Rule of Tinctures

 
Daniel C. Boyer
 
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Daniel C. Boyer
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13 May 2011 15:09
 

Madalch;61807 wrote:

I disagree with this completely.  The rule of tincture exists to prevent low-contrast arms, and is all about how the shield looks, not how it is blazoned.

People should not use the term "proper" as a weasel-word to avoid the rule of tincture (such as blazoning snowflakes "proper" instead of Argent so that they can be used on a field of Argent or Or).  People do, but I’d like to see them all given a good smack.


The rule of tincture has absolutely nothing to do with how the shield looks.  This complete nonsense, to put it mildly.  Colours and metals are determined by their names, and the tincture of proper can be different from an identical, or almost identical-looking charge in terms of its apparent colour (in layman’s terms).

 
j.carrasco
 
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j.carrasco
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13 May 2011 15:11
 

Kenneth Mansfield;61812 wrote:

It is sort of charming in it’s own way…. smile

 
Daniel C. Boyer
 
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Daniel C. Boyer
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13 May 2011 15:12
 

Chuck Glass;62222 wrote:

Volx, France

[ATTACH]491[/ATTACH]

 

Blazon:  de gueules à une crémaillère cousue de sable posée en pal

 

Be careful, Stephen, these arms might be able to fight back!


Right in the blazon it says cousue.  No violation.

 
Daniel C. Boyer
 
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Daniel C. Boyer
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13 May 2011 15:14
 

J. Stolarz;82498 wrote:

99% of the time, violations to the rule of tincture look down right bad, especially when it’s a charge violation.  The exception is red and black in my opinion, lets face it, it just looks cool wink.


How could it not be a charge violation?  This doesn’t make sense.

 
Daniel C. Boyer
 
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Daniel C. Boyer
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13 May 2011 15:15
 

Brad Smith;82508 wrote:

Remember that divisions of the field are not bound by the rule of tinctures, at least according to Boutell’s and Fox-Davies.  That being said, my own taste tends towards dividing the field according to the rules of tincture.


And indeed, you very rarely see divisions that would violate the rule, if such fell under it.

 
liongam
 
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liongam
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14 May 2011 06:01
 

Dear All,

When speaking of ‘snow flakes’ proper.  As a alternative, could not a snow flake be tincture ‘bleu celeste’ as an icy blue all according to tincture of the field on which it is to lie?  In British heraldry, there is certainly one occurence that comes to mind where snow flakes are used and that is in the arms of Baron (Lord) Snow, of the City of Leicester (United Kingdom Life Barony created 1964):

 

‘Azure a semy of snow crystals proper’

 

Here the snow crystals are rendered as argent.

 

All the best

 

John

 
steven harris
 
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steven harris
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14 May 2011 17:52
 

Personally, I try to keep my shields strictly metals and colors, while I actually encourage “proper” things in my crests.  If I may explain…

If we put ourselves back on the battlefields of yore, where the heraldic shield was born, I don’t think that we would have seen very many shields with intricately painted “proper” beasts on them.  The whole point of the tincture rule – the whole point of heraldry for that matter – is to provide unmistakable identification across a chaotic field of battle.  “Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale Or” would have been completely indistinguishable from “Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale proper” from a distance – so the latter would have been a waste of some poor artist’s time and paints.

 

In the joisting lists at a tournament, however, where our crests first came into historical use, the purpose of farsighted identification was mute and replaced by a dog-and-pony show.  The beast (or what have you) placed atop a knight’s helm, was a hand-carved and beautifully painted statement of prowess and status.  Why on earth would you pay some carpenter or woodsmith somewhere to carve you a splendid lion, then tell your painter to “just paint the whole damn thing yellow” – that just doesn’t make any sense to me from a historical perspective.

 

So, to me a shield should be metals and colors, while a crest should be “proper”.  This is, of course, only my personal opinion; and doesn’t affect the fact that “Argent, three snowflakes proper” is a technically acceptable blazon, regardless of how ludicrous it would be.

 
Benjamin Thornton
 
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Benjamin Thornton
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14 May 2011 19:20
 

liongam;83008 wrote:

Dear All,

When speaking of ‘snow flakes’ proper.  As a alternative, could not a snow flake be tincture ‘bleu celeste’ as an icy blue all according to tincture of the field on which it is to lie?  In British heraldry, there is certainly one occurence that comes to mind where snow flakes are used and that is in the arms of Baron (Lord) Snow, of the City of Leicester (United Kingdom Life Barony created 1964):

 

‘Azure a semy of snow crystals proper’

 

Here the snow crystals are rendered as argent.

 

All the best

 

John


The Canadian Heraldic Authority has used snowflakes a number of times (as might be expected here in the Great White North).  My personal favourite is this one for William Terry Blizzard:

 

http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/ProjectPics/iv413_20030013_arms_bl_sm.jpg

 
David Pope
 
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David Pope
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14 May 2011 20:19
 

Benjamin Thornton;83028 wrote:

The Canadian Heraldic Authority has used snowflakes a number of times (as might be expected here in the Great White North).  My personal favourite is this one for William Terry Blizzard:

http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/ProjectPics/iv413_20030013_arms_bl_sm.jpg


That’s both sharp and witty.

 
Joseph McMillan
 
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Joseph McMillan
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14 May 2011 21:09
 

steven harris;83023 wrote:

In the joisting lists at a tournament, however, where our crests first came into historical use, the purpose of farsighted identification was mute and replaced by a dog-and-pony show. The beast (or what have you) placed atop a knight’s helm, was a hand-carved and beautifully painted statement of prowess and status. Why on earth would you pay some carpenter or woodsmith somewhere to carve you a splendid lion, then tell your painter to “just paint the whole damn thing yellow” – that just doesn’t make any sense to me from a historical perspective.


But the historical evidence from medieval rolls of arms is that crests were generally painted with bright heraldic tinctures, not "proper."