A System of Heraldry - Clan Strachan Society

, 4
OF THE TINCTURE
the figure placed upon it ; as in the arms of Scotland, the fit-Id i a or, the figure,
the lion, is gules. Again, if the field consist of two different tinctures, parted/*-;
or on
fi-sse, parted per pale, &c. the noblest tincture should be on the upper part,
'the right side of the shield, as Hoppingius, Cap. XI. lex. 4. " Quoties arma iiunt
"
ex diversis coloribus, semper nobilior color nobiliore in loco ponendus ;" pro-
viding always, as before, there be no ether special reason for the contrary.
Those tinctures at the first view, when painted and illuminated, are known by
their natural colours ; and when carved and engraven on copperplate, they were
anciently known by the initial letters of their names. But now in Tailledouce they
are known by points, hatches, or small lines ; which contrivance some impute to
the French, and others to the Italian, Sylvester Petra Sancta ; which I shall here
show, as I speak separately
of the tinctures.
1. Or, a French word which its
signifies gold, colour is yellow; and in Latin
blazons, these words are used for it, aureus color, aurum, lutcum, croceum\flavum, galbinum.
This tincture was anciently known in engravings by the letter O, but now
by points and ticks, as fig.
i. Plate I.
2. Urgent, i. e. silver, its colour is white ; the Latins say, argenteus color, a/bus,
and argtntum. It was anciently known in Tailledouce by the letter A, but now it js
blank, and has no mark, as fig. 2.
3. Azure, i. c. blue, is said to have come from an Arabic or Persian word lazunl
or lazurion, which signifies the same ; it is variously latinized by heralds, caruleus,
cyaneus, glaucum, and cesium. It was represented by the letter B, now by horizontal
or thwart hatches, as fig. 3.
4. Gules, or Gueules, i. e. red ; some it bring from gula, the throat, because it is
always red ; others from an Arabian word gule, which signifies a red rose; and
others will have it from cusculium, cochineal, wherewith they dye scarlet : The Latins,
for gules, say, roseus color ; rubor, rubeus; sanguineus, coccineus ; and Petra
Sancta uses these words, puniceum, purpureum ; conchileatum, ostreum, mineo vel cin-
nabri illusuni. Gules was known in Tailledouce by the letter R, now by perpendicu-
lar hatches. Fig. 4.
5. Sable, i. c. black ; some would have it come from the black furr called sables ;
others from the French word sable, which signifies sand or earth, being dark or
black : The Latins say, niger, furvus, pullus, fuscus, ater, iS sabuleum. It was
known by the letter S, and now, in engravings, by cross hatches, perpendicular
and horizontal, as fig. 5.
6. Vert, the common French word for green, is not used in their blazons ; but
the word sinople, taken from the town Sinople in the Levant, where the best ma-
terials for dying green are found.
I find green termed prasin, from a Greek word which signifies a leek ; the Latins
say, viridus or prasinum. It was known by the letter V, now by thwart or
diagonal hatches from right to left, as fig. 6.
7. Purpure, i. e. purple colour,
is said to have its name from a shell-fish called
purpura, which gave materials for that colour. It was known by the letter P, now
by thwart or diagonal hatches from left to right, fig. 7.
I must take leave a little here, to give the opinion of ancient heralds, who say,
that the last two colours were not so soon received in armories, especially in England,
as the former colours. John Bassardo, of that nation, who wrote in the reign of
Richard II. says. That in armories there were two principal colours, white and black,
and the other three, yellow, blue, and red, were composed out of the first two,
and that some heralds of late added the colour green. Henry Spelman, his coun-
tryman, who wrote long after him, tells us, that the colour purpure was but newly
added, and that he did never see that colour in English arms. Menestrier says
likewise, That in France, purpure was never found in arms, except to represent the
natural colour of fruits, as grapes, of birds, as peacocks, &c. which are then blazoned
proper ; that is, in their natural colours : For if purpure had been an armo-
rial colour, it would not have been wanting in the ensigns of Kings and Princes,
where it is not to be met with, neither have I found it in any of our nobility and
gentry's arms, but of late, in a new family.
Some tells us, that purpure is a royal colour peculiar to Princes ; in so far, that
all subjects were, by edicts, discharged the use of it, and the shell wherein it grew.