Curse of Scotland on the eve of the Battle of Culloden (1746). However he went on to remark that the book claims that "The curse of Scotland must be something which that nation hates and detests. The Scots held in the utmost detestation the Pope." In the card game Pope Joan, very popular in the 19th century, the 9 is the most powerful card, and it is called the "Pope". The game is played on a special board on which the middle is marked "Pope Joan", and it is used in association with this card. The game uses 51 cards (the 8 is
King (playing card) In the Ace-Ten family of games such as pinochle and schnapsen, both the ace and the 10 rank higher than the king. The king card is the oldest and most universal court card. It most likely originated in Persian Ganjifeh where kings are depicted as seated on thrones and outranking the viceroy cards which are mounted on horses. Playing cards were transmitted to Italy and Spain via the Mamluks and Moors. The best preserved and most complete deck of Mamluk cards, the Topkapı pack, did not display human figures but just listed their rank most likely due to religious prohibition.