Vair
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In heraldry, vair is a "fur", a tincture which is simultaneously a two-coloured field treatment. It is found in a variety of colours, and appears in different arrangements, each with its own name.
It goes back, as does ermine, to a fur highly prized by the potentates of the Middle Ages: squirrel. The word vair is derived from the Middle English forms veir and vairé, meaning variegated fur (from the French vair, itself from the Latin varius, variegated).
The squirrel in question was apparently blue-grey on the back and white underneath, and was much used for the lining of cloaks. It was sewn together in alternating cup-shaped pieces of back and stomach 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. The species involved has never been accurately identified.
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In the oldest records vair is represented by means of straight horizontal lines alternating with vertical wavy or nebuly lines (sometimes blazoned as vair ondé or vair ancien); this is seen in the lining of the cloak depicted on the tomb of Geoffrey V of Anjou.
A fur of other colours than argent and azure is referred to as vairy (or vairé) of <metal> and <colour>.
[edit] Trivia
In Perrault's version of the fairytale Cinderella, it was thought for some time that the original intent was that the slippers were made of fur, due to a confusion of the French words verre (glass) and vair (fur). It is now contested as to whether the glass interpretation was the correct one; current studies suggest it was.
[edit] References
| The Heraldic Tincture Series |
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| Rule of Tincture |
| Metals: Argent • Or |
| Colours: Azure • Gules • Purpure • Sable • Vert |
| Furs: Ermine • Vair • Potent |
| Stains: Murrey • Tenné • Sanguine |
| Other: Bleu celeste • Carnation • Cendrée • Orange |
