diff --git a/book/src/themes.md b/book/src/themes.md
index 0a4d58ad5..8642e6596 100644
--- a/book/src/themes.md
+++ b/book/src/themes.md
@@ -123,3 +123,24 @@ black = "#000000"
 
 Remember that the `[palette]` table includes all keys after its header,
 so you should define the palette after normal theme options.
+
+If there is no `[palette]` section, a default palette which uses the terminal's default 16 colors are used:
+
+| Color Name      |
+| ---             |
+| `black`         |
+| `red`           |
+| `green`         |
+| `yellow`        |
+| `blue`          |
+| `magenta`       |
+| `cyan`          |
+| `gray`          |
+| `light-red`     |
+| `light-green`   |
+| `light-yellow`  |
+| `light-blue`    |
+| `light-magenta` |
+| `light-cyan`    |
+| `light-gray`    |
+| `white`         |
diff --git a/helix-view/src/graphics.rs b/helix-view/src/graphics.rs
index 66013ee51..0bfca04aa 100644
--- a/helix-view/src/graphics.rs
+++ b/helix-view/src/graphics.rs
@@ -224,13 +224,13 @@ pub enum Color {
     Magenta,
     Cyan,
     Gray,
-    DarkGray,
     LightRed,
     LightGreen,
     LightYellow,
     LightBlue,
     LightMagenta,
     LightCyan,
+    LightGray,
     White,
     Rgb(u8, u8, u8),
     Indexed(u8),
@@ -250,14 +250,14 @@ impl From<Color> for crossterm::style::Color {
             Color::Blue => CColor::DarkBlue,
             Color::Magenta => CColor::DarkMagenta,
             Color::Cyan => CColor::DarkCyan,
-            Color::Gray => CColor::Grey,
-            Color::DarkGray => CColor::DarkGrey,
+            Color::Gray => CColor::DarkGrey,
             Color::LightRed => CColor::Red,
             Color::LightGreen => CColor::Green,
             Color::LightBlue => CColor::Blue,
             Color::LightYellow => CColor::Yellow,
             Color::LightMagenta => CColor::Magenta,
             Color::LightCyan => CColor::Cyan,
+            Color::LightGray => CColor::Grey,
             Color::White => CColor::White,
             Color::Indexed(i) => CColor::AnsiValue(i),
             Color::Rgb(r, g, b) => CColor::Rgb { r, g, b },
diff --git a/helix-view/src/theme.rs b/helix-view/src/theme.rs
index 74b817d04..9f7685056 100644
--- a/helix-view/src/theme.rs
+++ b/helix-view/src/theme.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ use std::{
 };
 
 use anyhow::Context;
+use helix_core::hashmap;
 use log::warn;
 use once_cell::sync::Lazy;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Deserializer};
@@ -142,7 +143,24 @@ struct ThemePalette {
 
 impl Default for ThemePalette {
     fn default() -> Self {
-        Self::new(HashMap::new())
+        Self::new(hashmap! {
+            "black".to_string() => Color::Black,
+            "red".to_string() => Color::Red,
+            "green".to_string() => Color::Green,
+            "yellow".to_string() => Color::Yellow,
+            "blue".to_string() => Color::Blue,
+            "magenta".to_string() => Color::Magenta,
+            "cyan".to_string() => Color::Cyan,
+            "gray".to_string() => Color::Gray,
+            "light-red".to_string() => Color::LightRed,
+            "light-green".to_string() => Color::LightGreen,
+            "light-yellow".to_string() => Color::LightYellow,
+            "light-blue".to_string() => Color::LightBlue,
+            "light-magenta".to_string() => Color::LightMagenta,
+            "light-cyan".to_string() => Color::LightCyan,
+            "light-gray".to_string() => Color::LightGray,
+            "white".to_string() => Color::White,
+        })
     }
 }