Suicide King

Modern playing cards are filled with layers of meaning and symbols that can be traced back centuries. The four kings, for example, are based on real rulers: the king of diamonds represents the wealthy Julius Caesar; the king of clubs is the brutal Alexander the Great; the king of spades represents the strong but kind David of Israel; and the king of Hearts represents the emotionally disturbed Charles VII of France.

It is this king that we will be dealing with today. It should also be noted that Charles was the only one of the four who was actually there to see the day his face was printed on a playing card, which may rationalize why he acted apart from the others.

It appears to have died of a lung infection in It is therefore not exactly the kind of person who would be hit the head with a sword.

But the legend of Suicide King continues however. The King of Hearts remains a special and emblematic card, like the two one-eyed jacks.

The design of the cards comes from a model of cards produced in by the French Pierre Marechal of Rouen. The four seeds hearts , diamonds, spades and clubs probably prevailed because they were easier and cheaper to reproduce and the figures infantryman, queen and king were drawn in full-length, with legs and feet.

The graphics with the design of Rouen define both the position of the faces and the objects that are held in the hand by the figures, such as the axe, the swords or the undefined object denied by the jack of spades.

The French began to call the figures with the names of l egendary heroes or historical figures , and the names were printed on the cards until the eighteenth century.

The indications of the value of the cards on the corners and edges begin to appear in the mid-nineteenth century to allow you to keep the cards close together in a fan shape with one hand and still control them all.

In the 16th century the figures on the cards produced by the artisans of the French city of Rouen depict.

In early games kings are the most valuable card, with no exceptions. As early as the end of the fifteenth century, a special meaning began to be given to the nominally lower value card, now called ace, so as to make it of greater value and give the lesser value to 2.

Over the centuries the drawing has become more schematic and some details have been lost. The king of hearts initially brandished an axe above his head and not a sword, which is why, today, he is nicknamed the suicide king.

The story has it that after the death of two of his three sons , Charlemagne began to show signs of mental imbalance.

In reality, Carlo lay in bed consumed from the diseases becoming weaker and weaker until he died. Charles was obsessed with the idea that the king, the thirteenth dressed card, was bringing him bad luck.

He told several times how he began to see the number 13 appear everywhere and that he was close to understanding the secret.

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