Coat of arms of Scotland

Royal Arms of Scotland
Versions
Heraldic tabard and caparison
Banner of arms, which serves as the royal standard
Achievement
Armiger	Monarchs of Scotland
Adopted	Late Middle Ages
Shield	Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second
Motto	Scots: In My Defens God Me Defend (abbr. In Defens)
Use	Second quarters of current Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom First and fourth quarters of current Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom for usage in Scotland Usage granted by the monarch to the First Minister of Scotland Recognised as one of the National symbols of Scotland

The coat of arms of Scotland, colloquially called the Lion Rampant, is the coat of arms historically used as arms of dominion by the monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland, and later by monarchs of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. The coat of arms, or elements from it, are also used in heraldry to symbolise Scotland in general. The arms consist of a red lion surrounded by a red double border decorated with fleurs-de-lis, all on a gold background. The blazon, or heraldic description, is: Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second.

The coat of arms was adopted in the 12th century by William the Lion and has been used by successive Scottish and British monarchs. It currently forms part of the coat of arms of the United Kingdom, where it is quartered with the arms of England and Ireland. There are two versions of the United Kingdom's arms, one which gives England prominence and other which gives Scotland prominence; the latter includes other Scottish symbolism in the full achievement, such as the collar of the Order of the Thistle.

The coat of arms rarely appears in isolation in royal or government contexts, as the arms of the United Kingdom are used instead. One exception is the royal banner—the arms in flag form—which can be used by some high-ranking representatives of the monarch in Scotland; this includes the First Minister of Scotland in their capacity as Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland.^[1] The banner is also flown from the Scottish royal residences when the monarch is not present. As the arms are a national symbol of Scotland they are often used to represent the country, for example in the arms of Canada. Elements of the arms are frequently found in the arms of Scottish institutions, such as the Scottish Football Association, University of St Andrews, and Aberdeen City Council.