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Royal coat of arms of Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland was the official coat of arms of the monarchs of Scotland, and were used as the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Afterwards, the arms became an integral part of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom.
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The shield depicts the red lion of the King of Scots as rampant, with blue tongue and claws, on a yellow field and surrounded by a red double royal tressure flory counter-flory device.
The crest depicts the lion, seated and forward facing, together with the Honours of Scotland. (The lion wears the Crown of Scotland and holds both the Sceptre and the Sword of State).
Above the crest is the motto 'In Defens', which is an abbreviation of the motto and war cry 'In My Defens God Me Defend'. (The spelling of 'Defens' being the Scots spelling of 'Defence'). This motto was originally the only motto of the arms and is placed above the crest in the convention of Scottish heraldry. Later versions of the arms also feature both the motto, Nemo me impune lacessit (No-one wounds (touches) me with impunity), and surrounding the shield the insignia of The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.
The supporters are two crowned and chained unicorns, the dexter supporting a banner of the arms, (only in this instance is the lion depicted facing away from the lance, whereas when flown correctly the lion should face towards or respect the lance or, in most cases, the flag pole); the sinister supporting the national flag of Scotland.
A form of these arms was first used by King William I in the 12th century. A register in the College of Arms in London describes the arms of the Kyng of Scottz as being Or, a lion rampant within a double tressure flory counter-flory Gules.
Throughout the ages the arms passed from monarch to succeeding monarch with only slight variations in detail. In some early examples the crest depicts the lion without a sceptre and holding the sword at an angle in the dexter paw, the sword blade passing behind the crowned head of the lion. Other versions show the unicorn supporters without their crowns, although being considered dangerous beasts they are always chained.
The motto and insignia of the Order of the Thistle are absent from early versions and the motto In My Defens God Me Defend also appears as In My Defens or simply In Defens, whilst always appearing above the crest in keeping with the conventions of Scots heraldry. The lions, both rampant and sejant affronte, are usually depicted with blue tongue and claws, in heraldic terms armed and langued azure, but this has not always been the case. The tail of the lion rampant often ends by falling away from the back of the animal but at times is depicted turning inwards towards the head. The lion rampant has even been been depicted on a banner wearing a crown in the style of the Norwegian coat of Arms.
Many of these relatively minor variations will have resulted from the individual efforts of stone masons, weavers, artists and sculptors throughout the ages in their attempts to create a facsimile of the arms of the period.
On the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1603, James VI, King of Scots inherited the English throne, becoming King James I of England and VI of Scotland. The Royal Coat of Arms of England were quartered with those of Scotland, and a quarter for the Kingdom of Ireland was also added, as the English monarch was also King of Ireland. In each of his independent kingdoms, King James used a slightly different version of the same arms and this distinction continued after the Acts of Union 1707.
The Royal Coat of Arms now used in Scotland show the lion of Scotland in the first and fourth quarters of the shield, with those of England in the second and the harp of Ireland in the third. The mottos 'In Defens' and Nemo me impune lacessit appear as in the original arms. (The Scots expression 'Wha Daur Meddle Wi' Me' is regarded as the root of the Latin motto, itself referring to the floral emblem of Scotland, the Thistle, which has sharp spikes at the tips of its leaves resulting in a painful sensation should they be handled without due respect, thus both the motto and insignia of The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle are retained in the current arms. Nemo me impune lacessit is also the motto of the Royal Regiment of Scotland). The sinister unicorn supporter is replaced by the Imperially crowned golden lion of England, who supports a lance displaying the flag of England. (The flag of Scotland replaces the banner of the arms supported by the dexter unicorn in the original version).
Since the Union of the Crowns these Scottish quarterings have been used for official purposes in Scotland, for example, on official buildings and official publications. The Scotland Office uses a version of the Royal Coat of Arms as used in Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, RCAHMS and the General Register Office for Scotland use a version of the crest.
The Royal Standard of Scotland, also known as the Lion Rampant, is the banner of the arms. It is now officially flown from Balmoral Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse when the Queen is not in residence. It is also used in an official capacity by the First Minister, Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Lord Lyon King of Arms and Lord Lieutenants in their Lieutenancies. Unofficially, it is commonly used as an alternative flag for Scotland most often seen on the terraces during football and rugby matches involving the Scottish national team. (The Scottish Football Association uses a logo based upon the Royal Arms).
The Royal Coat of Arms of Canada correspond to those of the United Kingdom 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 Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland in that each supporter not only supports the shield but also a lance displaying a flag.
Both the flag and coat of arms of Nova Scotia feature the Scottish arms. However, unlike the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada, those of Nova Scotia portray the unicorn as the Royally crowned dexter supporter, in the Scottish style.
The gold shield with double red tressure, but with maple leaves (érablé-counter-érablé) instead of fleurs-de-lis, is also used in the coat of arms of the Monarchist League of Canada, whose arms were granted by HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2002.
The standard of the Duke of Rothesay features on an inescutcheon the arms of the heir apparent to the King of Scots (the Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland with a three point label).
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