Colors
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Metals
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The basic rule in using colors and metals is that a color cannot go on top of another color and a metal cannot go on top of another metal. The rule may be ignored if an object is laying equally on top of two tinctures, one a color, one a metal and there is contrast between all three tinctures. Try to choose bright colors in standard shades. For furs, do not put a fur whose major background tincture is a metal on top of another metal and do not put a fur whose major background tincture is a color on top of another color. This rule may be ignored if the fur is equally color and metal and there is good contrast with any objects placed on or under it. The two most common furs are Ermine and Vair. Ermine started out as white ermine fur with black tail tips sewn on it. Common variations include Ermines (also called Counter-ermine), Erminois, and Pean. For those who couldn't afford ermine, Vair started as interlocking squirrel hides. Click on the furs for a full shield. A term you will often come across in heraldry is Counterchanged. It occurs when two areas of different tinctures are next to each other with a charge covering both of them. The part of the charge over the first tincture is the color of the second tincture and vice versa. |
| Furs | |
| Ermine: Argent with Sable ermine tails (6) |
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| Ermines: Sable with Argent ermine tails (6) |
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| Erminois: Or with Sable ermine tails (6) |
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| Pean: Sable with Or ermine tails (6) |
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| Vair: Interlocking squirrel hides, Argent and Azure (6) |
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| Barry of six ermine and ermines Bradwardine, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1349(5) |
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| Counterchanged | |
| Per pale argent and sable, a chevron counterchanged.
S.Bartholomew's Hospital, London. [Indentical with those of Lawson, Cumberland, (Bart., 1688.)](5) |
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| Barry of six, argent and gules, per pale indented counterchanged
Petoe, Chesterton, Warwick.(5) |
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