| Royal Arms of Scotland | |
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| Versions | |
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 Banner of arms, which serves as theroyal standard | |
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| Armiger | Monarchs of Scotland |
| Adopted | Late Middle Ages |
| Shield | Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second |
| Motto | Scots:In My Defens God Me Defend (abbr.In Defens) |
| Use |
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Thecoat of arms of Scotland, colloquially called theLion Rampant, is thecoat of arms historically used asarms of dominion by themonarchs of theKingdom of Scotland, and later used within thecoat of arms of Great Britain and the presentcoat of arms of the United Kingdom. The arms consist of a red lion surrounded by a red double border decorated withfleurs-de-lis, all on a gold background. Theblazon, or heraldic description, is:Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second.
The coat of arms was adopted in the 12th century byWilliam the Lion and has been used by successive Scottish and British monarchs. It currently forms part of the coat of arms of the United Kingdom, where it isquartered with the arms ofEngland andIreland. There are two versions of the United Kingdom's arms, one which gives England prominence and other which gives Scotland prominence; the latter includes other Scottish symbolism in the fullachievement, such as the collar of theOrder of the Thistle.
The coat of arms rarely appears in isolation in royal or government contexts, as the arms of the United Kingdom are used instead. One exception is theroyal banner—the arms in flag form—which can be used by some high-ranking representatives of the monarch in Scotland; this includes theFirst Minister of Scotland in their capacity asKeeper of the Great Seal of Scotland.[1] The banner is also flown from the Scottishroyal residences when the monarch is not present. As the arms are anational symbol of Scotland they are often used to represent the country, for example in thearms of Canada. Elements of the arms are frequently found in the arms of Scottish institutions, such as theScottish Football Association,University of St Andrews, andAberdeen City Council.
The arms feature a redrampant lion with blue tongue and claws situated within a red double border decorated withfleurs-de-lis, known as the 'royal tressure'. The fleurs-de-lis in the tressure are traditionally said to represent the "auld alliance" with France, but this is unlikely as there are records of the tressure being used before 1295, when the alliance began. It may have been added to make the arms more distinctive, as a lion rampant is a common heraldiccharge.
The arms historically formed part of a fullachievement used by the monarchs of Scotland. The exact form of this varied, but in its fullest version it typically included ahelm,mantling,crest, two mottoes,supporters, acompartment, and the collar of theOrder of the Thistle. The helm faced forwards and had a barred visor. The mantling was often gold withermine lining, but other colours were used. The crest consisted of a forward-facing red lion, crowned and holding a sword andsceptre, sitting on another crown. These were often stylised to represent the physical crown, sceptre, and sword used by Scottish monarchs, together called theHonours of Scotland. Above the crest was theslogan "In Defens", a contraction of "In My Defens God Me Defend", and surrounding the shield was thecollar of the Order of the Thistle. The supporters are two crowned and chainedunicorns, each carrying banners. The banner of thedexter supporter was the arms themselves, and that of thesinister supporter thenational flag of Scotland. The compartment typically includedthistles, the national flower of Scotland, and later versions of the arms also included the motto of the Order of the Thistle,Nemo me impune lacessit.
Most of these elements were retained in the Scottish coat of arms after theUnion of the Crowns, and in the Scottish versions of the coat of arms of Great Britain and, later, the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, some changes were made: the sinister supporter was replaced with a crowned lion holding a banner bearing theflag of England, the dexter supporter now bears the flag of Scotland, and the coat of arms changed to reflect that used at the time.
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A form of these arms was first used byKing William the Lion in the 12th century, though no trace of them can be made out on his seal. However, a lion rampant can clearly be made out on the seal of his son, Alexander II. Over the years many writers have claimed them to be much older; evenAlexander Nisbet, considered to be one of the more reliable Scottish heralds, claims that a lion was first adopted as a personal symbol by the legendaryFergus, with the royal tressure being added in the reign ofAchaius.
Throughout the ages the arms passed from monarch to succeeding monarch with only slight variations in detail. In some early examples the lion holds a sword or wears a crown, and the royal tressure has sometimes been interpreted as anorle orbordure. Many of these relatively minor variations will have resulted from the individual efforts of stonemasons, weavers, artists and sculptors throughout the ages in their attempts to create a facsimile of the arms of the period, as well as mistakes and misinterpretations on the part of foreign heraldic artists.
Until the reign ofJames I (1406–1437) the Scottish monarchs did not use supporters; James introduced two lion supporters to the depiction of the arms on hisprivy seal and used a single unicorn elsewhere. The lions continued to be used almost continuously until the Union of the Crowns, the exception beingJames V, who used two unicorns on his privy seal. His daughter,Mary, Queen of Scots, reverted to the lions but used two unicorns on hergreat seal, the first monarch to do so. When her son,James VI, inherited the kingdoms of England and Ireland he began using one unicorn and one lion supporter, a practice continued to the present day.[2]
In the reign ofJames III, theScottish Parliament made a curious attempt to get rid of the royal tressure, passing an act stating that "the King, with the advice of the three Estates ordained that in time to come there should be no double tressure about his arms, but that he should bear whole arms of the lion without any more". This state of affairs does not appear to have lasted very long, with James III soon re-instating the royal tressure, first without its top, and then in its original form.[3]
Upon the creation of thePublic Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland in 1672 Charles II registered the blazon of the achievement of the King of Scots as:
"Or, a Lyon rampant gules armed and langued azure within a double tressur flowered and counter-flowered with flowers de lis of the second, Encircled with the order of Scotland the same being composed of Rue and thistles having the Image of St. Andrew with his crosse on his brest y unto pendent. Above the shield ane Helment answerable to his Majesties high qualitie and jurisdiction with a mantle or doubled ermine adorned with ane Imperiall Crowne beautified with crosses pattee and flowers de lis surmounted on the top for his Majesties Crest of a Lyon sejant full faced gules crowned or holding in his dexter paw a naked sword proper and in the sinister a Scepter both erected paleways supported be two Unicornes Argent crowned with Imperiall and goarged with open Crownes, to the last chains affixed passing betwixt their fore leggs and reflexed over their backs or, he on the dexter imbracing and bearing up a banner of cloath of gold charged with the Royall Armes of Scotland and he on the sinister another Banner azure charged with a St Andrews Crosse argent, both standing on ane compartment placed underneath from which issue thistles one towards each side of the escutcheon, and for his Majisties Royall Motto's in ane escroll over all In defence, and under on the table of the compartment Nemo me impune Lacessit."[4]
WhenMary, Queen of Scots marriedFrancis, Dauphin of France, in 1558, Mary's Royal arms of Scotland were impaled with those of the Dauphin, whose arms were themselves quartered with those of Scotland to indicate his status asKing consort of Scotland. Following the death ofMary I of England in November 1558, the Scottish queen briefly claimed the English crown and quartered the Scottish arms with theroyal arms of England, while the Dauphin added the English arms as an escutcheon to his coat, but this claim was renounced in 1560 and the English arms not used thereafter. When Francis ascended to the throne of theKingdom of France in 1559 as King Francis II, his arms were altered to indicate his status asKing of France, with those of Mary also being altered to reflect her elevated status asQueen consort of France.[5][6]
Following the death of Francis in 1560, Mary continued to use the arms showing Scotland and France impaled, (with a minor alteration of the arms to reflect her change of status from queen-consort toQueen dowager), until her marriage toHenry, Lord Darnley, in 1565. (Such symbolism was not lost uponQueen Elizabeth I of England, given that theEnglish monarchy had for centuries held a historical claim to the throne of France, symbolised by the arms of France having been quartered with those of England since 1340). Following the marriage to Darnley, the arms of Scotland reverted to the blazon which had preceded the marriage to Francis.
| Royal coat of arms of Scotland | |
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| Versions | |
.svg) Coat of arms ofJames VI from 1603 as both the King of Scots and as King James I of England, France, and Ireland. | |
| Armiger | James VI, King of Scots, ultimate armiger of pre-1603 version |
| Adopted | Late Middle Ages |
| Crest | Upon the Royal helm thecrown of Scotland Proper, thereon a lion sejant affronté Gules armed and langued Azure, imperially crowned Proper holding in his dexter paw a sword and in his sinister a sceptre, both Proper |
| Shield | Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second |
| Supporters | Unicorns Argent imperially crowned Proper, armed, crined and unguled Or, gorged with a coronet of the second composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also of the second. Sinister holding the standard ofSaint Andrew, dexter holding thebanner of the Royal arms |
| Compartment | a compartment underneath from which issuethistles one towards each side of the escutcheon |
| Motto | Scots:In My Defens God Me Defend (abbr.In Defens) |
| Order | The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle. (Arms feature thecollar of the order) |
On the death of QueenElizabeth I of England in 1603,James VI inherited the thrones of England and Ireland. The arms of England were quartered with those of Scotland, and a quarter for Ireland was also added. At this time the King of England also laidclaim to the French throne, therefore the arms of the Kingdom of England were themselves already quartered with those of theKingdom of France. James used a different version of his royal arms in Scotland and this distinction in royal protocol continued post theActs of Union of 1707. (Today, the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom used in Scotland continue to differ from those used elsewhere).
During the reign ofKing Charles II, the royal arms used in Scotland were augmented with the inclusion of theLatin motto of theOrder of the Thistle,[7] the highestChivalric order of the Kingdom of Scotland.[8] The motto of the Order of the Thistle,Nemo me impune lacessit, appears on a bluescroll overlying thecompartment.[9] (Previously, only thecollar of the Order of the Thistle had appeared on the arms).
The addition by King Charles ofNemo me impune lacessit ensured that theblazon of his Royal arms used in Scotland complemented that of his Royal arms used elsewhere, in that two mottoes were displayed. The blazon used elsewhere had included the French motto of the arms,Dieu et mon droit, together with theOld French motto of theOrder of the Garter, the highest Chivalric order of theKingdom of England. The motto of the Order of the Garter,Honi soit qui mal y pense, appears on a representation of thegarter surrounding theshield. Henceforth, the versions of the Royal arms used in Scotland and elsewhere were to include both the motto of the arms of the respective kingdomand the motto of the associated order of chivalry.
From the accession of theStuart dynasty to the throne of the Kingdom of Ireland in 1603, the Royal Arms have featured theharp, orCláirseach, of Ireland in the third quadrant, the style of the harp itself having been altered several times since. The position of King of Ireland ceased with the passage by theOireachtas of theRepublic of Ireland Act 1948, when the office ofPresident of Ireland (which had been created in late 1937) replaced that of the King of Ireland forexternal as well asinternal affairs. The Act declared that the Irish state could be described as a republic, following which the newly createdRepublic of Ireland left theBritish Commonwealth. However, the modern versions of the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland used both in Scotland and elsewhere, and also thearms of Canada, continue to feature an Irish harp to representNorthern Ireland.
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The development of the royal arms from 1214 to 1603:
| Arms | Dates | Details |
|---|---|---|
_ii.JPG) | 1214–1249 | Reverse ofAlexander II'sGreat Seal, displaying theLion rampant on saddle and shield. |
| Before 1558 | A red lion,rampant, on a yellow field within a double royal tressure, flory counter-flory. |
.svg) | 1558 | Mary, Queen of Scots,Dauphine of France, impaled with arms ofFrancis,Dauphin of France.[10] |
.svg) | 1558–1559 | Mary, Queen of Scots,Dauphine of France, impaled with thedimidated arms ofFrancis,Dauphin of France, asKing consort of Scots.[10] |
.svg) | 1559 | Mary, Queen of Scots,Dauphine of France, impaled with the dimidated arms ofFrancis,Dauphin of France,King consort of Scots, both halves incorporatingthe claim to the English throne madefor a short time.[11] |
.svg) | 1559–1560 | Mary, Queen of Scots andQueen consort ofFrance[10] |
.svg) | 1560–1565 | Mary, Queen of Scots andQueen dowager of France.[10] |
| 1565–1603 | Upon her second marriage toHenry Stuart, Lord Darnley, in 1565, Mary discontinued use of the France impalement, reverting to the arms of theKingdom of Scotland.[12]King James VI was the last monarch of Scotland to use these arms before theUnion of the Crowns in 1603. |
.svg) | 1603–1652 1660–1689 | James VI quarted the Scottish arms with those of the kingdoms of England and Ireland after inheriting both in 1603. The arms were not used during theCommonwealth orthe Protectorate, which existed in Scotland from 1654 to 1660 and during which the monarchy was abolished. |
.svg) | 1689–1694 | In 1689James II was deposed and replaced with his daughterMary II and her husbandWilliam III, who ruled as co-monarchs. Theyimpaled their arms, which were identical except that William bore the arms with aninescutcheon ofNassau, the royal house to which he belonged:Azure billetty or, a lion rampant of the last armed and langued gules. |
.svg) | 1694–1702 | After Mary II's death, William III used his arms alone. |
| 1702–1707 | Anne used the 1603 version of the arms until the creation of theKingdom of Great Britain in 1707. |
For the later coats of arms of British monarchs, seeCoat of arms of Great Britain andCoat of arms of the United Kingdom. | ||
Since the formation of theKingdom of Great Britain, the Scottish arms are now generally used in combination with the arms of England and Ireland. However, the originalroyal banner of Scotland, also known as the "Lion Rampant", continues to be used officially in Scotland; being flown from royal residences when the King is not in residence and used in an official capacity by theFirst Minister,Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland,Lord Lyon King of Arms andlords lieutenant in their lieutenancies. Unofficially, the royal banner is often used as a secondary national flag, being most often seen at sporting events involving Scottish national teams. (Both theScottish Football Association andScotland national football team use a logo based upon the royal arms).
The royal arms in their current form were adopted on the accession ofQueen Victoria in 1837. They show the Scottish arms in the first and fourth quarters of the shield, with the English arms in the second quarter and the Irish in the third. TheScots mottoIn Defens appears as in the original arms, and the Latin motto of the Order of the Thistle,Nemo me impune lacessit, also appears on a blue scroll overlying the compartment. The Scottish unicorn and English lion hold lances flying the banners of St Andrew and St George, in imitation of the two unicorns in the original arms. The unicorn is placed in the dominant position on the dexter side, and the shield is encircled by the collar of the Order of the Thistle instead of the Garter.
The arms of theDuke of Rothesay quarter the arms of theGreat Steward of Scotland, with the arms of theLord of the Isles. In the centre, on aninescutcheon, are the arms of the heir apparent to the King of Scots, namely the royal arms of Scotland with a three-pointedlabel.
Thecoat of arms of the Government of Gibraltar correspond to the British royal arms in that they also feature the Scottish arms in the second quarter of the shield and use the unicorn as the sinister supporter, with Gibraltar's own coat of arms under the mottoDieu et mon droit.
Theroyal arms of Canada correspond to the British royal arms in that they also feature the Scottish arms in the second quarter of the shield and use the unicorn as the sinister supporter. The Canadian version also mirrors the Scottish version in that each supporter not only supports the shield but also a lance displaying a flag.
Both theflag andarms ofNova Scotia feature elements of the Scottish arms. However, unlike the royal arms of Canada, those of Nova Scotia portray the unicorn as the imperially crowned dexter supporter, in the Scottish style. The shield depicts an inverse representation of the flag of Scotland and features the Royal arms of Scotland on aninescutcheon. The mottomunit hæc et altera vincit appears above the crest in keeping with the Scottish heraldic style. (Both the flag and shield of thelieutenant governor of Nova Scotia also feature the Scottish arms on an inescutcheon).
The royal tressure appears on the arms of numerous Scottish families and institutions as a mark of royal favour, known in heraldry as anaugmentation of honour; prominent examples occur in the arms of the cities ofPerth andAberdeen. In England, the royal tressure is found on the arms of theMetropolitan Police. In 2002, the Queen granted arms to theMonarchist League of Canada which featured a royal tressure with maple leaves instead of the usual fleurs-de-lis. A royal tressure with roses and thistles can be found in the arms of theMarquis of Aberdeen and Temair.
The arms of the Archdiocese of Mechelen used to be the same as those of Scotland. They were quartered with thearms of the city of Brussels in 1961 when it became theArchdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels. The reason for the use of the Scottish arms is debated. One theory for them being used is thatSaint Rumbold, the patron saint of Mechelen, was an Irish monk and in medieval times Irish monks were called Scotii, and thus later the arms of Scotland were taken as arms for the saint. Another theory is thatSaint Rumbold was the son of a Scottish King and thus his arms were identical to the Scottish arms.[13]
The coat of arms of the town ofSankt Wendel inSaarland combines elements of the Scottish flag and the Scottish coat of arms. Four lilies, taken from the Scottish royal coat of arms, on a blue background, are reminiscent of SaintWendelin. Legendary tradition describes him as a Scottish king's son. In 1465, the parish of St. Wendel sent two parishioners to Scotland to research the legend of Saint Wendelin's royal Scottish origins. After allegedly positive confirmation, the Scottish lion coat of arms was used in the seal of the parish of St. Wendel. The blue-silver/white flag of Sankt Wendel takes up the blue background of the coat of arms of the city and the silver/white of its lilies as well as the colors of the Scottish flag.[14][15][16][17]
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Media related toRoyal coats of arms of Scotland at Wikimedia CommonsRoyal heraldry in the United Kingdom | ||
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