For more information about how some of these games were played, see these links. You can also find rules for these and other games.
For more, see Tarot and its History, the Cary Playing Card Database, and The World of Playing Cards, as well as Art History of Cheating.
(There are many more individual playing cards in the British Museum Collection Database.)
- Men playing cards, Roman du Roy Meliadus de Leonnoys (British Library MS Add. 12228, fol. 313v), c. 1352
- An early 15th century set of playing cards, possibly of German origin for export to Spain
- Playing Card: The Ship, a 15th century Italian illuminated parchment tarot card (front, back)
- The Tarot of Charles VI: The Emperor, The World, The House of God, The Pope, The Day of Judgement, Temperance, Strength, Justice, The Sun, The Moon, The Hermit, The Fool, The Lovers, The Page of Swords, The Hanged Man, Death, The Chariot
- Three court playing-cards with French suit-marks, c. 1425-1450
- The Visconti Tarot (The Cary-Yale Pack), c, 1428-1447
- The Stuttgart Cards, c. 1430; see also playing-cards from the Upper Rhine, c. 1430: a man and a woman; also
Landesmuseum Württemberg KK grau 15-63
- The Emperor, The King of Coins, The Page of Coins, The King of Batons, The Queen of Batons, The Knight of Batons, The Page of Batons, and the Queen of Swords, from the Rothschild cards, 15th century
- The playing cards of the Master of the Playing-Cards, c. 1430-1460; see also the animal suited playing cards engraved by the Master of the Playing Cards, c. 1455-1460
- Fresco of a card game at the Casa Borromeo by Pisanello, c. 1440
- Deck of cards (Ambraser Hofjagdspiel), Upper Rhine, c. 1440-1450; use the Kunst Historiches Museum Wien Bilddatenbank and enter the words Ambraser Hofjagdspiel in the box marked “Suche”; see also The Ambras Court Princely Hunting Pack
- Liechtenstein'sches Spiel, c. 1440-1450
- A single playing card known as the “Issy-sur-Moulineaux Chariot,” c. 1450
- The Queen of Swords from the Visconti-Sforza tarot cards, c. 1450
- More from the Visconti tarot at the Pinacoteca di Brera: a young man, a young man on a horse, a young man, the Wheel of Fortune, a young man sitting, a young man on a horse
- The Este Tarot, c. 1450:
King of Swords,
Queen of Swords,
Knight of Swords,
King of Batons,
Knight of Batons,
Page of Batons,
King of Money,
Queen of Cups,
Bagatto,
Pope,
Temperance,
Star,
Moon,
Sun,
World,
Fool
- Deck of cards (Hofämterspiel für König Ladislaus), Vienna, c. 1455 - use the Kunst Historiches Museum Wien Bilddatenbank and enter the word Hofämterspiel in the box marked “Suche”
That no Lorde, nor other persone of lowere astate, condicion or degree, whatsoever he be, suffre any Dicyng or pleiyng at the Cardes within his hous, or elles where he may let it, of any of his servauntes or other, oute of the XII days of Christmasse. Rolls of Parliament 5.488a, 1461
- A pack of north Italian playing cards, Venice, 1462
- Two playing-cards, c. 1465-1475
- Tarocchi di Mantegna, c. 1465; see also Mantegna Tarocchi Documentation
- Detail from The Sermon of John Capistrano, c. 1465-1475
- Set of 52 playing cards, southern Netherlands (Burgundian territories), c. 1470-1480
- Avarice and Generosity, The City of God (Bibl. Sainte-Geneviève MS 246, fol. 3v), c. 1475
- A card game, Schachzabelbuch (ÖNB 3049, fol. 163v), 1479
- Woodcut for playing cards, late 15th century
- Uncut sheet of playing cards, c. 1491-1524
- The Boiardo deck, c. 1494-1500
- Tapestry: A tent with a pair of lovers playing cards, c. 1495
- A Spanish-suited set of 52 playing cards by a south German engraver, apparently commemorating the 1496 marriage of Felipe I of Spain and Doña Juana
- Set of playing cards, including uncut cards and a container, end of the 15th century
- The so-called Tarot of Charles VI, end of the 15th century
- A lady and gentleman playing cards by Israhel van Meckenem, c. 1495-1503
- Ball with the Duke of Bavaria by Matthäus Zasinger, 1500; see also the Grand Ball, 1500
- Uncut sheets with two playing-cards and three playing-cards, 1504
- A cadinal plays with a king, Dialogue à deux personnages par lequel un homme apprend a vivre seurement (BNF Fr. 1863, fol. 2), 1505
- Piquet of Charles VII, sometimes called “Coursube”, beginning of the 16th century
- Logica Memorativa playing cards designed by Thomas Murner, 1507
- An outdoor feast, Southern Germany, c. 1500-1530
- Playing-cards from the "Chartiludium Institute Summarie" set by Thomas Murner, c. 1518; - use the Kunst Historiches Museum Wien Bilddatenbank and enter the word Chartiludium in the box marked “Suche”
- The Card Players, c. 1550-1599, after Lucas van Leyden, 1520; This article suggests that they may be playing primero or pair et sequence.
- Ill-Matched Lovers by Quentin Massys, c. 1520-1525
- January and May murals, Die Augsburger Monatsbilder, Germany, 1520s. One of the knights in the tournament-scene in the February section rides a horse caparisoned all in playing cards.
- An uncut sheet of ten playing-cards by Peter Flötner, c. 1525-1546
- Swiss playing cards, made in Basel c. 1530
- The church of the Antichrist: A group of people seated around a table playing cards and eating by Sebald Beham, 1530
- Satirical playing cards by Peter Flötner, made in Nuremburg c. 1545
- Lockere Gesellschaft by Jan Sanders van Hemessen, c. 1545-1550
Cards are stacked under a goblet in the foreground.
- Three card-players by Niccolò dell' Abate
- Satire of the merchant's greed by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, c. 1550-1560
- Two playing-card fragments, c. 1550-1600
- The Catelin Geofroy tarot, Lyons, 1557
- Detail from The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, c. 1562
- Uncut sheet of 32 playing-cards by Hans Forster, Vienna, 1565
- De lusoribus (Of gamblers), Prava maiorum exempla (The bad example of elders), and De doctrina filiorum (Of the instruction of children), illustrations from Sebastian Brant's Ship of Fools, 1572
- Ten cards of the ordinary German suits, Vienna, c. 1573
- Cards from a Spanish-suited pack printed from woodcuts by Phelippe Ayet dated 1574
- Cards from a Spanish-suited pack made by Phelippe Ayet, c. 1575
- A family playing games by Hans Bol, 1583
- A set of playing cards designed by Jost Amman, 1588
- A complete pack of fifty-two playing-cards depicting the counties of England and Wales, 1590
- L'eta de l'huomo specchio dell vita humana by Giovanni Battista de' Cavalieri
- Silver playing-cards made in Augsburg c. 1595-1600
- The Cardsharps by Caravaggio, 1596
- Anti-Catholic satirical print with three Protestants playing backgammon, cards, and dice with three monks, c. 1598-1600
- Drawings with verses on subject of death and judgment (Tanner 118, fol. 19v)
- Playing cards, 16th-17th century: 014161, 014163, 014164, 014165
- An uncut sheet with ten court playing-cards by Francisco Franco, France, c. 1600
- Parabola V. Virginum Typis Aen: Expressa (the Foolish Virgins make merry and play cards), c. 1600
- A card party by Eeuert Wyntgis, fl. c. 1600
- A game of cards
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