Curse of Scotland of 1715 and "became universally hated in Scotland". In 18th-century Scotland, the nine of diamonds was sometimes called the "Justice Clerk", and was considered to be the most unlucky card in the pack. James Mitchell's 1825 "Scotsman's Library" claimed that the expression originated from the Duke of Monmouth writing orders on such a card before the Battle of Bothwell Bridge (1679). Despite this, in "The Spectator", a reviewer of an 1885 book by George Gomme commented that the reviewer had believed that the phrase had started from an order written on a 9 by the Duke of Cumberland ("Butcher" Cumberland)
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.