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Ermine () in 
The ''ermine spot'', the conventional heraldic representation of the tail, has had a wide variety of shapes over the centuries; its most usual representation has three tufts at the end (bottom), converges to a point at the root (top), and is attached by three studs. When "ermine" is specified as the tincture of the field (or occasionally of a charge), the spots are part of the tincture itself, rather than a semé or pattern of charges. The ''ermine spot'' (so specified), however, may also be used singly as a mobile charge, or as a mark of distinction signifying the absence of a blood relationship.
On a ''bend ermine'', the tails follow the line of the bend. In the arms of William John Uncles, the field ermine is cut into bendlike strips by the ''three bendlets azure'', so the ermine tails are (unusually) depicted bendwise.
Image:Ermine_shield.svg, Ermine
Image:Shield_ermines.svg, Ermines (counter-ermine)
Image:Shield_erminois.svg, Erminois
Image:Field pean.svg, Pean
Image:Shield_gules_ermined_argent.svg, Gules ermined argent
Practical Advice On The Choice Of Furs. No. 4. Ermine. Continued
from ''Every Woman's Encyclopaedia'', an article detailing the fashion and history of ermine coats and cloaks {{Heraldry Furs Visual motifs
Ermine () in heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...
is a fur
A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...
, a type of 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 ...
, consisting of a white background with a pattern of black shapes representing the winter coat of the stoat
The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on th ...
(a species of weasel with white fur and a black-tipped tail). The linings of medieval coronation cloaks and some other garments, usually reserved for use by high-ranking peers and royalty, were made by sewing many ermine furs together to produce a luxurious white fur with patterns of hanging black-tipped tails. Due largely to the association of the ermine fur with the linings of coronation cloaks, crowns and peerage caps, the heraldic tincture of ermine was usually reserved to similar applications in heraldry (i.e., the linings of crowns and chapeaux and of the royal canopy). In heraldry it has become especially associated with the Duchy of Brittany
The Duchy of Brittany (, ; ) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of France, bordered by the Bay of Biscay to the west, and the English Channel to the north. ...
and Breton heraldry.
Ermine spots
The ''ermine spot'', the conventional heraldic representation of the tail, has had a wide variety of shapes over the centuries; its most usual representation has three tufts at the end (bottom), converges to a point at the root (top), and is attached by three studs. When "ermine" is specified as the tincture of the field (or occasionally of a charge), the spots are part of the tincture itself, rather than a semé or pattern of charges. The ''ermine spot'' (so specified), however, may also be used singly as a mobile charge, or as a mark of distinction signifying the absence of a blood relationship.
On a ''bend ermine'', the tails follow the line of the bend. In the arms of William John Uncles, the field ermine is cut into bendlike strips by the ''three bendlets azure'', so the ermine tails are (unusually) depicted bendwise.
Variations
Though ermine and vair were the two furs used in early armoury, other variations of these developed later. Both in continental heraldry and British, the fur pattern was used in varying colours as a blazon atop other tinctures (e.g., "" for black ermine spots on a gold field). British heraldry created three names for specific variants, rather than blazoning them longhand. Ermines is the reverse of ermine – a field sable semé of ermine-spots argent; it is sometimes called counter-ermine (cf. French and German ). Erminois is ermine with a field ''or'' (gold) instead of ''argent'' (silver), and pean is the reverse of erminois (i.e., ''or'' spots on a field ''sable''). Erminites is alleged to be the "same as ermine, except that the two lateral hairs of each spot are red." James Parker mentions it, as does Pimbley, though by the former's admission this is of doubtful existence. Arthur Charles Fox-Davies describes it as a "silly nventionof former heraldic writers, not of former heralds." Fox-Davies (1904), p. 49.See also
* Flag of Brittany * Flag of Leicestershire * Flag of Norfolk * Flag of Shropshire *Coat of arms of Australia
The coat of arms of Australia, officially the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, is a formal symbol of the Commonwealth of Australia. It depicts a shield, containing symbols of Australia's six states, and is held up by native Australian animals, the ka ...
* Coat of arms of the University of Cambridge
The coat of arms of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England, is blazoned: ''Gules, on a cross (heraldry), cross ermine (heraldry), ermine between four lion (heraldry), lions passant guardant or (heraldry), Or, a Bible lying fesseways of ...
* ''Ó Donnagáin'' coat of arms
* Chudleigh coat of arms
References
Bibliography
* *External links
Practical Advice On The Choice Of Furs. No. 4. Ermine. Continued
from ''Every Woman's Encyclopaedia'', an article detailing the fashion and history of ermine coats and cloaks {{Heraldry Furs Visual motifs