Printing on Paper
Tags: paper, history, printing
660-670, China: First example of printing on paper. Early xylography was accomplished with hemp paper and woodblocks.
Divinatory Arrows
Scholars believe that divinatory or gaming arrows were the first progenitors of playing cards. In particular, Korean Fighting Arrow cards seem to be based on this concept.
Tags
korea, asia, north america, divinatory arrows, evolution of tarot cards, history
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Kiowa (Native North American) Gaming Arrows
Culin, Stewart. "Chess and playing cards." Government Printing Office. 1898.
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The Game of Leaves
Tags: chinese, dice, china, history, 0827, asian
The game was often referred to as "gold speckled leaves", which does make it sound quite a lot like early gold-leaf Tarot cards. Many scholars will tell you that playing cards were invented in 827 because they have conflated these two games. If there is any relationship between these games, which I doubt, it is this:
Gamblers caught printing cards in China
Tags: chinese, china, playing cards, asian, 1294, history
On the twenty-third day of the sixth month in the thirty-first year of the zhiyuan period (17 July 1294), we caught Yan Sengzhu and Zheng Zhugou playing cards, and have also found wood blocks to print cards. Each person has admitted to the truth of the accusation. We have, according to the rules, passed judgement and punished correctly the organizer Lu Donger, accessory to gambling Zheng Zhugou, the owner of the premises Jiang Sier, and the block printer Ye Lin, and dispatched to the Ever-abundant Treasury for deposit the nine cards (zhipai) that were about to be destroyed, and...
St. Gallen ordinance ignores cards
Tags: 1364, games, 14th century, history, early references
1364, St. Gallen, Switzerland. A local ordinance forbids dice, allows board games, and leaves the subject of cards untouched. This is often cited as the date before which cards could not have been known in Europe.
Dominican friar describes cards
Tags: early references, 14th century, history, 1377
1377, Basel, Switzerland. A Dominican friar by the name of John describes various types of playing cards in detail.
St. Gallen ordinance forbids cards
Tags: 14th century, early references, history, 1379, games
We know playing cards entered Europe in the 1370s because there are no references before this time, and suddenly they start appearing across the continent. In St. Gallen, an ordinance made in 1379 forbade the use of playing cards.
Tower of Pisa Completed
Tags: 14th century, medieval, 1372, history, trumps-16
In 1372, the belfry was added to the already leaning tower of Pisa, completing the structure.
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