In heraldry, gules () is the

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

with the colour

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

, it is sometimes depicted by

hatching Hatching (french: hachure) is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading Shading refers to the depiction of depth perception in 3D models (within the field of 3D computer graphics) or illustrations (in visual art) by varying ...

of vertical lines. In

tricking Tricking is a method for indicating the tinctures (colours) used in a coat of arms by means of text abbreviations written directly on the illustration. Tricking and hatching are the two primary methods employed in the system of heraldry to show c ...

—abbreviations written in areas to indicate their tinctures—it is marked with gu..

Etymology

The term ''gules'' derives from the

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...

word , literally "throats" (related to the English ''

gullet The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to the ...

''; modern French ), but also used to refer to a fur neckpiece, usually made of red fur. A.C. Fox-Davies states that the term originates from the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

word , "rose", but according to Brault, 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 Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

had a field gules with one or more

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

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 The canton of Schwyz (german: Kanton Schwyz rm, Chantun Sviz; french: Canton de Schwytz; it, Canton Svitto) is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zürich in the north, centred on ...

(prior to 1815), and the old coats of arms of the cities of Nîmes and Montpellier. File:Henry III, King of England, coat of arms (Royal MS 14 C VII, 100r).jpg, The Plantagenet coat of arms, ''gules three lions passants guardants or'', origin of the

Royal Arms of England The royal arms of England are the arms first adopted in a fixed form at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200) as personal arms by the Plantagenet kings who ruled England from 1154. In the popular mind they have come to symbolise the ...

File:Schweiz Schloss Chillon Wandwappen.jpg, Coat of arms of the House of Savoy, ''gules a cross argent'' File:Fl- 14v Livro do Armeiro-Mor, Rei da Escocia.jpg, The Royal Arms of Scotland '' Or a lion rampant Gules within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second'' File:WAF im Landesmuseum Zürich 26.jpg, Coat of arms of Schwyz ( stained glass, 1573), ''gules plain''; the

Juliusbanner The ''Juliusbanner'' ("Julius banners") are elaborate silk banners given to the cantons and other entities of the Old Swiss Confederacy by Pope Julius II in 1512, in recognition of the support he received from Swiss mercenaries against France in ...

with the ''

Arma Christi Arma Christi ("weapons of Christ"), or the Instruments of the Passion, are the objects associated with the Passion of Jesus Christ in Christian symbolism and art. They are seen as arms in the sense of heraldry, and also as the weapons Christ ...

'' inset is held by one of the supporters. File:Villingen, Franziskanermuseum, Wappenscheibe mit dem österr. Bindenschild, 1567, Inv. 11858.jpg, The Austrian ''Bindenschild'', ''gules a fess argent'', originally the Babenberg coat of arms. Below the ''Bindenschild'' is a small coat of arms of the

city of Vienna A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, ''gules a cross argent'' File:Wolleber Chorographia Mh6-1 0567 Wappen.jpg, Coat of arms of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

, ''Gules, an eagle argent, crowned or''''Chorographia Württemberg'', 1591, attributed to

Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He ...

References

External links

{{Heraldry Colours (heraldry) Shades of red

Etymology

Examples

See also

References

External links