The Thistle - National Emblem of Scotland

Northern Ireland - St. Patrick and the Shamrock

Wales - St. David and the Daffodil

Scotland - St. Andrew - the Thistle and Scottish Bluebell

EMBLEMS OF BRITAIN

Each country in Britain has its own patron saint and floral emblem: England - St. George and the Rose

The national flower of England is the rose. The flower has been adopted as England’s emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).

The national flower of Scotland is the thistle, a prickly-leaved purple flower which was first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defense. The Scottish Bluebell is also seen as the flower of Scotland.

The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St. David’s Day. The vegetable called leek is also considered to be a traditional emblem of Wales.

There are many explanations of how the leek came to be adopted as the national emblem of Wales. One is that St David advised the Welsh, on the eve of battle with the Saxons, to wear leeks in their caps to distinguish friend from foe. As Shakespeare records in Henry V, the Welsh archers wore leeks at the battle of Agincourt in 1415.

The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a three-leaved plant similar to clover. An Irish tale tells of how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

Common throughout the highlands, islands and lowlands of Scotland, the prickly purple thistle has been Scotland's national emblem for centuries. This proud and regal plant, which grows to a height of five feet, has no natural enemies because of the vicious spines that cover and protect it like a porcupine.

There are several different legends that tell how the thistle became Scotland's symbol, but most date from the reign of Alexander III and in particular the events surrounding the Battle of Largs in 1263.

It is often forgotten, that for hundreds of years much of Scotland was part of the Kingdom of Norway. By 1263 however, Norway seems to have had little interest in their former territory, that was until King Alexander III proposed to buy back the Western Isles and Kintyre from the Norse King Haakon IV. The thought of relieving King Alexander of some of his riches and territories appears to have re-kindled Norse interest in Scotland.

Late in the summer of 1263 King Haakon of Norway, now intent on conquering the Scots, set off with a sizeable fleet of longships for the Scottish coast. Gales and fierce storms forced some of the ships onto the beach at Largs in Ayrshire, and a Norwegian force was landed.

Legend has it that at some point during the invasion the Norsemen tried to surprise the sleeping Scottish Clansmen. In order to move more stealthily under the cover of darkness the Norsemen removed their footwear. But as they crept barefoot they came across an area of ground covered in thistles and one of Haakon's men unfortunately stood on one and shrieked out in pain, thus alerting the Clansmen to the advancing Norsemen.

His shout warned the Scots who defeated the Norsemen at the Battle of Largs, thus saving Scotland from invasion. The important role that the thistle had played was recognised and so was chosen as Scotland's national emblem.

The first use of the thistle as a royal symbol of Scotland was on silver coins issued by James III in 1470.

It is said that the Order of the Thistle, the highest honour in Scotland, was founded in 1540 by King James V who, after being honoured with the Order of the Garter from his uncle King Henry VIII of England and with the Golden Fleece from the Emperor of France, felt a little left out. He resolved the issue by creating the royal title of Order of the Thistle for himself and twelve of his knights, ‘…in allusion to the Blessed Saviour and his Twelve Apostles'. He set up the arms and badges of the order over the gate of his palace at Linlithgow.

The common badge worn by the knights is a cross surmounted by a star of four silver points, and over this a green circle bordered and lettered with gold, containing the motto " Nemo me impune lacessit", "No-one harms me without punishment" but more commonly translated in Scots as "Wha daurs meddle wi me", in the centre is the thistle. The badge is normally worn over the left breast

The Leek - the national emblem of the Welsh

Proudly sported every St. David’s Day on 1st March and at every international rugby match, the leek is now widely recognised as the national symbol of Wales. But why is it that patriotic Welshmen and women across the world attach this strong smelling member of the onion family to their clothing? The true origins are now perhaps lost in myth and legend; however the history can certainly be traced back at least seven hundred years. During Elizabethan times, Shakespeare refers to the custom of wearing a leek as an "ancient tradition", and his character Henry V tells Fluellen that he is wearing a leek "for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman." Even earlier than this, entries in the household accounts of the ‘Welsh’ Tudor Kings of England, record payments for leeks worn by the household guards on St. David's Day. Earlier still in the fourteenth century, it is known that the feared Welsh archers adopted the green and white colours of the leek for their uniforms, perhaps at the Battle of Crecy. Earlier than this however, myth and legend begin to intertwine. According to one legend recorded by the English poet Michael Drayton in the early 1600’s, the leek was associated with St. David the Patron Saint of Wales who died in 589 AD. It is possible that the poet made up the story; however it tells how St. David ordered his soldiers to wear the leek on their helmets in a battle against the hated pagan Saxon invaders of Britain. The battle itself is also said to have taken place in a field full of leeks.

It is indeed likely that the Welsh association with the leek predates St. David by hundreds and possibly thousands of years, to an age when people worshipped trees, plants and other such aspects of Mother Nature. To an age before Christianity, and perhaps to the last stronghold of the Druids on the Island of Anglesey. The Druids were not only the Priests, Doctors, Poets and Minstrels of ancient Celtia, they were also the teachers who retained the sacred knowledge of ancient times. It is in such times that the leek's reputation as a medicine to cure a variety of illnesses would have been most appreciated and perhaps even revered. It was highly regarded as a cure for the common cold, alleviating the pains of childbirth and was a tasty, healthy ingredient in cawl, the traditional Welsh broth. It could seemingly offer protection against wounds in battle or against being struck by lightning, and was also a means of foretelling the future and for keeping away evil spirits It is also claimed that by placing a leek under a pillow at night, young maidens could see the features of their future husbands. And so today each year on St. David's Day the leek is worn in the cap badges of every soldier in every Welsh regiment. Outside the army however, many other Welsh folk have substituted the daffodil for the leek, perhaps because it looks more attractive and certainly smells a lot better. Interesting to note however, that one of the many Welsh names for a daffodil is Cenhinen Bedr, or Peter's leek.

As to the relative merits of the leek and the daffodil, it is purely a matter of personal choice as to which to wear on St. David's Day. However the authorities decided in 1984 that the British £1 coin representing the Welsh part of the United Kingdom would feature the leek on the reverse.

Poppy - мак (символ мира) Red rose - алая роза (эмблема династии Ланкастеров, эмблема Англии) Daffodil - желтый нарцисс (вторая эмблема Уэльса) Leek - лук-порей (национальная эмблема Уэльса) Shamrock - трилистник (эмблема Ирландии) Thistle - чертополох (эмблема Шотландии) See more about the emblems
The mild climate of Great Britain is good for plants and flowers. Some of them have become symbols in the UK. Poppy is the symbol of peace, the red rose is the national emblem of England, the thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. The daffodils and the leek are the emblems of Wales, the shamrock is the emblem of Ireland.
The Red Rose was the emblem of the Lancastrians (приверженцы династии Ланкастеров, королевской династии, враждовавшей с династей Йорков), the white rose that of the Yorkists, the two contending Houses for the English throne in the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485). All rivalry between the Roses ended by the marriage of Henry VII, the Lancastrian with Princes Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, the Yorkist. The Red rose has since become the national emblem of England.
The Thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. There is a curious legend, according to which, the homely plant came to be chosen as a badge, in preference, to any other. In very ancient times the Norsemen once landed somewhere on the east coast of Scotland, with the intention of setting in the country. The Scots assembled with their arms and took their stations behind the river Tay. As they arrived late in the day, tired after a long march, they pitched their camp and rested, not expecting the enemy before the next day. The Norsemen, however, were near; noticing that no guards protected the camp, they crossed the river, intending to take the Scots by surprise, when they were sleeping. So they look off their shoes in order to make least noise possible. But one of the Norsemen stepped on a thistle. The sudden and sharp pain he felt caused him to cry. The alarm was given in the Scots camp. So the Scots look thistle as their national emblem as an acknowledgement for the timely and unexpected help.
Welshmen all over the world celebrate St.David's Day by wearing either leeks or daffodils. The link between the leek and St.David is the belief that he is supposed to have lived for several years on bread and wild leeks.
The daffodil is also associated with St.David's Day, due to the belief that it flowers on that day. It became an alternative to the Leek as a Welsh emblem in the present century, because some thought the leek vulgar.
What the red rose is to English men and the leek and daffodil to the Welsh, the little Shamrock is to the Irish. And they all wear this national emblem on St.Patrick's Day, March, 17. It is worn in memory of Irelands patron saint, whose cross is embodied in the Union Jack. A popular notion is that when preaching the doctrine of the Trinity to the pagan Irish St.Patrick used the shamrock.