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Colours in Norwegian heraldry

Colours in Norwegian heraldry

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Colours in Norwegian heraldry

The Norwegian heraldic system only knows general terms for colours: red, blue, green, black, white and yellow (plus furs of course). Orange is not accepted. The colours must be 'clear and unbroken'.

The heraldic authorities at the National Archives recommend the following colours for printing arms. However, the metal gold is substituted for the colour yellow in flags, while the other colours are the same in both flags and arms. The Pantone system is used:


     Red   = 001 Warm Red

     Blue  = 022 Process Blue

     Green = 354

     Black = 071 Black

     Gold  = 116

White is not defined specifically. It is only said that the white is given by the colour of the paper. For flags the golden colour is not acceptable, in fact it is mostly not used in print either. "Flag yellow" in the Flag Institute's Guide to Standard Colours (see Flag Data Base 1/94 as well as Dr. Crampton's post to this list) is the closest.

In the recommendation there are also two other colour systems, one for water colours (Windsor & Newton) - used in the artwork accompanying the application for arms - and one for road signs (3M Scotchcal). Signs with arms are put up on borders between municipalities.
Jan Oskar Engene, 1995-NOV-18