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- This article is about the heraldic tincture. For other meanings, see azure (disambiguation).
In heraldry, azure is the tincture with the colour blue, and belongs to the class of tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of horizontal lines or else marked with either az. or b. as an abbreviation.
The term azure derives from the Persian لاژورد lazhward, which was the name of a place known for its deposits of the deep blue stone now called lapis lazuli (stone of lazhward). The word was adopted into Old French by the twelfth century, from which the word passed into use in the blazon of coats of arms.
As a heraldic colour, the word azure simply means "blue". It is one of many concepts with both a French and German word in English, the former being used by the French-speaking nobles following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 and the latter being used by the commoners of Anglo-Saxon stock. So while French-speaking heralds described banners as azure, commoners simply called them blue. Because it comes from a French word that simply means "blue", a wide range of colour values is used in the depiction of azure in armory and flags.
In addition to the standard blue tincture called azure, there is a lighter blue sometimes found that is called bleu celeste or "sky blue". Neither azure nor bleu celeste is precisely defined as a particular shade of blue, but azure is consistently depicted in a much darker shade.
Azure is said to represent the following:1
- Of jewels, the sapphire
- Of heavenly bodies, Jupiter (The planet Jupiter is further associated with the metal tin in traditional alchemical/occultistic lore)
See also
References
- ^ Elvin, Charles Norton (1889). A Dictionary of Heraldry.
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