The Origins of Playing Cards

The Cultural Context

he Gothic age, from the 13th - 15th centuries, saw fundamental economic and religious changes. Across the map of medieval Europe lay a tight web of trade routes, the arteries of commerce and exchange. The centre of gravity shifted from the land to the towns. A new form of economy evolved, based on production for sale and exchange, in which merchants and craftsmen played increasingly important roles. They bound together cities, principalities and kingdoms, linking them even with the world of Islam and the alien, exotic East. More…

Industry and technology were stimulated, new financial systems and new codes of international agreement were agreed, guilds of craftsmen were formed in towns, universities were established, books on all subjects were required… all favouring quicker and more affordable production. The invention of woodcuts towards the end of the 14th century, and Gutenberg's invention of movable type around 1440, made possible editions of multiple copies. The development of printing is the definitive symptom of the modern age: playing cards as a mass-produced commodity were a spin-off from these developments. The art of printing made it possible for information, knowledge and propaganda to be brought to the common people…

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