The Unter, formerly Untermann, nicknamed the Wenzel, Wenz or Bauer, and (in Swiss) also called the Under, 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 ...

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 **Ge ...

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 ...

-suited

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 to 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, ...

in French packs. The name ''Unter'' (lit.: "under") is an abbreviation of the former name for these cards, ''Untermann'', which meant something like 'subordinate' or 'vassal'. 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 Unter is distinguished from the '' Ober'' (lit. "over", formerly ''Obermann'') by the fact that the suit sign is located in the lower part of the image on single-headed cards or in the centre of the image on double-headed cards. Unters or ''Untermänner'' were described soon after the introduction of playing cards in Europe. In 1377,

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 ...

wrote that the lowest court card was a

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 ...

(cavalry commander) who held his suit sign hanging down. It is likely that the horses were dropped to simplify production in the late 14th or early 15th centuries. In the Spanish pack, jacks are known as ''sota'' which also means "under", a vestigial remnant of their common origin. The most common motifs used to depict the Unter are simple

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s or even farmers. Packs with four ''Unters'' are used in

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 ...

s such as 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 ...

, while packs used in games such as

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 ...

use eight ''Unters''. In Skat games using the German style cards, and in

German Schafkopf German Schafkopf (german: Deutscher Schafkopf) is an old German card game and the forerunner of the popular modern games of Skat, Doppelkopf and Bavarian Schafkopf. Today it is hardly ever played in its original form, but there are a number of r ...

, the ''Unters'' 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. The German nickname ''Bauer'' ("farmer") for the Unter has given rise to the name "Bower" for the Jack in certain English card games such as

Euchre Euchre or eucre () is a trick-taking card game commonly played in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, and the United States. It is played with a deck of 24, 28, or 32 standard playing cards. Normally there are four players, two on e ...

. Blumen-Unter (Meister der Spielkarten).png, Early example: Unter with flower design, mid-15th century Vogel-Unter (Meister der Spielkarten).png, Early example: Unter with bird design, mid-15th century Swiss card deck - 1850 - Under of Acorns.jpg, An Under of Acorns in a Swiss German pack, c. 1850, with the acorn near the bottom

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