This pattern was imitated in heraldry, as early as the second half of the 12th c., and came to be one of the two main furs . Its appearance is a white field with a regular pattern or semy of ermine spots. The shape of the spot varied over time and place, although its standard form nowadays is that of 3 dots arranged in triangle, with a kind of tail extending downward and flaring out. The spot itself is a charge, and can be used on its own, in specified numbers, or to form a design. The coloring scheme of ermine can also be changed.
French blazon calls ermines contre-hermine .
Schleiden in Prussia bears Azure semy of ermine spots or, over all a lion argent . Ermine is most common in Britain, the Low Countries and Western France.