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{{short description|Tincture of red in heraldry}}
{{Infobox heraldic tincture
|title                   = Gules
|class                   = Colour
|non-heraldic_equivalent = [[Red]]
|hatching                = {{Hatching colors|Gules}}
|hex                     = FF0000
|tricking                = g., gu.
|gemstone                = [[Chemistry:Ruby|Ruby]]
|planet                  = [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]]
}}
In heraldry, '''gules''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|juː|l|z}}) is the tincture with the colour [[Red|red]]. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being [[Azure (heraldry)|azure (blue)]], [[Sable (heraldry)|sable (black)]], [[Vert (heraldry)|vert (green)]] and [[Purpure|purpure (purple)]].

Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatching by vertical lines, or indicated by the abbreviation g. or gu. when a coat of arms is tricked.

==Etymology==
The term ''gules'' derives from the Middle English ''goules'', which itself is an [[Social:Old French|Old French]] word meaning "neckpiece made of red fur". ''Goules'' is derived from the Old French ''gole'' or ''guele'', both of which mean "throat", which are ultimately derived from the Latin ''gula'', also meaning "throat". Gules is similar to the English word ''gullet''.<ref>{{OEtymD|gules}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gules | title=Definition of GULES }}</ref> A. C. Fox-Davies states that the term originates from the [[Social:Persian language|Persian]] word {{wikt-lang|fa|گل}} {{transl|fa|gol}}, meaning "rose",<ref>''A Complete Guide to Heraldry'', by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, p. 29</ref> but according to Brault there is no evidence to support this derivation.<ref>Brault, Gerard J. (1997). ''Early Blazon: Heraldic Terminology in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries'', (2nd ed.). Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press. {{ISBN|0-85115-711-4}}.</ref>

==Poetic meanings==
	
Centuries ago, arms were often described poetically and the tinctures were associated with different gemstones, flowers and heavenly bodies. Gules usually represented the following:
	
* Of jewels, the [[Chemistry:Ruby|ruby]]<ref name="parker">{{cite book|first= James|last= Parker|title= A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry|location= Oxford|year= 1894|publisher= [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]}}</ref>
	
* Of heavenly bodies, [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]]<ref name="parker"/>

==Examples==
[[File:Maurice of Nassau arms.svg|thumb|upright|Different uses of the tincture ''gules'' shown in the [[Quartering (heraldry)|quartered]] coat of arms of Nassau-Dillenburg (attributed to Otto II of Nassau, d. 1351):<br /><small>
&nbsp;1. The lion of Nassau, ''Azure billetty or, a lion rampant of the last <u>armed and langued gules</u>'';<br />
&nbsp;2. County of Katzenelnbogen, ''Or <u>a lion rampant guardant gules</u>, armed langued and crowned azure'';<br />
&nbsp;3. County of Vianden, ''<u>Gules</u>, a fess argent'';<br />
&nbsp;4. County of Dietz, ''<u>Gules</u>, two lions passants or armed and langued azure''</small>
]]
Gules is the most widely used heraldic tincture. Through the sixteenth century, nearly half of all noble coats of arms in Poland had a field gules with one or more [[Argent|argent]] charges on them.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

Examples of coats of arms consisting of purely a red shield (blazoned ''gules plain'') include those of the d'Albret family, the Rossi family, the Swiss [[Place:Canton of Schwyz|canton of Schwyz]] (prior to 1815), and the old coats of arms of the cities of Nîmes and Montpellier.
<gallery>
File:Henry III, King of England, coat of arms (Royal MS 14 C VII, 100r).jpg|The Plantagenet coat of arms, ''gules three lions passants guardants or'', origin of the Royal Arms of England<ref>''Historia Anglorum'' c. 1250</ref>
File:Schweiz Schloss Chillon Wandwappen.jpg|Coat of arms of the House of Savoy, ''gules a cross argent''<ref>Chillon Castle, c. 1500</ref>
File:Fl- 14v Livro do Armeiro-Mor, Rei da Escocia.jpg|The Royal Arms of Scotland '' Or a lion rampant Gules within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second''<ref>''Livro de Armerio-Mor'', c. 1509</ref>
File:Coats of arms of the canton of Schwyz on stained-glass window.jpg|Coat of arms of Schwyz (stained glass, 1573), ''gules plain''; the Juliusbanner with the ''[[Religion:Arma Christi|Arma Christi]]'' inset is held by one of the supporters.
File:Villingen, Franziskanermuseum, Wappenscheibe mit dem österr. Bindenschild, 1567, Inv. 11858.jpg|The Austrian ''Bindenschild'', ''gules a fess argent'', originally the Babenberg coat of arms. Below the ''Bindenschild'' is a small coat of arms of the city of Vienna, ''gules a cross argent'' <ref>Stained glass at the Franciscan Monastery Museum in Villingen-Schwenningen, 1567</ref>
File:Wolleber Chorographia Mh6-1 0567 Wappen.jpg|Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Poland, ''Gules, an eagle argent, crowned or''<ref>''Chorographia Württemberg'', 1591, attributed to Casimir III the Great</ref>
File:Coat of arms - De gueules plain.png|Coat of arms of French ''Maison d'Albret. Gueules plain'' by contemporary heraldic artist Dario Scaricamazza.
</gallery>

==See also==
* Polish heraldry
* [[Chemistry:Cinnabar|Cinnabar]]
* [[Murrey]]
* Sinople

==References==
<references />

==External links==

{{Heraldry}}

[[Category:Shades of red]]

{{Sourceattribution|Gules}}