Stain (heraldry)

In heraldry, a stain (sometimes termed stainand colour or staynard colour) is one of a few non-standard tinctures or colours (namely murrey, sanguine and tenné), which are only known to occur in post-medieval heraldry and are thought to denote a rebatement of honour. Almost none of these rebatements are found in fact of heraldic practice, however, and in British heraldry the stains find only exceptional use, other than for purposes of livery.^[1]

Murrey

Murrey (deriving from late Middle English, via Old French from Medieval Latin moratus, from morum 'mulberry') is mulberry-coloured, or reddish purple.^[2]

Sanguine

Sanguine (deriving from Middle English, from Old French sanguin(e) 'blood red', from Latin sanguineus 'of blood', from sanguis, sanguin- 'blood') is a brownish red, or blood-red colour.^[3]

Tenné

Tenné (deriving mid-16th century from an obsolete French variant of Old French tane)^[4] (sometimes termed tawny) is an orange-tawny colour, though orange may be considered distinct in continental European and African heraldic traditions.

Samples

• 

  Murrey

• 

  Sanguine

• 

  Tenné

Historical examples

Flag of the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939)

• The University of Wales, established in 1893, adopted a coat of arms blazoned: Argent on a fesse murrey three medieval lamps Or all within a bordure of the second charged with eight mullets of the third.^[5]
• The flag of the Second Spanish Republic, adopted in 1931, was a tricolor of gules, or and murrey (Spanish: roja, amarilla y morada).^[6]

See also

• Orange (heraldry)

References

Bibliography

• Fox-Davies, A. C. (1909). A Complete Guide to Heraldry. (2004 edition) Whitefish, MT: Kessenger Publishing. ISBN 1-4179-0630-8 LCCN 09-23803

v t e Heraldic tinctures Rule of tincture Tricking system Hatching system Metals Argent Or Colours Azure Gules Purpure Sable Vert Furs Ermine Vair Stains Murrey Sanguine Tenné Metals (non-traditional1) Copper Colours (non-traditional1) Bleu celeste Carnation Cendrée Orange Rose 1 Tictures that are rarely used, mostly only in some regional traditions or as relatively modern innovations. They may be considered unheraldic by some.