Motto of the Kingdom of Scotland
In my defens God me defend
(
Scottish Gaelic
:
Ann an Dia mo dhion dion mi
) is the
motto
of both the
royal coat of arms
of the
Kingdom of Scotland
and
royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
used in
Scotland
.
[1]
[2]
Contemporary versions of the royal arms show an abbreviated motto, in the form of
in defens
or, where
English
is used as an alternative,
in defence
.
[3]
The motto appears above the
crest
of the arms, in the tradition of
Scottish heraldry
.
[4]
[5]
Origins
[
edit
]
Adopted during the reign of the
Stewart dynasty
, and certainly in use by the reign of
James IV
(1488?1513),
[6]
In my defens God me defend
was originally the only motto associated with Scotland's royal arms,
[7]
with versions appearing in both truncated and abbreviated forms;
[8]
In my defens
, for example, having been adopted for the royal arms of James IV. (An
embroidered
wall hanging depicting these arms is displayed in the Great Hall at
Stirling Castle
). Later versions of the arms which feature the abbreviated form
in defens
include the armorial by
Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount
, which appears in his
Register of Scottish Arms
(1542).
The motto is also associated with an old Scots prayer, of which there are several versions where
In my defens God me defend
appears as the opening line, including:
In my defence God me defend
And bring my sawl to ane good end
ane vertuous lyf procureth ane happie death...
[9]
And:
In my defence God me defend
And bring my soul to ane good end
When I am sick and like to die
Father of Heaven have mercy on me.
[10]
Also, in the form of a
couplet
:
In my defense God me defend
and bring my saulle to ane guid end O Lord.
[11]
Another variation of the phrase, appearing as
Be my defens God me defend forever more
, is to be found engraved upon a number of traditional
Ballock knives
, with one particular example (dated 1624) now forming part of the Arms and Armour collection of the
Art Institute of Chicago
.
[12]
Nemo me impune lacessit
[
edit
]
During the reign of
Charles II
(1660?1685), the royal arms used in Scotland were augmented with the inclusion of the
Latin
motto of the
Order of the Thistle
,
[3]
the highest
chivalric order
of the Kingdom of Scotland.
[13]
The motto of the Order of the Thistle,
Nemo me impune lacessit
, appears on a blue
scroll
overlying the
compartment
.
[14]
(Previously, only the
collar
of the Order of the Thistle had appeared on the arms.)
The addition by King Charles of
Nemo me impune lacessit
ensured that the
blazon
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 the
Old French
motto of the
Order of the Garter
, the highest chivalric order of the
Kingdom of England
. The motto of the Order of the Garter,
Honi soit qui mal y pense
, appears on a representation of the
garter
surrounding the
shield
. Thenceforth, the versions of the Royal arms used in Scotland and elsewhere were to include both the motto of the arms of the respective kingdom
and
the motto of the associated order of chivalry.
Confusion
[
edit
]
The rules governing
heraldry
and armorial achievements in England have possibly resulted in a degree of confusion as to the status of the mottoes associated with both the royal coat of arms of Scotland and those of the United Kingdom used in Scotland. In English heraldry the motto is placed beneath the shield, whereas in Scottish heraldry the motto is placed above the crest.
[15]
Appearing beneath the shield may have led to the conclusion that
Nemo me impune lacessit
is the motto of the royal arms, whereas historical evidence coupled with the conventions of heraldry in Scotland
[16]
would suggest that
In my defens God me defend
is the motto of the royal arms and therefore the motto of Scotland itself.
[
citation needed
]
Usage
[
edit
]
The motto
In defens
not only appears on the royal arms, but also, in conjunction with the crest of the Royal arms, upon the logo of both the
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
and the
General Register Office for Scotland
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Nichols, John (1823).
"The Progress and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth, by John Nichols"
.
Archived
from the original on 30 April 2016
. Retrieved
30 December
2015
.
- ^
Coke, Sir Edward (1671).
"The Fourth part of the Institutes of Laws of England: Concerning the Jurisdiction of Courts, by Edward Coke"
.
Archived
from the original on 17 June 2016
. Retrieved
30 December
2015
.
- ^
a
b
McKenzie, Raymond (2002).
Public Sculpture of Glasgow by Ray McKenzie, Gary Nisbet
. Liverpool University Press.
ISBN
9780853239376
.
Archived
from the original on 1 May 2016
. Retrieved
30 December
2015
.
- ^
"The Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada"
. Archived from
the original
on 17 May 2007.
- ^
"International Civic Heraldry"
.
Archived
from the original on 10 October 2007
. Retrieved
15 May
2008
.
- ^
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
(PDF)
. Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. p. 171. Archived from the original on 11 June 2007.
over it an open royal crown, above which there is the remains of a scroll, showing apparently the letters . . . FENS: the termination of the inscription IN DEFENS ? Above the head, and outside the horns of the unicorns, we have on the right side the letter I, and on the left the figure four, the ancient form of the fourth figure, being the initials of Jacobus IV.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
Ames, Joseph
(1790).
Typographical Antiquities: an historical account of printing in England
. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p. 1519.
ISBN
9781843713586
.
- ^
"National Museums of Scotland ? Book stamp associated with James VI"
.
Archived
from the original on 23 July 2011
. Retrieved
15 May
2008
.
- ^
"Electric Scotland"
.
Archived
from the original on 13 May 2008
. Retrieved
15 May
2008
.
- ^
"Annals of Banff: Index to old cemetery-Grave #423"
.
Archived
from the original on 16 October 2010
. Retrieved
26 May
2010
.
- ^
The Whole Book: Cultural Perspectives on the Medieval Miscellany by Stephen G. Nichols, Siegfried Wenzel ? 1996 ? Bodleian Library MS Arch. Selden B.24: A "Transitional" Collection.
A S G Edwards ? Appendix: Bodleian MS Arch f. 231v
Archived
25 April 2016 at the
Wayback Machine
Accessed 28 July 2008
- ^
My Armoury
Archived
15 February 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
Accessed 28 July 2008
- ^
"British Monarchy web site"
.
Archived
from the original on 22 November 2008
. Retrieved
15 May
2008
.
- ^
Heraldry ? The Arms of the Earl of Dundee
Archived
27 August 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
(taken from a book "Scottish Heraldry" by MD Dennis, published in 1999 by the Heraldic Society of Scotland:
ISBN
0-9525258-2-8
)
- ^
"Cheshire-Heraldry"
.
Archived
from the original on 16 May 2008
. Retrieved
15 May
2008
.
the Scottish matriculation of Arms [...] differ from an English grant in that the motto is above the crest.
- ^
"Cayman Islands Govt"
. Archived from
the original
on 23 April 2006
. Retrieved
15 May
2008
.
The Motto and its scroll may be of any colour, and may be shown either below the shield, English style, or above the crest, Scottish fashion.
External links
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