the jack of spades represents la hire in a deck of cards with the paris pattern.
the jack of spades represents la hire in a deck of cards with the paris pattern.
who does the jack of spades represent in a deck of cards with the paris pattern?
la hire
in the english pattern, the jack and the other face cards represent no one in particular, in contrast to the historical french practice, in which each court card is said to represent a particular historical or mythological personage. the valets in the paris pattern have traditionally been associated with such figures as ogier the dane (a knight of charlemagne and legendary hero of the chansons de geste) for the jack of spades; la hire (french warrior) for the jack of hearts; hector (mythological hero of the iliad) for the jack of diamonds; and lancelot or judas maccabeus for the jack of clubs.
jack (playing card)
starting in the 15th century, french manufacturers assigned to each of the court cards names taken from history or mythology. this practice survives only in the paris pattern which ousted all its rivals, including the rouen pattern around 1780. the names for the kings in the paris pattern ("portrait officiel") are:









































most french-suited continental european patterns are descended from the paris pattern but they have dropped the names associated with each card.









































section::::example cards.









































kings from french playing cards:









































kings from italian playing cards:









































kings from spanish playing cards:









































kings from german playing cards:









































section::::see also.
king (playing card)