Playing cards arrive in Europe

First there were ordinary playing cards

Before tarot existed, people in Europe were already playing cards. It is usually said that playing cards arrived there in the late 14th century along trade routes, and historians keep refining the details of that journey. The first decks were painted by hand, so they were expensive and fairly rare.

The suits looked different in different countries. In Italy and Spain people used cups, coins, swords, and batons for a long time. Compare them with the suits of modern tarot and the similarity is obvious: these are the same four signs, which in tarot became Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands.

• Playing cards came to Europe in the late 14th century
• Decks were painted by hand, so few people owned them
• Italian suits: cups, coins, swords, and batons