Coat of arms of Scotland thistle. National emblems of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. National symbol of Scotland

Brief information about the country: Scotland

Scotland ( Scotland) Formerly an independent kingdom in northern Europe, it is now the only autonomous monarchy (including its own parliament) of the four regions that make up the United Kingdom.

Capital- Edinburgh

Language- Currently, there is no officially adopted state language in the UK, but three languages ​​are used in Scotland - English, Scottish Gaelic And Anglo-Scottish.

Flag of Scotland

The Scottish flag is one of the oldest national flags in the world. Its appearance, according to legend, dates back to 832, when King Angus, before the battle with the Anglo-Saxons, saw in the sky a sign in the form of an X-shaped cross, on which, according to legend, Andrew the First-Called, considered the patron saint of Scotland, was crucified. The battle was won, and the image of a white cross on a sky-blue field became one of the symbols of Scotland.
The Scottish flag was included as a component in the flag of Great Britain

Coat of arms of Scotland

The shield holders are two unicorns chained to a pedestal. Unicorns symbolize the indomitable spirit of the Scots. Unicorns support two standards: the royal one with a lion and the national one with the St. Andrew's cross. Initially, the coat of arms had only one motto, located according to the traditions of Scottish heraldry at the top. "In Defense" is an abbreviation of the motto "In My Defens God Me Defend"(“God protects me”). Later, the regalia of the Order of the Thistle was added to the coat of arms - the order chain and motto "Nemo me impune lacessit"(“No one will attack me with impunity”), located below. The coat of arms lasted with minor decorative changes until 1603, when England and Scotland were united under one crown.

Symbol of Scotland

Scotland is rich not only in official state symbols; along with it, there are also so-called semi-official symbols.

The thistle is the plant symbol of Scotland, and it also has its own legend.

One day, warlike Viking troops landed on the coast of Scotland with the goal of conquering the country. The Scots sent their army towards the enemy, which stopped for a halt on the Tay River. At this time, the Vikings had just approached the crossing.

In order not to wake up the enemy army, they took off their shoes and began to gradually approach. But one of the warriors stepped on a thistle, cried out in pain, and the awakened Scots managed to meet them with a worthy rebuff.

In 1702, the thistle appeared on the royal coat of arms, along with the motto "None shall touch me without being hurt." And subsequently the “Order of the Thistle” was formed.

This symbol of Scotland means a lot to local residents, and the British jokingly nicknamed it the “Scottish rose.”

Hello dears!
Today we will finish the topic of European coats of arms, started here: and continued here:. However, as you understand, we naturally do not finish the general topic of state heraldry, in particular, and heraldry in general. Therefore, you will have to endure my exercises further :-)
Today we'll talk about Great Britain and Portugal.
The coat of arms of Great Britain, or more correctly the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is similar to the coat of arms of the British monarch and the ruling family. As everyone knows, the current monarch (God bless her) of Great Britain is Elizabeth II of Windsor (aka Saxe-Coburg and Gotha).

Wedding of Princess Royal Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten. 1947


The coat of arms of Her Royal Majesty could be seen by many, and it is one of the most recognizable in the world of heraldry. It can be described something like this:
On the green lawn, which serves as the main one, there is an English heraldic shield of Gothic form, surrounded by a garter ribbon and embroidered on it with the motto of the Order of the Garter “Honi soit qui mal y pense” on both sides supported by a crowned Rampant Guardant lion and a unicorn on a chain . The lawn contains rose, clover and thistle. At the very bottom there is a motto in French: “ DIEU ET MON DROIT“. The coat of arms is divided into 4 quarters. In the 1st and 3rd quarters there are 3 marching, looking straight (Passant Guardant) golden lions in a scarlet field, which are usually called leopard lions or simply leopards. In the 2nd quarter there is a scarlet lion with azure weapons (claws and tongue) in a golden field with a scarlet double inner border, overgrown with lilies, and in the 4th quarter there is a golden harp in an azure background. The shield is crowned with a tournament helmet crowned with the imperial crown, surrounded by a mantle, and on top of the helmet there is a golden crowned leopard.


Official Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom and Monarchy

Before we begin to examine in detail the elements of this coat of arms, we must talk about one of its interesting features. This coat of arms has another version, which is called Scottish and is used, accordingly, exclusively in Scotland. We will talk about the differences between the main coat of arms and its Scottish version a little later, but now I propose to start looking at the main coat of arms.
In violation of all blazing rules, we will start not with the shield, but with the base. Yes, yes, exactly from the base (soil). Agree that the short-cropped English green lawn is as integral an attribute of Foggy Albion as, say, the monarchy and the five-o-clock. So I cannot help but note how correctly and competently the soil (base) was chosen. However, on the soil there are 3 more interesting heraldic elements - a rose, a clover and a thistle, and these elements are repeated twice and the most paradoxical thing is that they grow from the same stem. These plants are included in the coat of arms with special intent. The fact is that the rose is a symbol of England, the clover is of Northern Ireland, and the thistle is of Scotland.

Everything is clear with the rose of England; everyone has probably heard or read about the War of the Scarlet and White Roses. The Hampshire rose was the ancestral sign of two families claiming hegemony in the kingdom - the Lanksters (Scarlet Rose) and the Yorks (White Rose). King Henry VII, who came to the throne in 1485, in order to finally end the feud between the families, combined these 2 roses into one - a white flower on top of a scarlet one, or divided into four scarlet and white sectors (“quarters”), or into two parts of scarlet and white with a vertical stripe in the middle. Since Henry VII became the ruler of the royal Tudor Dynasty (which ruled until 1604), this rose is often also called the Tudor Rose.


The emblem of the football club from Northern Ireland "Cliftonville"

The three-leaf green clover is an ancient symbol of Ireland. According to legend, the patron saint of the island, Patrick, used the clover flower to explain the doctrine of the Trinity. Green is the color of this saint. In addition, the ancient Celts considered clover to be the best protection against the forces of evil and witchcraft. Great Britain now controls part of the island, a territory called Northern Ireland, but the presence of clover seems to imply that the British claim not part of, but the entire green island of Ireland.

Tartan and thistle. Real Scotland

Thistle is the national plant of Scotland. Since ancient times, it has been credited with having a magical effect on evil spirits. In addition, according to legend, in the 10th century, the coastal settlements of the Scots suffered from raids by the Danish Vikings. In 990, near Perth, the Danes came ashore to defeat the army of King Kenneth II under cover of darkness. The Scotts did not expect that the Danes would attack them at night, so they slept peacefully, without even setting up external posts. In order not to make noise when moving, the Danes took off their shoes, but by a fatal accident, one of them stepped on a thistle and screamed in pain, waking up the entire camp of the Scots king with a scream. Having awakened from sleep, the Scots put up a worthy rebuff to the Danes and put them to flight. This is the legend. And finally, some wits joke that the thistle perfectly illustrates national character, especially in relation to money.
Thus, 3 out of 4 parts of the United Kingdom in the coat of arms, even at a minimal level, are not offended. It will only go around Wales, whose plant symbols - leeks or daffodils, I could not find on the coat of arms. Maybe you can help?


Flag of Wales

Let's continue further. And let's go to the order ribbon surrounding the shield. The blue strap with a gold buckle is a garter, the badge of the highest and oldest English Order of the Garter, established by King Edward III in 1348. If you translate the motto from French into Russian, you get something like “Let him who thinks evil of it be ashamed.” I will not dwell in detail on this Royal Order for the same reasons that I did not examine the Order of the Seraphim on the coat of arms of Sweden (I describe all this in my third book and hope to publish it someday), but still without a few explanations can't get by here. According to one of the most widespread legends, the playful and cheerful lady (and at the same time also a mistress, according to some sources of the aforementioned King Edward III), the Countess of Salisbury at one of the royal balls went into such a dancing frenzy that she dropped one of the intimate parts of a woman’s toilet - a garter - on the floor. Everyone around laughed, plunging the poor countess into the throes of shame, but the gallant king picked up the garter and tied it on his own leg with the words “Let him be ashamed who thought ill of it,” which became the motto of the order. The legend is of course beautiful, but if you look closely at the ribbon of the order on the coat of arms, you will probably notice that most of all it is not on the garter at all, but rather on the belt on which the sword was hung. But this is true, by the way.

Regalia of the Order of the Pendant

At the bottom of the coat of arms we can see another motto - " Dieu et mon droit", which translated into Russian sounds like " God and my right". Since the beginning of the 15th century, this has been the personal motto of English monarchs, indicating the divinity of the monarch's rights to power and the crown. And do not be confused by the French spelling of all these mottos - it is quite understandable. Firstly, the English dynasties of that time had French roots, and most of the kings did not know English at all, which was considered the language of the common people (an example here could be the most famous, perhaps the king of England, Richard I the Lionheart), and secondly, Henry V, under whom this motto first began to be used, had every chance of uniting in his hands crown not only of England, but also of France, therefore he acted with special intent, drawing the motto in French. The current dynasty would probably have written it in German.

English King Henry V

Well, perhaps it's time to move on to the shield. Leopard lions or leopards located in the 1st and 3rd quarters are an ancient coat of arms of England. Its official name is “walking lions on guard.” It was created by Richard I the Lionheart in 1190. The coat of arms of William the Conqueror and the Norman dynasty was taken as a basis, slightly modified and another one was added to the 2 existing lions. The British, as well-known traditionalists, stick to their basics.
The red lion on a golden background, which we can see in the second quarter, is the oldest symbol of Scotland. It is believed that it was taken from the coat of arms of the county of Fife, and they in turn adopted it from the Vikings. It was first used in the state coat of arms by the Scottish monarch William I the Lion of Scotland, who reigned from 1165 to 1214, who added a fancy double border to the lion. This coat of arms was officially established under Alexander III, who sat on the throne from 1249 to 1286.

Somewhere in Edinburgh...

Since then, this coat of arms has remained unchanged (despite all the intermediate disturbances associated with various historical events, such as kinship with the French royal house and others like it). After the royal dynasty of Scotland ceased to exist with the accession of the Scottish monarch James I to the English throne, the coat of arms of Scotland became part of the Royal Arms of Great Britain.


Controversial figure in English history James I Stuart

And finally, in the 4th quarter we can see the coat of arms of Ireland. This is the so-called Irish Harp, which has become a symbol of the “Green Island” since the 13th century. It must be said that this is the only country at the moment in which a musical instrument is a symbol, so it’s difficult to confuse something here. The appearance of the golden harp is associated with ancient Irish folklore (which, by the way, is very rich, interesting and unusual - if you have the opportunity, check it out). So, according to legend, the supreme gods of light and warmth gave the Supreme King of the Tribes of the goddess Dana, named Dagde, some magical harps, the sounds of which helped the common people to live and enjoy. One flute was called Daurdabla(“The Oak of Two Greens”), another Coir Ketarcuir(“Song of the Four Corners”).

A well-known airline with the symbol of Ireland on its livery

So, in fact, the Irish began to be called from those times as the people of the harp. But this is only one of the legends, of which there are many. Some are associated with such notorious characters as Tristan, and even King David. Be that as it may, the golden harp in a green field became the coat of arms of the province of Leinster, and through it the coat of arms of the state of Ireland. Following the unification of Ireland, England and Scotland under James I of England in March 1603, the harp appeared on the third quarter of the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. I would like to note, however, that the coat of arms of Northern Ireland differs from the all-Ireland one. So here, too, one can discern not only a tribute to tradition, but also claims to the whole of Ireland.


Coat of arms of Northern Ireland

Well, once again I would like to note that such an important part of the kingdom as Wales has been ignored. On the one hand, Wales has the status of a principality, it has never had a sovereign state within its actual borders (even Welsh football clubs such as Swansea play in the English championship), and its national coat of arms has not been approved, but still feels absent from There is some injustice in the heraldry of the United Kingdom and Welsh symbolism. This injustice, apparently, was also felt by the English monarchs, who tried to level out the imbalance in another way. The heir to the British crown bears the title Prince of Wales.

Welsh coat of arms. Leeks present

A few words must be said about shield holders. The lion as a shield holder supports the shield on the right. A white horse with a screw-shaped horn in its forehead is a unicorn on the left. Everything is clear with Leo - the symbol of England. But what about the unicorn, you ask? Along with the thistle and tartan, the unicorn is considered an alternative national symbol of Scotland to the red lion. This mystical beast is full of symbolism, but why is it considered a symbol of Scotland, I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you - I don’t know. I only know that it replaced the Welsh dragon as a shield holder at the beginning of the 17th century. In addition to the red dragon, the shield-bearers were a silver antelope, a silver swan, a silver boar and a silver hound.

and this is in Glasgow

Well, the coat of arms is crowned with a golden helmet with a closed visor. He wears an imperial crown (about 12 more can definitely be seen in England) with a crest - a golden crowned leopard, which is colloquially called the “British lion”. To the right and left of the helmet is a golden mantle lined with ermine.
Perhaps this is where we will complete the blazing and analysis of the main British coat of arms. However, at the beginning of the story, we mentioned that there is also a Scottish version of the coat of arms. It differs in detail and significantly. First of all, the shield holders are swapped, and the unicorn is crowned as well as the lion, which hold in their paws and hooves scarlet staffs with the national flags of England (white flag with the cross of St. George) and Scotland (blue flag with the white cross of St. Andrew). It is not the imperial crown that is used, but the crown of the King of Scotland with a crest in the form of a red Scottish lion holding a scepter and sword in its paws. Above the crest is the motto "In Defense", which is part of the full Scottish motto sounding like " In My Defense God Me Defend". This, of course, is not in English at all, because all the rules of grammar are violated, but roughly I could translate it like this: In my defense, God is my helper. Well.. something like this.


Scottish version of the coat of arms

Around the shield we can see the chain of the Order of the Thistle, another of Britain's most important and oldest organizations and awards. On the base (soil) thistle blooms in wild colors. Well, the inscription in Latin at the bottom of the coat of arms is the motto of the Order: Nemo me impune lacessit, that is, “No one will touch me with impunity.”
The shield is also different. Only the golden harp in the 3rd quarter remained unchanged. The 1st and 4th quarters are occupied by the Scottish lion, and in the 2nd quarter we can see the historical coat of arms of England from 1558 to 1603, when the English kings considered themselves
I am the possible heir to the throne of France.
Well, to finish the topic, I must say that the coat of arms of the United Kingdom, which we carefully examined today, became such only during the reign of Queen Victoria.


The royal family in the vestments of the Knights of the Order of the Thistle.

Well, the last of all the European coats of arms, which I decided to consider, ironically turned out to be the heraldic sign of the only non-monarchical country of all those reviewed above, although in the past it had rich royal traditions. We will talk about the coat of arms of Portugal.
The coat of arms of Portugal is a golden armillary sphere on which is placed a heraldic shield. In the silver shield there are five azure shields with a cross with five silver bezants, on a scarlet border there are seven golden castles with triple towers, three of which are the main ones. The armillary sphere is framed by golden branches tied at the bottom with two ribbons - red and green.

Coat of arms of Portugal

Let's figure it out. Let's start with the most basic thing - the shield. Five shields in the form of a cross are associated with the events of the 13th century. The first Portuguese king Afonso Henriques, aka Afonso I of Portugal, aka Afonso the Great, aka Afonso the Conqueror, aka Afonso the Founder, or, if we switch to mocking Russian, Alfonso Henryovich of Burgundy in 1139 won a decisive victory over the united forces of the Arabs at Orica. In principle, from that moment he began to call himself king. Five blue shields in a silver field symbolize the five Islamic “kings” defeated at Oriko (apparently, they were talking about military leaders). The five silver nails on each of the blue shields were reminiscent of the crucifixion of Christ, the cross of St. Andrew, or the 5 wounds that Afonso received in battle, or 5 smaller skirmishes that he successfully fought before this battle. Over time, the 5 nails turned into a simple coat of arms, a bezant (circle), named after Byzantine gold coins. The meaning also changed, now it was not nails, but money, that is, the opportunity and right of the king to mint his own coin. The very number of bezants on the shield was also different - from 6 to 12. This was the original Portuguese coat of arms.

Afonso I

I will say that one of the first Portuguese flags was a white cloth with a blue straight cross (one of the symbols of Henry of Burgundy). White and blue colors until the beginning of the 20th century. were the main ones in Portuguese symbolism. Later, now it is impossible to establish exactly when a scarlet border with locks appeared around the silver field. The number of castles constantly changed from 8 to 12. King Afonso IV determined their number at 12, and Sebastian I finally approved 7, which is still the case today. Presumably they refer to Moorish castles recaptured by Portugal during the Reconquista. The fact that this is an allusion to the dependence of the Kingdom of Portugal on Castile is unlikely, since the castles are similar to Castilian ones, but unlike the Spanish ones, they do not have open gates.

Henry the Navigator

This shield is used as a small state emblem.
Such an interesting element of Portuguese heraldry as the armillary sphere (from the Latin armilla - bracelet, ring) is an astronomical instrument used to determine the equatorial or ecliptic coordinates of celestial bodies. This is a hint of Portugal's great contribution to the Age of Discovery, as well as the vastness of its former colonial possessions and also a personal sign of Henry the Navigator. The sphere depicts the celestial sphere with its main circles: 4 small arcs and one large (twice as wide as the others). The minor arcs correspond to the celestial equator, the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and the celestial meridian. The major arc corresponds to the ecliptic, the great circle of the celestial sphere along which the visible annual movement of the Sun occurs.

Coravel of the Order of Christ. The stylized insignia of the order, albeit modified, is applied to the sails.

The green and red ribbon are made in the colors of the national flag. The meaning of these colors is ambiguous and everyone can choose what suits them personally. The first meaning: green is the color of hope, and red is the color of the blood of those who died for the nation. The second is the green color of the cross of the Avis Military Spiritual Order. In other words, this is a symbol of one of the dynasties that once ruled the Kingdom of Portugal. Red is also the color of the cross, but of another military-spiritual organization - the Order of Christ. Third, the red color stands for Portugal itself, and the green pearl in its possessions stands for Brazil. Everyone chooses the version they personally like best.
Let's finish this for today.

To be continued….

You'll be sure to see the Scottish flag flying proudly in the wind. It is called “seltir” and it looks like St. Andrew’s - on a blue background there is an oblique white cross. The Scottish "Celtyre" is considered to be the oldest flag in use in Europe today. The flag of Scotland has been known since 832, from the day of the battle between the Picts and the Scots led by King Angus and the army of Atlestain, king of Northumbria. According to legend, King Angus received a sign in the form of St. Andrew the Primordial, the patron saint of Scotland, crucified on an oblique cross. As the battle began, the clouds in the bright blue sky began to move quickly and formed a diagonal cross shape. After this sign, the battle was won, and a white diagonal cross on a blue background became the flag of all Scots. The size of the sides of the flag is not strictly regulated, but panels with aspect ratios of 2:3 and 3:5 meters are most often used.

The next symbol of Scotland is the royal coat of arms. The red heraldic lion on a golden field was present on the coats of arms of all Scottish kings.

Small coat of arms of Scotland.

The song "Flower of Scotland" is the unofficial national anthem of Scotland.

This video features the sights of Scotland accompanied by the Scottish anthem “Flower of Scotland”:

Also vying for the title of Scottish anthem is the song “Scotland the Brave” (written by Cliff Handley).

You can listen to “Scotland the Brave” here:

The Scottish bagpipe, another symbol of Scotland, is essentially a reservoir made from the skin of goats or sheep turned inside out with eight pipes attached to it. One of the tubes has playing holes.

Here is the Scottish bagpipe and its structure.


Tartan or “tartan” - a fabric with vertical and horizontal stripes from which kilts, national clothing, are sewn, is also called a symbol of Scotland.

The thistle flower is also called the unofficial symbol of Scotland. You can easily find his images on many coats of arms, coins and emblems. Why did such an unsightly flower, one might say a weed, become one of the symbols of Scotland? This question is answered by an ancient Scottish legend, which tells that the thorny thistle, which generously dotted the fields of Scotland, saved its inhabitants from an unexpected Viking raid. The Vikings, having crossed the river, barefoot, walked straight into the thorny thickets of thistles and burst into loud screams, which betrayed their presence. Since then, the thistle flower has been held in high esteem by the Scots.

Topic: How a wild and prickly plant became a symbol of Scotland

Topic: How a wild thorny plant became a symbol of Scotland

Learning history and culture of different countries is always very interesting., learning about official and unofficial national symbols is one of the most curious themes. People, who have ever learned about the history of English speaking countries, know that every of these countries. Except national flag and coat of arms, England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland have their national plants. It is a common fact that a red rose symbolizes England, and Ireland is symbolized by a four-leaf clover. Wales is associated with a yellow daffodil and thistle is one of Scotland’s plant symbols. But not everyone knows the legends connected with these homely plants.

Studying the history and culture of different countries is always interesting. In my opinion, learning about official and unofficial symbols is one of the most interesting topics. People who have ever become acquainted with the history of English-speaking countries know that each of these countries has its own symbols. In addition to the flag and coat of arms, England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland have their own national plants. Everyone knows that the red rose symbolizes England, and the four-leaf clover symbolizes Ireland. Wales is associated with the yellow daffodil, and the thistle is one of the plant symbols of Scotland. But not everyone knows the legends associated with these national plants.

A legend about such a wild prickly plant as a thistle that became a symbol of Scotland impressed me very much. It says that once some Norsemen arrived to the east coast of the country and landed there. They wanted to invade Scotland and populated by Scots. Somehow the Scots got to know about the invaders so they took up their arms and decided to set up an ambush. They took their station near Tay, the largest river of Scotland. The warriors arrived at the ambush late in the day. They were very tired after a long march so they pitched a camp. After a while it got dark, and the Scottish warriors rested carelessly because they the enemies earlier than next day. This is why there was no guard to watch the camp.

The legend of such a wild thorny plant as the thistle, which became a symbol of Scotland, made an impression on me. It says that the Scandinavians once arrived on the east coast of the country and landed there. They wanted to conquer Scotland and settle in those lands that were inhabited by the Scots. Somehow the Scots found out about the invaders, so they took up arms and decided to ambush them. They stopped near the Tay, the largest river in Scotland. The soldiers arrived at the ambush towards the end of the day. They were tired after the hike and set up camp. It soon became dark, and the Scots warriors rested carelessly, because they did not expect the enemy to appear until the next day. Therefore, there was no guard to monitor the camp.

But the cunning Norsemen decided to surprise the Scottish warriors and capture the camp under cover of darkness. To get closer as silently as it is possible, the Norsemen took off their shoes. When they were near, one of the invaders stepped on a thistle’s prickly leaf. A sharp pain shot through his leg, and he cried out. The Scots were alarmed. They quickly grabbed the weapon and defeated their overnight guests. Since those times a prickly thistle became a national symbol of Scotland.

But the insidious Scandinavians decided to take the Scottish warriors by surprise and capture the camp under cover of darkness. To get as quietly as possible, the Scandinavians took off their shoes. When they were already close, one of the invaders stepped on a thorny thistle leaf. A sharp pain shot through his leg and he screamed. The Scots woke up. They quickly grabbed their weapons and repelled the attack of the night guests. Since then, the thorny thistle has become a national symbol of Scotland.

It would be a mistake to believe that the floral symbol exists only in old legends. The Scots have been depicting their homely plant on the coins for more than five hundred years. And Order of the Thistle appeared. It was one of the most honored knightly orders in Scotland which entered the history of the country. If we visit the land of thistle, heather and bagpipe, we will find hundreds of souvenir shops selling countless little things depicting these symbols.

It would be a mistake to think that the flower symbol exists only in old legends. The Scots have featured thistles on their coins for over five hundred years. And in the 17th century the Order of the Thistle appeared. It was one of the most revered orders of knighthood, which went down in the history of the country. If we visit the land of thistles, heathers and bagpipes, we will find hundreds of souvenir shops selling countless little things depicting these symbols.

 

It might be useful to read: