Rue de la Verrerie in the 4th arrondissement is a fairly unknown street today, but until the 18th century it was famous for the stained-glass makers who lived there (hence the name La Verrerie, which comes from the word “verre,” meaning glass). It’s a charming street with a few old buildings, and I recommend walking along it on your way to the Marais (or back from it). And if you do find yourself on this street, stop for a moment in front of the rather plain building at number 28. I have a little story to tell you.
How was the game of playing cards invented?
Starting in the early 15th century, a man with the intriguing name Jacquemin Gringonneur lived here, in a building that no longer exists. This Jacquemin traveled through the Middle East and discovered playing cards there, which had originally come from India. He quickly understood the commercial potential of these cards, and when he returned to Paris he created three sets of colorful cards (he used gold, among other things, to paint them) and brought them as a gift to the king of France, Charles VI, who at that very time had lost his sanity and needed entertainment to take his mind off things (you’re welcome to read about that king’s wife here).
The playing cards were a huge success at the king’s palace, and Jacquemin decided to create a version for the general public. Since even in the 15th century people understood that the best way to sell a product was by using celebrities, Jacquemin decided to use prominent figures from the royal court as his “models.” As a result, the King of Hearts is based on the portrait of Charles VI, the wife of his son Charles VII modeled for the Queen of Clubs, while Charles VII’s mistress, Agnès Sorel, inspired the Queen of Diamonds. Joan of Arc made her mark too: the Queen of Spades is based on her.
The game of cards became so successful in Paris that as early as 1397 a law was passed allowing it to be played only on weekends, after businesses had come to a standstill because their workers were too busy playing cards. Card games reached the height of their popularity during the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715).
The Marquis de Dangeau corresponds with himself
Courtiers were expected to play like people of honor, meaning to win, or in most cases to lose, enormous sums without flinching. Whoever played well could not only win serious amounts of money, but could even advance to senior positions at the king’s court, since Louis XIV loved good players.
For example, the Marquis de Dangeau won the king’s favor thanks to his ability to maintain perfect concentration while playing cards, which made him unbeatable. After becoming close to the king of France, Louis XIV discovered that Dangeau was not only a gifted card player but also a man of letters with a particularly witty writing style. Since Louis XIV had no talent for writing, he used Dangeau’s skills to write love letters to his mistress, the Duchess de la Vallière (Louise de la Vallière).
The problem was that La Vallière figured out this trick before he did, and she too used the marquis’s services to write love letters to the king of France. And so, for a whole year, Dangeau wrote the king’s love letters and then, with the very same talent, answered his own letters (this ended when La Vallière confessed it to the king, who in turn admitted that he was using the same writing services).
But let’s get back to Louis XIV’s card games. At the king’s court, people played various games that came from different countries, such as Bassette, which came from Venice and was outlawed by Louis XIV after he lost a tidy sum playing it. Other games included Reversi, which came from Spain and was especially loved by the king, since it was created to give the queen of France something to do while Louis XIV pursued his mistresses.
Another famous game was Lansquenet, which was brought to the king’s court by soldiers from Germany and replaced Reversi as the most popular card game among courtiers. For some reason, the game of Lansquenet made people who lost at it use especially foul language, until Louis XIV was forced to issue a royal decree forbidding courtiers from cursing over their card-game losses.
Of course, losses at card games didn’t always end in verbal abuse: sometimes they spilled over into physical violence, and even duels. That brings to mind the famous duel scene from the immortal 1975 film “Barry Lyndon,” set in the 18th century. That scene still makes me want to fly to Paris and wander through the Marais or Versailles, and so, in my eyes, it makes the perfect way to end this post.
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