Sable (heraldic animal)
Sable has different meanings in heraldry : on the one hand the sable (Martes zibellina) from the genus of the real marten is a heraldic animal , on the other hand the name sable becomes the color black, as it was used by the minstrels for this tincture and ultimately a name for a fur or smoke from the animal.
In the early Middle Ages , the furs of the sable were still attached to the shield as an ornament. In heraldry, this form is stylized in the coat of arms and is quite similar to the plumeté in black. The back fur is black to dark brown and is also known as gray work.
The heraldic animal sable is primarily shown in black in the coat of arms and is not very stylized and quite similar to the natural animal. The animal is rarely found in the coat of arms. It cannot always be clearly identified in the sign . The description of the coat of arms is decisive. In the representation, the heraldic animal is possible running or upright, the viewing direction is standard to the heraldic right . In the large Russian coat of arms , two black sables are erected holding up a golden palisade crown for the Grand Duchy of Siberia in the left coat of arms ring. The Franconian knight family Zobel did not use its name for a talking coat of arms .
literature
- Curt O. von Querfurth: Critical Dictionary of Heraldic Terminology. Verlag der CH Beck'schen Buchhandlung, Nördlingen 1872, (reprint: Martin Sendet, Wiesbaden 1969).
- Gert Oswald : Lexicon of Heraldry. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1984, p. 453.
