In
heraldry, sable () is the
tincture black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures, called "colours". 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 ...
s and line drawings, it is sometimes depicted as a region of crossed horizontal and vertical lines, or else marked with ''sa.'' as an abbreviation.
The name derives from the black fur of the
sable, a species of
marten.
Poetic meanings
Centuries ago, arms were often described poetically and the tinctures were connected to different gemstones, flowers and heavenly bodies. Sable usually represented the following:
* Of jewels, the
diamond
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...
* Of heavenly bodies,
Saturn
* Of flowers, the herb
nightshade, in these circumstances also called dwal
Gallery
File:Arms of Dalzell, Earl of Carnwath.svg, Arms of Dalziel family of Scotland
File:Arms of the Foljambe family of Walton.png, Arms of the Foljambe family of Walton, Osberton and Aldwark.
File:Blason fam nl van Borssele de Zuylen 1.svg, Coat of arms of Frank II van Borselen.
File:DEU Hueckelhoven COA.svg, Coat of arms of Hückelhoven, Germany.
File:Blason fam fr Boissy d'Anglas.svg, Coat of arms of François-Antoine de Boissy d'Anglas.
File:Blazon of the Castelyn family of London.png, Blazon of the Castelyn family of London.
File:Marek Sobola coat of arms.png, Coat of arms of Sobola family with three golden sables, Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
.
Sable in Central Europe
Sable is considered a ''colour'' in British and French heraldry, and contrasts with lighter ''metals'',
argent and
Or. However, in the heraldry of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
,
Polish heraldry and other parts of central
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, sable is not infrequently
placed on colour fields. As a result, a sable cross may appear on a red shield, or a sable bird may appear on a blue or a red field, as in the arms of
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...
.
In
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
, for example, one can find examples of sable on gules and azure fields as early as the sixteenth century in the arms of the family Kanizsai (granted in 1519): ''Azure, an eagle's wing sable taloned Or between a decrescent argent and a sun Or.''
Another early Hungarian example was granted in 1628 to the family Karomi Bornemisza: ''Per fess gules, an eagle displayed sable crowned Or, and azure, a buffalo's head cabossed sable maintaining in its mouth a fish (argent?)''.
examples abound as early as the fifteenth century. Józef Szymański includes no fewer than seven examples of sable primary charges on either gules or azure fields out of the approximately 200 shields from this period whose blazons are known. These include the arms of
Corvin, "Azure, a raven sable with a circlet or in its beak"; Kownaty, "Gules, a trumpet sable with a cord or, a Passion cross of the same issuing from its opening"; and Słońce, "Gules, a sphere radiant sable, its centre argent." In addition to the seven major examples, he describes occasional variants for the arms of some
rody which also use sable charges on azure or gules fields.
Sable charges on gules fields also appear in the armory used in
Lithuania. This is not surprising, since a significant fraction of Lithuania's personal coats of arms are of Polish origin,
so there is a certain similarity of style. Among these coats are those of
Great Žemaitija: "a black bear with an argent chain on its neck on a field gules."
References
Notes
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sable (Heraldry)
Colours (heraldry)
Shades of gray
Shades of black