Arn de Gothia
A Swedish tale of the Crusades gets the Piatnik treatment.
Arn de Gothia (Arn of Gothia) is the hero of a historical fiction trilogy about a Swedish nobleman who becomes a Knight Templar in the Crusades. The trilogy, written by Swedish author Jan Guillou, became popular enough to be made into two films.
I’m not sure if this deck has drawings from a certain edition or which characters are represented on the cards. Hearts and diamonds courts appear to bear Crusader knights and noblewomen while spades and clubs display Saracen nobles and warriors with knights on caparisoned horses being the jokers.
Arn de Gothia playing cards illustrated by Kaj Wistbacka, printed by Piatnik, 2005.
Piatnik has a robust lineup of pop culture decks, but the majority are things like posters or vintage images, not custom-designed court figures from a particular book or film. The only other one I know of is their The Witcher deck.
By Lev Golinkin
United States • Member since May 26, 2026
I'm a US-based author and journalist. I've been collecting playing cards since I was about 8 years old, when I got mesmerized by the various decks that were used in Soviet Ukraine, where I'm from. I collect mainly European decks such as those by Dondorf, Grimaud, and Piatnik. I love courts above all else, and am drawn toward historical and artistic decks.
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