Jeu Roman

A reader, especially an English-speaking one, may be confused by the title Jeu Roman, because these cards aren’t about the Roman Empire. Instead, they cover the early Middle Ages – called the Romanesque period – in France. (If we want to get technical, the deck extends well beyond the Romanesque and into the Gothic). Jeu Roman is the one of three Dusserre decks exploring French history and achievements from the Romanesque through the Renaissance. The court cards overflow with fascinating personages such as Saint Bernard, Empress Matilda, and William the Conqueror, who’s reduced to being a jack – a travesty!

The aces portray scenes from the famous Bayeux Tapestry which chronicles William’s invasion of England. Meanwhile, the pip cards display medieval architecture and list famous abbeys, orders of knighthood, and works of literature.

Jeu Roman published by Éditions Dusserre, Paris, 1990.

Two clerics – the philosopher, theologian, and poet Peter Abelard and Abbot Suger, advisor to kings and the father of Gothic architecture – are the jokers. It’s unclear why they were chosen, but it doesn’t seem to be an insult, as is the case in some other decks. The backs have a repeating pattern of stags and hares/rabbits.

See Jeu Gothique for the next deck in the series.