Double rose

From HandWiki
The Tudor rose is a double rose.

Double rose is a term used for a rose in heraldry when it has not only five petals, but additionally five petals within the outer petals. It is in essence a combination of two roses, one on top of the other. A standard heraldic rose should not be depicted this way but has only the five outer petals.[1]

An example of this heraldic charge is the Tudor rose, which is (most usually) a double rose gules and argent, barbed and seeded proper, but as it is so common in English heraldry it is often just blazoned as a "Tudor rose" or a "Tudor rose proper", for instance in the coat of arms of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London.

In botany, a double rose is a double-flowered variety of the rose, much like the heraldic double rose. These varieties go back to pre-heraldic times.[2][3]

References

  1. Friar, Stephen, ed (1987). A New Dictionary of Heraldry. London: Alphabooks/A&C Black. p. 286. ISBN 0-906670-44-6. 
  2. Theophrastus mentioned double roses in his Enquiry into Plants, written before 286 BC.
  3. Wang GuoLiang (2007). "A study on the history of Chinese roses from ancient works and images". Acta Horticulturae 751: 347–356. doi:10.17660/ActaHortic.2007.751.44. http://www.actahort.org/books/751/751_44.htm.