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Queen - playing card

Queen cards of all four suits in the Rouennais pattern

The Queen is a playing card with a picture of a queen on it. In French playing cards, the usual rank of a queen is as if it were 12, that is, between the King and the Jack. In tarot decks, it outranks the Knight which in turn outranks the Jack.

In the game of Hearts, the Queen of Spades is the major card to avoid, and is called a variety of unsavoury names.

French deck manufacturers assigned each court card a particular historical or mythological personage. The Queens in a French deck have assigned names as follows:

Hearts Diamonds Spades Clubs
Judith,
Biblical figure
Rachel,
Biblical figure
Pallas,
another name for the goddess Athena
Argine,
an anagram of Regina (Latin for "queen")

Since both King and Queen in the French language begin with the letter R, French queen cards are called Dame (Lady).

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Queen of Flowers from the first printed deck (15th century)

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