Wednesday, 25 July 2018

The Legend of how the Thistle became the flower of Scotland



The Scots Thistle

The prickly purple thistle was adopted as the Emblem of Scotland during the reign of Alexander III
 (1249 -1286). Legend has it that an Army of King Haakon of Norway, intent on conquering the
 Scots landed at the Coast of Largs at night to surprise the sleeping Scottish Clansmen. In order to move more stealthily under the cover of darkness the Norsemen removed their footwear.

As they drew near to the Scots it wasn't the only thing hiding under the cover of darkness. For one of  Haakon's men unfortunately stood on one of these spiny little defenders and shrieked out in pain, alerting the Clansmen of the advancing Norsemen. Needless to say it was the Scots who won the day.
The first use of the Thistle as a royal symbol of Scotland was on silver coins issued by James III in 1470
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1 comment:

  1. Esther21 December 2018 at 17:38

    Fascinating bit of history!
    The thistle reminds me of your Great Nana, of Braveheart and of riding ponies when I was little (my ponies always carefully but the flower off as a special treat).

    ReplyDelete

Thank-you for your positive, thoughtful, helpful comment.

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