this page from site of Andrea Pollett
[1] Fritz Koreny [2] Georg Kugler |
[3] Michael Dummett [4] Detleff Hoffmann |
THE HOFAMTERSPIEL |
THE SUBJECTS |
On the basis of written sources which describe no longer existing decks, it has also been suggested that the concept of playing cards whose values were inspired by social levels probably already existed in the late 14th century: this would mean that the "household" system might have been an earlier creation than the "hunting" system [1], thus representing the very first variety of local deck in the German world. |
THE SUIT SYSTEM |
THE 48 CHARACTERS AND THEIR RANKS
Each of the Hofamterspiel's cards features a different character, almost as a pack
made of 48 courts. In each suit, the values rank from I (the lowest) to X, and they end
with a queen and a king (the highest card). The king and queen do not feature a number,
and are also the only two cards not stating the character's occupation, so that they might
be considered the actual court cards of the deck.
In all four suits, the I shows a fool (Narr, or its female equivalent Narryn),
while the two highest cards next to the king and queen are the master of the household or
major domo (Hofmeister, X, who was in charge of the court during the
ruler's absence), and the marshal (Marschalk, IX, in charge of any duty that
involved the use of horses or carriages, such as the king's travels, etc.).
With the exception of two subjects (the Jungfrawe, lady-in-waiting, card VI
in all suits, and the Trometer, trumpeter, card IIII in Germany and Hungary), all
other characters are individual, changing from suit to suit. The social rank of each of them may be easily understood, according to the higher or lower value the relevant card is worth in the deck. Therefore, for instance, a doctor (Artzt, Bohemia suit) would have occupied more or less the same social level of a chaplain (Capplan, Germany suit), or of a chancellor (Kanzler, Hungary suit), or of a household mistress of a queen or a princess (Hofmeistryn, France suit), so all these subjects appear on cards VIII belonging to different suits. A full list of the characters and their values is shown in the following table: for easier reference, subjects not appearing in all four suits are shown in pale green. |
TABLE OF THE HOFAMSTERSPIEL'S CHARACTERS
value suit | BOHEMIA | FRANCE | GERMANY | HUNGARY |
... ... X IX VIII VII VI V IIII III II I |
Konig king Konigin queen Hofmeister household master Marschalk marshal Artzt doctor Kammer[mei]ster chamberlain Junckfrawe lady-in-waiting Valkner falconer Trometer trumpeter Herolt herald Hefneryn potter (female) Narr fool |
Konig king Konigin queen Hofmeister household master Marschalk marshal Hofmeistryn household mistress Schenk cup-bearer Junckfrawe lady-in-waiting Koch cook Marstaler master of the stables Hofsneider tailor Jeger huntsman Nerryn fool (female) |
Konig king Konigin queen Hofmeister household master Marschalk marshal Capplan chaplain Truchses steward Junckfraw lady-in-waiting Kellner wine-cellar man Parbirer barber Renner jouster Bott messenger Narr fool |
Konig king Konigin queen Hofmeister household master Marschalk marshal Kantzler chancellor Kuchenmeist[er] chief cook Junckfrawe lady-in-waiting Schutz archer Trometer trumpeter Vischner fish-monger Pfister baker N[er]ryn fool (female) |
Ranking by social hierarchy appears similar to that of Mantegna's Tarot's first group of cards.
Among the list of subjects, the lowest cards of the series seem to have elements in common with other obsolete decks, though not as old as the Hofamterspiel.
The Bavarian-Austrian Hexenspiel, belonging to the so-called group of Cuckoo
decks, had a card named Narr which featured a fool (although the same subject in
German and Austrian tarot decks is called Skus, after the French Excuse, and
looks like a joker). In some respects, the four Narr and Narryn also link to the knaves of the |
Which game or games the Hofamterspiel was specifically created for is virtually impossible to tell, since no other source except Ferdinand of Tirol's catalogue entry specifically mentions the deck or it's use. Due to the very fine quality of the cards, and because of the particular structure of the ranks (six matching subjects in all four suits, and six mismatching ones, with a fool as last card of the suit), it appears likely that the Hofamterspiel was used for playing a trick-taking game, in which the Narr and Narryn might have acted as jokers [3].
However, it is interesting how several female characters too were part of the card game, as well as of daily life at court, at many different hierarchic levels: queen, mistress of the household (VIII), lady-in-waiting (VI), potter (II), fool (I).