Ermine (heraldry)

This article is about the tincture. For the animal, see Stoat. For other uses, see Ermine (disambiguation).
Some of the many variations of ermine spots found in heraldry over the centuries
Ermine fur, from the robes of Peter I of Serbia

Ermine (/ˈɜːrmɪn/) in heraldry is a fur, a type of tincture, consisting of a white background with a pattern of black shapes representing the winter coat of the stoat (a species of weasel with white fur and a black-tipped tail). The linings of medieval coronation cloaks and some other garments, usually reserved for use by high-ranking peers and royalty, were made by sewing many ermine furs together to produce a luxurious white fur with patterns of hanging black-tipped tails. Due largely to the association of the ermine fur with the linings of coronation cloaks, crowns and peerage caps, the heraldic tincture of ermine was usually reserved to similar applications in heraldry (i.e., the linings of crowns and chapeaux and of the royal canopy).[1] In heraldry it has become especially associated with the Duchy of Brittany and Breton heraldry.

A stoat in winter fur
  1. ^ Woodcock, Thomas; Robinson, John Martin (1988). The Oxford Guide to Heraldry. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 88–89. ISBN 0-19-211658-4.