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by gemellem on October 6th, 2004

gemellem

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Who invented the deck of playing cards and when?

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  • by Graendal on October 14th, 2004

    Graendal

    That's a great question.

    I searched for a good while on this one, but no one seems to know WHO invented them. If anyone can find the answer for this, please let me know!

    As for when they were invented, I found the results were nearly as obscure.

    Some scholars indicate that playing cards were invented about 1000 A.D. in China or Korea, and they may have evolved from a set of Chinese dominoes similar to the 19th century set.

    Other scholars indicate that dominoes as well as playing cards evolved from "flattened", marked, arrows much earlier than 1000 A.D..

    On the other hand, some theorists indicate that around the 12th century A.D., circular suited playing cards from India (which may or may not have come from China) found their way to Egypt and were modified somewhat in Egypt. By the 14th century A.D. the Egyptian deck found its way to Italy and Spain and soon after spread throughout Europe.

    So basically...the history of playing cards is somewhat lost. We may never know who to thank for the great invention.

    But at least we know it's not Hoyle, like many people think. :-)

    Comments

    • Thank You.

      gemellem

      by gemellem on October 23rd, 2004

    • Why am I the only one who gets this? A deck of cards is simply a LUNAR CALENDAR, and a perpetual one at that. Look and learn... 52 cards = 52 weeks, 4 suits = 4 seasons, 13 ranks = 13 weeks in each season. 91 days in each season (7x13=91) 13 x 28 = 364 days, or 7 x 52 = 364 days, the number of days in a LUNAR YEAR! The small "Joker" represents the extra day necessary to complete the SOLAR YEAR, 365 days, and the large "Joker" represents the day required to complete the LEAP YEAR! See? Hearts = Spring, Clubs = Summer, Diamonds = Fall, and Spades = Winter. The calendar begins with the Ace of Hearts on March 21st, The Spring Equinox. Each card lasts for 1 week, exceot the Jokers, which only represent days. Therefore you can "predict the future" by knowing which card represents which week, i.e., the Ace of Clubs Starts the 21st of June, or the 1st day of Summer. And so on... This calendar, the LUNAR one, was precisely the system used by the Essenes, the Keepers of the Dead Sea Scrolls. One of the major reasons the Essenes hated the Romans was because the Romans insisted that they (the Essenes)follow the vain GREGORIAN calendar instead, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! Why is a week a consistent measurement and a "MONTH" not? Well, a true MOONTH is consistent, and it is 28 days long (just ask your ovulating girlfriend). 28 x 13 = 364. And the Essenes would have rather died, which they did, than conform to the vain Roman calendar! July and August are named after two Roman Ceasars, Julius and Augustus! I could go on, but if you don't get it by now I'm wasting my time...
      I hope this helps you! When it FINALLY dawned on me what they are, it was like: Duh, you dumbass; you should've caught on to that a long time ago. By the way, I don't know if the Maya played Poker, but they used 13 in their calendars, too! Spread the news; but tell em you got it from mac23skidoo@yahoo.com bye

      mac23skidoo

      by mac23skidoo on October 8th, 2010

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