Red - Gules

Primary tinctures – Red

One of the heraldic tinctures belonging to the group of colours. In heraldry, almost exclusively the cinnabar red is used. Lighter or darker shades than this developed separately into non-heraldic colours.

The etymology of red

In heraldry, the term probably derives from some kind of red fur. This is suggested by the French (1165: gueules) and English (gules) heraldic names. These come from Old French goules or gueules meaning “throat.” This referred to the throat of a fur-bearing animal (hence the English word gullet). In Hungarian, the term rókatorok (“fox throat”) found in Péter Apor may be related. The French word appears to be the plural of gueule, which itself derives from Medieval Latin gula, “the mouth of a predatory animal.”

From the 17th century onward, it was demonstrably believed that the word derived from Persian gul (“rose”), which spread into Western Europe via Muslim Spain or through the Crusaders. This view is probably incorrect, although the Eastern origin of other colours (blue – Fr. azur, green – Fr. sinople, Eng. vert) is evident.

In early times, other words were also used in French heraldry (rouge – rufous/red, vermeil – cinnabar red, sinople – cinnabar, today green in French heraldry). The latter derives from the name of the Asia Minor city of Sinope, where the clay was of a reddish ochre colour. (In modern English, the use of the word sienna is similar.) Until the mid-14th century, French heraldry referred to green as vert, just as Anglo-Norman blazon still does today. Thereafter (from at least 1415), the meaning of sinople shifted from red to green.

The reason for this change is unknown. One possible background is the desire to prevent confusion between the similar-sounding words vert (green) and vair (vair). In the 15th century, sinopis and sinopsis already meant “green,” but before the 13th century sinopei meant red (in Hungarian cinóber, “cinnabar,” which also takes its name from Sinope). Meanwhile, the variant sinople, used in literary language, continued to mean red, while in common French usage vertretained the meaning green.

The symbolism of red

During the period of “dead heraldry,” various symbolic meanings were attached to it. Among the colours, it was considered the most esteemed. Thus, in Prinsault’s work it became the symbol of courage and martial spirit. In the 1597 augmentation of arms of the Rákóczi family, the red field of the wheel shown on the triple mount is explained in the blazon as expressing that the grantee does not shrink even from blood sacrifice. The medieval herald known as Heraldus Britannus, mentioned by Spener, used the term coccin.

Another widespread shade was coral red. Noble coral (corallum rubrum), in old Hungarian called kláris or kaláris, was already fashioned into jewellery in the earliest times, especially in the East. Folk belief everywhere attributed a beneficent effect to its red colour. In ancient Rome it was chiefly used for children’s amulets. From the late Middle Ages onward it became increasingly popular. In the 17th–18th centuries it was used not only for jewellery but was also incorporated into goldsmiths’ works (chalices, table ornaments, swords). The coral-carving industry flourished particularly in Venice.

Carbuncle was the name used in antiquity and the Middle Ages for red gemstones (ruby, spinel, garnet, sometimes noble opal). According to folk belief, they were capable of shining more brightly than the sun itself.