| Bells | |
|---|---|
 Symbol fromBavarian pattern | |
| Native name | German:Schellen |
| Decks | |
| Invented | 15th century |
Bells (
,
) (German:Schellen) is one of the fourplaying card suits in a deck ofSwiss-suited andGerman-suited playing cards. Unlike the other German suits, this suit was not adapted by French card makers. In its place, there was initially a suit of red crescents until the suit ofDiamonds was added to theFrench pack (known as tiles in France).[1] The suit is usually known in German asSchellen, but is sometimes abbreviated toSchell. Cards are referred to as in a French deck e.g. the "9 of Bells", but in German asSchellen 9, or the "Unter of Bells" (Schellunter orSchell-Unter).
Bells are the lowest suit inSkat,Schafkopf andDoppelkopf, but the second highest inPréférence.
The suit of bells specifically depict hawk-bells which are used infalconry.[2] As such, they are reminiscent of the falcon suit used in earlier German hunting decks such as theAmbraser Hofjagdspiel andStuttgart pack.
The standard German-suited system ofleaves,acorns,hearts, and bells appears in the majority of cards from 1460 onwards. There is no evidence for this system prior to this point.[1]
Bells appear as one of four suits alongside feathers, hats, andshields in several incomplete packs made inBasel. The dates for these packs range from 1470 to about 1529. The 10-rank card utilizes pips rather than the characteristicbanner.[1]
Bells appear as one of four suits alongside crowns, shields, and acorns in a set of mutilated cards possibly made inAlsace in 1480.[1]
The standard four Swiss-German suits of shields, acorns, hawkbells andflowers were found in playing cards inside a book cover (circa 1530) made in Basel. These cards feature the distinguishing banner replacing the 10-rank, and have the three court cards: King seated in a throne, Ober, and Unter.[3] This Swiss-German suit system is believed to have developed earlier with the earliest example dated between 1433 and 1451, though only cards from the shields suit survived.[1]
In a 32-card pack the lowest card is a 7; in 36-card packs it is a 6. InAustria, the 6 of Bells often has special powers, typically beingwild, and is known as theWeli,Welli orBelle. InWilliam Tell andSalzburg pattern cards, the Weli bears the additional suit symbols for Hearts and Acorns in recognition of this role. It may also be promoted to become a high trump card, for example, it is the second highest trump card in the popular Austrian game ofWatten.
The gallery below shows the suit of Bells from aGerman suited pack,Saxon pattern pack of 32 cards. This pattern was traditionally used in Saxony and is still made byASS Altenburger.
The following images depict the suit of Bells from an 1850 Swiss-suited pack:
| Standard 36-card German deck |
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| Others | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
