Editing Triskaidekaphobia (section)

==Origins==

The supposed unlucky nature of the number 13 has several theories of origin. Although several authors claim it is an older belief, no such evidence has been documented so far. In fact, the earliest attestation of 13 being unlucky is first found after the [[Middle Ages]] in Europe.

===Playing cards===

[[File:Jean_Dodal_Tarot_trump_13.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Death (tarot card)|Death]] card, number 13, from an 18th century [[Tarot deck]]]]

[[Tarot card games]] have been attested since at least around 1450 with the [[Visconti-Sforza Tarot]]. One of the [[Trump (card games)|trump cards]] in tarot represents Death, and is numbered 13 in several variants.

In 1781, [[Antoine Court de Gébelin]] writes of this card's presence in the [[Tarot of Marseilles]] that the number thirteen was ''"toujours regarde comme malheureux"'' ("always considered as unlucky").<ref>{{cite book |last1=Court de Gébelin |first1=Antoine |language=French |title=Du jeu des tarots |date=1781 |url=http://www.tarock.info/gebelin.htm}}</ref> In 1784, [[Johann Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf]] cites Gébelin, and reaffirms that the tarot card number 13 is death and misfortune (''"Der Tod, Unglück"'').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Breitkopf |first1=Johann Gottlob Immanuel |title=Versuch, den Ursprung der Spielkarten, die Einführung des Leinenpapieres, und den Anfang der Holzschneidekunst in Europa zu erforschen. 1, Welcher die Spielkarten und das Leinenpapier enthält |date=1784 |language=German |page=[https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb11712008?page=28,29&q=%28%22zahl+13%22%29 20]}}</ref>

===13 at a table===

Since at least 1774, a superstition of "thirteen at a table" has been documented: if 13 people sit at a table, then one of them must die within a year.<ref name=gotze>{{cite book |last1=Götze |first1=Johann August Ephraim |title=Neue Mannigfaltigkeiten : eine gemeinnützige Wochenschrift. 1. 1773/74 (1774) ## Woche 041, 05.03.1774 |date=1774 |url=https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb10614001_00645_u001}}</ref> The origin of the superstition is unclear and various theories of its source have been presented over the years.

In 1774, [[Johann August Ephraim Goeze|Johann August Ephraim Götze]] speculated:{{r|gotze}}

<blockquote>
''Da ich aus der Erfahrung weis, daß der Aberglaube nichts liebers, als Religionssachen, zu seinen Beweisen macht; so glaube ich bey nahe nicht zu irren, wenn ich den Ursprung des Gegenwärtigen mit der Zahl XIII, von der Stelle des Evangelii herleite, wo der Heiland, bey der Ostermahlzeit, mit zwölf Jüngern zu Tische saß.''<br />
Since I know from experience that superstition loves nothing better than religious matters as its proofs, I believe I'm almost certainly unmistaken when I derive the origin of the matter of the number XIII from the passage of the Gospel where the Savior sat at table with twelve disciples at the Easter meal.
</blockquote>

From the 1890s, a number of English-language sources reiterated the idea that at the [[Last Supper]], [[Judas Iscariot|Judas]], the [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciple]] who betrayed [[Jesus]], was the 13th to sit at the table.<ref name="straight dope">{{cite web | author=Cecil Adams |url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/670/why-is-the-number-13-considered-unlucky |title=Why is the number 13 considered unlucky? |publisher=The Straight Dope |date=1992-11-06 |access-date=2011-05-13}}</ref> The Bible says nothing about the order in which the Apostles sat, but there were thirteen people at the table.

In 1968, [[Douglas Hill]] in ''Magic and Superstitions'' recounts a [[Norse mythology|Norse myth]] about 12 gods having a dinner party in [[Valhalla]]. The trickster god [[Loki]], who was not invited, arrived as the 13th guest, and arranged for [[Höðr]] to shoot [[Balder]] with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. This story was also echoed in ''Holiday folklore, phobias, and fun'' by folklore historian Donald Dossey, citing Hill.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191009112626/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/5/110513-friday-the-13th-superstitions-triskaidekaphobia/ Friday the 13th Superstitions Rooted in Bible and More], ''National Geographic''</ref><ref>[https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/52696/why-friday-13th-considered-unlucky Why is Friday the 13th Considered Unlucky?], ''Mental Floss''</ref> However, in the ''[[Prose Edda]]'' by [[Snorri Sturluson]], the story about [[Loki]] and [[Balder]] does not emphasize that there are 12 gods, nor does it talk about a dinner party or the number 13.