Vert (heraldry)

Vert
Class	Colour
Non-heraldic equivalent	Green
Monochromatic designations
Hatchingpattern
Trickingabbr.	v., vt.
Poetic designations
Heavenly body	Venus
Jewel	Emerald
Virtue	Love

In Britishheraldry,vert(/vɜːrt/) is thetinctureequivalent togreen.It is one of the five dark tinctures calledcolours.

Vert is commonly found in modernflagsandcoat of arms,and to a lesser extent also in the classical heraldry of theLate Middle Agesand theEarly Modern period.

Green flags were historically carried byOttokar II of Bohemiain the 13th century. In the modern period, agreen ensignwas flown by Irish vessels, becoming a symbol ofIrish nationalismin the 19th and 20th century. TheEmpire of Brazilused a yellow rhombus on a green field from 1822, now seen in theflag of Brazil.In the 20th century, a green field was chosen for a number ofnational flagdesigns, especially in theArabandMuslim worldbecause of the symbolism ofgreen in Islam,including the solid green flag of theLibyan Arab Jamahiriya(1977).

Vert is portrayed in heraldichatchingby lines at a 45-degree angle from upper left to lower right, or indicated by the abbreviation v. or vt. when a coat of arms istricked.

Etymology

Vert is simply the French word for "green". It has been used in English in the sense of a heraldic tincture since the early 16th century.

Vert is not used in modern French heraldry. Instead,sinoplehas been used for green since at least the 16th century. Earlier in the medieval period, however,vertwas used for green whilesinopleoriginally referred to a shade of red before becoming associated with green.

In Spanish heraldry, eithersinopleorverdecan be used for green.Verdeis also used in Portugal. In both the Spanish and Portuguese languages,verdeliterally translates as "green".Sinopelis the spelling used in Dutch heraldry. In German heraldry, they usegrün,which also translates as "green".

Middle Ages

The green tincture was left out of some heraldic works in the Middle Ages, but the first known English treatise, the Anglo-Norman "De Heraudie" (dated to sometime between 1230 and 1345), lists vert among the other tinctures.

The French termsinoplewas in use prior to the 15th century, but it did not refer to green, but rather to red, being identical in origin toCinnabar,originally the name of a red pigment also known assinopia. Descriptions ofknightly shieldsas painted at least partly green inArthurian romanceare found earlier, even in the late 12th century.Here, theChevalier au Vert Escu( "knight with the green shield" ) often marks a kind of supernatural character outside of normal chivalric society (as is still the case with the English "Green Knight"of c. 1390), perhapsin connection with theWild ManorGreen Manof medieval figurative art. TheAnglo-Normanprose Brut(c. 1200) hasBrutus of Troybear a green shield,Brutus Vert-Escu, Brutus Viride Scutum.

Green is occasionally found in historical coats of arms (as opposed to the fictional "green knights" of Arthurian romance) from as early as the 13th century, but it remained rare, and indeed actively avoided, well into the 15th century, but becomes more common in the classical heraldry of the 16th and 17th centuries.

According to Paweł Dudziński, the chairman of the Heraldic Committee within the PolishMinistry of Interior and Administration,early heraldic green used to be bright, obtained fromverdigrispigment, which allowed contrast withazure(obtained from darkultramarinepigment) in arms that contravened therule of tincture.

An early example of a greenescutcheonwas that of the coat of arms ofStyria,based on the banner ofOttokar II of Bohemia(r. 1253–1278), described by chronistOttokar aus der Gaal(c. 1315) as:

ein banier grüene als ein gras / darin ein pantel swebte / blanc, als ob ez lebte

"a banner green as grass, therein suspended a panther in white, [depicted] as if alive."

A curious example occurs in an early armorial of the Burgundian Order of the Knights of the Golden Fleece (Toison d'Or) where the arms of the Lannoy family are recorded as "argent, three lions rampant sinople, etc." Despite the fact that sinople signified a shade of red in early heraldry, the lions in this 15th century manuscript are clearly green, although rather faded. The fugitive nature of the green pigments of that day may have had some influence on the low use of that colour in early heraldry.

Classical heraldry

During the 16th century, green was still rare as a tincture for the field of a coat of arms, but it was used increasingly for the heraldic designs shown in the field, especially when depicting trees or other vegetation. Thus, thecoat of arms of Hungaryshows a "double cross on a hill" as a symbol of theÁrpádkings, where the cross was shown in silver (argent) and the hill in green, from the late 14th century.

The only green shown in the arms of the states of theHoly Roman Empirein theQuaternion EaglebyHans Burgkmair(c. 1510) are thecrancelinofSaxonyand theZirbelnussofAugsburg. Thethree lions rampant, vertsof theMarquessate of Franchimontare attested in the 16th century.

Siebmachers Wappenbuchof 1605 shows a number of green heraldic devices in the coat of arms of cities. For example, the coat of arms of the town ofWaldkappel( "forest chapel" ) as depicting a chapel in a forest on a red field, with the ground on which the chapel is standing, and four trees behind the chapel, drawn in green. There are a number of other examples where Siebmacher as a green "mount" (the heraldic "hill" at the bottom of the shield on which the heraldic charge is "standing" ). For the town ofGrünberg,Siebmacher shows a yellow field on which a knight is riding, his horse running on a green "hill" and the knight flying a green banner.

Poetic meanings

The different tinctures are traditionally associated with particular heavenly bodies, precious stones, virtues, and flowers, although these associations have been mostly disregarded by serious heraldists.Vert is associated with:

• Of jewels, theemerald
• Of heavenly bodies,Venus
• Of virtues, love

Gallery

• 
  Coat of armsHrabišínmunicipality, Šumperk District, Czechia
• 
  Coat of arms ofGrüningen(Zürich, Switzerland)
• 
  Shield of the province of Ontario, Canada
• 
  Coat of Arms ofListringen,Germany
• 
  Coat of arms ofZabakuck,Germany

Modern flags

Further information:Green in Islam

The IrishGreen Ensign,used from the late 17th century. During the 18th century, the harp was modified to appear in the shape of a winged female figure.

Nations with green flags:

Nations using green as a reference to thePan-Arab coloursand/orIslam

Nations using green as a reference to thePan-African colours

Other nations that use green

Historically, aGreen Ensignwas flown by Irish merchant vessels from the late 17th century. Green flags flown by revolutionary uprisings include the one used in theVaudoisinsurrection against Bernese rule in the 1790s (which became the basis of the moderncoat of arms of Vaud), the flag of the IrishSaint Patrick's Battalion(1846–1848), and the flag of theEaster Rising(1916).

In the 20th century, a number ofnational flagswere designed involving green, especially in theMuslim world,based on the traditional symbolism ofgreen in Islam,and as one of thePan-Arab colours. Green is one of thePan-African colours,and thus is also common among the national flags of African countries. Other countries have used the colour green in their flags to represent the "greenness" of their lands and abundance of their nation.

The following contemporary national flags feature a solid-green field:

• theFlag of Brazil(1889,Empire of Brazilfrom 1822): a yellow rhombus on a green field, in the rhombus a blue disc depicting a starry sky spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national motto,
• theflag of Pakistan(1947): a white star and crescent on a dark green field, with a vertical white stripe at the hoist,
• theflag of Mauritania(1959): green, with a golden upward-pointed crescent and star,
• theflag of Zambia(1964): green, at the fly end stripes in red, black and orange and a depiction of an eagle,
• theflag of Bangladesh(1972): a red disc on a green field
• theflag of Saudi Arabia(1973): green, with theshahadainscription and a sword in white.
• theflag of Dominica(1978): green, a cross in yellow, black and white, and a red disc with a depiction of the sisserou parrot,
• theFlag of Turkmenistan(2001): green, with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, a white waxing crescent moon and five white five-pointed stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe.

Former national flags with green fields further include the solid-green flag of theLibyan Arab Jamahiriya(1977–2011).

References

• Brault, Gerard J. (1997).Early Blazon: Heraldic Terminology in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries,(2nd ed.). Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press.ISBN0-85115-711-4.

External links

• Media related toVertat Wikimedia Commons
• The dictionary definition ofvertat Wiktionary