Vair

Vair (; from Latin ''varius'' "variegated"), originating as a processed form of squirrel fur, gave its name to a set of different patterns used in heraldry. Heraldic vair represents a kind of fur common in the Middle Ages, made from pieces of the greyish-blue backs of squirrels sewn together with pieces of the animals' white underbellies. Vair is the second-most common fur in heraldry, after ermine.

Origins

The word ''vair'', with its variant forms ''veir'' and ''vairé'', was brought into Middle English from Old French, from Latin ' "variegated", and has been alternatively termed ' (Latin, meaning "variegated work").Veale, Elspeth M.: ''The English Fur Trade in the Later Middle Ages'', p. 224.

The squirrel in question is a variety of the Eurasian red squirrel, ''Sciurus vulgaris''. In the coldest parts of Northern and Central Europe, especially the Baltic region, the winter coat of this squirrel is blue-grey on the back and white on the belly, and was much used for the lining of cloaks called ''mantles''. It was sewn together in alternating cup-shaped pieces of back and belly fur, resulting in a pattern of grey-blue and grey-white which, when simplified in heraldic drawing and painting, became blue and white in alternating pieces.

VairUnit svg element.svg, A unit of the heraldic fur vair, pointing downwards
Russian squirrel belly skins.jpg, Vair fur
Coa England Family Beauchamp of Hatch.svg, Vair ancien
Blason Coucy-le-Chateau.svg, Barry of six vair and gules, arms of the Lords of Coucy
Squirrel germany.jpg, Dark morph of Eurasian red squirrel
Geoffrey of Anjou Monument.jpg, Enamel image from the tomb of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou showing a vair-lined mantle

Variations

In early heraldry, vair was represented by means of straight horizontal lines alternating with wavy lines. Later it mutated into a pattern of bell or pot-like shapes, conventionally known as panes or "vair bells", of argent and azure, arranged in horizontal rows, so that the panes of one tincture form the upper part of the row, while those of the opposite tincture are on the bottom. The early form of the fur is still sometimes found, under the name ''vair ondé'' (wavy vair) or ''vair ancien'' (ancient vair)(Ger. ''Wolkenfeh'', "cloud vair"). The only mandatory rule concerning the choice of tincture is the respect of the heraldic rule of tincture, that orders the use of a metal and a colour.Woodward and Burnett, ''A Treatise on Heraldry'', pp. 68–71.

When the pattern of vair is used with other colours, the field is termed ''vairé'' or ''vairy'' of the tinctures used. Normally vairé consists of one metal and one colour, although ermine or one of its variants is sometimes used, with an ermine spot appearing in each pane of that tincture. Vairé of four colours (Ger. ''Buntfeh'', "gay-coloured" or "checked vair") is also known, usually consisting of two metals and two colours.Fox-Davies, ''A Complete Guide to Heraldry'', pp. 79–83.

Traditionally vair was produced in three sizes, and each size came to be depicted in armory. A field consisting of only three rows, representing the largest size, was termed ''gros vair'' or ''beffroi'' (from the same root as the English word ''belfry''); vair of four rows was simply ''vair'', while if there were six rows, representing the smallest size, it was ''menu-vair'' (whence the English word miniver). This distinction is not generally observed in English heraldry, and is not strictly observed in continental heraldry, although in French heraldry it is customary to specify the number of rows if there are more than four.

Arrangement variants

There are also forms of vair in which the arrangement of the rows is changed. The most familiar is ''counter-vair'' (Fr. ''contre vair''), in which succeeding rows are reversed instead of staggered, so that the bases of the panes of each tincture are opposite those of the same tincture in adjoining rows. Less common is ''vair in pale'' (Fr. ''vair en pal'' or ''vair appointé'', Ger. ''Pfahlfeh''), in which the panes of each tincture are arranged in vertical columns. In German heraldry one finds ''Stürzpfahlfeh'', or reversed vair in pale. ''Vair in bend'' (Fr. ''vair en bande'') and ''vair in bend sinister'' (Fr. ''vair en barre''), in which the panes are arranged in diagonal rows, is found in continental heraldry. ''Vair in point'' (Fr. ''vair en pointe'', Ger. ''Wogenfeh'', "wave vair") is formed by reversing alternate rows, as in counter-vair, and then displacing them by half the width of a pane, forming an undulating pattern across adjoining rows. German heraldry also uses a form called ''Wechselfeh'', or "alternate vair", in which each pane is divided in half along a vertical line, one side being argent and the other azure. Any of these may be combined with size or color variations, though the variants which changed several aspects are correspondingly rarer.

Coa Illustration Tincture Vairy gules and or.svg,
Coa Illustration Tincture Vairy counter.svg,
Coa Illustration Tincture Vairy in pale field.svg,
Coa Illustration Tincture Vairy en pointe.svg,

''Potent'' and other shapes

Potent (Ger. ''Sturzkrückenfeh'', "upside-down crutch vair") is a similar pattern, consisting of T-shapes. In this form, the familiar "vair bell" is replaced by a T-shaped figure, known as a "potent" due to its resemblance to a crutch. The pattern used with tinctures other than argent and azure is termed ''potenté'' or ''potenty'' of those colours. The appearance of this shape is thought by some authorities to have originated from crude draftsmanship, although others regard it as an old and perfectly acceptable variation. A regularly encountered variation of potent is ''counter-potent'' or ''potent-counter-potent'' (Ger. ''Gegensturzkrückenfeh''), which is produced in the same fashion as counter-vair; ''potent in point'' (Ger. ''Verschobenes Gegensturzkrückenfeh'', "displaced counter-potent") is also found, and there is no reason why one could not, in principle, have ''potent in bend'', ''potent of four colours'', etc.

Three other, rarer furs are also seen in continental heraldry, of unclear derivation but most likely from variations on vair made to imitate other types of animals: in ''plumeté'' or ''plumetty'', the panes are depicted as feathers; and in ''papelonné'' or ''papellony'' they are depicted as scales, resembling those of a butterfly's wings, whence the name is derived. In German heraldry there is a fur known as ''Kürsch'', or "vair bellies", consisting of panes depicted hairy and brown. Here the phrase "vair bellies" may be a misnomer, as the belly of the red squirrel is always white, although its summer coat is indeed reddish brown.

Coa Illustration Tincture Vairy potent.svg,
Coa Illustration Tincture Vairy counter potent.svg,
Mankós cölöpevet.svg,
Coa Illustration Tincture Vairy potent en point.svg,
Coa Illustration Tincture Vairy cupy.svg,
Blason de la ville de Mérignies (59) Nord-France.svg, ''Plumeté or and sable''
Blason Maison de Châteaubriant (ancien).svg, ''Gules, papelonné or''
Kursch.gif, ''Kürsch''
Coa Illustration Tincture Fur.svg, ''Kürsch''

See also

*Tincture (heraldry)

References

* Veale, Elspeth M.: ''The English Fur Trade in the Later Middle Ages'', 2nd Edition, London Folio Society 2005.
{{Heraldry

Furs
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