we have, of course, the option of choice between them ; and if, in transmitting old coats, we are only careful to draw the bearings, as they are found, whether, in our opinion, erroneously described, or not, no harm can possibly accrue. As in the case of the Metals and the Colors, the Furs alone are used as Coats-of-Arms.
Ermine. — The Dukes of Bretagne, in Prance, till the time of Charles the Eighth, 1491, bore simply, Ermine. — [Vallemont ; and Rene Francois, in his Essays.] Heylin, in " The Help to Eng- lish History," sets down the same coat for Arthur Fergant, Duke of Bretagne and Richmond ; temp. William I. ; but Brooke makes Fergant's arms, " Cheeky Or and Azure, a Canton [i. e., a little square, filling the dexter chief corner] Ermine."
Ermines. — This, on the authority .of . Kent, was borne, alone, by a very good French family, named Mignon. Vair, simply, was the Coat-Armor of the ancient English family of Beau- champ of Hacche. Vaire, Topaz, and Ruby, was the coat assumed by William de Ferrers, Earl Ferrars and Derby, his ancestors having borne the Horse-Shoes. The same coat, i. e., Vaire, Or and Gules, is borne by the two French families, Alban and Senecai. Vaire, Or and Sable, are the Armorial Bearings of the name Gourvinet in France. Vaire, Or and Azure, by the family of Rochford. Vaire, Argent and Gules, is the blazon of the •two English families of Colworpe and Bohun ; and Kent says he finds the same coat attributed to the name of Ferrars of Farnworth, with an Unicorn, passant, Ermine for the crest. Finally, a very elegant coat, we have, Vaire, Ermine and Gules [i. e., a simple ermine spot to each alternate shieldlet] for the Ar- morial Ensigns of Gresley of Drakelowe, county Derby, England. Ermine, armorially, is composed of white fur, upon which are sewed black ! % >• •*• i 1 c •
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tufts or spots, in regularly inter- secting diago- nal rows, or, as it may be better understood by some, in quin- cunx fashion. Each of these spots is com- posed of four distinct objects, nearly approximating, so that, to all intents, they constitute one. If on a large scale, and elabor- ately painted, the upper spot is a little tuft of fur, with its single point upward ; the lower spot is a large tuft with five points, the centre and longest one direct- ed vertically downwards, and the two shorter on each side, exactly correspond- ing to each other in length, thrown gradually outwards in similar concave curves, each also terminating in a point. Two little tufts— of the same size with the upper one, arranged with single points outwards, one on either side of the place where the upper and lower tufts approach each other nearest — complete the Er- mine spot, as in the annexed cut. In ordinarily well-engraved or painted coats, of the size of the main shields in this article, the three upper tufts are formed as simple round dots ; and the five points are made three. In actual ermine, composed as a fur, to wear upon the person, or, as represented in the doublings, or linings, of the mantles dis- played around finished coats-of-arms, each black spot is a single tuft with one point. If there are less than ten [some writers say less than nine'] of the tech- nical spots upon the field, it is neces- sary to specify the number ; but if that exact number, or more appear, it is im- material to give the number, as they are all alike considered Ermine. Ermine is invariably Argent and Sa- $
