HERA 
The figure in Plate I. coloured “Purpure,” is a mo¬ 
dern reprefentatiori of the convex buckler, and may give 
an idea of. the different ornaments which are admitted 
around the efcutcheon ; but they are feldom tiled by 
Englifii heralds, or by any of thofe who feel a real ve¬ 
neration for claffical fimplicity. The figures marked 
“Sable,” and “ Sanguine,” are mete variations of the 
parma , or fquare target ; and the Lozenge, in the centre 
of that line, is exchifively devoted to bear the armo¬ 
rial enfigns of maids, fpinfters, and widows. 
’ The Europeans, as’well as the nations that inhabit 
the reft of the globe, have adopted andufed thefe l'eve- 
ral (liapes ; which have hitherto been tortured and twift- 
ed all forts of ways, by the fantaftic imagination of 
painters and carvers, who have as yet rarely 'confined^ 
themfelves to the rules of fcience, probably for want of. 
. knowing their value. 
■ TINCTURES. 
It has been obferved before, that (liields, targets, and 
bucklers, were anciently made of the hides of animals, 
and generally covered with, plates of a metalline fub- 
ftance, when not made entirely ofmetal. Indeed Livy (loc. 
cit.) mentions the gold.and Silver Shields of the Samnites ; 
but the fcarcity and high price of thofe two precious me¬ 
tals fcon introduded, in their (lead, lei's expenfive onefe, 
as brafs and copper, iron.aiid fteel, which by the a'nalogy 
of their natural colour, or by being Silvered or gilt, were 
found.eheap and fifeful reprefentati ves of the former. 
By a certain chain of events, in part noticed above, 
but the particulars of which might lead us into a digref- 
fion foreign to our plan, the heraldic dialed! preferves 
to this moment its French origin, and moii of the terms 
ufed in blazon belong to that language as it was; written 
in the 15th, i6tb, and 17thi centuries. According to this 
ancient cuftom gold is denbminated or, and filver argent, 
in defcribihg coats of arms ; and in painting, yellow is 
often fubftituted jfof- gold, as •whiU for filver, when tlie 
metsils themfelves cannot be made ufe of for. the pur- 
pofei; but when it is not convenient to lay on either 
metal or pigment, then by minute dots for or, and the 
blank vellum, or papery for argent ; and by lines in dif¬ 
ferent directions for the other tinSlures, as particula¬ 
rized in the following “ Definitions the engraver or 
draughtfman prefents them to the eye with as much 
clearnefs and confpicuity, as if they Ihone in their re- 
fpedlive hues. 
This ufeful invention is attributed to Silvejlre de Saint 
Pierre, or Sandta Petra, an Italian writer, and does not 
feem to have been.known or adopted before the middle 
of the 17th century, as it appears by feveral Englilh and 
French treadles on heraldry, publilhed before that pe¬ 
riod, wherein the wood-cuts, representing the feveral 
bearings, are fo admirably executed, that, had the lines 
been in ufe, the refpective authors would certainly have 
enriched their numerous Ihields with them. Several 
heraldic works of as late a date as the latter end of the 
17th century, are molt incorrett in their exprefiing the 
tinCtures of the field and ordinaries by lines. 
During thofe ages of ignorance and darknefs which left 
a deplorable blank in the hiftory of the human mind, 
between the reigns of the Roman emperors and the re¬ 
vival of genius under Leo X. the beautiful art of chafing 
metal had lain dormant and forgotten. It was therefore 
natural for the chieftains and warriors to look out for 
fom,e eafy and confpicuous manner of diftinguifhing 
themfelves by the colour of their Ihields ; and hence ori¬ 
ginated the cuftom of dividing or charging the metal 
field with contrafting pieces of coloured ornaments. 
GULES.—Proud of having imbrued his victorious lau¬ 
rels with the blood of his Saracen enemy, and eager to 
fpill his own in defence of his religion, his king, and his 
individual rights; or perhaps having encountered and de¬ 
feated the lion of the foreft, the tiger of the deferts, in Pa- 
leftine ; the knight naturally adopted firft the red colour, 
not only in allulion to his achievements, but all'o for 
L D R Y. 427 
its fuperiority in brightnefs; hence the Tyrian fcarlet, in 
the ftiape of a crofs, flamed on the filver Ihields and ban¬ 
ners of the crufaders. 
The word gtiles, by which red is heraldically called, is 
an indubiiable ; procf that it took its name from the crim~ 
J'on mouth of animals, the correfpondent of which., in French', 
is gueule, (as louche is particularly applied to man, and 
by a lingular courtefy, to the horfe ;) therefore, without 
Teeking any farther forthe etymology of the’Word, we 
are perfuaded that gules means mouth-colour. Vermillion 
or cinnabar is commonly ufed for it ; and, as if it ftood 
the firft in dignity, the engraver reprefents it by the 
fimpleft ftroke, the vertical or perpendicular line. See 
This illuftrated in the'firft of the fecond row of Ihields, 
Plate T. 
AZURE.—The next colour is blue. The azure canopy 
of heaven, in its Iplendour and purity, may have induced 
the warrior to affeCt it on his banner ortarget. It is alfo 
one of the primitive, and componeht colours of nature; 
the union of which withj yellow produces green, and with 
red generates .purple. It retains tlie French liarife azure 
in heraldry, and'is ufually painted with Pruilian blue 
or verditer, ultramarine or ftp-alt ; and is exprefted in 
the Engraving by the horizontal line. . See the fecGtid 
fttield in the fecond row of Plate I. 
Sable fhould follow ; but vert and purpure, being com¬ 
pound of azure, generally take precedence. 
VERT.—To fay that the verdant ifnagery of forefts 
and meadows, or their purple tinge at fun-let, reflected 
on the polifhed fteel of a plain buckler, has given the 
idea of introducing green-and purple ornaments in fltields 
and banners, would be indulging in fanciful probability-; 
whatever ntay have been the caufe of their being admit¬ 
ted among heraldic colours, certain it is, that they are 
of as ancient a date as the preceding'. Green is ftilL 
Called by its French name, vert, as anciently fpelt ■ al¬ 
though the heralds of that nation have ftyled it fynople, 
which is not, as fome pretend, derived from the Ger¬ 
man f neper, which means cinabar ox Vermillion, nor from 
any mineral that yields a green pigment ; but more pro¬ 
bably-from the Greek <?vv t>rrha, cum armis, with arms, 
and was originally called fo by the fubjedts of tlie Greek 
emperors who ftiared the toils of the holy wars. 11 is 
reprefented in engravings by‘hatches drawn from the 
dexter fummit diagonally down to the finifter bafe of 
the fttield. See Plate I. fecond row of fhields. 
PURPURE.—This word preferves more of its Latin 
than French origin; purpura has been tranflated into pour- 
pre or purpure ; which now means a kind of compound tint 
between blue and red, although originally intended to ex- 
prefs fcarlet, or flame-colour, from the Greek rtv^, fire. 
In engravings and the cuts it is reprefented in the re- 
verfe way of vert ; that is, by ftrokes, from the finifter 
corner of the fttield down to the right bafe. See Plate I. 
fecond row of Ihields. 
SABLE.—We often read in the defeription of tilts and 
tournaments, that s after the lofs of his brother in arms, or 
his lady, the valorous knight appeared'in the lifts, clad 
in fable armour, to -manifeft his grief, or to exprefs his 
vengeful intentions; yet the etymology of the word is 
loft ; and although we trace its origin to the'Latin fabu- 
lum, through the French fable, which only means any 
kind of gravel or fa.nd, we cannot either find for our- 
felves, or give to our readers, any fafisfaCtory intelli¬ 
gence on the fubjeCt ; however, it is the next in dignity 
to azure, and ought to precede vert and purpure-, but, as 
heraldic authors have commonly placed it laft, we con. 
fider it of no great confequence to leave it in a place 
which fo many have allotted to this colour. It is paint¬ 
ed black ; and in engravings, marked by perpendicular 
and horizontal lines crofting each other ; as in Plate I. 
third row of fhields. 
The fame refpedt for ancient cuftom, has alfo induced 
us to preferve the two obfolete tinCtures tone,,and Jan . 
guine. It is a matter of doubt with fome whether they 
Have ever been, and of certainty with ail that they 
ought 
