Directed study
Friday, January 07, 2005
Meaning of Tinctures
The seven elementary virtues include the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity and the four cardinal virtues of justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude.
Four cardinal virtues
- Sable (black) represents prudence,
- Azure (blue) represents justice,
- Vert (green) represents fortitude,
- Pupure (purple or violet) represents temperance
Three theological virtues
- Or (gold or yellow) represents faith,
- Argent (silver or white) represents hope
- Gules (red) represents charity.
These seven virtues (three plus four) take the form of a crescendo, commencing with prudence and culminating in charity, the greatest virtue of the Christian faith.
This mediaeval tradition unites two aspects of a knight's nature: the Nordic or Germanic warrior, the heathen and protagonist of legends and heroic feats — the vagabond, in other words, constantly striving in jousting tournaments or other acts of bravery to attain honour both for his name and for his coat of arms; nevertheless, a Christian ethic is also evident, with the knight as Defender of the Faith and crusader to the Holy Land under the symbol of the Cross. This double nature requires a precise definition of the relationship between Christian and secular virtues, and the association of colours with these virtues forms the core of the heraldic colour-system.
© echo productions — www.colorsystem.com
Four cardinal virtues
- Sable (black) represents prudence,
- Azure (blue) represents justice,
- Vert (green) represents fortitude,
- Pupure (purple or violet) represents temperance
Three theological virtues
- Or (gold or yellow) represents faith,
- Argent (silver or white) represents hope
- Gules (red) represents charity.
These seven virtues (three plus four) take the form of a crescendo, commencing with prudence and culminating in charity, the greatest virtue of the Christian faith.
This mediaeval tradition unites two aspects of a knight's nature: the Nordic or Germanic warrior, the heathen and protagonist of legends and heroic feats — the vagabond, in other words, constantly striving in jousting tournaments or other acts of bravery to attain honour both for his name and for his coat of arms; nevertheless, a Christian ethic is also evident, with the knight as Defender of the Faith and crusader to the Holy Land under the symbol of the Cross. This double nature requires a precise definition of the relationship between Christian and secular virtues, and the association of colours with these virtues forms the core of the heraldic colour-system.
© echo productions — www.colorsystem.com
