The Secret History of the Joker Card

The Joker is a strange card with a more mysterious history than is often admitted. The Joker is in fact the most mysterious card in the deck — a trump card, a wild card. A trickster, a rule-breaker, a game-winner. But where did the Joker come from? And why does its strange jester imagery feel so much older than the American Civil War games that supposedly created it? In this video we follow an unexpected trail that leads from modern playing cards back through German Juckerspiel and the Best Bower of Euchre, into Italian tarot decks, medieval fools, Shakespearean clowns, the diamond-clad Harlequin of commedia dell’arte, and even deeper into European folklore. Along the way we meet Herlalquin, the devilish leader of the medieval Wild Hunt, and something older still: the wandering trickster god with one eye. Odin. Wotan. Woden. Wodenaz. A god whose face might just be hiding behind the card in your hand. Thanks for watching my friends — never stop wondering - and stay foolish.