It wasn’t the type of language proper peopled used, though, and the card-playing elite were typically proper people. In the English language generally, as Etymology Online notes, “Jack became a generic name applied familiarly or contemptuously to anybody (especially a young man of the lower classes) from late 14th century.” As a knave is “a tricky deceitful fellow” per Merriam-Webster, the two are somewhat interchangeable. “Knave” remained the name of choice for about two centuries - at least if you were an upper-crust type.

The Knave, however, remained the same, ranking just below the Knight-turned-Queen. When playing cards spread to France, the French swapped the Knight out for the Queens we have today, for reasons unknown, and the Queen became the preferred representation of the penultimate rank throughout the world shortly thereafter. The King was royalty, but the others were support - men in service of the king. In English, those three ranks were referred to as the King, Knight (on horseback), and Knave (sword, tights, and funny hat). As seen below (via here), all three face cards depicted men (and, as an aside, there was no separate Ten card). To start, original decks were even less egalitarian than today’s. Instead, we have Jacks, as seen above, which is really weird because in almost no other context is the word “jack” used in reference to a royal court. Then come the Queens, which given that card games came from a less egalitarian time, makes sense.Īnd then come princes and princesses, right? But, no, decks of cards have neither of those. Depending on the game you’re playing, Kings are often the highest-ranking cards. And when it comes to gameplay, being royalty has its privileges. Open up just about any deck of cards (sorry, pinochle!) and you’ll find the same thing - 52 cards, four suits, and a total of twelve “face cards.” That dozen is made up of three ranks: Kings, Queens, and Jacks, and the cards typically depict people of nobility and with crowns.

Playing cards hearts king queen knave