Tincture
Tinctures in heraldry are the names given to the standard colours, metals and furs that cover the
shield or flag. There are four main colours (black, red, blue and green). These are also known as sable,
gules, azure and vert respectively. There are some less commonly used colours detailed below. A system
of patterns was developed so that the tinctures could be shown without the use of the real colours. The
patterns are shown below alongside the real colours.
Main Colours |
 | Gules (red)
Parallel perpendicular lines
(pale) |  |
 | Azure (blue)
Parallel horizontal lines
(fess) |  |
 | Sable (black)
Lines crossing each other
(fess and pale) |  |
 | Vert (green)
Diagonal lines top left to bottom right
(Dexter chief to sinister base) |  |
The Metals Gold and Silver |
 | Or (gold/yellow) |  |
 | Argent (silver/white) |  |
Furs |
 |
Ermine |
 |
| Ermines |
 |
Erminois |
 |
| Potent |
 |
Counterpotent |
 |
| Vair |
Less common colours |
 |
Purpure (purple) |
 |
| Tenne |
 |
Sanguine |
 |
| Murrey |
|
| Navigation |
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| Useful Terms |
Points of the shield
Chief: An ordinary covering the top third of the shield.
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