From: c34657b@saha.hut.fi (Tuomas Viljanen)
Subject: Re: Possible FAQ: Tinctures
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 21:22:35 GMT

In article <1992Sep13.162237.11938@news.arc.nasa.gov> keradwc@news.arc.nasa.gov (Kevin Connery) writes:
>In article <1992Sep13.144906.13646@nntp.hut.fi> c34657b@saha.hut.fi (Tuomas Viljanen) writes:
>>Another possible heraldry FAQ could be:
>>
>>"What are the heraldic tinctuures and what are they in English ?"
>[...]
>>Lesser used colours are
>>
>>PURPURE, or purple, FS37100
>>ORANGE (orange), FS32473
>I'd make the caveat for any such FAQ that it include known exceptions (Orange?
>where /when is/was it used, even as a lesser color?

Frankly, I do not know. Ottfried Neubecker, a well known German herald, lists
Orange as a tincture in his tome "Heraldry", p. 86 (McGraw-Hill, 1976). Another
mention is in Osprey Men-At-Arms book #99, "Medieval Heraldry" where it is
listed as a tincture. 

>>4. Stains
>>
>>Unlike all other tinctures, stains are never chosen by the designer or the
>>bearer of the arms. They are added to the arms as a sign of humiliation
>>or punishment for an ignoble deed.
>
>Similar to above. I've not seen evidence that these 'rules' were ever applied.
>It is documented that many gentle+ families in England did choose livery 
>colors from these tinctures, but ...

not the colors of their _arms_ ! I would remember that if an armigerous person
is caught of adultery, an inverted inescutcheon is added in his arms (or
something like that). It was mentioned in one heraldic dictionary, of which
name and author I don't remember (I'll look it out).

>>There is one well known rule according to the tinctures:
>>
>>- a coat of arms must be composed of at least two tinctures
>>- one of them must be a metal
>>- and a metal may not be placed next to a metal or colour next to a colour 
>
>There are a few (obviously limited in number) single-tincture arms in English
>heraldry. I'd _guess_ that they were granted _early_.

Yes, and the arms of Bretagne are Ermine plain. Exceptions are still rare.

>>- one of them must be a metal
>>- and a metal may not be placed next to a metal or colour next to a colour 
>>
>>There is only one internationally accepted exception of this rule: the
>>arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem:
>
>Actually, there are a fair-sized collection of exceptions: Hungarian heraldry,
>with green (mounts) on blue, or German, with red/black, red/blue mixes, etc.

There is a German proverb: Ein Wappen mit drei Farben ist kein Wappen
(arms with three tinctures are no arms). The Germans were usually very strict
with the tinctures' rule, but there are, indeed, exceptions, but they still
are very rare. The arms of Wuerttemberg (the ones of the Porsche logo) are
one such. But still they are quite rare exceptions, and 'scorned upon' amongst
the 'serious' heralds. Neubecker himself says the exceptions are rare and
they should be discouraged wherever they occur.

>The Rule of Tincture is a good guideline for new creations, but can't be taken
>as more than a mild suggestion about existing arms.

Depends on the country. In the Finnish heraldry there just shall not be any
exceptions of this rule, nor in other Scandinavian countries' heraldry:
somewhere, like in Poland or Spain, there are, indeed, a number of exceptions,
but the heraldry of those countries are not considered internationally to be
of high quality (Neubecker).

The rationale of the tinctures' rule is to improve the clarity and the
visibility of the arms: silver upon gold (or contrary) together form a strongly
reflecting surface, from which is very difficult to distinguish _any_
charges. Similarly, a color upon another will disappear in the other and may
not be clear enough to be distinquished from another (for example, a charge
Azure can be very difficult to distinguish from Sable background).
Therefore we need the Tinctures' Rule in the heraldic design. I would say if
you tried to registrate an escutcheon which violates the tinctures' rule
in the Heraldic Society of Finland, it would not get qualified; nor would it
probably get qualified in the English College of Arms.
 
>  kconnery@isi.com


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