Meet the King of Hearts — a symbol of honesty, spirituality, and individualism. His gentle temperament makes him a ride-or-die friend and lifelong partner. A King of Heart tattoo would also symbolize somebody that has a tendency to be quick with his emotions — especially love.
Either way, the King of Hearts is more than just a card. In fact, it is associated with a famous historical figure. Plus its features are very different from the other Kings — but we’ll talk about that a little bit later.
Since many people choose to get a King of Heart tattoo, we decided to investigate a share more about the history of cards, more particularly the Kings. It seems that everybody has a pair of cards at home, but no one truly understands how great of history & symbolism they hold — until now.
History of Cards
It is generally agreed that playing cards originated in China in the 9th century before spreading to many other countries. The four suits of cards originated in the Middle East as cups, coins, swords, and sticks. Italian merchants discovered them in Egypt and imported them in Europe in the mid-1300s.
As cards spread throughout the world, each country put its own spin on elements of the cards. The German and Swiss cards came to feature hearts, bells, acorns, and leaves. These European designs are thought to be a representation of the four classes of medieval society — church, nobility, middle class, and peasantry. Hearts are said to represent the Church, Bells the nobility, while Leaves and Acorns the middle class and peasants respectively.
The four suits of cards that we know of today came into production in France in the 1480s. Back then Hearts represented the Church, Diamonds were arrowheads, symbolic of the vassals from whom the archers and bowmen were drawn, clubs represented clovers from shepherds and spades represented knights, as they resemble piques, the points of laces.
Nowadays, some people believe that playing cards have mystical significance and each suit stands for distinct characteristics. Clubs are said to mean air, words, and neutrality. Spades signify fire, willpower, and masculinity. Diamonds are for the earth, wealth, and matter, while Hearts signifies water, love, imagination, and the feminine.
The Court Cards Were Attributed With Personalities of Historical Figures
Since the Court Cards obviously represented positions in the social hierarchy, over time people came to attribute historical royal figures to these cards. Some card manufacturers even went as far as to print the names of these historical figures on their decks. The kings are the most well-known, of course. So let’s see who they represent and why.
- The King of Hearts is said to be friendly and worthy and is associated with King Charles of the Holy Roman Empire, also called Charlemagne. Technically, he was the only true emperor in this cluster of kings. But he differed in other things as well — but we left the fun part in the next section.
- The King of Clubs represents a lively and energetic nature, which is embodied by Alexander the Great — one of the greatest rulers of the ancient world.
- The King of Spades represents an authoritative and forceful nature, as well as bravery. The card is said to be biblical and worthy King David of Israel.
- The King of Diamonds is noble, distinguished, and of military background — characteristics associated with Julius Caesar. Traditionally this King appears in profile, much like the Roman emperors did on coins.
Why the King of Hearts Doesn’t Have a Mustache?
If you ever played close attention to the Kings in your card deck you’ll have noticed that the King of Hearts is unique for a couple of reasons. One of the reasons is that he is the only King without a mustache. So why is that?
Unfortunately, there is no official reason, however, popular belief abounds. One of the most popular explanations is that his lack of facial hair signifies him to be the purest of the four Kings. Apparently, being clean-shaven is an indication of goodness.
Still, what seems to be the most logical explanation is not related to the King’s goodness or vanity, but that he originally did have a mustache and it was mistakenly lost through reproduction. I guess no one ever cared enough to give him his dignity back.
Why the King of Hearts Is Stabbing Himself?
The second unique thing about the King of Hearts tattoo relates to his weapon. Until the 1800s, his weapon of choice was a battle-ax, and yet today he holds a sword. Because his sword seems to disappear behind his head, he has been dubbed “The Suicide King,” with people believing he intends to run his sword through his own head.
The combination of the King of Hearts hiding a sword behind him, as well as being the only King without a mustache has also earned him the title of “The Falce King,” because there’s a belief that this indicates his devious nature. It has been debated whether it’s even the King’s own hand holding the sword, which leads to a very difficult conclusion altogether — that he was stabbed by someone else.
King of Hearts Tattoo Designs
Have you ever thought that when holding a deck of cards you are in fact holding a history book? Yup, every card is a result of a long journey that involved the efforts of thousands of people around the world — and out of all, the King of Hearts is the most mysterious one. It does make a bomb-ass custom design tattoo tho. Whatever the meaning, there are a lot of cool designs to pick from and get inspired. Here showcase some of the most notable ones. As the body pain chart can tell, no place hurts the same — that’s why we aimed for Kings of Hearts tattoos placed on different body parts. Enjoy.
King of Hearts Finger Tattoo
King of Hearts Rib Tattoo
King of Hearts Ear Tattoo
King of Hearts Chin Tattoo
King of Hearts Couples Tattoo
King of Hearts Inner Bicep Tattoo
King of Hearts Wrist Tattoo
King of Hearts Forearm Tattoo
King of Hearts Thigh Tattoo
King of Hearts Breast Tattoo
King of Hearts Calf Tattoo
King of Hearts Leg Tattoo
King of Hearts Back Arm Tattoo
King of Hearts American Traditional Tattoo
Final Thoughts: Are You Ready for a King of Hearts Tattoo?
We hope you enjoyed reading about the King of Hearts tattoo & the history of the card. Now that I’ve researched and written this article, I’ll never look at cart the same way again — especially the King of Hearts. What are your thoughts on the designs? We look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, have a look at another intriguing tattoo symbolism — the Moth tattoo.
