In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. 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 i ...

, it is sometimes depicted by hatching of vertical lines. In tricking—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 intelligi ...

word , literally "throats" (related to the English '' gullet''; 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 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. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

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 t ...

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 o ...

(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 Coat of arms, arms first adopted in a fixed form at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200) as Armorial of the House of Plantagenet, personal arms by the House of Plantagenet, Plantagenet kings who ruled ...

File:Schweiz Schloss Chillon Wandwappen.jpg, Coat of arms of the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

, ''gules a cross argent'' File:Fl- 14v Livro do Armeiro-Mor, Rei da Escocia.jpg, The

Royal Arms of Scotland The royal arms of Scotland is the official coat of arms of the King of Scots first adopted in the 12th century. With the Union of the Crowns in 1603, James VI inherited the thrones of England and Ireland and thus his arms in Scotland were now Qua ...

'' 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 with the '' Arma Christi'' 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, ''gules a cross argent'' File:Wolleber Chorographia Mh6-1 0567 Wappen.jpg, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Poland, ''Gules, an eagle argent, crowned or''''Chorographia Württemberg'', 1591, attributed to Casimir III the Great

References

External links

{{Heraldry Colours (heraldry) Shades of red

Etymology

Examples

See also

References

External links