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A Profile of Scotland
It can be very hard to piece together from various websites and sources what are the actual basic facts about Scotland, so in these three blog posts I will be explaining the Songs of Scotland and the Flags of Scotland, along with this blog post:
A Profile of Scotland;
Scotland:
The royal shield of Scotland, used since William I
Otherwise known as: Alba (Scots Gaelic) Caledonia (by the Romans), Scotia (original name), Land of The Brave.
Language: English, Scots and Scots Gaelic
Capital: Edinburgh
Independent? To date, No. Before the Union of the Crowns in 1707, Scotland was an independent country (but since 1603
shared a monarch with England), but now is part of Great Britain/United Kingdom, though in recent years there have been
several attempts to make Scotland independent again. such as the 2014 Scottish Referendum. Currently, since 1997, the Scots
government is devolved from England.
Anthem: Technically, Scotland’s national anthem is that of the Untied Kingdom; “God Save the Queen” but Scotland has
adopted “Flower of Scotland” as it’s de-facto national anthem along with “Scotland the Brave” “Scots Wha Hae” and “Highland
Cathedral” after an online opinion poll in 2006, concluding “Flower of Scotland” as the favourite with 41% of votes. Other
favourites include Robert Burns’ “A Man’s a Man for A’ That” “Scotland Will Flourish” and of course the old favourite
“Auld Lang Syne”.
Flag: St Andrew’s Cross, aka the Saltire
The flag of Scotland.
National Animal: Unicorn
National Bird: Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
National Stone: Smokey Quartz
National Flower: Scottish Thistle (Onopordum acanthium)
National Tree: Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)
National Cloth: Tartan (unofficial)
National Instrument: Bagpipes
Motto: Latin: “Nemo me impune lacessit”, English: “No one provokes me with impunity” Scots: “Wha duar meddle wi me”
Scots Gaelic: “Cha togar m’ fhearg gun dìoladh”
National Hero: Robert the Bruce (11 Jul 1274 – 7 Jun 1329) Leader and champion of the Scots after defeating Edward II
Plantagenet at the Battle of Bannockburn and regained Scottish Independence until 1707.
King Robert the Bruce, the man on the right.
Coat of Arms/Heraldry:
Royal Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Scotland.
In Scotland, there was a separate coat of arms which served as the official coat of arms for the King of Scots from its selection in the 12th century until the end of Scotland’s independence in 1707 when Scotland became a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
Currently, Scotland’s coat of arms is that of the United Kingdom (shown above), but there are several versions that apply to different areas of heraldic customs, so if this interests you I suggest you have a look around, there are so many great websites out there!
Well I hope this blog post has dispelled some of the confusion surrounding some of the basic facts of Scotland, and as always,
happy researching!
