Hefneryn

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One of the earliest packs of playing cards that we know dates back to the 1450s. It is the so-called “Hofämterspiel” and was commissioned by Ladislaus the Posthumous, King of Hungary and Bohemia and Duke of Austria between 1440 and 1457. It comprises 48 cards or four suits of 12 cards. The suits themselves represent the four kingdoms of France, Germany, Bohemia and Hungary, each depicted by their coat of arms. Each suit is wonderfully illustrated with various courtly professions or functions, bearing their names in archaic German together with a Roman numeral to denote their courtly position or rank.

The second card in the Bohemian suit is represented by the Potter, just above “Der Narr” or the Fool! However, perhaps what is of most interest is that it is not a male who is depicted to represent the skilled profession but a female potter or “Hefneryn”, dispelling any prejudicial notion that pottery, in Europe at least, has always been a uniquely male-oriented occupation. A hafner(in) is the modern term for a potter or stove builder in South Germany and Austria.

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