Les Chevaliers de la Table Ronde

Muted blues, greens, and yellows dominate the gorgeous ethereal artwork by Jean Bruneau for this appropriately otherworldly depiction of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table rendered in a romantic, neo-medieval style. Forms are refined into rhythmic shapes and patterns, giving the cards a modern sensibility recalling French and Breton folk illustration. An accompanying brochure explains the personages pictured on the single-figure courts.

The pip cards have embellished suit symbols evocative of arrowheads and Celtic spirals; suit symbols on the courts are non-ornamental. The jokers are the Green Knight, who had a helluva party trick, according to the legend. There are two different backs showing the heraldic furs ermine and ermines (counter-ermine), coat-of-arms depictions of stoat pelts worn by nobles and royals in the Middle Ages. A title card rounds out the deck.