The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order
of the Thistle is an order of
chivalry associated with Scotland
. The
current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King
James VII of Scotland (also known as
James II of England) who
asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order. The Order consists
of the Sovereign and sixteen Knights and Ladies, as well as certain
"extra" knights (members of the
British Royal Family and foreign
monarchs). The Sovereign alone grants membership of the Order; he
or she is not advised by the Government, as occurs with most other
Orders. The sixteen members are required to be Scottish-born ,
though not the "extra" knights and ladies.
The Order's primary emblem is the
thistle,
the
national flower of Scotland. The
motto is
Nemo me impune
lacessit (
Latin for "No one provokes
me with
impunity"); the same motto also
appears on the
Royal
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom for use in Scotland, on some
pound coin and is also the
motto of the
Royal Regiment
of Scotland,
Scots Guards and
Royal Scots Dragoon
Guards. The
patron saint of the
Order is
St Andrew.
Most
British orders of chivalry cover the whole United Kingdom
, but the three most exalted ones each pertain to
one constituent
country only. The Order of the Thistle, which pertains
to Scotland, is the second-most senior in precedence.
Its equivalent in
England
, The Most Noble
Order of the Garter, is the oldest documented order of chivalry
in the United Kingdom, dating to the middle fourteenth
century. In 1783 an Irish
equivalent,
The Most Illustrious Order of St
Patrick, was founded; since the independence of the greater part of
Ireland the Order has fallen dormant (its last surviving knight
having died in 1974).
History
James VII claimed that he was reviving an earlier Order, but this
issue is marked by widely varying claims.
According
to legend, Achaius, King of Scots (possibly coming to the aid of
Óengus mac Fergusa, King of the Picts), while engaged in
battle at Athelstaneford
with the Saxon King
Aethelstan of East Anglia,
saw in the heavens the cross of St
Andrew. After he won the battle, Achaius is said to have
established the Order of the Thistle, dedicating it to the saint,
in 786. The tale is not credible, because the two individuals
purported to have fought each other did not even live in the same
century. Another story states that Achaius founded the Order in 809
to commemorate an alliance with the Emperor
Charlemagne. There is some credibility to this
story given the fact that Charlemagne did employ Scottish
bodyguards.
There is, in addition, a tradition that the
order was instituted, or re-instituted, on the battlefield by
Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn
.
The earliest claim now taken seriously by historians is that
James III, who adopted the
thistle as the royal plant badge and issued coins depicting
thistles, founded the Order during the fifteenth century.
Others
state that James V, who had been
admitted to the Order of the
Golden Fleece in the Holy Roman
Empire, the Order of St
Michael in France
, and the
Order of the Garter in England established
the Order of the Thistle in 1540 because he was embarrassed that he
had no honour to confer on foreign monarchs. He allegedly
conferred membership of the "Order of the Burr or Thissil" on King
Francis I of France.
However there is no conclusive evidence for a fifteenth century
order. Some Scottish order of chivalry probably existed during the
sixteenth century, possibly founded by James V and called the Order
of St. Andrew, but had lapsed by the end of that century.
James VII issued
letters patent
"reviving and restoring the Order of the Thistle to its full glory,
lustre and magnificency" on 29 May 1687. Eight knights, out of a
maximum of twelve, were appointed, but the King was deposed in
1688. His successors, the joint monarchs
William and Mary, did not make any further
appointments to the Order, which consequently fell into
desuetude. In 1703, however,
Anne once again revived the Order of
the Thistle, which survives to this day.
Composition
The
Kings of Scotland—later the
Kings of Great
Britain
and of the United Kingdom—have served as Sovereigns of the Order. When
James VII revived the Order, the statutes stated that the Order
would continue the ancient number of Knights, which was described
in the preceding warrant as "the Sovereign and twelve
Knights-Brethren in allusion to the
Blessed
Saviour and his
Twelve
Apostles". In 1827,
George IV augmented the
Order to sixteen members. Women (other than
Queens regnant) were originally excluded from
the Order;
George VI
created his wife
Elizabeth
Bowes-Lyon a Lady of the Thistle in 1937 via a special statute,
and in 1987
Elizabeth
II allowed the regular admission of women to both the Order of
the Thistle and the Order of the Garter.
From time to time, individuals may be admitted to the Order by
special statutes. Such members are known as "Extra Knights" and do
not count towards the sixteen-member limit. Members of the British
Royal Family are normally admitted through this procedure; the
first to be so admitted was
Prince Albert. King
Olav V of Norway, the first
foreigner to be admitted to the Order, was also admitted by special
statute in 1962.
The Sovereign has historically had the power to choose Knights of
the Order. From the eighteenth century onwards, the Sovereign made
his or her choices upon the advice of the Government.
George VI felt that the
Orders of the Garter and the Thistle had been used only for
political patronage, rather than to reward actual merit. Therefore,
with the agreement of the Prime Minister (
Clement Attlee) and the Leader of the
Opposition (
Winston Churchill) in
1946, both Orders returned to the personal gift of the
Sovereign.
Knights and Ladies of the Thistle may also be admitted to the Order
of the Garter. Formerly, many, but not all, Knights elevated to the
senior Order would resign from the Order of the Thistle. The first
to resign from the Order of the Thistle was
John Campbell, 2nd Duke of
Argyll in 1710; the last to take such an action was
Thomas Dundas, 2nd Earl of
Zetland in 1872. Knights and Ladies of the Thistle may also be
deprived of their knighthoods. The only individual to have suffered
such a fate was
John
Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar who lost both the knighthood and the
earldom after participating in the
Jacobite rising of 1715.
The Order has five officers: the
Dean, the
Chancellor, the
Usher, the
Lord Lyon King of Arms and the
Secretary.
The Dean is normally a cleric of the Church of
Scotland
. This office was not part of the original
establishment, but was created in 1763 and joined to the office of
Dean of the Chapel Royal.
The two offices were separated in 1969. The office of Chancellor is
mentioned and given custody of the seal of the Order in the 1687
statutes, but no-one was appointed to the position until 1913. The
office has subsequently been held by one of the knights, though not
necessarily the most senior. The Usher of the Order is the
Gentleman Usher of the Green
Rod (unlike his Garter equivalent, the
Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, he does not have
another function assisting the House of Lords). The
Lord Lyon King of
Arms, head of the Scottish heraldic establishment and whose
office predates his association with the Order serves as King of
Arms of the Order. The Lord Lyon often—but not invariably—also
serves as the Secretary.
Vestments and accoutrements
The star of the Order of the
Thistle
For the Order's great occasions, such as its annual service each
June or July, as well for
coronations, the Knights
and Ladies wear an elaborate costume:
- The mantle is a green robe worn over their suits or
military uniforms. The mantle is lined with white taffeta; it is
tied with green and gold tassels. On the left shoulder of the
mantle, the star of the Order (see below) is depicted.
- The hat is made of black velvet and is plumed with
white feathers with a black egret or heron's top in the
middle.
- The collar is made of gold and depicts thistles and
sprigs of rue. It is worn over the mantle.
- The St Andrew, also called the
badge-appendant, is worn suspended from the collar. It
comprises a gold enamelled depiction of St Andrew, wearing a green
gown and purple coat, holding a white saltire. Gold rays of a glory are shown emanating from
St Andrew's head.
Aside from these special occasions, however, much simpler insignia
are used whenever a member of the Order attends an event at which
decorations are worn.
- The star of the Order consists of a silver St Andrew's
saltire, with clusters of rays between the arms thereof. In the
centre is depicted a green circle bearing the motto of the Order in
gold majuscules; within the circle, there
is depicted a thistle on a gold field. It is worn pinned to the
left breast. (Since the Order of the Thistle is the second-most
senior chivalric order in the UK, a member will wear its star above
that of other orders to which he or she belongs, except that of the
Order of the Garter; up to four orders' stars may be worn.)
- The broad riband is a dark green
sash worn across the body, from the left shoulder to the right
hip.
- At the right hip of the Riband, the badge of the Order
is attached. The badge depicts St Andrew in the same form as the
badge-appendant surrounded by the Order's motto.
However, on certain
collar days
designated by the Sovereign, members attending formal events may
wear the Order's collar over their military uniform, formal wear,
or other costume. They will then substitute the broad riband of
another order to which they belong (if any), since the Order of the
Thistle is represented by the collar.
Upon the death of a Knight or Lady, the insignia must be returned
to the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood. The badge and
star are returned personally to the Sovereign by the nearest
relative of the deceased.
Officers of the Order also wear green robes. The Gentleman Usher of
the Green Rod also bears, as the title of his office suggests, a
green rod.
Chapel
Stall plates of Knights of the
Thistle
When
James VII created the modern Order in 1687, he directed that the
Abbey Church at the Palace of Holyroodhouse
be converted to a Chapel for the Order of the
Thistle, perhaps copying the idea from the Order of the Garter
(whose chapel is located in Windsor Castle
). James VII, however, was deposed by 1688;
the Chapel, meanwhile, had been destroyed during riots.
The Order
did not have a Chapel until 1911, when one was added onto St Giles High Kirk in Edinburgh
. Each year, the Sovereign resides at the
Palace of Holyroodhouse for a week in June or July; during the
visit, a service for the Order is held. Any new Knights or Ladies
are installed at annual services.
Each member of the Order, including the Sovereign, is allotted a
stall in the Chapel, above which his or her heraldic devices are
displayed. Perched on the pinnacle of a knight's stall is his helm,
decorated with mantling and topped by his crest. If he is a
peer, the
coronet
appropriate to his rank is placed beneath the helm. Under the laws
of heraldry, women, other than monarchs, do not normally bear helms
nor crests; instead, the coronet alone is used (if she is a peeress
or princess). Lady
Marion Fraser had a
helm and crest included when she was granted arms; these are
displayed above her stall in the same manner as for knights. Unlike
other British Orders, the
armorial
banners of Knights and Ladies of the Thistle
are not hung in the chapel, but instead in an adjacent part of St
Giles High Kirk. The Thistle Chapel does, however, bear the arms of
members living and deceased on stall plates. These enamelled plates
are affixed to the back of the stall and display its occupant's
name, arms, and date of admission into the Order.
Upon the death of a Knight, helm, mantling, crest (or coronet or
crown) and sword are taken down. The stall plates, however, are not
removed; rather, they remain permanently affixed to the back of the
stall, so that the stalls of the chapel are festooned with a
colourful record of the Order's Knights (and now Ladies) since
1911. The entryway just outside the doors of the chapel has the
names of the Order's Knights from before 1911 inscribed into the
walls giving a complete record of the members of the order.
Precedence and privileges
The Royal arms encircled by the collar
of the Order.
The badge of the Order is depicted suspended from the
collar.
Knights and Ladies of the Thistle may also use the circlet,
collar and badge on their arms.
Knights and Ladies of the Thistle are assigned positions in the
order of precedence,
ranking above all others of knightly rank except the
Order of the Garter, and above baronets.
Wives, sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of Knights of the
Thistle also feature on the order of precedence; relatives of
Ladies of the Thistle, however, are not assigned any special
precedence. (Generally, individuals can derive precedence from
their fathers or husbands, but not from their mothers or
wives.)
Knights of the Thistle prefix "Sir", and Ladies prefix "Lady", to
their forenames. Wives of Knights may prefix "Lady" to their
surnames, but no equivalent privilege exists for husbands of
Ladies. Such forms are not used by peers and princes, except when
the names of the former are written out in their fullest
forms.
Knights and Ladies use the post-nominal letters "KT" and "LT"
respectively. When an individual is entitled to use multiple
post-nominal letters, "KT" or "LT" appears before all others,
except "Bt" or "Btss" (
Baronet or
Baronetess), "VC" (
Victoria Cross), "GC" (
George Cross) and "KG" or "LG" (Knight or Lady
of the Garter).
Knights and Ladies may encircle their arms with the circlet (a
green circle bearing the Order's motto) and the collar of the
Order; the former is shown either outside or on top of the latter.
The badge is depicted suspended from the collar. The Royal Arms
depict the collar and motto of the Order of the Thistle only in
Scotland; they show the circlet and motto of the Garter in England,
Wales and Northern Ireland.
Knights and Ladies are also entitled to receive heraldic
supporters. This high privilege is only shared by
members of the Royal Family, peers, Knights and Ladies of the
Garter, and Knights and Dames Grand Cross of the junior orders of
chivalry.
Current members and officers
- Sovereign: The Queen
- Knights and Ladies Companion:
- Supernumerary Knights and Ladies:
- Officers:
See also
Notes
References
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