Furs
… and other variegated fields

Ermine

Ermine is derived from and represents the fur of the stoat (Mustela erminea) in its white winter pelage with a black-tipped tail.

Ermine ― Duke of Britanny

Some writers assert that the white in ermine should be emblazoned only as white, never silver; however, Fox-Davies (p. 62) notes, “it was sometimes depicted with black ermine spots upon a silver field, as in the case of some of the stall plates of the Knights of the Garter in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor.”

The spots (tail-tips) can be stylised in a variety of ways, and are sometimes found as charges in their own right.

Later variations of ermine

Variations of ermine in different tinctures are common from the 15th century. These include ermines (less commonly erminees), erminois, and pean.

Ermines ― de Rousselet (France?)

Ermines is sable ermined with argent.

Barron remarks that the name ermines, although firmly established in modern usage, is an unfortunate choice, since it is the name used in old documents for the original ermine. He suggests that erminees, which has at least 15th-century authority, should serve, “for those who are not content to speak of sable ermined with argent.”

Moncreiffe & Pottinger give contre-ermine, which is sometimes written counter-ermine

Erminois ― van der Eze (Guelders) Pean

Erminois is or ermined with sable – which might represent the golden brown summer pelage of the Russian stoat, another fur used in the Middle Ages – and pean, sable ermined with or.

Other combinations of metal and colour are possible, though rare.

Erminites

Erminites is a variant of ermine that has a single red hair on either side of each black tail.

Of this, Fox-Davies (p. 62) says, “I believe there is no instance known of any such fur in British armory… I think that it should be relegated… to the category of the silly inventions of former heraldic writers.”

Vair

Vair is derived from the fur of a kind of squirrel, used in the Middle Ages as a trimming or lining for garments, such as Geoffrey of Anjou’s robe, right. Fox-Davies (p. 62), notes that the squirrel in question was called the ver or vair (Latin varus); this is possibly the “Russian squirrel” (presumably a Sciurus vulgaris subspecies).

Vair ― Beauchamp of Hatch

Vair represents the small squirrel pelts sewn together in lines, alternately white and blue-grey, as alternating argent and azure bell-shaped or shield-shaped pieces. Some writers assert that, as in ermine, the white in vair should be emblazoned only as white, never silver; however, Fox-Davies (p. 64) notes, “the use of the latter cannot be said to be incorrect, there being precedents in favour of that form.”

The pieces may be of any size in English heraldry: the number of rows is not material (and need not even be a whole number: many mediæval rolls of arms show vair with only a slice of the row in base!), although five rows is customary in modern heraldic art.

However, French heraldry distinguishes three different vairs by the number of rows: beffroi or gros vair, of three rows; vair of four (or sometime five, when it is so blazoned: for example, de vair de cinq traits – Varroux); and menu vair, of six. (The English word “miniver” derives from the last of these.)

In British heraldry, it has become customary for the ∪’s to be emblazoned in azure and the ∩’s in argent, but the reverse is more usually the case in early mediæval English heraldry and in modern French heraldry.

In early heraldry vair is drawn with wavy lines, although the pieces sometimes had rather flattened ends, as in the Heralds’ Roll c. 1280 (far left).

In later centuries, however, vair is drawn with angular lines – possibly influenced, I think, by the constraints of working in stained glass: the straight edges would make it easier for the glazier to cut the pieces. Writing in 1913, Fox-Davies (p. 63) remarked that the devisions of vair, “have now been stereotyped into a fixed geometrical pattern”.

In his footnote, Brooke-Little says, “Happily the form which vair takes is no longer stereotyped, if indeed it ever were. Certainly there was a fashion… of representing vair with hard, ugly little shield-shapes.” He goes on to remark that the most popular form in current use is not unlike mediæval examples. Nevertheless, many recent books on heraldry – Friar and Slater, for example – persist in illustrating vair with those “hard, ugly little shield-shapes”!

Gules a saltire vair ― Sir John de Willington, at first Dunstable tournament, 1308

In diagonal ordinaries the pieces may be angled accordingly, as in this example from the Heralds’ Roll c. 1280, or in horizontal rows. Fox-Davies notes that there are accepted precedents for both methods.

Vairy or and gules ― Ferrers of Derby

Vairy argent and sable ― Ward

Vair may be of other tinctures, but if so is described as “vairy [of] metal and colour”. It seems to be left to the heraldic artist to choose to emblazon the ∪’s in the colour and the ∩’s in the metal or vice versa.

Vairy ermine and gules ― Gresley

Several heraldists cite this example of a combination of colour and fur (sometimes blazoned as vairy gules and ermine).

Vairy argent, gules, or, and sable

In Woodcock & Robinson there’s a plate from Sylvanus Morgan’s Sphere of Gentry (1661) that depicts a tabard of furs including a striking vair of four tinctures. Although rare in British heraldry, this is seemingly common in Germany where it is known as Buntfeh (“coloured vair”). In Morgan’s illustration all the tinctures run in bend, but I’ve seen this emblazoned elsewhere with the metals in bend sinister (right).

Vair “mistakes”?

Vair has a number of putative variants with the pieces in different configurations or of different shapes or both.

These likely have their origins mainly in misunderstandings of the various patterns found in old paintings, and so should be deprecated in any discussion of mediæval armory. They could happily be avoided in any modern arms, were it not for arms that have embraced them in the interim.

In countervair each ∩ of one colour is vertically aligned with a ∪ of the same colour in alternate rows. In vair in pale each ∪ of one colour is vertically aligned in all rows. And in vair en point each ∪ of one colour is vertically aligned with a ∪ of the other colour in alternate rows.

Countervair Vair in pale

Vair en point

Potent is so-called because the pieces are T shaped, like crutch heads (potent = OE crutch). This is also called cuppa and varry tassy (from the French; I’ve also seen varry taffe, clearly a misreading of varry taſſe). Following vair, there is also counter-potent and potent en point… but not, apparently, potent in pale!

Potent Counter-potent

Potent en point

Feathers & scales

Plumetty of or and purpure ― Mydlam in Coverdale

Plumetty (or plumeté) is a very rare variegation that represents overlapping feathers. Barron cites just this one example, from a 15th-century book of arms.

Or papelonny gules ― Rogier d’Anglue (France, Alemans & Ruyers)

Papelonny (Fr. papillonné and variant spellings), is another rare variegation, whose name suggests that it represents the pattern on a butterfly’s wings, but I’ve also seen it described as “fish scales”. This is seemingly unknown in old British heraldry – Some writers suggest that it is in origin a badly drawn vair! – but there are several instances in continental heraldry as long ago as the 13th century.

On a recent trip to Sorrento, Italy, I noticed that is was a fairly common motif, for example in ornamental fences and in these cobblestones, right.

Semy fields

Fields and charges may also be variegated by powdering them with a small charge repeated many times; the fields are blazoned as semy of such-and-such a charge. Although these variegations are not tinctures, the effect may be similar to ermine or its variants – indeed, erminois might be blazoned or semy of ermine spots sable – and drops, fleurs-de-lis, and other charges might be mistaken for ermine tails…