G
george123
Rising Star
Bronze Level
The New Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia says that playing cards originated in Hindustan about 800 C.E., with the king, queen, and jack dating from the Middle Ages. A Chinese dictionary of 1678 C.E. states that they were invented in the year 1120 B.C.E. for the amusement of Seun-Ho’s concubines. Some antiquarians say that playing cards were introduced into Europe by the invading Saracens who crossed the Mediterranean in the year 711 C.E. Others claim that the Crusaders brought back playing cards from the East. There is some agreement, however, on the fact that cards were not commonly used in Europe before the first part of the 15th century. Some investigators have thought that playing cards found their way from East to West by the same means as chess, through that race of wanderers known as Gypsies. It is of interest to note that, in many places, chess also was played with cards. Spain introduced playing cards to the "New World," the Americas, when Cortez conquered Mexico. King Montezuma took great pleasure in watching the Spanish soldiers play cards.
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