he Hofämterspiel reflects political relationships
in Central Europe in the mid-15th century. The suit signs are the coats
of arms of four kingdoms: France, Germany, Bohemia and Hungary. The
single-headed eagle represents the 'regnum teutonicum', the kingdom of
Germany (as opposed to a double-headed eagle representing the Holy Roman
Empire of the German Nation).
Each suit in turn shows members of the royal household - from the court jester up to the king's steward, including servants and court officials. These are depicted in a hierarchy, numbered 1 - 10 in Roman numerals, plus a queen and king, instead of the more common arrangement of multiple pip cards and three or four court cards. There are 48 cards in total.
In some respects the Hofämterspiel reminds us of the so-called Mantegna Tarocchi, a set of 50 copper engraved cards from Italy, c.1465, which also represents a world order, or hierarchy. However, the Italian set reveals cosmological overtones more akin to Renaissance humanism than to medieval European feudalism. The Hofämterspiel shows a feudal social hierarchy and is a good indication of what the oldest German playing cards may have been like, before they adopted symbols from the royal hunt...
See also: The Stuttgart Cards, 1437
The Princely Hunting pack,
c.1440
Cards shown above are from the facsimile edition published by Piatnik, Vienna, edited by Ernst Rudolf Ragg, 1976. Size of cards 140 x 100 mms.