Unter (playing card)

The Unter, formerly Untermann, nicknamed the Wenzel, Wenz or Bauer, and (in Swiss) also called the Under, is the court card in German and Swiss-suited playing cards that corresponds to the Jack in French packs.

[1] Van der Linde argues that the King, Ober and Unter in a pack of German cards represented the military ranks of general, officer (Oberofficier) and sergeant (Unterofficier), while the pip cards represented the common soldier.

In 1377, John of Rheinfelden wrote that the lowest court card was a marshal (cavalry commander) who held his suit sign hanging down.

In the Spanish pack, jacks are known as sota which also means "under", a vestigial remnant of their common origin.

The German nickname Bauer ("farmer") for the Unter has given rise to the name "Bower" for the Jack in certain English card games such as Euchre.