Nemo me impune lacessit

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The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, as used in Scotland, where the blue scroll displays the motto of the Order of the Thistle, Nemo me impune lacessit.

Nemo me impune lacessit is the Latin motto of the Order of the Thistle, a number of the Scottish-based regiments of the British Army ^[1] and is used on the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom in Scotland. It is often translated as roughly, None provoke me unpunished.

1 Scots translation
2 Present and historical use of the motto
3 Possible origin of the motto
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Scots translation

In the Scots language, the motto is often rendered as "Wha daur meddle wi me?"^[2] which, in standard English, literally means "Who dares meddle with me?".

[edit] Present and historical use of the motto

The royal Scottish motto, used historically for the Kingdom of Scotland where it appeared on the Royal Arms of Scotland. Today it is the motto the monarch of the United Kingdom uses when in Scotland, and it appears on the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom when in use in Scotland, and it has been the motto of the Order of the Thistle.

It is also the motto of the Order of the Thistle, the Scottish chivalrous order and of the British Army regiments The Royal Regiment of Scotland and Scots Guards. It was also the motto of the former Royal Scots, Royal Highland Fusiliers and Black Watch regiments, which all became part of the new Royal Regiment of Scotland in 2006. In Australia, the motto was also used by the Victoria Scottish Regiment, which subsequently became 5th Battalion Royal Victoria Regiment and is now just one of the rifle companies of 5th/6th Battalion Royal Victoria Regiment.

The motto appears as an inscription on the rim of the 1984 and 1994 "Scottish" editions of the British one pound coin and is also referenced in the Edgar Allan Poe story "The Cask of Amontillado" (Poe was adopted by a Scottish merchant).

The motto also appears (spelled "Nemo Me Impune Lacesset") above an American Timber Rattlesnake on a 1778 $20 bill from Georgia as an early example of the colonial use of the coiled rattlesnake symbol, which later became famous on the Gadsden flag. Also the phrase appears on american police mourning badges.

[edit] Possible origin of the motto

According to legend, the "guardian thistle" (see Scotch thistle) has played its part in the defence of the ancient realm of Scotland against a night attack by the Danes, one of whom let out a yell of pain when he stepped on a prickly thistle, thus alerting the Scottish defenders. In the motto "No-one touches me with impunity" (Latin: "Nemo me impune lacessit"), "me" was therefore originally the thistle itself, but by extension now refers to the Scottish crown and the Scottish regiments which have adopted it.

The French city of Nancy has a similar motto, Non inultus premor ("I cannot be touched with impunity"), also a reference to the thistle, which is the symbol of the region of Lorraine.