Hofamterspiel

thumb|right|150px|Die Nerryn ("The Fool") Hofämterspiel ("Courtly Household Cards"), one of the earliest packs of playing cards on record preserved in its entirety with all 48 cards intact, is a major 15th-century medieval handmade deck commissioned by Ladislaus the Posthumous, King of Hungary and Bohemia and Duke of Austria from 1453 to 1457. It was found among the great collection of art treasures of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tirol in castle Ambras, Austria, together with another called Ambraser Hofjagdspiel. Their heraldic suits represent, to an extent, "the political and dynastic relationships in Central Europe in middle of the 15th century" and are "of a quality unsurpassed at this early date."

==Illustrations== The 48 cards of the deck, measuring c. 97 mm x 140 mm (3¾ in x 5½ in), are decorated with bright-colored tempera paint bear details in silver and gold leaf. The four suits of this set depicting court functions are represented by means of four heraldic colours. Each suit sign carries the coats of arms of four kingdoms: France, Germany, Bohemia and Hungary, so that, accordingly, each card carries the title of the function depicted and the respective Roman number in relation to the suit sign it represents.