heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

, tenné (; sometimes termed tenny or tawny) is a "

stain A stain is a discoloration that can be clearly distinguished from the surface, material, or medium it is found upon. They are caused by the chemical or physical interaction of two dissimilar materials. Accidental staining may make materials app ...

", or non-standard

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

, of orange (in English blazonry), light

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

(in French heraldry) or orange- tawny (in continental heraldry) colour. Tenné, however, is not to be confused with ''brunâtre'' ("brownish") of French and German blazons. File:Heraldic Shield Tenné.svg File:Heraldic Shield Brunâtre.svg Tenné is used for the depiction of leather colour, while the much darker brunâtre is used for the depiction of bear hide colour.

Etymology

In the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'', ''tenné'' is described as "orange-brown, as a stain used in blazoning", and as a mid-16th-century variant of

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th The origin of both ''tenné'' and ''tawny'' is the Medieval Latin word ''tannare'', meaning "to tan leather". As such, in French (and most of continental) heraldry, tenné is the light-brownish colour that leather is supposed to have once tanned. Used primarily for depicting wood and skin in ''proper'' charges, it then slowly became its own tincture. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the first known use of term ''tenné'' in English (as 'tenne') was by Gerard Leigh in his 1562 ''Accedens of Armory''. Leigh (1597) says of the tincture so named: "It is the surest colour that is, of so bright a hewe, being componed: for it is made of two bright colours, which is Redde and Yellowe". Elsewhere, Leigh observes that roundels colored ''tenné'' are termed 'oranges' "because the Orenge is of the same colour, and is also round". A glossary appended to a later edition of the same work defines ''tenné'' as "Orenge colour".

Hatchings

Perhaps as a symptom of the theoretical nature of heraldic stains, the hatchings assigned to these have been inconsistent among sources. The hatching for tenné has been given variously as a combination of vertical lines (as

hatching system">hatchings assigned to these have been inconsistent among sources. The hatching for tenné has been given variously as a combination of vertical lines (as vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versio ...

), or as a combination of horizontal lines (as azure) and sinister to dexter lines (as purpure">azure (heraldry)">azure) and sinister to dexter lines (as purpure), (and other combinations may be found in other sources) though both these sources provide the same hatching of alternating vertical dots and dashes for "orange". Complete Guide to Heraldry Fig036

Poetic meanings

In the system of poetic meanings, tenné is associated with the

Dragon's tail and with the gemstone Onyx">sardonyx Onyx is a typically black-and-white banded variety of agate, a silicate mineral. The bands can also be monochromatic with alternating light and dark bands. ''Sardonyx'' is a variety with red to brown bands alternated with black or white bands. T ...

In theory and in practice

While tenné is frequently mentioned in books about heraldry, it is not among the basic heraldic colours and its appearance in practice is quite rare. Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, in his ''Complete Guide to Heraldry'', asserted that both tenné and murrey were probably inventions of the theoretical (though never shown in actual practice) system of abatement (heraldry), abatements, further commenting that he knew of only one instance of tenné to date (as of 1909), and that was in an estate

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol, or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery often includes elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

rather than coat armory. ''The Oxford Guide to Heraldry'' cites a late-14th century English treatise as stating that in addition to the two metals and five colours, a colour called ''tawny'' was "borne only in the Empire and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

," the ''Oxford Guide'' also citing Gerard Leigh's ''The Accendance of Armory'' (1562) as rejecting tenné or tawny as non-existent and sanguine or murrey as mistaken

purpure In heraldry, purpure () is a tincture (heraldry), tincture, equivalent to the colour purple, and is one of the five main or most usually used ''colours'' (as opposed to ''metals''). It may be portrayed in engravings by a series of parallel lines a ...

In Britain

Arms of West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council

Despite its role in the system of theoretical abatements of honour introduced in the 16th century, tenné is quite rare in British armory, appearing only occasionally in liveries and never as a colour upon the escutcheon. ''The Oxford Guide to Heraldry'' notes that the "stains" (tenné, murrey and sanguine) "occur occasionally in the twentieth century but have never been spotted in a Visitation record." Fox-Davies named the estate livery of Lord Fitzhardinge, worn by the lord's hunt servants, as the only known occurrence of "orange-tawny" in British armory. To this, Woodward was able to add the

standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...

of both the

Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

, bearing the Stanley crest upon a field of tawny and vert, and the

Earl of Northumberland The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...

, bearing "four horizontal bands, the upper being russet, the two central ones yellow, and the lowest tawny". The

Coat of arms of West Yorkshire The Coat of arms of West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council was granted in 1975Letters patent dated August 22, 1975 to the new Metropolitan county Metropolitan counties are a Subdivisions of England, subdivision of England which were orig ...

(1975–1986) was supported on the sinister side by a lion ''per fess tenne and vert'', with a lion ''per fess gules and tenne'' in crest. According to the Heraldry Society of Scotland, the team colours of the Dundee United Football Club should be called "tenny and argent". Dundee United calls the colours tangerine and white, and the team is referred to as "the tangerines".

In continental Europe

According to the ''Oxford Guide to Heraldry'', a late-14th century English treatise on heraldry stated that a colour called ''tawny'' was "borne only in the Empire and

." Fox-Davies suggested that orange, as it appears in German heraldry, may be a different colour than tenné, noting that a different

hatching Hatching () is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects by drawing (or painting or scribing) closely spaced parallel lines. When lines are placed at an angle to one another, it is called cross-hatching. Hatching is als ...

is associated with German ''orange'' than that of British ''tenné''. German heraldic author Ottfried Neubecker also noted a distinction between ''orange'' and ''brown'' or ''tenné'', showing the usual hatching for tenné but a distinctive hatching of alternating vertical dots and dashes for orange. Orangé, tanné and tenné appear in the civic arms of several communes in the Department of Oise in France. In

French heraldry French heraldry is the use of heraldic symbols in France. Although it had a considerable history, existing from the 12th century, such formality has largely died out in France, as far as regulated personal heraldry is concerned. Civic heraldry on ...

, ''tanné'' (same as tenné) is traditionally a light brown. It is to be a light brown colour, bright enough to be distinguished from the darkest heraldic colour,

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...

(black), as well as the darker brown color brunâtre, used for bear hide fur. It should also be a distinctive brown, and be clearly different than both flesh-color ''carnation'' and ''orangé'', used per example as the field color for the arms of the French commune of Lamorlaye. Tenné takes its name from the colour of tanned leather, and occurs in the field of the arms of a few French communes, including Maruéjols-lès-Gardon. ''Tanné'' colour also occurs in the dexter chief quarter of the arms of La Neuville-Roy, where it notably replaces azure as the field for a semy of fleurs-de-lys very reminiscent of the ancient arms of France. In Spanish heraldry, is a very uncommon colour, present as ''pardo'' in the flag of the city of

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

. In English heraldry, all these colours are sometimes—yet mistakenly—confused as ''tenné''. File:Blason de la ville de Maruéjols-lès-Gardon (30).svg, Arms of the French city of Maruéjols-lès-Gardon, bearing a field ''tenné'' File:Blason la neuville roy.svg, Arms of the French commune of La Neuville-Roy, bearing a field ''tanné'' in the dexter chief quarter. File:Blason Lamorlaye.svg, Arms of Lamorlaye, a city in French

Oise Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.< ...

, bearing a field ''orangé'' File:Burgos-Bandera.jpg, Flag, with COA, of

(Spain)

In Australia

Granted in 1978, the

Coat of arms of the Northern Territory The coat of arms of the Northern Territory is the official heraldic symbol representing the states and territories of Australia, Australian territory. They were officially granted by Royal warrant (document), royal warrant from Queen Elizabeth ...

has a tenny field, with a design inspired by Aboriginal paintings.

In South Africa

Orange is a common colour in

South African heraldry South African heraldry dates back to the 1650s, inheriting European (especially Dutch heraldry, Dutch and English heraldry, British) heraldry, heraldic traditions. Arms are borne by individuals, official bodies, local authorities, military unit ...

, because of the history of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

as a Dutch colony, and the fact that royal house of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

is the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of O ...

. The Dutch Prince's Flag was an orange white and blue tricolour, and this was the basis of the flags of the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

(1857-1902) and the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

(1928-1994).

In the United States

Tenné (so

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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

ed) is found in the arms and

colours Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

of some U.S. military units, particularly in the

Signal Corps A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army. Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...

, where the colour is shown as a bright shade of orange, and the Cavalry, where tenné is sometimes called "dragoon yellow". The coat of arms of the 1st Signal Battalion, designed in 1932 by the U.S. Army Heraldic Program Office (since 1960 called the

Institute of Heraldry The Institute of Heraldry, officially The Institute of Heraldry, Department of the Army, is an activity of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army solely responsible for furnishing heraldic services to the President of the Un ...

) is ''per bend argent and tenné,'' since orange and white are the traditional colours of the Signal Corps. These colours are repeated in the arms of virtually every battalion in the Signal Corps.For a full listing of the arms of each unit in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, se
''The Institute of Heraldry'': Categories>Signal
The 1st Cavalry Regiment (also known as the 1st Regiment of Dragoons) was assigned a coat of arms by the Heraldic Program Office in 1921 featuring a gold dragon on a field of tenné. The 1st Cavalry was founded as the Regiment of United States Dragoons in 1833, and at the time the dragoon units wore a cord of tenné (which they called "dragoon yellow") and Or (gold). These are also the colours of the torse in the coat of arms of the unit.

In popular culture

The ''

Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual The ''Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual'' (, Ballantine Books 1975, reprinted 1986, 1996, 2006) is a fiction reference book by Franz Joseph Schnaubelt, about the workings of Starfleet, a military, exploratory, and diplomatic organization ...

'' describes the official tunic color of Star Fleet Command Section standard issue uniforms, such as those worn by James Kirk and

Hikaru Sulu Hikaru Kato Sulu is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. A member of the crew in the original ''Star Trek'' series, Sulu also appears in the animated ''Star Trek'' series, in the first six ''Star Trek'' movies, in one epi ...

, as "tenne". These are the tunics depicted on the actual show as yellow-gold fabric. Separate from this, officers of Captain's rank or higher may optionally wear tunics and dress uniforms greenish in hue; the ''Manual'' specifies this color as "

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

Examples

File:HerbSzrafirunekBrunatny.svg, #86401A Brunâtre with hatching File:Heráldica - leonado.svg, #806E38 (left) Continental and #F08800 (right) English tenné File:Heráldica - anaranjado.svg, #FF6600 Orange with hatching

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenne Stains Shades of brown Shades of orange