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The metals and common colours of heraldry. One system of hatching is shown at right. Tinctures are the colours, metals, and furs used in heraldry.Nine tinctures are in common use: two metals, or (gold or yellow) and argent (silver or white); the colours gules (red), azure (blue), vert (green), sable (black), and purpure (purple); and the furs ermine, which represents the winter fur of a stoat ...
In heraldry, gules (/ ˈ ɡ juː l z /) is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatching by vertical lines, or indicated by the abbreviation g. or gu. when a coat of arms is ...
The coat of arms of the Counts of Flanders is an early example of heraldry, dating back to at least 1224. The vast majority of armorial bearings from the early days of heraldry use only one colour and one metal, which would lead later heraldists to ponder the possibility that there was an unspoken rule regarding the use of tinctures.
The arms of Courtenay, dating from the start of the age of heraldry and still in use by the Earl of Devon today, display roundels of tincture gules: Or, three torteaux. A roundel is a circular charge in heraldry. Roundels are among the oldest charges used in coats of arms, dating from the start of the age of heraldry in Europe, circa 1200–1215
The use of "gold" for "or" (and "silver" for "argent") was a short-lived fashion amongst certain heraldic writers in the mid-20th century who attempted to "demystify" and popularise the subject of heraldry. "Or" is sometimes spelled with a capital letter (e.g. "Gules, a fess Or") so as not to confuse it with the conjunction "or". [2]
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. [1] [2] Armory, the best-known branch of heraldry, concerns the design and transmission of the heraldic achievement.
Ecclesiastical heraldry differs notably from other heraldry in the use of special insignia around the shield to indicate rank in a church or denomination. The most prominent of these insignia is the low crowned, wide brimmed ecclesiastical hat, commonly the Roman galero. The color and ornamentation of this hat indicate rank.
As a heraldic colour, the word azure means "blue", and reflects the name for the colour in the Anglo-Norman dialect spoken by French-speaking Norman nobles following the Norman Conquest of England. A wide range of colour values is used in the depiction of azure in armory and flags, but in common usage it is often referred to simply as "blue".