Gules | |
---|---|
Class | Colour |
Non-heraldic equivalent | Red |
Monochromatic designations | |
Hatching pattern | |
Tricking abbr. | g., Gu. |
Poetic designations | |
Heavenly body | Mars [citation needed] |
Jewel | Ruby [citation needed] |
In heraldry, gules (/ˈɡjuːlz/) is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours." In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines. In "trick" or "tricking" (abbreviations written in areas to indicate their tinctures) it is marked with gu..
Etymology
The term gules derives from the Old French word goules, literally "throats" (related to the English gullet; modern French gueules), but also used to refer to a fur neckpiece, usually made of red fur.[1]
For many decades, heraldic authors have believed that the term may have arisen from the Persian word گل (gol, "rose") (coming to Europe via Muslim Spain or brought back by returning Crusaders), but according to Brault,[2] there is no evidence to support this derivation.
Examples
Gules is the most widely used heraldic tincture. Through the sixteenth century, nearly half of all noble coats of arms in Poland had a field gules with one or more argent charges on them. Examples of coats of arms consisting of purely a red shield (blazoned gules plain) include those of: the d'Albret family, the Rossi family, the Swiss canton of Schwyz (prior to 1815), and the old coats of arms of the cities of Nîmes and Montpellier.
See also
References
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "gules". Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ Brault, Gerard J. (1997). Early Blazon: Heraldic Terminology in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, (2nd ed.). Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-711-4.