Nemo me impune lacessit

Royal arms in Scotland, showing on a blue scroll the motto of the Order of the Thistle
Star of the Order of the Thistle, bearing the motto on a circlet

Nemo me impune lacessit (Latin for 'No one provokes me with impunity') is the national motto of Scotland.[1][2][3] It also served as the national motto of the historic Kingdom of Scotland prior to the Treaty of Union 1707.[4]

The motto was the Latin motto of the Royal Stuart dynasty of Scotland from at least the reign of James VI when it appeared on the reverse side of merk coins minted in 1578 and 1580.[5][6] It is the adopted motto of the Order of the Thistle and of three Scottish regiments of the British Army.[7]

The motto also appears, in conjunction with the collar of the Order of the Thistle, in later versions of the royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland and subsequently in the version of the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom used in Scotland. It has been loosely rendered in Scots as Wha daur meddle wi' me?[8] (in Scottish Gaelic Cha togar m' fhearg gun dìoladh, pronounced [xa ˈt̪okəɾ ˈmɛɾak kuɲ ˈtʲiəl̪ˠəɣ] ). It more or less translates as 'No one can harm me without (detrimental) consequence' or 'Whatever harm comes to me, shall be returned'.

  1. ^ "Scotland's Motto". www.nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 16 February 2024. Scotland's Motto - Nemo me input lacessit - Thistle. Quae nocent docent. - Volunteer. Or, freely translated, No one injures me with impunity -- Thistle. Things which injure instruct - Volunteer
  2. ^ Blaikie, W. Garden (1894). The Peasantry of Scotland. pp. 327–336. Retrieved 17 February 2024. "The Scot Abroad" was a sturdy customer, notwithstanding his weaknesses and prejudices, and bore the stamp of the national motto, Nemo me impune lacessit.
  3. ^ Mengel, Elias F. (1973). "The Dunciad Illustrations". Eighteenth-Century Studies. 7 (2): 161–178. doi:10.2307/3031652. ISSN 0013-2586. The motto, Nemo me impune lacessit, is not only that of Scotland but also that of the Order of the Thistle, the distinctively Scottish order of knighthood.
  4. ^ "Scottish fact of the day: Nemo me impune lacessit | The Scotsman".
  5. ^ Numismatology article in The Popular Encyclopedia. 1841. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  6. ^ Coin from reign of James VI, retrieved 17 August 2014
  7. ^ "A reputation forged in heat of war – Telegraph". Archived from the original on 25 November 2004.
  8. ^ "the motto 'Nemo me impune lacessit' (No one provokes me with impunity – or, in Old Scots, 'Wha daur meddle wi' me'.)" Archived 6 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Scottish Field magazine, retrieved 2 October 2009

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