The system of
heraldryHeraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound *harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
has two main methods to designate the tinctures of arms in uncolored illustrations:
hatching and
trickingThe system of heraldry has two main methods to designate the tinctures of arms: hatching and tricking, i. e. designation of tinctures by means of abbrevations or signs.-The Origin of Tricking:...
. Hatching, i.e. patterns of lines and dots, is the most common method to designate colours on uncoloured surfaces, like engravings, seals and coins.
Our present day hatching system was developed during the 1630s by
Silvester Petra SanctaSilvester Petra Sancta was an Italian Jesuit priest, and heraldist. His name is also spelt as Sylvester Petra Sancta, Petrasancta, in Italian Padre Silvestro da Pietrasanta. Pseudonym: Coelius Servilius...
and
Marcus Vulson de la ColombièreMarcus Vulson de la Colombière or Sieur [senior] de la Colombière was a French heraldist, historian, poet, minion of the royal court. His name is often spelt as Wulson and also as Volson....
. Some earlier hatching methods were also developed, but did not catch on.
The Origin of Hatching Systems
HatchingHatching is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects by drawing closely spaced parallel lines...
was a method of screening in the
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
painting. For the great copperplate engravers and artists such as
ZangriusJan Baptist Zangrius was an Flemish engraver, publisher, typographer and bookseller.His name is mostly spelled as Johannes Baptista Zangrius, but is also known as de Sanger, de Zangre, Zangre, and Zangré.- Biographical Data :...
and
FranquartJacob Franquart was a Flemish painter, court architect, and an outstanding copper plate engraver. His name has also been spelled Francquart, Franckaert, Francquaert, Jacques Franquart, Francuart....
it served as a natural method to designate tinctures of the arms. Thus, it can be concluded that this way to designate the tinctures originated by all probability from the artists (copper plate engravers) and not the heralds. As part of the techniques of hatching, artists used various lengths, angles, mutual space and other properties of lines.
The copper plate engravers were always seized of the problem of properly picturing the black (dark) and white (light) surfaces. They also dealt with the problem on producing the coloured illustrations. It is around the middle of the 17th century that the first tests of the colour in copperplate engraving were done by
François PerrierFrancois Perrier was a French soldier and geodesist.Perrier was born at Valleraugue , , descended from a family of Protestants, of Cevennes. After finishing his studies at the Lyceum of Nimes and at St...
(1590-Paris, 1650). According to some views, the multi-coloured copperplate engravings were invented by
Abraham BosseAbraham Bosse was a French artist, mainly as a printmaker in etching, but also in watercolour.-Life:...
as described in his 1645 treatise.
HeraldA herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....
s did not like hatching, and the
College of ArmsThe College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
gave preference to
trickingThe system of heraldry has two main methods to designate the tinctures of arms: hatching and tricking, i. e. designation of tinctures by means of abbrevations or signs.-The Origin of Tricking:...
even beyond the 17th century, sometimes even on the coloured and hatched images. It was so because tricking was a simpler way than hatching to designate the tinctures. Otto Titan von Hefner maintained that the first traces of hatching on the woodcuts began during the 15th and 16th centuries. Both tricking as well as hatching was applied by the Benedictine monk, philologist and outstanding historian Vincenzio or Vincenzo Maria Borghini (Florence, Oct. 29, 1515 – Aug. 18, 1580, Florence). He drew a difference between the metals and the colours on the woodcuts of his work by leaving the places blank on the arms for all metals; similarly all colours were hatched by the same way, as the colour vert is being used today. Besides this, tinctures were designated in the fields and on the ordinaries and charges by tricking: R–rosso–gules, A–azure–azure, N–nigro–sable, G–gialbo–yellow (or), and B–biancho–white (argent). Notably, the vert was not present on the arms presented by him.
During the 15-18th centuries,
paintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . In art, the term describes both the act and the result, which is called a painting. Paintings may have for their support such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, clay or concrete...
and
graphicsGraphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings, or...
were on a very high level in the
Low CountriesThe Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers...
. For this reason, it isn’t accidental that different hatching methods emerged in the system of
heraldryHeraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound *harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
in these territories. The earliest one and then the majority of these systems were developed in the Low Countries (mainly in the
Duchy of BrabantThe Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of not only the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp as well as the Brussels-Capital Region, but also the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.In Roman times, Brabant...
) such as the method of
ZangriusJan Baptist Zangrius was an Flemish engraver, publisher, typographer and bookseller.His name is mostly spelled as Johannes Baptista Zangrius, but is also known as de Sanger, de Zangre, Zangre, and Zangré.- Biographical Data :...
(1600),
FranquartJacob Franquart was a Flemish painter, court architect, and an outstanding copper plate engraver. His name has also been spelled Francquart, Franckaert, Francquaert, Jacques Franquart, Francuart....
(1623),
ButkensChristophe Butkens was a Cistercian abbot from Antwerp, historian and genealogist.Butkens developed his own hatching system but it was used by him in an inconsequent way which led to the misunderstandings and the resultant sudden disappearance of this method...
(1626), and
de RouckThomas de Rouck was a steward and later the mayor of his native town Bergen op Zoom.De Rouck developed a late hatching system , but failed to make a serious cut....
(1645). So, four out of the eight authors of the seven known hatching systems came from the Low Countries and the remaining four authors –
de la ColombièreMarcus Vulson de la Colombière or Sieur [senior] de la Colombière was a French heraldist, historian, poet, minion of the royal court. His name is often spelt as Wulson and also as Volson....
,
Petra SanctaSilvester Petra Sancta was an Italian Jesuit priest, and heraldist. His name is also spelt as Sylvester Petra Sancta, Petrasancta, in Italian Padre Silvestro da Pietrasanta. Pseudonym: Coelius Servilius...
,
GeleniusAegidius Gelenius was one of the most respected Cologne historians of his time. He had also at his disposal some Roman age sources that are not in existence today.He developed a late hatching system but it did not gain popularity.- Life :...
, and
LobkowitzJuan Caramuel y Lobkowitz was a Spanish Catholic ecclesiastic and writer.-Life:...
– also had close connection with the heraldists and artists of these territories.
The earliest hatching system was developed by the outstanding copper plate engraver, publisher, typographer and bookseller
Jan Baptist ZangriusJan Baptist Zangrius was an Flemish engraver, publisher, typographer and bookseller.His name is mostly spelled as Johannes Baptista Zangrius, but is also known as de Sanger, de Zangre, Zangre, and Zangré.- Biographical Data :...
(†1606) of Leuven in 1600 and was seen at the armorial chart of Brabant. Inasmuch as the hatching systems of Petra Sancta and de la Colombière differ from the method developed by Zangrius only in the way of hatching of the colour Sable, as it almost seems evident that Petra Sancta or de la Colombière modeled their systems after Zangrius‘ hatching table.
The Dispute of Petra Sancta and de la Colombière
The primacy of developing a hatching method belongs undoubtedly to
ZangriusJan Baptist Zangrius was an Flemish engraver, publisher, typographer and bookseller.His name is mostly spelled as Johannes Baptista Zangrius, but is also known as de Sanger, de Zangre, Zangre, and Zangré.- Biographical Data :...
. In comparison to his system,
Petra SanctaSilvester Petra Sancta was an Italian Jesuit priest, and heraldist. His name is also spelt as Sylvester Petra Sancta, Petrasancta, in Italian Padre Silvestro da Pietrasanta. Pseudonym: Coelius Servilius...
and
de la ColombièreMarcus Vulson de la Colombière or Sieur [senior] de la Colombière was a French heraldist, historian, poet, minion of the royal court. His name is often spelt as Wulson and also as Volson....
made only minor changes to Zangrius‘ system such as different hatching for the colour
SableThe sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...
. It seems that de la Colombière preceded Petra Sancta and the armorial chart of Zangrius published in French could possibly be known to him pretty well. The artists from the Spanish
Low CountriesThe Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers...
(where by all probability the heraldic hatching systems were invented), that is to say from the neighbouring territories to France, visited
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
very often.
We have only some fragmental data about the life of
Marcus Vulson de la ColombièreMarcus Vulson de la Colombière or Sieur [senior] de la Colombière was a French heraldist, historian, poet, minion of the royal court. His name is often spelt as Wulson and also as Volson....
. He visited Paris in 1618, but by all probability, until 1635 he was staying in Grenoble as he was a royal counselor in the Dauphiné parliament. He also published a book in the spirit of the
GallicanismGallicanism is the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by the monarchs' authority or the State's authority—over the Catholic Church is comparable to that of the Pope's...
in
GenevaGeneva, is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie...
that year. Colombière’s ideas suited the king’s taste too, as a result he left
GrenobleGrenoble is a city in south-eastern France situated at the foot of the French Alps where the Drac joins the Isère River. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère. The proximity of the mountains make the city named "Capital of Alps."The history of the...
and settled down in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he devoted his entire energy to study heraldry. His next book was published in Paris in 1638. He had wide-ranging correspondence with the most renowned heraldists of his time. For this reason, it could perhaps be concluded that de la Colombière was right in claiming the title of the inventor of the hatching system, and accusing Petra Sancta of copying his method and incorrectly publishing it in his 1638 work (
Tesserae gentilitiae,
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
1638), one year before the same hatching system was published by de la Colombière (
Recueil de plusieurs pièces et figures d'armoiries..., Paris 1639). However, the earlier book of Petra Sancta fom 1634 had a hatching table as well. On page 37 of his title
La Science Heroїque (1644), Colombière maintains that Petra Sancta simply copied his system without any changes. De la Colombière also mentions the book publishers and copperplate
engraversEngraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
as the users of the hatching system.
Ottfried Neubecker maintains that the hatching system in heraldry was invented by de la Colombière and not Petra Sancta who only popularized the system through his second treatise titled Tesserae gentilitia, published in 1638. On the other hand, it’s also true that Silvester Petra Sancta provided though preliminary, comprehensive studies on his heraldic work in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
and the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
and that it’s very likely that he was acquainted with the idea of hatching and the earlier existing hatching methods from the Dutch engravers before he developed his own hatching system. He was the confessor of the
CardinalA cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually a bishop, of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and making themselves available...
Pier Luigi Carafa (1581-1655). Between 1624 and 1634, Petra Sancta stayed with his lord in
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants...
where he fought against the rising
ProtestantismProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
through his sermons and religious discussions, including through two of his emblematic books published in 1634 and 1638, respectively. Later he settled down in Rome and published his famous treatise on heraldry there, but during late 1620s and the early 1630s he stayed in the Spanish
Low CountriesThe Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers...
and the neighbouring territories. In 1634 he published his first book touching the topic of heraldry, containing a hatching table, and his main heraldic work with a coherent hatching system was published in 1638 in Rome.
The Contribution of Engravers in Development of Hatching Systems
According to the data from the Plantin-Moretus archive, the emblems of Petra Sancta's 1634 book were prepared by artist-engravers in the service of the Jesuit monks first and then between December 1631 and June 1634 it was redone by André Pauwels (Andries Pauli, 1600-1639) for Batlhasar Moretus (1574-1641). The allegorical title page of this book was prepared by
RubensRubens is often used to mean Peter Paul Rubens , Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:*Paul Rubens , co-lyricist of Florodora*Alma Rubens , American actor*Bernice Rubens , Welsh novelist...
. Petra Sancta's 1638 book was published by Francesco Corbelletti in Rome.
The woodcuts from one of the publications of Corbelletti dated 1627 (Giovanni Antonio Brandi,
Cronologia de' sommi pontefici ...., Rome: Francesco Corbelletti, 1627) are good examples of stripping applied for screening. One of the woodcuts (no. 152) in the book shows even a kind of a screening with hatching. Moreover, the arms on the title page of one of the Corbelletti’s 1639 publications (Francesco Liberati,
La perfettione del cavallo... Rome: Per gli Heredi di Francesco Corbelletti, 1639) already represents a complete example of heraldic hatching. That means Corbelletti took over the heraldic hatching system already in the next year after the 1638 system of Petra Sancta appeared. If we consider the time needed to prepare the engravings and the approval by the
censureCensure is a process by which a formal reprimand is issued to an individual by an authoritative body. In a deliberative assembly, a motion to censure is used....
, Corbelletti must know the hatching system of Petra Sancta even before 1638.
Thus it’s obvious that Petra Sancta got the model for his heraldic hatching system from the
illustratorAn illustrator is a graphic artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
s and publishers of his
bookA book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s in the Low Countries. It is possible that these engravers also knew at least two earlier hatching systems by Zangrius in 1600, and Francquart in 1623. The techniques of heraldic hatching might have even been carried forward by the
guildA guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade.The earliest guilds were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel and a secret society...
s of engravers one after another. Certainly, Petra Sancta must have at least held consultations with the engravers who were preparing illustrations for his books to explain to them his concept or to develop a coherent method to designate tinctures by mutual agreement.
Designation of tinctures by hatching needs copperplate engravings as the tiny places of the escutcheons need lines close to each other, which is impossible to be realized by using woodcuts. And copperplate engraving was the most developed form of hatching in the Low Countries, especially in Antwerp, while until the 1630s it was almost unknown in some other countries, including
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. So, the heraldic hatching was developed as a result of the cooperation between heraldists and copperplate engravers and artists.
Other Hatching Systems
The French heraldist Imbert de la Phalecque and his Italian counterpart Goffredo di Crollanza claimed that the work of
Philippe de l'EspinoyPhilippe de L'Espinoy of Ghent was a Walloon historian and genealogist.He served as the commander of a company of Walloon infantry during the reign of Philippe II...
was the first one that adopted the hatching system applied in the blazon. His two-volume book was published in
DouaiDouai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some 40 km from Lille and 25 km from Arras, Douai is home to one of the region's most impressive belfries.The population of the metropolitan area, including...
in 1631 and in 1632 respectively. (A facsimile of l’Espinoy’s book titled
Recherche des antiquités et noblesse de Flandre was published in 1972.) This city, now in France, was then part of
FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands...
. The illustrations in this book include 1,121 escutcheons,
standardA flag is a piece of fabric, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used symbolically for signaling or identification. It is most commonly used to symbolize a country...
s and seals of armorial bearings, on wood, besides 58 copperplate illustrations that at first sight appear to have hatchings. If one however compares these "hatchings" with the descriptions, then one finds out that there isn't any system in it at all. For instance Gules is alternately indicated by horizontal or vertical or diagonal lines or is left blank. It seems l'Espinoy considered lines and dots merely as a sort of artistic additions which he put in at random. There is no hatching table at all.
Most other known hatching systems also originated in the Low Countries. The tiny hatching table of the above-mentioned
Jacob FranquartJacob Franquart was a Flemish painter, court architect, and an outstanding copper plate engraver. His name has also been spelled Francquart, Franckaert, Francquaert, Jacques Franquart, Francuart....
, to be found in his
Pompa funebris Alberti Pii Austriaci (1623), was the earliest hatching method after Zangrius. The Cistercian abbot from Antwerp and historian and genealogist
Christophe ButkensChristophe Butkens was a Cistercian abbot from Antwerp, historian and genealogist.Butkens developed his own hatching system but it was used by him in an inconsequent way which led to the misunderstandings and the resultant sudden disappearance of this method...
also developed his own system, but it was used by him in an inconsequent way which led to the misunderstandings and the resultant sudden disappearance of this system. The hatching table of
Thomas de RouckThomas de Rouck was a steward and later the mayor of his native town Bergen op Zoom.De Rouck developed a late hatching system , but failed to make a serious cut....
was radically different from that of
ZangriusJan Baptist Zangrius was an Flemish engraver, publisher, typographer and bookseller.His name is mostly spelled as Johannes Baptista Zangrius, but is also known as de Sanger, de Zangre, Zangre, and Zangré.- Biographical Data :...
.
Aegidius GeleniusAegidius Gelenius was one of the most respected Cologne historians of his time. He had also at his disposal some Roman age sources that are not in existence today.He developed a late hatching system but it did not gain popularity.- Life :...
was one of the most respected
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants...
historians of his time. He developed a late hatching system but it did not gain popularity. Gelenius was deeply influenced by Petra Sancta and both the men met personally several times in Cologne. Gelenius also studied the coats of arms and antiquities of the Rhenish nobility in the territory neighboring the Low Countries. However, Gelenius’ hatching system is identical only at two points with Petra Sancta, indicating that he consciously tried to develop an independent system but failed to make a serious cut, or it can also indicate that Petra Sancta's system was not yet fully developed when they met in Cologne. If this is true, it makes certain the primacy of de la Colombière as the inventor of the hatching system.
On the table X of his work, Otto Titan von Hefner published still another system of hatching from 1639, attributed to
LobkowitzJuan Caramuel y Lobkowitz was a Spanish Catholic ecclesiastic and writer.-Life:...
. (On page 49, footnote 4 Hefner names his source as Rietstap's Handboek der Wapenkunde, p. 96.) His book titled
Philippus Prudens contains as many as 27 engraved
portraitA portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a...
s of the Portuguese
kingKing may be a title for a head of state.King may also refer to:-Places:* King, Ontario, Canada* King, Indiana, United States* King, North Carolina, United States* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin, United States...
s, but only two of them have engravings with
coat of armsA coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, in European tradition, is a design belonging to a particular person and used by them in a wide variety of ways. Historically, they were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy...
there, and no hatching table at all. However, the mentioned arms are evidently provided with hatching. In all probability, Hefner (or rather Rietstap) used these coat of arms to construct the hatching table of Lobkowitz. However, the hatching system of Lobkowitz should not be attributed to him but to the engravers and artists creating the illustrations for the mentioned work.
In 1632 he was sent to the Low Countries where he became a renowned preacher and missionary. His first book
Steganographia ars orthographia was published in 1636 in
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
when he was a
professorThe meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual...
at the
LeuvenLeuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium. It is located about 30 kilometers east of Brussels, with as other neighbouring cities Mechelen, Aarschot, Tienen, and Wavre.The township comprises the historical city of Leuven and the former municipalities of...
University – the same city where
Jan Baptist ZangriusJan Baptist Zangrius was an Flemish engraver, publisher, typographer and bookseller.His name is mostly spelled as Johannes Baptista Zangrius, but is also known as de Sanger, de Zangre, Zangre, and Zangré.- Biographical Data :...
was also active. Here Lobkowitz published a major work titled
Theologia Moralis ad prima, eaque clarissima principia reducta printed by Perus Zangrius (Lovanii, typis ac sumptibus Petrus Zangrius, 1645). His book titled
Philippus Prudens containing some hatched arms was published in 1639 by Balthasar Moretus in
Antwerp||-||-||-||}Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 and its total area is , giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km²...
. The coats of arms were engraved by Cornelis Galle Sr., after the drawings of Erasmus Quellinus Sr (Liège, 1584 - Antwerp, at the end of 1639 or in the beginning of 1640), a Flemish Baroque Era painter, and the engraving of the frontispiece was made by Jacob Neeffs (Antwerp, June 3, 1610-1660).
Christoffel Plantin (1520-1589), grandfather of Balthasar Moretus, set up his printing shop called 'De Gulden Passer' (Golden Compasses) in Antwerp in 1555, publishing both Catholic and Protestant literature. This Frenchman, who fled his native country to Antwerp to escape the persecution during the 1540s, was the best-known printer of his time. Moretus was also a close friend to
RubensRubens is often used to mean Peter Paul Rubens , Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:*Paul Rubens , co-lyricist of Florodora*Alma Rubens , American actor*Bernice Rubens , Welsh novelist...
who made several illustrations for the company‘s publications. This company also published a work by
Justus LipsiusJustus Lipsius, Joost Lips or Josse Lips , was a Flemish philologist and humanist. Lipsius wrote a series of works designed to revive ancient Stoicism in a form that would be compatible with Christianity. The most famous of these is De Constantia...
in 1604 using the same portrait of Lipsius that was engraved by Zangrius in 1601. Zangrius had also some Parisian connections. The Parisian Book Society knew several representatives of a number of leading engravers originating from the Netherlands, for instance, the famous
Jodocus BadiusJodocus Badius was a pioneer of the printing industry.Sometimes called Badius Ascensius from the village of Asse, near Brussels, where he was born, he became an eminent printer at Paris. His establishment came to be known as the Prelum Ascensianum...
(1462-1535) from Asse, and the not-so-famous Johannes Lodoicus Tiletanus (1566-1581) from Tielt. He started off as a corrector at Badius, married the sister-in-law of Badius' daughter Madeleine and became an uncle to Petrus Zangrius.
The Hatching of Additional Tinctures
Out of these systems, Otto Titan von Hefner published some further hatching methods at table X of his above cited book, presenting hatching methods for some additional tinctures as well. Some additional tinctures already appeared in the theory of heraldry in the early 15th century, which were then soon applied in practice. The German jurist and heraldist
Eucharius Gottlieb RinkEucharius Gottlieb Rink was a German jurist,heraldist, numismatician, imperial counsellor. His name is also spelt as Rinck, Rinckius, Rinkius...
(1670-1746) introduced hatching for the gray (Eisen) and
properProper may refer to:* Proper , the part of a Christian liturgy that is specific to the date within the Liturgical Year* Proper frame, such system of reference in which object is stationary , sometimes also called a co-moving frame...
(Naturfarbe). The German heraldist
Christian Samuel Theodor BerndChristian Samuel Theodor Bernd was a German linguist and heraldist, one of the founders of scientific heraldry....
(1775-1854) introduced hatching for some other tinctures such as Umbra, Rotgelb, Stahlblau and Blutfarbe.
Besides the traditional metals (
goldIn heraldry, Or is the tincture of gold and, together with argent , belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". In engravings and line drawings, it may be represented using a field of evenly spaced dots...
and
silverIn heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...
) some other metals like
copperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is rather soft and malleable and a freshly-exposed surface has a pinkish or peachy color...
,
leadLead is a main-group element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metals. Lead has a bluish-white color when freshly cut, but tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed to air...
,
bronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon. It was particularly significant in antiquity, giving its name to the Bronze Age...
etc also emerged over the years. Hatching for
ironIron is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a group 8 and period 4 element and is therefore classified as a transition metal. Iron and iron alloys are by far the most common metals and the most common ferromagnetic materials in everyday use...
(
ferro) and steel (
acciaio) were introduced by two Italian heraldists Guelfi Camaini and Goffredo di Crollanza, but these were rarely used.
The heraldic furs (
ermineErmine has several meanings:-* A common name for the stoat * The white fur and black tail end of this animal, which is historically worn by and associated with royalty and high officials...
,
vairVair is the heraldic representation of patches of squirrel fur in an alternating pattern of blue and white. As a tincture, vair is considered a fur and is therefore exempted from the Rule of tincture . Variations of vair are laid out in different patterns, each with their own name...
) do not need a special hatching method, as they have a special pattern that is easily recognizable even on the uncoloured illustrations. Nevertheless, there exited two heraldic furs that had their own hatchings. Also, there are in use (mainly in the Czech heraldic literature) furs like zibeline and marten. The colour and hatching for zibeline is the same as the sable (black) tincture, and the colour and hatching of marten is identical with the gules (red) tincture. So, in some countries these tinctures are also held as furs (mainly in the Czech heraldic traditions, but not in real use, and sometimes also in the German heraldry, which is also not in real use today).
Zibeline (in German Zobelfell, in Czech sobol, and in Hungarian coboly) was already used in the ancient times of heraldry. Some minnesängers applied the word Zobelfell for the black tincture, and the arms of the count von Zollern also contained zibeline (Zobelfell). The colour and hatching of marten (in German Marderfell, in Czech kunina, and in Hungarian nyest) is identical with the red (gules) tincture. The origin of the word
gulesIn heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....
is from the Medieval
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
word gula, which means the mouth of a carnivorous
animalAnimals are a major group of mostly multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously...
, and in some cases the goules are made of the marten fur (one text says goules de martre). Maybe its reddish tint came to the heraldry from the fur of pine marten. In the poem of
Konrad von WürzburgKonrad von Würzburg was the chief German poet of the second half of the 13th century.As little is known of his life as that of any other epic poet of the age. By birth probably a native of Würzburg, he seems to have spent part of his life in Strassburg and his later years in Basel, where he died...
we can read kelen rôt (line 985) transformed into modern German as pelzrot. (Furthermore, we can read there phrases like vîz hermelin (405), which is hermelinweiß, and zobel (400) as well.) Though the Webster's Dictionary defines the meaning of pine as a white, yellowish timber and the Cambridge International Dictionary defines it as a timber usually pale in colour, no source, including heraldry textbooks, mentions it in connection with heraldry.
| brown |
sanguine |
earth-colour
(Umbra) |
iron-grey |
water-colour |
flesh-colour
(carnation) |
ashen-grey |
orange |
|
colour of
nature
(proper) |
Colour scale of all tinctures used in heraldry (as we can see, some of them are spare)
| white |
argent |
iron |
steel |
platinum |
silver gray |
ashen-grey |
iron-grey |
lead |
sable |
zibelline |
| purpure |
crimson |
murrey |
navy-
blue |
(dark) horizon
blue |
azure |
bleu celeste |
water-
colour |
(green-)
aquamarine |
(light) horizon
blue |
teal |
| vert |
or |
bhagwa |
tenné |
orange |
gules |
marten |
amaranth |
Kenya-red |
sanguine |
crimson-
red |
earth-
colour |
red ochre |
brown |
ochre |
bronze |
(light) earth-
colour |
copper |
buff |
carnation |
rose |
Other modern usages
The basic Petra Sancta system was adopted in the modern world by
industrial engineersIndustrial engineer is a branch of engineering that concerns with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, material and process. It also deals with designing new prototypes to help save money and...
as a standard system of colors and hatch patterns for use in planning
factoriesA factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where workers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
and material handling systems.
Literature
Schroeder, Johann Karl von: Über Alter und Herkunft der Heraldischen Schraffirungen. In: Herold, 7 N.F. Berlin 1969/71, 67-68. l.