Huck
Hi,
Karnoeffel might be a word, that not everybody knows, so I give hear some basics about it:
Karnoeffel is the oldest known card play, it was noted first in 1426. More than 30 notes from 15th/16th century are known, also it is mentioned under the name Keyserspiel (the identity or relationship between them is given by Bishop Geiler in 1496). As far we do know the rules, the card play used personifications, which they attributed to normal playing cards: The trump-Jack was the Karnöffel, the trump-6 the Pope, the trump-2 the Emperor, trump-7 the Devil. Figures, we do know from the Tarot-game, which under the name Trionfi probably developed since 1441.
This context makes it plausible, that Karnoeffel took influence upon the development, just by developing the sense of players for special cards, which by motif could be added to the normal game.
From 1423 we do hear of an Italian Imperatori-deck, which consisted of 8 cards, which probably was added to the normal deck (56, 52, 48 cards) as later the 22 trumps were added to the Tarocchi-game.
Imperatori is the Italian word for Keyser. Although here the same word is used, one must assume, that the normal development of Karnoeffel or Keyserspiel happened without additional cards, one must assume, that the Italian version Imperatori went another way and painted special figures inside the card game on special cards. Probably this development, "add some special cards", did lead to the development of Trionfi decks, probably in Ferrara 1441/1442, as we experience, that the production of Imperatori decks stopped, when Trionfi-decks became popular (around 1450 - the development is mainly only observable in Ferrara).
The early Trionfi decks probably had only 14 or 16 trumps, organised in structures of 5 suits as 5x14 or 5x16-variants, which later by unknown movements developed into 4x14+22-versions.
The origin of the name Karnoeffel is a riddle. There is a new suggestion:
http://trionfi.com/0/c/05
Material to the Imperatori-decks and Karnöffel (beside other material):
http://trionfi.com/0/e
Material to the 5x14-theory:
http://trionfi.com/0/f/11/
http://http://trionfi.com/0/c/35
also http://trionfi.com/0/e/
with special worth to document 16 from 1457, which clearly states, that 2 produced decks have 70 cards instead of perhaps expected 78 cards.
The rules of the Karnoeffel game are only very rudimentary known from documents around 1450 and 1496, really usable descriptions are found in 18th century, and that exploration show variants with some similarities. Karnoeffel-games (various variants) are still played, compare John McLeods's site, often in North European countries:
http://pagat.com
in the Suisse a Fastnachts-Verein with the name Karnoeffel exists since late 19th century with traditional card-playing. A good report is given in German language at
http://www.landsknechtsrotte.de/portal/k-einleitung.html
another source is Michael Dummett, Game of Tarot.
*****
edited 2009 / links updated
Karnoeffel might be a word, that not everybody knows, so I give hear some basics about it:
Karnoeffel is the oldest known card play, it was noted first in 1426. More than 30 notes from 15th/16th century are known, also it is mentioned under the name Keyserspiel (the identity or relationship between them is given by Bishop Geiler in 1496). As far we do know the rules, the card play used personifications, which they attributed to normal playing cards: The trump-Jack was the Karnöffel, the trump-6 the Pope, the trump-2 the Emperor, trump-7 the Devil. Figures, we do know from the Tarot-game, which under the name Trionfi probably developed since 1441.
This context makes it plausible, that Karnoeffel took influence upon the development, just by developing the sense of players for special cards, which by motif could be added to the normal game.
From 1423 we do hear of an Italian Imperatori-deck, which consisted of 8 cards, which probably was added to the normal deck (56, 52, 48 cards) as later the 22 trumps were added to the Tarocchi-game.
Imperatori is the Italian word for Keyser. Although here the same word is used, one must assume, that the normal development of Karnoeffel or Keyserspiel happened without additional cards, one must assume, that the Italian version Imperatori went another way and painted special figures inside the card game on special cards. Probably this development, "add some special cards", did lead to the development of Trionfi decks, probably in Ferrara 1441/1442, as we experience, that the production of Imperatori decks stopped, when Trionfi-decks became popular (around 1450 - the development is mainly only observable in Ferrara).
The early Trionfi decks probably had only 14 or 16 trumps, organised in structures of 5 suits as 5x14 or 5x16-variants, which later by unknown movements developed into 4x14+22-versions.
The origin of the name Karnoeffel is a riddle. There is a new suggestion:
http://trionfi.com/0/c/05
Material to the Imperatori-decks and Karnöffel (beside other material):
http://trionfi.com/0/e
Material to the 5x14-theory:
http://trionfi.com/0/f/11/
http://http://trionfi.com/0/c/35
also http://trionfi.com/0/e/
with special worth to document 16 from 1457, which clearly states, that 2 produced decks have 70 cards instead of perhaps expected 78 cards.
The rules of the Karnoeffel game are only very rudimentary known from documents around 1450 and 1496, really usable descriptions are found in 18th century, and that exploration show variants with some similarities. Karnoeffel-games (various variants) are still played, compare John McLeods's site, often in North European countries:
http://pagat.com
in the Suisse a Fastnachts-Verein with the name Karnoeffel exists since late 19th century with traditional card-playing. A good report is given in German language at
http://www.landsknechtsrotte.de/portal/k-einleitung.html
another source is Michael Dummett, Game of Tarot.
*****
edited 2009 / links updated
