Scherwenzel or Scharwenzel is an historical, south German,

gambling game Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

played with cards and named after the Unters or Jacks that had special privileges. It should not be confused with the north German

card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ...

Scharwenzel Scharwenzel, formerly also called Schipper-Schrill, is a traditional north German plain-trick card game of the Schafkopf family that is played by two teams with two to four players on each team. The game is at least three centuries old and is pla ...

, which is a relative of

German Solo German Solo or just Solo is a German 8-card plain-trick game for 4 individual players using a 32-card, German- or French-suited Skat pack. It is essentially a simplification of Quadrille, itself a 4-player adaptation of Ombre.''Neuestes Spielbuc ...

and in which the Jacks are permanent top trumps, below the black Queens and the trump 7.

Origin of the name

The word Wenzel was a short form in German of the male first name ''Wenzeslaus'' which is Wenceslas or Wenceslaus in English. For reasons that are not entirely clear a ''Scherwenzel'' was originally a pejorative name for an obsequious servant or lackey.

Card game

As a card game, Scherwenzel appears to have been a form of Färbeln played especially in Bavaria in which the Unters were variously known as ''Scharwenzels'', ''Scherwenzels'', ''Scherers'' or ''Wenzels''. They, and to some extent also the Nines, functioned as wildcards. According to Adelung, Grobhäusern was "far simpler than Scherwenzeln".Adelung (1796), pp. 807–808 In a 1711 French-German dictionary, it is recorded that a ''tricon'' is a triplet in the game of Scherwenzel. This variant should not be confused with the north German game of

, in which the Jacks have no special role, but the top trumps, like those in Hombre and

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

are the black Queens and the trump 7. Scherwenzel is recorded as early as 1563 as ''scherlentzen'' in a list of card games by Marstaller. As the name of a card, probably an Unter, the German-suited equivalent of a

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, ...

, Scherwenzel is mentioned in a 1700 play by

Christian Weise Christian Weise (30 April 1642 – 21 October 1708), also known under the pseudonyms Siegmund Gleichviel, Orontes, Catharinus Civilis and Tarquinius Eatullus, was a German writer, dramatist, poet, pedagogue and librarian of the Baroque era. He prod ...

, thus implying it was in common usage by then. Another early record which may hint at the eponymous game occurs in a 1722 natural history book by Johann Friedrich Henkel where he likens 3 ''Principiis'' to "the two ''Scherwenzels'' (pity there aren't three) which can be turned into any suit in the pack". Another reference to the Scherwenzels as wildcards, able to be converted into any card in the pack, occurs in a 1726 book on medicine. The game of Scherwenzel was popular enough in the early 18th century that it was used, at least in Bavaria, ''

pars pro toto ''Pars pro toto'' (, ), , is a figure of speech where the name of a ''portion'' of an object, place, or concept is used or taken to represent its entirety. It is distinct from a merism, which is a reference to a whole by an enumeration of parts; ...

'' to refer to any game at cards. A 1744 German rendering of

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

's ''

Rape of the Lock ''The Rape of the Lock'' is a mock-heroic narrative poem written by Alexander Pope. One of the most commonly cited examples of high burlesque, it was first published anonymously in Lintot's ''Miscellaneous Poems and Translations'' (May 1712) ...

'' translates the game of Lu as Scherwenzel. Scherwenzel also features in a list of games in a 1755 poem.Trömer, Jean Chretien (1755). ''Jean Chretien Toucement des Deutsch Franços Schrifften''. Vol. 2. expanded. Nuremberg: Raspe. pp. 285 – 286. Although no rules are known, Scherwenzel appears to be a variant of Grobhäusern in which the Jacks function as wildcards, called Wenzels or Scherwen(t)zels."Scherwenzel"
Adelung, Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, Volume 3. Leipzig 1798, p. 1427. The 9s are secondary wenzels."Wenzel"
Adelung, Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, Volume 4. Leipzig 1801, p. 1492. There is some indication that Scherwenzel, and possibly also Grobhäusern, could also be played with 5 cards.

References

Literature

* _ (1756). ''Die Kunst die Welt erlaubt mitzunehmen in den verschiedenen Arten der Spiele'', Volume 2, Georg Bauer, Nuremberg. * Grimm, Jacob and

Wilhelm Grimm Wilhelm Carl Grimm (also Karl; 24 February 178616 December 1859) was a German author and anthropologist, and the younger brother of Jacob Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm. Life and work Wilhelm was born in February 1786 in Hanau, in ...

(1893)
''Deutsches Wörterbuch''
Vol. 8 (R–Schiefe). Leipzig: S. Hirzel. * Marstaller, Christoph (1563). ''Der Welt Urlaub von den Menschen Kindern.'' * Rondeau, Pierre (1711). ''Nouveau Dictionnaire françois-allemand et allemand-françois'', Volume 1. Leipzig: Fritschen. * Schmeller, Johann Andreas (1836)
''Bayerisches Wörterbuch''
Part 3 (R and S). Stuttgart and Tübingen: J.G. Cotta. {{Historical card games 18th-century card games German card games Multiplayer games French deck card games