Notes about Karnöffel, Imperatori, Ludus Caesaris and Keyserspiel


Summary of Entries
based partly on Michael's Hursts gathering and Jürgen Ludwigs article, also my own collection


 1423 Florence/Ferrara, Italy, Imperatori deck

1426 Nördlingen, Bavaria
In the earliest known reference to Karnöffel, it was "listed in a municipal ordinance of Nördlingen in 1426 as among the games that could lawfully be played at the annual city fête."

1435 Alsace, France
Meister Ingold wrote Das Guldin Spiel, including a possible reference to Karnöffel.

1443 Würzburg, Germany
"... a chronicle from Würzburg, Germany for 1443-1455 mentions 'a certain individual... playing at cards a game called the Emperor's Game (ludus Imperatoris)', a literal Latin rendering of Kaiserspiel." The same or a similar name is used around that time in Zürich (unspecified information).

1443 Ferrara, Italy, Imperatori deck

1446
Karnöffel forbidden in Augsburg

1448 Baldau
The game Karnöffel is allowed.

1450 Ferrara, Italy, Imperatori deck

1450 Germany
A poem by Meissner provides the earliest information about the ranking of cards in Karnöffel.

1452 Ferrara, Italy, Imperatori deck

1454 Ferrara, Italy (?)
"... records state that Borso d'Este played at cards: 'of the Emperor' (dell'imperatore) in Ferrara around 1454."

1455
Molitors Würfellosbuch mentions, dass mit "lützel Augen", small cards, im "wildem Carnöffelspyle" a win could be made

1460, 1486
Noted in Fastnachtsspielen (unspecified);Women do also play Karnöffel

1475
Noted in the Theutonista (lower Rhine language)(source: Grimm's Wörterbuch)

1496 Kaiserberg, Germany
A sermon by Bishop Johann Geiler compared the order of cards in the game of Karnöffel or Kaiserspiel (using both names) to the social order, lamenting that "everything is turned upside down" in Karnöffel

1515 Kaiserberg, Germany
A sermon by Bishop Geiler notes that in this inverted social order, "the Carnöffel beats them all"

1537 Germany
A Protestant satirical work uses the allegory of Karnöffel to berate the Pope.

1546 Germany
Another Protestant work, in the form of a dialogue between the Devil and the Pope, includes information about a number of rules of play.

1783 Thuringia, Germany
"The earliest detailed account of the manner of play comes from an article published in a German periodical of 1783, describing Karniffle as then played among the Thuringian peasantry." "The Thuringian and Frisian versions have the surprising feature of having two trump suits, while the Swiss forms have only one."

Sources:
Michael J. Hursts Fragments
Jürgen Ludwig's article
Grimm's Worterbuch (see article to Name Karnoeffel)






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