In heraldry, argent (/ˈɑːrdʒənt/) 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. In engravings and line drawings, regions to be tinctured argent are either left blank, or indicated with the abbreviation ar.
The name derives from Latinargentum, translated as "silver" or "white metal". The word argent had the same meaning in Old French blazon, whence it passed into the English language.
In some historical depictions of coats of arms, a kind of silver leaf was applied to those parts of the device that were argent. Over time, the silver content of these depictions has tarnished and darkened. As a result, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish regions that were intended as "argent" from those that were "sable". This leaves a false impression that the rule of tincture has been violated in cases where, when applied next to a dark colour, argent now appears to be sable due to tarnish.
Arthur Charles Fox-Davies argued extensively in his bookThe Art of Heraldry: An Encyclopaedia of Armory that, though extremely rare, the colour white existed as an independent tincture in heraldry separate from argent. He bases this in part on the "white labels" used to differentiate the arms of members of the British Royal Family. However, it has been argued that these could be regarded as "white labels proper", thus rendering white not a heraldic tincture.[1]
White does seem to be regarded as a different tincture from argent in Portuguese heraldry, as evidenced by the arms of municipal de Santiago do Cacém in Portugal, in which the white of the fallen Moor's clothing and the knight's horse is distinguished from the argent of the distant castle, and in the arms of the Logistical and Administrative Command of the Portuguese Air Force.
Meaning
Sometimes, the different tinctures are said to be connected with special meanings or virtues, and represent certain elements and precious stones. Even if this is an idea mostly disregarded by serious heraldists throughout the centuries,[2] it may be of anecdotal interest to see what they are, since the information is so often sought after. Many sources give different meanings, but argent is often said to represent the following:
argent, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, schola. For other uses see Argent disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Argent news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message In heraldry argent ˈ ɑːr dʒ en t 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 In engravings and line drawings regions to be tinctured argent are either left blank or indicated with the abbreviation ar Argent ClassMetalNon heraldic equivalentSilver white Monochromatic designationsHatching pattern Tricking abbr a A ar Arg arg Poetic designationsHeavenly bodyMoon Neptune JewelPearlThe name derives from Latin argentum translated as silver or white metal The word argent had the same meaning in Old French blazon whence it passed into the English language In some historical depictions of coats of arms a kind of silver leaf was applied to those parts of the device that were argent Over time the silver content of these depictions has tarnished and darkened As a result it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish regions that were intended as argent from those that were sable This leaves a false impression that the rule of tincture has been violated in cases where when applied next to a dark colour argent now appears to be sable due to tarnish Contents 1 Argent versus white 2 Meaning 3 Gallery 4 ReferencesArgent versus white EditArthur Charles Fox Davies argued extensively in his book The Art of Heraldry An Encyclopaedia of Armory that though extremely rare the colour white existed as an independent tincture in heraldry separate from argent He bases this in part on the white labels used to differentiate the arms of members of the British Royal Family However it has been argued that these could be regarded as white labels proper thus rendering white not a heraldic tincture 1 White does seem to be regarded as a different tincture from argent in Portuguese heraldry as evidenced by the arms of municipal de Santiago do Cacem in Portugal in which the white of the fallen Moor s clothing and the knight s horse is distinguished from the argent of the distant castle and in the arms of the Logistical and Administrative Command of the Portuguese Air Force Meaning EditSometimes the different tinctures are said to be connected with special meanings or virtues and represent certain elements and precious stones Even if this is an idea mostly disregarded by serious heraldists throughout the centuries 2 it may be of anecdotal interest to see what they are since the information is so often sought after Many sources give different meanings but argent is often said to represent the following Of jewels the pearl Of heavenly bodies the Moon Of metals silverGallery Edit Arms of Guillemin family France Arms of the municipality of Degerfors Sweden Arms of Visdelou family France Arms of Le Lagadec family France Arms of Jegou family France References Edit Look up argent in Wiktionary the free dictionary The Scottish Heraldry Forum Message Paton help Archived from the original on 2003 09 10 Retrieved 2012 01 01 Woodcock Thomas Robinson John Martin 1988 The Oxford Guide to Heraldry Oxford Oxford University Press p 53 ISBN 0 19 211658 4 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Argent amp oldid 1065324710, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
