Vair

Vair is a fur, or a pattern on a shield or object in heraldry.Woodcock, Thomas; Robinson, John Martin (1988). The Oxford Guide to Heraldry. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 88–89. ISBN 0-19-211658-4. 

Furs are patterns in heraldry. They are based on animal furs. This one is based on the fur of the Squirrel. Unlike Ermine where the connection is obvious. In Vair the pattern comes from many squirrel bellies connected together.    

The word , comes from Middle English which comes from Old French which comes from Latin  ("varied"), because the pattern varies in color.         

The original form called  had a wavy pattern that looked more like squirrel coats. The modern form is has more angles. The default modern pattern blue () and white (). Since blue is a color and white is a metal, this means it follows the Rule of tincture and is visible from a long distance.  

 Gallery 
As with other heraldry. It is written with a type of special language called Blazons which is part French part English. This is why some shield descriptions are hard to understand.

 Related pages 

 Tincture (heraldry)
 Fur (heraldry)

 Notes 

References
Citations

Bibliography
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Category:Heraldry
Category:Heraldic Furs