Lavishly Illustrated Medieval Playing Cards

To be good at cards requires more skill than dice but less than chess, both of which were well established by the 14th century when card-playing came to Europe. People from all classes would play cards, though the ones on exhibit at the Cloisters were clearly intended for the rich and wouldn't have been subjected to the roughness a deck meant for actual use would have experienced. The Cloister's exhibit features several decks of cards, whose gilded backgrounds and careful lines make them appear like tiny paintings.