Curse of Scotland excluded, making the 7, later called the "beer card", a "stop") but there is no direct relation with the 9. Gomme's book goes on to claim "At the game of Pope Joan, the nine of diamonds is Pope; therefore the nine of diamonds is the curse of Scotland". "The Spectator" review considered the claim "more cogent in form than in matter". A letter written in response to "The Spectator's" book review pointed out that the saying was established well before Culloden, and preferred the Pope Joan theory to other explanations. Other explanations given in the letter were: An 1864 book
Knight (playing card) Knight (playing card) A knight or cavalier is a playing card with a picture of a man riding a horse on it. It is a face card and is called "caballo" in Spanish playing cards and "cavallo" in Italian playing cards. In these decks, it ranks between the knave and the king within its suit. Among French playing cards, the knight ("chevalier") can only be found in tarot decks. In Latin and French suited tarot decks, the knight ranks between the knave and the queen. Knights do not appear in German or Swiss playing cards; their place being occupied by