The Ober, formerly Obermann, in Austrian also called the Manderl, is the

court card A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance w ...

in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

styles of

playing cards A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a fi ...

that corresponds in rank to the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

in French packs. The name ''Ober'' (lit.: "over") is an abbreviation of the former name for these cards, ''Obermann'', which meant something like 'superior' or 'lord'. Van der Linde argues that the King, Ober and Unter in a pack of German cards represented the military ranks of general, officer (''Oberofficier'') and sergeant (''Unterofficier''), while the

pip card Pip, PIP, Pips, PIPS, and ''similar'', may refer to: Common meanings * Pip, colloquial name for the star(s) worn on military uniform as part of rank badge, as in the British Army officer rank insignia or with many Commonwealth police agencies * T ...

s represented the common soldier. The figure depicted on an Ober is usually a

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

. It is distinguished from the lowest court card, the Unter (lit. "under", formerly ''Untermann'' or "vassal", "subject", "subordinate"), by the figure's suit sign located in the upper range of the card. In the Württemberg pattern the Ober appears on horseback, as they were inspired by

Cego Cego is a Tarot game for three or four players played with eponymous German Tarot playing cards. The game was probably derived from the three-player Badenese tarot game of Dreierles after soldiers returned from the Iberian Peninsula during the Na ...

packs whose face cards included a Knight or Cavalier as well as the

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

and

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. The earliest description of playing cards in Europe comes from

John of Rheinfelden John of Rheinfelden (german: Johannes von Rheinfelden), also Johannes Teuto and John of Basle (born c. 1340), was a Dominican friar and writer who published the oldest known description in Europe of playing cards. Life and works Brother John was ...

in 1377. He describes the recent introduction of cards in his region. For packs he regards as common, beneath the seated King were two

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

s (cavalry commanders), with one holding his suit sign up while the other held his hanging down. This corresponds with modern Obers and Unters with the exception that they are no longer mounted on horseback. Card packs that contain four Obers are used, for example, in Skat, Mau Mau,

Bavarian Tarock Bavarian Tarock (german: Bayerisches Tarock) or, often, just Tarock, is a card game that was once popular in Bavaria and also played in parts of Austria as well as Berlin. The name is a clue to its origin in the historical German game of ross-ar ...

and

Schafkopf Schafkopf (), also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German Trick-taking game, trick-taking card game of the Ace-Ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. It is still very popular i ...

. By contrast, the packs used to play

Gaigel Gaigel is a card game from the Württemberg region of Germany and is traditionally played with Württemberg suited cards. It is a Swabian variant of Sechsundsechzig and may be played with 2, 3, 4 or 6 players. However, a significant difference fro ...

and

Doppelkopf Doppelkopf (, lit. ''double-head''), sometimes abbreviated to Doko, is a trick-taking card game for four players. The origins of this game are not well known; it is only recorded from the early 20th century and it is assumed that it originated f ...

have eight Obers. In Schafkopf, the four Obers are the highest

trump card ''Trump Card'' is an American syndicated game show that aired from September 10, 1990, to May 24, 1991, hosted by Jimmy Cefalo. Debi Massey served as hostess and Chuck Riley was the announcer. The show was produced by Telepictures Productions, ...

s, in Doppelkopf the eight Obers are the highest trump cards after the two 10s of hearts. In the Bavarian card game,

Grasobern Grasobern, Grasoberl, Grasoberln, Graseberla, Grünobern, Lauboberl or Laubobern is a card game that was once commonly played in Old Bavaria, especially in the old counties of Bad Aibling and Landkreis Rosenheim, Rosenheim, and is still popular in ...

, tricks that contain the 'Grass Ober' (i.e. Ober of

Leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

) are to be avoided.

References

Literature

* Campe, Joachim Heinrich (1811). "Der Untermann" in ''Woerterbuch der Deutschen Sprache'', Vol. 5, Brunswick. * * * Van der Linde, Antonius (1874). ''Geschichte und Literatur des Schachspiels'', Vol. 2, Springer, Berlin.

External links

{{Playing card Playing cards Card game terminology