Vair
Vair – a luxury fur
The archaic name for the pelt of the grey squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). In the Middle Ages, taxes were often paid partially in squirrel pelts. In heraldry, it is classified as a tincture (fur). French and certain German heralds derive its pattern from the arrangement of the dark dorsal (back) and light ventral (belly) parts of the squirrel’s fur. This resulted in a pattern of small blue and white shapes, mirroring each other, which resemble medieval kettle hats.
Etymology
The development from “name of a color” to “name of a material” is evidenced by the Old French vair(‘variegated/speckled <fabric, feathers>’) and the French vair (‘grey squirrel fur’). In Middle English, it appeared as veirand vairé, meaning ‘variegated, diverse fur’, originating from the Latin varius (‘diverse, variegated’).
Hungarian Names and Synonyms:
Evetbőr, Vaskalap (Kettle hat), Burány, Gyűszű (Thimble), Közönséges evetbőr.
Vair in Dress and Tradition
The squirrel held a significant place in Germanic mythology; the god Donar declared the red squirrel sacred due to its striking coat. Germanic and Anglo-Saxon tribes offered sacrifices to it during solstices. In Hungary, archaeological excavations have even found squirrel skeletons in children’s graves.
During the Middle Ages, expensive furs were the exclusive privilege of the nobility. Heralds used the natural patterns of these furs as a base to create stylized versions. Early medieval depictions often show a “clouded” (nebululy) or “palisade” pattern rather than the modern kettle-hat shape. While 13th-century heraldic examples often feature rounded, globose patterns, the kettle-hat style became the standard roughly a century later.
A single mantle required approximately 110 squirrel pelts. Because the fur was so valuable, the skin from the legs was not cut off but worked into the pattern. This created an elongated, column-like shape where the leg portion met a perpendicular piece of skin from the next row. Over time, these functional seams were stylized into the geometric heraldic patterns we see today.
Vair in Heraldry
Vair is not only used for the field of a shield but also as a coating for heraldic charges. It is considered amphibious, meaning it does not count as a color or a metal and can be placed on either without violating the Rule of Tinctures.
The pattern is arranged in horizontal rows. In British heraldry, it typically consists of five rows. There are three main size variations:
Gros-vair (Large Vair): Consists of fewer than four (usually two or three) rows; the pattern is drawn much larger than standard.
Vair (Standard): Usually six rows in European heraldry, five in British.
Menu-vair (Small Vair): Consists of more than five (often many) rows. The English term miniver (referring to the Siberian grey squirrel fur) is derived from this.
While standard Vair is always Azure and Argent (blue and white), if other colors are used, it is called Vairé (e.g., Vairé Or and Gules).
Regional Characteristics
Hungarian Heraldry: The use of vair is extremely rare.
French & English Heraldry: It is highly diverse with many specific names for variations (Vair en pointe, Counter-vair, etc.).
Theories on Origin: While most heralds agree on the squirrel-fur origin, some (like Sacken) suggest it originated from cutting cloth into patterns, similar to lozengy or checky (chequy) patterns, which are also considered “furs” in certain English traditions.
Source: Wikipédia