Hofamterspiel

= Hofämterspiel=

The Hofämterspiel, is a medieval hand-made deck commissioned by Ladislaus the Posthumous, king of Hungary and Bohemia and Duke of Austria from 1453 to 1457. It was found among the great collection of art treasures of Archduke Ferdinand of Tirol in castle Ambras, Austria, together with another called Ambras deck.

The 48 cards of the deck, measuring c. 97 mm x 140 mm (3¾ in x 5½ in), are decorated with bright-colored tempera paint and bear details in silver and gold leaf. Each suit sign carries the coats of arms of four kingdoms: France, Germany, Bohemia and Hungary. The illustrations, with their names written in archaic German, depict the precedence of different court functions during the late Middle Ages, together with the values of the cards, numbered 1 - 10 in Roman numerals, except for the king and queen which have no number and are also the only two subjects that do not state the character's occupation.

In all four suits the I features a fool, Narr, or its female equivalent Narryn, and the two highest cards next to the king and queen are the master of the household, 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. With the exception of two subjects, the Jungfrawe, card VI in all suits, and the Trometer, card IIII in Germany and Hungary, all other personages are individual and don’t appear in any other suit.

The social rank of each of them may be easily understood, according to the higher or lower value of the relevant card. For instance, the Doctor, Artzt, in Bohemia suit, would have shared more or less the same social rank as a Chaplain, Capplan, in Germany suit, or of a Chancellor, Kanzler, in Hungary suit, or of a Household Mistress of a queen or a princess, Hofmeistryn, in France suit, so all these subjects are featured on the eighth, VIII, card of different suits.

Which game or games the Hofämterspiel was devised for is virtually impossible to tell, as no other source mentions the deck or its use, except the catalogue entry that describes Ferdinand of Tirol's belongings. The very fine quality of the cards, as well as the particular ranking scheme, suggest that the Hofämterspiel was likely used for playing a trick-taking game, in which the Narr and Narryn might have acted as jokers.

The Hofämterspiel reflects the political relationships in Central Europe in the mid-15th century and was basically inspired by the standard social structure of royal courts during the late Middle Ages. Therefore, what makes these cards so interesting is the fact that not only their intrinsic value for the early history of playing cards are shown, but also the evidence they provide for the understanding of the social hierarchy and everyday's life in late medieval courts.

List of Personages in the Hofämsterspiel

-Names that are not found in all four suits are highlighted in red-

Links

[http://www.khm.at/homeE/homeE.html Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna]
[http://www.wopc.co.uk/austria/hofamterspiel.html The World of Playing Cards]
[http://l-pollett.tripod.com/cards23.htm Andy's Playing Cards]