Purpure

Purpure
Purpure
Class	Colour
Non-heraldic equivalent	Purple
Monochromatic designations
Hatchingpattern
Trickingabbr.	p., pu., purp.
Poetic designations
Heavenly body	Mercury
Jewel	Amethyst
Virtue	Temperance

Inheraldry,purpure(/ˈpɜːrpjʊər/) is atincture,equivalent to the colourpurple,and is one of the five main or most usually usedcolours(as opposed tometals). It may be portrayed inengravingsby a series of parallel lines at a 45-degree angle running from upper right to lower left from the point of view of an observer, or else indicated by the abbreviationpurp.

Banner used during the reign ofAlfonso VIIof León (1105-1157)

Purpure has existed since the earliest periods, for example in the purpure lion of the arms ofLeón;at that time, it was painted in a greyer shade. However, it has never been as common as the other colours, and this has led to some controversy as to whether it should be counted among the common colours. In French heraldry, the colour is usually excluded from the common colours as well as considered "ambiguous" (could be eithercolourormetal), and Finnish heraldry restricts its use to certain additaments.^[1]

There is at least one instance of it being blazoned as "Imperial Purple".^[2]One of the most expensive colours to acquire in ancient times,Tyrian purplewas used in the war banner of Byzantine EmperorKomnenos:Purpur (porphyr red) a double-headed eagle displayed Or.

Poetic meanings[edit]

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.^[3]Purpure is associated with:

Of jewels, theamethyst^[4]
Of heavenly bodies,Mercury^[3]^[5](however, Western alchemy associates the amethyst with Jupiter). The planet Mercury is further associated with the element mercury or "quicksilver" in traditionalalchemical/occultistic lore.
Of virtues,temperance^[3]

Gallery[edit]

Arms of the Kingdom of León, displayed in theTumbo Amanuscript.
Arms ofMauves-sur-Loirecity (Loire-Atlantique)
Arms of Hakewill of Exeter, Devon.
Coat of arms of the former Dutch municipality ofZijpe.
Coat of Arms of Klyonovskoe settlement (Moscow, Russia).
Arms of Dene of Newton St Petrock, Devon.
Arms of British MPJo Cox,installed in theHouse of Commons of the United Kingdom
Arms of the Portuguese municipality ofMontemor-o-Velho
Arms of CardinalLuis Ladaria Ferrer
Coat of arms ofKingdom of León
Coat of arms of Castile and León

References[edit]

^"Heraldiset värit".The Heraldic Society of Finland(in Finnish).Archivedfrom the original on 30 July 2013.
^Cilia La Corte, John."Sperver".Dictionary of Heraldry.Retrieved1 January2012.^{[dead link]}
^^a ^b ^cWoodcock, Thomas;Robinson, John Martin(1988).The Oxford Guide to Heraldry.Oxford:Oxford University Press.pp. 53–54.ISBN 0-19-211658-4.
^Elvin, Charles Norton (1889).A Dictionary of Heraldry.p. 5.
^Elvin, p. 89.

External links[edit]

Heraldica.org:Purpure, discussion based onMichel Pastoureau,Traité d'Héraldique.
Red vs. Purple Lions

[finnpurpure-1] "Heraldiset värit".The Heraldic Society of Finland(in Finnish).Archivedfrom the original on 30 July 2013.

[2] Cilia La Corte, John."Sperver".Dictionary of Heraldry.Retrieved1 January2012.^{[dead link]}

[Oxford-3] Woodcock, Thomas;Robinson, John Martin(1988).The Oxford Guide to Heraldry.Oxford:Oxford University Press.pp. 53–54.ISBN 0-19-211658-4.

[4] Elvin, Charles Norton (1889).A Dictionary of Heraldry.p. 5.

[5] Elvin, p. 89.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Poetic meanings[edit]

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]