Shields (suit)

For other uses, see Shields (disambiguation).
Shields
Native nameGerman: Schilten
DeckSwiss-suited playing cards
Invented15th century

Shields (German: Schilten), also called Escutcheons, is one of the four playing card suits in a deck of Swiss-suited playing cards. This suit was invented in 15th century German speaking lands and is a survivor from a large pool of experimental suit signs created to replace the Latin suits. One example from the mid-15th century is a five-suited deck with the Latin suits plus a suit of shields.[1] Another example, is the Hofämterspiel, a medieval handmade deck from 1453 to 1457 where each suit depicts shields carrying different coat of arms of four kingdoms: France, Germany, Bohemia and Hungary.

It is equivalent to the German Hearts (suit),[2][3][4] as both the shields and hearts suits lower halves end in a point. The deuce of shields also feature hearts in its design.

  1. ^ Dummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot. London: Duckworth. pp. 10–32.
  2. ^ McLeod, John. "Games played with Swiss suited cards". pagat.com. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  3. ^ Roya, Will (October 16, 2018). "The History of Playing Cards: The Evolution of the Modern Deck". playingcarddecks.com. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  4. ^ Pollett, Andrea. "Switzerland: Swiss Suits". Andy's Playing Cards. Retrieved July 28, 2024.