Note 4: — Chapter II
Reading edition
Furs constitute the second class of tinctures. Eight kinds occur in English heraldry, but we can only mention the two most important—viz., ermine and vair. The former is represented by black spots on a white ground (Fig. 13).4 As shields were anciently covered with the skins of animals, it is quite natural that furs should appear in armorial bearings. "Ermine," says Guillim, "is a little beast that hath his being in the woods of Armenia, whereof he taketh his name."