March 15, 44 BC)

King of Clubs: Alexander the Great (July 20, 356 BC – June 10, 323 BC)

Queen of Spades: Pallas (mythical greek goddess supposely to be Athena, Goddess of Wisdom)

Queen of Hearts: Judith (biblical figure)

Queen of Diamonds: Rachel (biblical figure)

Queen of Clubs: Argine (possibly an anagram of regina, which is Latin for queen, or perhaps Argea, wife of Polybus and mother of Argus, greek mythical figure)

In the standard English playing card deck, the Queen and the other face cards represent no one in particular, although legend states the Queen of Hearts is a representation of Elizabeth of York, queen consort of Henry VII of England. Certainly the headdress the queen wears under her crown is of the Early Tudor era.

For more information visit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_car...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_(play...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_(playi...

Answer 3

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_car...

Paris court cards traditional names

King of Spades: David

King of Hearts: Charles (possibly Charlemagne, or Charles VII, where Rachel would then be the pseudonym of his mistress, Agnès Sorel)

King of Diamonds: Julius Caesar

King of Clubs: Alexander the Great

Queen of Spades: Pallas

Queen of Hearts: Judith

Queen of Diamonds: Rachel (either biblical, historical (see Charles above), or mythical as a corruption of the Celtic Ragnel, relating to Lancelot below)

Queen of Clubs: Argine (possibly an anagram of regina, which is Latin for queen, or perhaps Argea, wife of Polybus and mother of Argus)

Knave of Spades: Ogier the Dane/Holger Danske (a knight of Charlemagne)

Knave of Hearts: La Hire (comrade-in-arms to Joan of Arc, and member of Charles VII's court)

Knave of Diamonds: Hector

Knave of Clubs: Judas Maccabeus, or Lancelot

There are theories about who the court cards represent. For example, the Queen of Hearts is believed by some to be a representation of Elizabeth of York - the Queen consort of King Henry VII of England. The United States Playing Card Company suggests that in the past, the King of Hearts was Charlemagne, the King of Diamonds was Julius Caesar, the King of Clubs was Alexander the Great, and the King of Spades was the Biblical King David. However the Kings, Queens and Jacks of standard Anglo-American cards today do not represent anyone. They stem from designs produced in Rouen before 1516 and by 1540-67 these Rouen designs show well executed pictures in the court cards with the typical court costumes of the time. In these early cards the Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts and King of Diamonds are shown from the rear, with their heads turned back over the shoulder so that they are seen in profile. However, the Rouen cards were so badly copied in England that the current designs are gross distortions of the originals.

best of luck to you!