Andy's Playing Cards - The Tarot And Other Early Cards - page XVII - the moorish deck

An Italian chronicle of the second half of the 14th century reads: In the year 1379 was brought to Viterbo the game of cards which in the Saracen language is called nayb; who wrote this note might have witnessed one or more decks not very different from this one. Playing cards were imported into southern Europe from the lands ruled by the Moors (see historical notes and page V); the term 'Moorish' given to early Western cards, such as the ones featured in this page, refers to many analogies with the ones played with by the Mamlûks, but does not define a real pattern, as the number of cards in the deck, the shape of the pips and their arrangement had already begun to evolve and to differ.
The 'Italy 2' deck is probably the best example of this nebulous but fascinating prehistory of Western cards: unlike other very scarce specimens of similar age, it is almost complete (40 surviving subjects out of 48), and still fully readable despite the heavy signs of time and wear. An unsolved question, though, is where exactly these cards were made.

Each subject originally measured about 6.5 � 9.5 cm (2� � 3� in), smaller than a classic tarot, but slightly larger than average modern cards. The size is approximate, due to their state of preservation: all of them are lacking some fragments, or whole edges.
The pattern they feature is based on archaic Latin suits, each of which runs from 1 (ace) to 9, and ends with three court cards: a knave, a cavalier and a king; this composition matches the traditional Spanish deck. Although eight cards are missing (namely, the 4 and 5 of Coins, the 2 and 5 of Cups, the 9 and knave of Swords, and the ace and 6 of Batons), it seems unlikely that also the four 10s might have gone lost, thus that the deck might have consisted of 52 subjects, the same number of cards the Moors played with.

The deck was printed on thick paper with a woodblock; it was then hand-coloured, not by using stencils, but by dipping a finger in the paint and then using it as a brush, a technique learnt from the Moors. Four colours were used: by the effect of ageing, now they appear as dark red-brownish, dark brown or black, pink and yellow; the latter is barely visible due to the colour of the paper (see the socks worn by the knave of Batons, further in the page). The overall result is rather naive, although a few decorations such as leaves, acorns and small animals, were scantily added to fill the empty spaces of pip cards and make the background of court cards more lively.

Despite the museum's catalogue reference of this deck is Italy 2, it may come from anywhere within a wide area, now corresponding to Spain, northern Italy, southern France, Switzerland, and south-western Germany. It was found in Seville, and the only country where the same composition is used is Spain, but some scholars claim that the cap featured on the ace of Coins is consistent with a north-eastern Italian origin, while others identify the clothes worn by the courts as German.

In both the aforesaid suits, the pips are arranged in peculiar ways; for example, in 6s, 8s and 9s they form a ring. This is not only different from the standard arrangement of any modern pattern, but also from the one found in the Mamlûk cards (obviously, this can be said only for the very few samples we know). In the scarce extant samples of Moorish decks, all of which printed within the mid 1500s, the arrangement of Coins and Cups is consistent with the one described above, and some other details match, as well: evidently, playing card makers had already started to follow common graphic guidelines.
The difference in shape between the large sign featured on the ace of Coins and Cups, and the smaller pips of the remaining cards of the two suits, is a feature shared with classic tarots, and with some northern Italian patterns.

The scheme adopted in all four suits consists of standing knaves, cavaliers on horseback and kings seated on a throne (whose backs are visible in all four subjects).
A first consideration is that human figures had just been introduced to indicate the three highest ranks of each suit, probably the most noticeable difference between the Western courts and their Islamic equivalents, and their overall shape was already very similar to the one found today in most regional patterns. In particular, some of the figures were already featured in a rather typical attitude, i.e. turning their heads backwards, which is still commonly found today.

Three personages among the extant ones wear a beard: the knave of Batons, and the cavalier and king of Swords. This detail probably shows that the beard had no particular meaning yet, while in time it mainly became a feature denoting maturity, wisdom or royalty, thus worn only by kings in most of the patterns that developed in time.
The cavalier of Swords is also a Moor; note the pointed cap and the shield, both in the fashion of the Saracens, although the blade of the sword is not curved. A cavalier of Swords from the mid 1500s, wearing more generically a Moorish turban, is also found in the German Playing-card Museum of Leinfelden, and even among the patterns still in use traces of this personage can be found, giving enough evidence that this used to be a rather common subject.