Scottish Thistle

The thistle has been the national emblem of Scotland since the reign of King Alexander III (1249–1286).[citation needed] According to legend, an invading Norse army was attempting to sneak up at night upon a Scottish army's encampment. One barefoot Norseman stepped on a thistle and cried out in pain, thus alerting Scots to the presence of the invaders. Possibly, this happened in 1263 during the Battle of Largs, which marked the beginning of the departure of King Haakon IV (Haakon the Elder) of Norway who, having control of the Northern Isles and Hebrides, had harried the coast of the Kingdom of Scotland for some years.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/British_florin_1967_reverse.png/200px-British_florin_1967_reverse.png
Reverse of a 1967 florin: thistles, shamrocks, leeks, & rose
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Five_New_Pence.jpg/200px-Five_New_Pence.jpg
Reverse of five pence: crowned thistle
The thistle was used on silver coins first issued by King James III in 1474 as a Scottish symbol and national emblem. In 1536, the bawbee, a sixpence in the pound Scots, was issued for the first time under King James V; it showed a crowned thistle. Thistles continued to appear regularly on Scottish and later British coinage until 2008, when a 5p coin design showing "The Badge of Scotland, a thistle royally crowned" ceased to be minted, though it remains in circulation. The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, the highest and oldest chivalric order of Scotland, has thistles on its insignia and a chapel in St Giles's Kirk, Edinburgh, dubbed the Thistle Chapel. The thistle is the main charge of the regimental badge of the Scots Guards, the oldest regiment in the British Army.
Both the Order of the Thistle and the Scots Guards use the motto Nemo me impune lacessit, the motto of the House of Stuart and referring to the thistle's prickly nature. Pound coins with this motto and a thistle were minted in 1984, 1989, and 2014. The combination of thistle and motto first appeared on the bawbee issued by King Charles II. In 1826, the grant of arms to the new National Bank of Scotland stipulates that the shield be surrounded by thistles and "thistle" is used as the name of several Scottish football clubs. Since 1960, a stylised thistle, also representing the Scottish Saltire, has been the logo of the Scottish National Party.[citation needed] The thistle is also seen as the logo for Scottish Rugby. Many businesses in Scotland choose this symbol to represent their organization. 
Since 2013, a different stylised thistle, crowned with the Scottish crown, has been the emblem of Police Scotland, and had long featured in the arms of seven of the eight pre-2013 Scottish police services and constabularies, the sole exception being the Northern Constabulary. As part of the arms of the University of Edinburgh, the thistle appears together with a saltire on one of the escutcheons of the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh. The coat of arms and crest of Nova Scotia ("New Scotland"), briefly Scotland's colony, have since the 17th century featured thistles. Following his ascent to the English throne, King James VI of Scotland & I of England used a badge consisting of a Tudor rose "dimidiated" with a Scottish thistle and surmounted by a royal crown.
As the floral emblem of Scotland it appears in the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom thereafter, and was included in the heraldry of various British institutions, such as the Badge of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom alongside the Tudor rose, Northern Irish flax, and Welsh leek. This floral combination appears on the present issues of the one pound coin. Beside the Tudor rose and Irish shamrock the thistle appears on the badge of the Yeomen of the Guard and the arms of the Canada Company. Issues of the historical florin showed the same flora, later including a leek.[citation needed]
The thistle is also used to symbolise connection with Scotland overseas. For example, in Canada, it is one of the four floral emblems on the flag of Montreal; in the US, Carnegie Mellon University features the thistle in its crest in honour of the Scottish heritage of its founder, Andrew Carnegie, and Annapolis, Maryland features the thistle in its flag and seal. The thistle is also the emblem of the Encyclopædia Britannica (which originated in Edinburgh, Scotland) and Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (as the company was founded by two Scots).
Which species of thistle is referred to in the original legend is disputed. Popular modern usage favours cotton thistle (Onopordum acanthium), perhaps because of its more imposing appearance, though it is not native and unlikely to have occurred in Scotland in mediaeval times. The spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare), an abundant native species in Scotland, is a more likely candidate. Other species, including dwarf thistle (Cirsium acaule), musk thistle (Carduus nutans), and melancholy thistle (Cirsium heterophyllum) have also been suggested.
* https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Thistle_Royal_Badge_of_Scotland.svg/196px-Thistle_Royal_Badge_of_Scotland.svg.png Scottish thistle as a Heraldic badge
* https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Badge_of_the_Yeomen_of_the_Guard.svg/251px-Badge_of_the_Yeomen_of_the_Guard.svg.png Badge of the Yeomen of the Guard
* https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Union_of_the_Crowns_Royal_Badge.svg/196px-Union_of_the_Crowns_Royal_Badge.svg.png Badge of James VI & I. Thistle dimidiated with a Tudor rose
Category:Symbols of Scotland