Vair

In Heraldry, Vair is one of the Furs, which are considered to be Tinctures not Patterns.

Vair is thought to originate from the fur of a species of squirrel with blue-grey back and white belly, sewn together alternately. The term "vair" may have originally been cognate with “varied”, and was certainly used to describe horses of a mottled or spotted pattern. Basic vair consists of rows of small bell-like shapes of alternating blue and white, nowadays usually drawn with straight edges. The bells on the next row down are placed with their bottoms facing the bottoms of the bells on the row above, and so forth down.

The old depictions of vair are similar in appearance to bars of azure and argent divided by alternating straight and wavy lines. (An excellent example is the lining of the cloak of Geoffrey Plantagenet as represented on his tomb.) In the past this would simply be blazoned "vair", but nowadays this is usually (though not always) blazoned vair ancient.

• Counter-vair is like vair, except that bells with their bottoms facing have the same tincture. The effect is one of vertical columns of bells of the same colour, alternately upside-down and right side up.

• Vair en pointe has the "upward" bells alternate color in each row, in such a way as to form waves so that the overall effect is similar to barry wavy. Vairy en pointe can be seen in the arms of Dr. Malcolm Robert Golin.[10]

• Vair in pale has bells of each tincture lined up in columns rather than alternating, so that the flat end of each white bell meets the narrow point of another in the next row.

The height of a row of vair is not strictly specified, but is typically about one-fifth that of the shield. (Occasionally in French heraldry the number of rows are specified.) Where there are more than six rows, the term menu-vair may be used (outside British heraldry). This is the origin of the English word "miniver", which was the general word for the fur lining used for robes of state.

Vair of fewer than four rows is sometimes called beffroi (a French word cognate to belfry), probably from the resemblance of a piece of vair to a church tower. The word derives from Old French berfroi and Old High German bergfrid, "that which guards the peace". Originally, a beffroi was a wheeled tower which was used for scaling the walls of a besieged city, and which was a similar shape as the pieces of vair. Later, it became used for a watchtower, and then for any tower where a bell was hung.

Vair of two rows, called gros-vair, is occasionally seen.