Jocul de cărţi şi politica în epoca modernă
Card Games and Politics in the Modern Age

Summary/Abstract: Playing cards was one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the early modern ages. In spite of the prohibitive orders by the magistrat and the church, it was very wide-spread in the society. Innovative methods of printing made cards even more popular. Cards that helped teaching Latin appeared at the beginning of the 16th century. These teaching cards became really well-known when a special type of cards was designed for Louis XIV, representing the most important personalities and prominent figures of World History as well as Ovid's Metamorphoses. Afterwards, several cards were published with maps, images of castles, and the most important facts of astronomy. The court of Sigismund of Luxembourg was introduced on cards, later Ferdinand II published a series of cards as a visual pamphlet against Friedrich of Pfalz. Cards made positive propaganda for electors fighting against the Turks. The political situation of England also appeared on cards. From 1515 onwards playing cards also had allegorical meaning: the elite of the European Policy makers, the wins and losses of the countries were often shown by figures around a card-table.

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