Belgium

Introduction

Belgium occupies a pivotal position in the history of European playing cards. Over the centuries, cities such as Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges, Liège, Tournai, Turnhout, and Dinant have all hosted thriving card-making industries. Uniquely, the Belgian tradition is defined by its synthesis of neighboring cultures—French manufacturing techniques, Spanish symbolism, and Austrian game variants—culminating in a modern industry of global dominance.

History

The earliest extant record of playing cards in what is now Belgium dates to 1379. An account book belonging to Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, Duke of Brabant, and his wife, Joanna, records that the couple hosted a gathering at the ducal court in Brussels where cards were played as part of the festivities (Dummett, Game, p. 10; Pinchart, Recherches, p. 4). Subsequent records indicate that the ducal court made regular purchases of cards throughout the late fourteenth century, with Tournai emerging as the region’s earliest industrial hub for card production during the fifteenth century (Hargrave, History, pp. 159–160).

The Flemish Hunting Deck

Arguably the finest medieval card deck to survive fully intact is the Flemish Hunting Deck, produced in Flanders during the 1470s. Held today by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, this 52-card luxury set features ten pip cards per suit and three court cards (King, Queen, Jack).

The deck is notable for its unorthodox, thematic suits which reflect the noble pastime of the hunt: Hunting Horns, Dog Collars, Hound Tethers, and Game Nooses. Its preservation offers a rare glimpse into the high artistic standards of early Flemish card makers (Husband, World in Play, pp. 80–95).

Political Stewardship and Cultural Synthesis

The evolution of Belgian cards was heavily dictated by the complex political history of the Low Countries. Until 1477, the region (comprising modern Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) was ruled by the French Dukes of Burgundy. Following the end of the Burgundian line, the seventeen provinces were inherited by the House of Habsburg, an Austrian noble lineage that also controlled the Spanish throne through marriage alliances (Vanthemsche and De Peuter, History of Belgium, chp. 4).

Consequently, the region underwent two distinct phases of foreign rule:

1. The Spanish Netherlands: During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the provinces were under Spanish control.
2. The Austrian Netherlands: Following the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), sovereignty transferred to the Austrian Habsburgs until the French Revolutionary wars (Vanthemsche and De Peuter, History of Belgium, chps. 5–6).

This shifting governance meant that the local industry was never isolated; instead, it absorbed Spanish, German, and French suits and styles. Records from the 1530s confirm that both French and Spanish deck formats were in simultaneous use (Hargrave, History, p. 160). Furthermore, heavy taxation imposed on card makers in France during the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries drove many artisans to relocate from Rouen and Paris to the Spanish Netherlands, further enriching the local talent pool (Benham, History, p. 12).

Tarot and Satire

The Belgian market was robust, producing a wide variety of formats including 32-card, 52-card, and Tarot decks (O’Donoghue (ed.), Catalogue, pp. 150–153).

In the second half of the seventeenth century, Pierre Mainet (or Meniet) of Tournai may have been the earliest local manufacturer of Tarot decks (Hargrave, History, p. 161; Kaplan, Encyclopedia, ii, p. 208). These decks followed the Tarot de Besançon pattern, a variant which famously replaced the controversial religious figures of the Pope and Popess with the Roman deities Jupiter and Juno (Dummett, Game, p. 165).

However, Belgian makers introduced a unique, satirical twist to this substitution. While the Pope was often replaced by Bacchus (the Roman god of wine), the Popess was replaced by Le Espagnol Capitano (The Spanish Captain). This character, drawn from the Commedia dell’arte, served as a subtle but sharp Flemish criticism of the Spanish military presence in the Low Countries (Mann, Collecting, pp. 112–113; Dummett, Game, p. 165).

During the eighteenth century, the shift to Austrian rule facilitated the introduction of Animal Tarock cards. François-Jean Vandenborre, a prominent Brussels maker, produced a popular Animal Tarock deck c. 1775, reflecting the Germanic taste for naturalistic rather than allegorical trumps (Kaplan, Encyclopedia, ii, pp. 412, 415).

Manufacturing Centres

While Antwerp and Tournai were the early leaders in production, the industry eventually spread to Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, Liège, and Turnhout. Smaller producers, such as Marc-Antoine Jar in Dinant, also operated during the eighteenth century (Kaplan, Encyclopedia, ii, pp. 207–208). Historians note that Belgian card makers were historically reluctant to place identifying markers or tax stamps on their cards, often making precise attribution difficult (Mann, Collecting, p. 192).

The Modern Era

The nineteenth century saw the rise of industrial manufacturing. Fabrique de Daveluy, founded in Bruges in 1835, became a major player until the late 1800s. Simultaneously, Brepols, originally a printing business and now a global academic publisher, entered the playing card market in Turnhout (Keller (ed.), Catalogue, i, pp. 71–82).

In 1970, Brepols merged its card division with two other major Belgian producers, Biermans and Van Genechten, to form Cartamundi. Headquartered in Turnhout, this conglomerate has grown to become one of the undisputed leaders of the global playing card industry.

Sources (References)

• Benham, W. Gurney. Playing Cards: History of the Pack and Explanation of its Many Secrets. London: Spring Books, 1931.
• Cartamundi. ‘The History of Cartamundi’ [Web Resource]. Accessed via: https://www.cartamundi.com/us/en/cartamundi-history/history/
• Dummett, Michael. The Game of Tarot: From Ferrara to Salt Lake City. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd, 1980.
• Hargrave, Catherine Perry. A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming. New York: Dover Publications, 1966.
• Husband, Timothy B. The World in Play: Luxury Cards, 1430–1540. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.
• Kaplan, Stuart R. The Encyclopedia of Tarot. 4 volumes. Stamford, Connecticut: U.S. Games Systems, Inc., 1978–2005.
• Keller, William B. (ed.). A Catalogue of the Cary Collection of Playing Cards in the Yale University Library. 2 volumes. New Haven: The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 1981.
• Mann, Sylvia. Collecting Playing Cards. New York: Bell Publishing Company, 1966.
• O’Donoghue, Freeman M. (ed.). Catalogue of the Collection of Playing Cards Bequeathed to the Trustees of the British Museum by the Late Lady Charlotte Schreiber. London: Longmans & Co., 1901.
• Pinchart, Alexandre. Recherches sur les Cartes à Jouer et sur Leur Fabrication en Belgique Depuis L’Année 1379. Brussels, 1870.
• Vanthemsche, Guy and De Peuter, Roger. A Concise History of Belgium. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023.