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In heraldry, or (/ɔːʁ/; French for "
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
") is the tincture of
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
and, together with argent (silver), belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals", or light colours. 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 in ...
s and line drawings, it is hatched using a field of evenly spaced dots. It is very frequently depicted as
yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In th ...
, though gold leaf was used in many illuminated manuscripts and more extravagant rolls of arms. The word "gold" is occasionally used in place of "or" in
blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The ...
, sometimes to prevent repetition of the word "or" in a blazon, or because this substitution was in fashion when the blazon was first written down, or when it is preferred by the officer of arms. The use of "gold" for "or" (and "silver" for "argent") was a short-lived fashion amongst certain heraldic writers in the mid-20th century who attempted to "demystify" and popularise the subject of heraldry. "Or" is sometimes spelled with a capital letter (e.g. "Gules, a fess Or") so as not to confuse it with the conjunction "or". However, this incorrect heraldic usage is not met with in standard reference works such as Bernard Burke's ''General Armory'', 1884 and Debrett's ''Peerage''. Fox-Davies advocated leaving all tinctures uncapitalized. A correctly stated blazon should eliminate any possible confusion between the tincture ''or'' and the conjunction "or" (which is rare in blazons in any case), certainly for the reader with a basic competence in heraldry. Sometimes, the different tinctures are said to be connected with special meanings or virtues, and represent certain elements and precious stones. Even if this is an idea mostly disregarded by serious heraldists throughout the centuries, it may be of anecdotal interest to see what they are, since the information is often sought. Many sources give different meanings, but or is usually said to represent the following: * Of jewels, the topaz * Of heavenly bodies, the Sun * Of metals,
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
* Of virtues, Faith or obedience and gentilityWoodcock & Robinson (1988), p. 54, attributed to Johannes de Bado Aureo.


Gallery

File:Blason fam fr Gervais.svg, Arms of Gervais family, France File:Blason fam fr Chemillé3.svg, Arms of Chemillé, France File:Aurskog-Høland komm.svg, Coat of arms for the municipality of
Aurskog-Høland Aurskog-Høland is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bjørkelangen. The municipality of Rømskog, in Østfold c ...
(kommune), Norway, "Or, a lobster haurient sable" File:Blason ville fr Chantemerle-les-Blés (Drôme).svg, Arms of
Chantemerle-les-Blés Chantemerle-les-Blés is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Drôme department The following is a list of the 363 communes of the Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan ...
, France File:Blason département fr Puy-de-Dôme.svg, Arms of
Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label= Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.Gold (color) * Old Gold


References


Further reading

* Woodcock, Thomas and John Martin Robinson (1988). ''The Oxford Guide to Heraldry''. Oxford: University Press. {{Heraldry Shades of yellow Gold Metals (heraldry)