The nine of diamonds is called the “Curse of Scotland” because, over several centuries, people attached it to a series of unpopular Scottish figures, bloody events, and folk superstitions, and the nickname stuck—even though no single origin story can be proved.

Core idea

Across history and folklore, the nine of diamonds came to symbolize bad luck or a hated authority figure in Scotland, so card‑players began calling it “the Curse of Scotland.” The phrase is first recorded in print in the early 1700s, which suggests the superstition was already well known by then.

Main historical theories

Several rival explanations circulate, and historians generally treat them as colourful legends rather than hard fact.

  • The Earl of Stair and Glencoe : The card is said to resemble the coat of arms of John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair, who was blamed for the 1692 Massacre of Glencoe; his “arms” and his policies became a “curse,” and the card inherited the name. This is one of the most popular modern explanations, but evidence that people actually made this connection at the time is weak.
  • Orders written on a card : Another story says that brutal military orders—such as those against the Jacobites at Culloden or against rebels at Bothwell Bridge—were scribbled on the back of a nine of diamonds, making that card infamous. These tales appear in later folklore rather than contemporary documents, so they are likely back‑formed legends.
  • The harsh judge (“Justice Clerk”) : In 18th‑century Scotland the nine of diamonds was sometimes nicknamed the “Justice Clerk,” a jab at Lord Ormiston, an unpopular Lord Justice Clerk who helped suppress the 1715 Jacobite rising; his severity supposedly made the card “the curse of Scotland.” Again, the timing fits the phrase’s rise, but the link is circumstantial.

Older proverb & number lore

Some explanations reach further back into proverb and number traditions.

  • Every ninth king a tyrant : An early 18th‑century source claims “every ninth king of Scotland” was a tyrant and a “curse,” and the nine of diamonds—diamonds standing for royal jewels—came to represent that curse in card form. This is poetically neat but historically inaccurate, so it is treated more as a literary gloss than real origin.
  • Nine stolen diamonds : Another tradition says that in Mary, Queen of Scots’ time, a thief stole nine diamonds from the Scottish crown jewels, forcing unpopular new taxes; the card’s nine diamonds supposedly echo that theft. There is some storytelling value here but little firm proof that this specific crime created the card’s nickname.

Card‑game and folk‑superstition angle

Card‑playing culture and anti‑papal feeling also help explain the nickname.

  • The game of Pope Joan : In the old card game Pope Joan, played in Britain, the nine of diamonds was called “the Pope” and was a key winning card; a story runs that Scottish courtiers ruined themselves gambling on it, while anti‑Catholic Scots saw “the Pope” as a curse—so “the Pope,” i.e. the nine of diamonds, became “the Curse of Scotland.” This fits Scottish religious and political attitudes but still lacks decisive documentary proof as the single cause.
  • Just an unlucky card : Over time, superstition and repeated storytelling turned the nine of diamonds into the “unlucky” card of the pack in Scottish lore, and later writers built historical just‑so stories on top of that existing reputation.

What historians think today

Modern reference works and etymological studies generally conclude that there is no single, provable origin ; instead, several folk explanations grew up around a phrase whose true starting point is lost.

  • The strongest candidates in scholarly discussions are:
    • The association with hated office‑holders like the Earl of Stair or the Justice Clerk.
* The card‑game “Pope Joan” explanation, because it connects directly to the nine of diamonds in game culture.
  • However, the phrase “Curse of Scotland” is on record by 1710, while many of the dramatic stories appear only later, suggesting that legends were invented to explain an already‑mysterious nickname.

In short, the nine of diamonds is the “Curse of Scotland” because Scots long treated that card as an emblem of misfortune and unpopular authority, and over the centuries a tangle of historical episodes and folk tales were woven to explain why.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.