Le jeu de cartes des Croisades
Venture into the Crusades in the style of medieval manuscript art.
Beginning in 1096 AD, the Crusades convulsed Europe and the Middle East with tales of chivalry and horror. Grimaud’s colorful deck evokes medieval manuscript art as it presents the personages of the Crusades such as Pope Urban II – who was a catalyst for the First Crusade – Saladin, and a dour Richard the Lionheart. The Queen of Diamonds, interestingly enough, is Melusine, the legendary half-woman, half-fish (or half-serpent, depending on the version of the story) progenitor of the House of Lusignan, which at one point ruled the Kingdom of Jerusalem established by the Crusaders.
A pair of energetic devils are jokers while the backs portray two knights on one horse – the emblem of the Knights Templar – in the style of a stained window.
Le jeu de cartes des Croisades © Frances Cartes / Grimaud, 1996
Although the extra card doesn’t mention it, the fact that this deck was printed on the 900th anniversary of the start of the First Crusade is likely not a coincidence.
The deck was designed by a firm called Sans Peur et Sans Reproche, which translates to “Without Fear or Reproach,” a moniker for French knight Pierre Terrail, Seigneur de Bayard, aka Chevalier de Bayard, who lived hundreds of years after the Crusades.
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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