Rule of tincture
Encyclopedia
The first rule of heraldic
design is the rule of tincture
: metal should not be put on metal, nor colour on colour (Humphrey Llwyd, 1568). This means that Or
and argent
(gold and silver, which are represented by yellow and white) may not be placed on each other; nor may any of the colours (i.e. azure
, gules
, sable
, vert
and purpure
) be placed on another colour. Heraldic furs (i.e. ermine
, vair
and their variants) as well as "proper" (a charge coloured as it normally is in nature) are exceptions to the rule of tincture.
device
is to be easily recognisable. It has been deemed that certain tincture
pairs are difficult to distinguish when placed atop or over each other. Specifically, a dark colour is very difficult to distinguish if it is placed on top of another dark colour, and likewise a light metal is very difficult to distinguish on top of the other light metal. Though this is the practical genesis of the rule, the rule is technical and appearance is not used in determining whether arms conform to the rule. Another reason sometimes given to justify this rule is that it was difficult to paint with enamel (colour) over enamel, or with metal over metal.
, but a horse argent, although visually indistinguishable, could not.
Furs and charges blazoned as proper can be placed on colour, metal, fur, or other charges blazoned as proper.
Simple divisions of the field are considered to be beside each other, not one on top of the other; so the rule of tincture does not apply. In practice, however, fields divided into multiple partitions
, such as barry or checky, use (with extremely rare exceptions) an alternating pattern of metal and colour for adjacent units.
The rule also does not apply to charges placed upon party-coloured (divided) or patterned fields; a field party or patterned of a colour and metal may have a charge of either colour, metal, or party or patterned, placed on it (and there is a small body of precedent that a field party of two colours or two metals may have a charge or charges of either colour, metal, or party or patterned on it; examples of this certainly exist). Likewise, a party-coloured (of colour and metal) charge may be placed on either a colour or metal background. Neither does the rule apply to the tongue, horns, claws, hoofs of beasts (for instance, a lion Or on an azure field could be langued [with his tongue] gules
) when of a different tincture than the rest of the animal, or other parts of charges that are "attached" to them; for instance, a ship sable on an Or field may have argent sails as the sails are considered to be attached on the ship rather than charged on the field.
One important distinction, according to Fox-Davies, is that the rule of tincture also does not apply to crests or supporters, except in such cases as the crest or supporter itself is treated as a field and charged with one or more objects. For instance, a gold collar about the neck of an argent supporter is common, but if eagle wings are used as a crest and charged with a trefoil (such as the coat of arms of Brandenburg
), the trefoil must conform to the rule of tincture.
Another apparent violation that is not regarded as such is the "very uncommon" practice of a bordure
of the same tincture of the field being blazoned as "embordured"; while well-known in former times this is unusual in the extreme today. How technical the rule is can be seen by the fact that if this were blazoned as Gules... a bordure of the field..., though of identical appearance, it would be considered a blatant violation.
The colours bleu celeste
and the U.S. Institute of Heraldry-invented buff
have sometimes been treated (with respect to the rule of tincture) as if they are metals, though such a treatment is certainly of debatable propriety.
Marks of cadency
(whether bordures, the marks of the English cadency system, or any other mark), and presumably marks of distinction
, can be exceptions to this rule. For example, many members of the French royal house had a red border or bend against the blue field. Also, in Great Britain
, cantons added to indicate baronetcy of Ulster (argent, a hand couped gules) ignore this rule; otherwise they could be displayed by no one with a metal field. Augmentations and, in theory, abatements do not have to conform to the rule.
Another violation which is usually not worried about is a green mount on a blue field representing the sky, and some of the methods of depicting the sea
, wave
s or the like are similarly treated. A green trimount also appears in the coat of arms of Hungary
(shown below). In this case the field is gules (red); the rule of tincture should therefore exclude this use of a vert (green) trimount. Instead, there is a trimount vert used in violation of the rule. However, it has been argued by some that the mount vert or trimount issues from the base of the shield rather than being a charge on it, causing the rule not to apply.
Fimbriation
, the surrounding of a charge by a thin border, can obviate what would otherwise be a violation of the rule, as in the Union Jack (which, although a flag rather than a shield, was designed using heraldic principles). The divise, a thin band running underneath the chief in French heraldry, can also obviate a violation, as can the parallel fillet in English heraldry.
This rule is so closely followed that arms that violate it are called armes fausses (false arms) or armes à enquérir (arms of enquiry); any violation is presumed to be intentional, to invite the viewer to ask how it came to pass.
chosen by Godfrey of Bouillon
, and later used by his brother Baldwin of Boulogne when he was made King of Jerusalem
, which had five gold crosses on a silver field (traditionally rendered "Argent a Cross potent between four plain Crosslets Or"). This use of metal on metal is seen on the arms of the King of Jerusalem, the Bishop's mitre in the arms of Andorra
, and the arms of the county of Nord-Trøndelag
in Norway (which is based on the arms of St. Olav as described in the sagas of Snorri). It indicates the exceptional holy and special status of this particular coat of arms.
, with its sable two-headed eagle on a field gules. However, some writers in Central and Eastern European heraldry consider sable to have properties of both a metal and a colour, not exclusively a colour as it is in Western Europe, so that black-on-colour combinations are not uncommon.
This rule is perhaps most often violated by a chief
, leading some commentators to question whether the rule should apply to a chief, or even whether a chief should be considered a charge at all rather than a division of the field. These violations usually occur in the case of landscape heraldry and augmentations. French civic heraldry, with its frequent chiefs of France (i.e. "on a field azure, three fleurs-de-lys
or", alternatively "azure, seme-de-lys or"), often violates this rule when the field is of a colour. The arms of Harvard Law School
, "on a field azure, a chief gules", is another example. An example from mediaeval England quoted by John Gibbon in 1682 is the arms of Denys of Siston
, Gloucestershire, "gules, 3 leopards' faces jessant-de-lys azure over all a bend engrailled azure".
was modified to conform to the rule. Pragmatically, it is a useful rule of thumb
for the design of logos, icons and other symbols. Hence almost all license plates and traffic sign
s, intentionally or unintentionally, follow it.
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
design is the rule of tincture
Tincture (heraldry)
In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...
: metal should not be put on metal, nor colour on colour (Humphrey Llwyd, 1568). This means that Or
Or (heraldry)
In heraldry, Or is the tincture of gold and, together with argent , belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". In engravings and line drawings, it may be represented using a field of evenly spaced dots...
and argent
Argent
In heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...
(gold and silver, which are represented by yellow and white) may not be placed on each other; nor may any of the colours (i.e. azure
Azure
In heraldry, azure is the tincture with the colour blue, and belongs to the class of tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of horizontal lines or else marked with either az. or b. as an abbreviation....
, gules
Gules
In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....
, sable
Sable (heraldry)
In heraldry, sable is the tincture black, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures, called "colours". In engravings and line drawings, it is sometimes depicted as a region of crossed horizontal and vertical lines or else marked with sa. as an abbreviation.The name derives from the black fur of...
, vert
Vert
The colour green is commonly found in modern flags and coat of arms, and to a lesser extent also in the classical heraldry of the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period....
and purpure
Purpure
In heraldry, purpure is a tincture, more or less the equivalent of the colour "purple", and is one of the five main or most usually used colours...
) be placed on another colour. Heraldic furs (i.e. ermine
Ermine (heraldry)
Ermine is a heraldic fur representing the winter coat of the stoat . Many skins would be sewn together to make a luxurious garment, producing a pattern of small black spots on a white field...
, vair
Vair
Vair is the heraldic representation of patches of squirrel fur in an alternating pattern of blue and white. As a tincture, vair is considered a fur and is therefore exempted from the Rule of tincture . Variations of vair are laid out in different patterns, each with their own name...
and their variants) as well as "proper" (a charge coloured as it normally is in nature) are exceptions to the rule of tincture.
Application
The main duty of a heraldicHeraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
device
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is to be easily recognisable. It has been deemed that certain tincture
Tincture (heraldry)
In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...
pairs are difficult to distinguish when placed atop or over each other. Specifically, a dark colour is very difficult to distinguish if it is placed on top of another dark colour, and likewise a light metal is very difficult to distinguish on top of the other light metal. Though this is the practical genesis of the rule, the rule is technical and appearance is not used in determining whether arms conform to the rule. Another reason sometimes given to justify this rule is that it was difficult to paint with enamel (colour) over enamel, or with metal over metal.
Lawful exceptions
The rule of tincture does not apply to furs, nor to charges blazoned "proper" (displayed in their natural colour, which need not be a heraldic tincture). The blazoning of a charge "proper" can therefore be used as a loophole when its natural coloration equates to or approaches another heraldic tincture it is desired to overlie. An example would be a white horse proper, since without breaking the rule of no metal on metal it could be placed on a field OrOr (heraldry)
In heraldry, Or is the tincture of gold and, together with argent , belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". In engravings and line drawings, it may be represented using a field of evenly spaced dots...
, but a horse argent, although visually indistinguishable, could not.
Furs and charges blazoned as proper can be placed on colour, metal, fur, or other charges blazoned as proper.
Simple divisions of the field are considered to be beside each other, not one on top of the other; so the rule of tincture does not apply. In practice, however, fields divided into multiple partitions
Variation of the field
In heraldry, variations of the field are any of a number of ways that a field may be covered with a pattern, rather than a flat tincture or a simple division of the field.- Patterning with ordinaries and subordinaries :...
, such as barry or checky, use (with extremely rare exceptions) an alternating pattern of metal and colour for adjacent units.
The rule also does not apply to charges placed upon party-coloured (divided) or patterned fields; a field party or patterned of a colour and metal may have a charge of either colour, metal, or party or patterned, placed on it (and there is a small body of precedent that a field party of two colours or two metals may have a charge or charges of either colour, metal, or party or patterned on it; examples of this certainly exist). Likewise, a party-coloured (of colour and metal) charge may be placed on either a colour or metal background. Neither does the rule apply to the tongue, horns, claws, hoofs of beasts (for instance, a lion Or on an azure field could be langued [with his tongue] gules
Gules
In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....
) when of a different tincture than the rest of the animal, or other parts of charges that are "attached" to them; for instance, a ship sable on an Or field may have argent sails as the sails are considered to be attached on the ship rather than charged on the field.
One important distinction, according to Fox-Davies, is that the rule of tincture also does not apply to crests or supporters, except in such cases as the crest or supporter itself is treated as a field and charged with one or more objects. For instance, a gold collar about the neck of an argent supporter is common, but if eagle wings are used as a crest and charged with a trefoil (such as the coat of arms of Brandenburg
Coat of arms of Brandenburg
This article is about the coat of arms of the German state of Brandenburg.- History :According to tradition, the Märkischer Adler , or red eagle of the March of Brandenburg, was adopted by Margrave Gero in the 10th century. Gustav A. Seyler states that the Ascanian Albert the Bear was the originator...
), the trefoil must conform to the rule of tincture.
Another apparent violation that is not regarded as such is the "very uncommon" practice of a bordure
Bordure
In heraldry, a bordure is a band of contrasting tincture forming a border around the edge of a shield, traditionally one-sixth as wide as the shield itself...
of the same tincture of the field being blazoned as "embordured"; while well-known in former times this is unusual in the extreme today. How technical the rule is can be seen by the fact that if this were blazoned as Gules... a bordure of the field..., though of identical appearance, it would be considered a blatant violation.
The colours bleu celeste
Bleu celeste
Bleu celeste is a rarely occurring tincture in heraldry . This tincture is sometimes also called ciel or simply celeste...
and the U.S. Institute of Heraldry-invented buff
Buff (colour)
Buff is a pale yellow-brown colour that got its name from the colour of buff leather.Displayed on the right is the colour buff.EtymologyAccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, buff as a descriptor of a colour was first used in the London Gazette of 1686, describing a uniform to be "A Red Coat...
have sometimes been treated (with respect to the rule of tincture) as if they are metals, though such a treatment is certainly of debatable propriety.
Marks of cadency
Cadency
In heraldry, cadency is any systematic way of distinguishing similar coats of arms belonging to members of the same family. Cadency is necessary in heraldic systems in which a given design may be owned by only one person at once...
(whether bordures, the marks of the English cadency system, or any other mark), and presumably marks of distinction
Marks of distinction
A mark of distinction, in heraldry, is a charge showing that the bearer of a shield is not descended by blood from the original bearer...
, can be exceptions to this rule. For example, many members of the French royal house had a red border or bend against the blue field. Also, in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, cantons added to indicate baronetcy of Ulster (argent, a hand couped gules) ignore this rule; otherwise they could be displayed by no one with a metal field. Augmentations and, in theory, abatements do not have to conform to the rule.
Another violation which is usually not worried about is a green mount on a blue field representing the sky, and some of the methods of depicting the sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
, wave
Wave
In physics, a wave is a disturbance that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy.Waves travel and the wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, often with no permanent displacement of the particles of the medium—that is, with little or no associated mass...
s or the like are similarly treated. A green trimount also appears in the coat of arms of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
(shown below). In this case the field is gules (red); the rule of tincture should therefore exclude this use of a vert (green) trimount. Instead, there is a trimount vert used in violation of the rule. However, it has been argued by some that the mount vert or trimount issues from the base of the shield rather than being a charge on it, causing the rule not to apply.
Fimbriation
Fimbriation
In heraldry and vexillology, fimbriation refers to small stripes of colour placed around common charges or ordinaries, usually in order for them to stand out from the background, but perhaps just because the designer felt it looked better, or for a more technical reason to avoid what would...
, the surrounding of a charge by a thin border, can obviate what would otherwise be a violation of the rule, as in the Union Jack (which, although a flag rather than a shield, was designed using heraldic principles). The divise, a thin band running underneath the chief in French heraldry, can also obviate a violation, as can the parallel fillet in English heraldry.
Violations
Metal on metal
One of the most famous armes à enquérir (often erroneously said to be the only example) was the armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
chosen by Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon was a medieval Frankish knight who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087...
, and later used by his brother Baldwin of Boulogne when he was made King of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
, which had five gold crosses on a silver field (traditionally rendered "Argent a Cross potent between four plain Crosslets Or"). This use of metal on metal is seen on the arms of the King of Jerusalem, the Bishop's mitre in the arms of Andorra
Coat of arms of Andorra
The coat of arms of Andorra has existed for centuries. It supposedly violates the rule of tincture. This coat of arms has been the national coat of arms of Andorra since 1969. Below the shield arms stands Andorra's national motto Virtus Unita Fortior...
, and the arms of the county of Nord-Trøndelag
Nord-Trøndelag
is a county constituting the northern part of Trøndelag in Norway. As of 2010, the county had 131,555 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-least populated county. The largest municipalities are Stjørdal, Steinkjer—the county seat, Levanger, Namsos and Verdal, all with between 21,000 and...
in Norway (which is based on the arms of St. Olav as described in the sagas of Snorri). It indicates the exceptional holy and special status of this particular coat of arms.
Colour on colour
An example of "colour on colour" is the arms of AlbaniaAlbania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, with its sable two-headed eagle on a field gules. However, some writers in Central and Eastern European heraldry consider sable to have properties of both a metal and a colour, not exclusively a colour as it is in Western Europe, so that black-on-colour combinations are not uncommon.
This rule is perhaps most often violated by a chief
Chief (heraldry)
In heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third. The former is more likely if the...
, leading some commentators to question whether the rule should apply to a chief, or even whether a chief should be considered a charge at all rather than a division of the field. These violations usually occur in the case of landscape heraldry and augmentations. French civic heraldry, with its frequent chiefs of France (i.e. "on a field azure, three fleurs-de-lys
Fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...
or", alternatively "azure, seme-de-lys or"), often violates this rule when the field is of a colour. The arms of Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, "on a field azure, a chief gules", is another example. An example from mediaeval England quoted by John Gibbon in 1682 is the arms of Denys of Siston
Siston
Siston is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England east of Bristol Castle, ancient centre of Bristol, recorded historically as Syston, Sistone, Syton, Sytone and Systun etc. The village lies at the confluence of the two sources of the Siston Brook, a tributary of the River Avon...
, Gloucestershire, "gules, 3 leopards' faces jessant-de-lys azure over all a bend engrailled azure".
Cousu
In French heraldry the term cousu ("sewn") is sometimes in blazon used to get around what would otherwise be a violation of the rule; though this is used generally, occasionally a distinction is drawn between the cousu of colour on colour and the soudé ("soldered") of metal on metal, though this has fallen from fashion to a large degree. In Italian heraldry terms such as per inchiesta are used in the blazons of the extremely rare violations of the rule, to acknowledge their exceptionality or impropriety.http://www.regalis.com/reg/medherald.htmModern design principle
The rule of tincture has had an influence reaching far beyond heraldry. It has been applied to the design of flags, so that the flag of Saxe-Weimar-EisenachSaxe-Weimar-Eisenach
The Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach was created in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach. It was raised to a Grand duchy in 1815 by resolution of the Vienna Congress. In 1877, it officially changed its name to the Grand Duchy of Saxony , but this name was...
was modified to conform to the rule. Pragmatically, it is a useful rule of thumb
Rule of thumb
A rule of thumb is a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation. It is an easily learned and easily applied procedure for approximately calculating or recalling some value, or for making some determination...
for the design of logos, icons and other symbols. Hence almost all license plates and traffic sign
Traffic sign
Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of roads to provide information to road users. With traffic volumes increasing over the last eight decades, many countries have adopted pictorial signs or otherwise simplified and standardized their signs to facilitate international travel...
s, intentionally or unintentionally, follow it.
Sources
- Balfour Paul, James. (1893). An Ordinary of Arms Contained in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland. William Green and Sons.
- Boutell, Charles and A. C. Fox-Davies. (2003). English Heraldry. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 076614917X.
- Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles and Graham Johnston. (1978). A Complete Guide to Heraldry. New York: Bonanza Books. ISBN 0-517-26643-1.
- Heim, Bruno Bernard. (1994). Or and Argent. Gerrards Cross, UK: Van Duren. ISBN 0-905715-24-1.
- Llwyd of Denbigh, Humphrey. (c1568). Dosbarth Arfau.
- Neubecker, Ottfried. (1997). Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning. London: Tiger Books International. ISBN 1-85501-908-6.
- Spener, Philip Jacob. (1690). Insignium Theoria. Frankfurt. Library of Congress record.
- Woodcock, Thomas and John Martin Robinson. (1988). The Oxford Guide to Heraldry. Oxford: University Press. ISBN 0192116584.