The Handsome One suggested today's topic: playing cards, and more specifically, What is a jack face card? Shouldn't it be a prince?
Excellent questions! It's the familiar things in our lives that make the most fun (for me) to look up on Wikipedia!
The first known playing cards come from China, possibly around the 9th century, CE.
The standard deck ("pack" in UK) comprises 52 cards and two suitless Jokers. The four suits we use today, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, and Clubs, come from France.
The face cards, King, Queen, and Jack (also Knave), evolved around the 15th century, CE, to represent European royalty and attendants.
Here's the answer to The Handsome One's question, pulled shamelessly straight from the Wikipedia article, Playing card: "Also in the 15th century, Europeans changed the court cards to represent European royalty and attendants, originally "king", "chevalier" (knight), and "knave". The original meaning of knave was male child (cf German Knabe), so in this context the character could represent the "prince", son to the King and Queen; the meaning servant developed later."
Aha! He could be a prince. Bonus link.
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