What would the blazon be for a plain, unpainted shield?  A field Argent?  A field Proper?  What?

It depends on what the shield is made of; many early shields were not made of metal and when I first read your question I had the amusing image of "five old floor boards nailed together proper" - of course they wouldn’t be very strong so in order to strengthen the shield I though it might be better to make it "five old floor boards nailed together surmounted by another in fess all proper" ... now we are getting nearer to heraldry.

Then looking out of the window (we are in the midst of a rain cloud today) I realised that any plain metal shield if left unattended would soon resemble a shield of Gules. Could this perhaps explain why a the arms of a cadet changed from Argent to Gules?

Seriously though, I have done no actual study of this so please take this with a pinch of salt. Although the simplest of shields are to be coveted as they often indicate ancient origin I am somewhat doubtful if a plain (uncoloured) shield can be considered to be Heraldry. The purpose of heraldry was (is) to clearly indicate the identity of the owner. A plain shield would not necessarily do this.

I would venture to suggest that a plain shield painted of any one colour alone, even though I have no doubt that there may be one or two ancient families who might claim the right to one and may even have been granted one by an overlord, does not really fill the function of identity since there would always be more of a chance of meeting a foe on the field with an unpainted shield than there would be of meeting one with a shield Gules, three widgets Or.

Just my thoughts on a wet Sunday morning.

It’s raining in Scotland, too? Hmm ... maybe it’s a rainy Sunday everywhere. While I agree that a solid-color shield is rare, they do appear. Going through old armorial rolls, you’ll occasionally see one, although these days they are most likely to be met as a quartering in personal heraldry (an extrememly rare circumstance, but one that does appear). Look, however, at our Society Coat of Arms: on a chief Azure three escutcheons Argent.

Stephen, the short answer to your question is this: heraldically, no shield is "unpainted", but occasionally you’ll find one that is a solid color. In that rare circumstance, the shield is described by a single word: it’s tincture. Therefore, if one were to find a shield that was all red, it’s blazon would be Gules.

Dear Steven,

I have heard of uncoloured shields in paper heraldry being called empty shields and blank shields but these shields were unfinished and thus unblazonable. If a shield is simply weathered wood or metal it is not heraldic, just a shield and nothing more.

I’ve heard of a plain Argent shield blazoned as Argent, simple. In fact, the arms of Boguet of Normandy are Argent, simple.

I also know that the families Gourney, Dombale, Glegg, and Lorraine use the arms Sable, simple.

Hope this helps.

Take care,

Moncrieff/Pottingers Simple Heraldry give the plain fields as:

Argent: Zgeaia

Or: de Menezes

Gules: d’Albret

Azure: Maienthal

Sable: Gournay

Vert: Pupellin

Purpure: Aubert

If you want to include the plain furs:

Ermine: Brittany (Duke of)

Ermines: de Rousselet

Ermanois: Van der Eze

Vair: Zu Pappenheim

Thanks, guys!  It didn’t even occur to me that an unpainted shield isn’t considered heraldic.  Thanks again!