Tincture of black in heraldry
In British
heraldry
,
sable
(
) is the
tincture
equivalent to
black
. It is one of the five dark tinctures called
colours
.
Sable is portrayed in heraldic
hatching
by criss-crossing perpendicular lines. Sable is indicated by the abbreviation s. or sa. when a coat of arms is
tricked
.
Etymology
[
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]
Sable can be traced back to Middle English, Anglo-French, and ultimately to the Middle Low German
sabel
, which refers to a species of
marten
known as a
sable
. This is related to the Middle High German
zobel
, which is of Slav origin and akin to the Russian
sobol'
, which likewise refers to the sable. Since at least the 14th century, sable has been used as a synonym for the colour black.
[1]
Both
sable
and
negro
are used for black in Spanish heraldry. In Portugal, black is known as
negro
, and in Germany the colour is called
schwarz
.
Sabel
is the spelling used in Dutch heraldry.
Poetic meanings
[
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]
The different tinctures are traditionally associated with particular heavenly bodies, precious stones, virtues, and flowers, although these associations have been mostly disregarded by serious heraldists.
[2]
Sable is associated with:
Sable in Central Europe
[
edit
]
Sable is considered a
colour
in British and French heraldry, and contrasts with lighter
metals
,
argent
and
Or
. However, in the heraldry of
Germany
,
Poland
and other parts of
Central Europe
, sable is not infrequently
placed on colour fields
. As a result, a sable cross may appear on a red shield, or a sable bird may appear on a blue or a red field, as in the arms of
Albania
.
In
Hungary
, for example, one can find examples of sable on gules and azure fields as early as the sixteenth century in the arms of the family Kanizsai (granted in 1519):
Azure, an eagle's wing sable taloned Or between a decrescent argent and a sun Or.
[6]
[a]
Another early Hungarian example was granted in 1628 to the family Karomi Bornemisza:
Per fess gules, an eagle displayed sable crowned Or, and azure, a buffalo's head cabossed sable maintaining in its mouth a fish (argent?)
.
[6]
[b]
Polish examples abound as early as the fifteenth century. Jozef Szyma?ski
[7]
includes no fewer than seven examples of sable primary charges on either gules or azure fields out of the approximately 200 shields from this period whose blazons are known. These include the arms of
Corvin
, "Azure, a raven sable with a circlet or in its beak"; Kownaty, "Gules, a trumpet sable with a cord or, a Passion cross of the same issuing from its opening"; and Sło?ce, "Gules, a sphere radiant sable, its centre argent". In addition to the seven major examples, he describes occasional variants for the arms of some
rody
which also use sable charges on azure or gules fields.
Sable charges on gules fields also appear in the armory used in
Lithuania
. This is not surprising, since a significant fraction of Lithuania's personal coats of arms are of Polish origin,
[8]
so there is a certain similarity of style. Among these coats are those of
Great ?emaitija
: "a black bear with an argent chain on its neck on a field gules".
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
Arms of
Dalziel
family of Scotland
-
Arms of the Foljambe family of Walton, Osberton and Aldwark.
-
Coat of arms of Frank II van Borselen.
-
Coat of arms of
Huckelhoven
, Germany.
-
-
Blazon of the Castelyn family of London.
-
The arms of Albania.
-
The historical coat of arms of
Samogitia
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Definition of SABLE"
.
- ^
a
b
Woodcock, Thomas
;
Robinson, John Martin
(1988).
The Oxford Guide to Heraldry
. Oxford:
Oxford University Press
. pp. 53?54.
ISBN
0-19-211658-4
.
- ^
Elvin, Charles Norton (1889).
A Dictionary of Heraldry
. London: Kent. p. 49.
- ^
Elvin (1889), p. 113.
- ^
Chambers, Ephraim
(1728). "Dwal".
Cyclopædia, or, an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences
. Vol. 1. London. p. 257.
at University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries
- ^
a
b
Nyulaszi-Straub, Eva (1999).
Ot evszazad cimerei (Wappen aus funf Jahrhunderten)
. Szekszard: Babits Kiado.
ISBN
963-9015-97-0
.
- ^
Szyma?ski, Jozef (1993).
Herbarz: ?redniowiecznego Rycerstwa Polskiego
. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
ISBN
83-01-09797-3
.
- ^
Rim?a, Edmundas (2005).
Heraldry: past to present
. Vilnius: Versus Aureus.
ISBN
9955-601-73-6
.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
In the original Hungarian:
"allo, csucskos talpu tarcsapajzs kek mezejeben, lebeg? arany saslabon fekete sasszarny, jobbrol ezust felholdtol, balrol nyolcagu arany csillagtol kiserve."
- ^
In the original Hungarian:
"allo, tojasdad pajzs vagott, fels? voros mezejeben jobbra fordult fej?, vagasvonalon allo, koronas fekete sas, az also kek mez?ben fekete bolenyfej, szajaban hallall."
External links
[
edit
]
- The dictionary definition of
sable
at Wiktionary