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TATTOO DESIGNS & SYMBOLS - THISTLE TATTOOS
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Thistle
 Thistle Tattoo Designs -
As the Shamrock
is to the Irish, so too is the Thistle to the Scots. The Thistle is
a tough plant, able to grow in places that challenges lesser
vegetation and it protects itself with a dense covering of thorny
bristles and spines. It is crowned with a beautiful purple flower, a
colour long associated in Europe with royalty and nobility. In most
places the Thistle might be considered a nuisance and a weed. Poor
Scots, on the verge of starvation during particularly hard times,
would steam and steep thistles in boiling water in order to survive.
The Scottish Highlanders were every bit as tough as the prickly
plant. The milk thistle was highly valued for it's medicinal
properties and was grown all over Europe for its use in treating
liver and stomach ailments. It was even used in salads - sans
prickles and spines!
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Legend has it that those spines, and the prickly thistle, helped
save Scotland from a Viking invasion in the tenth century.
Supposedly on a dark, moonless night in 980 A.D. a heavily armed
group of Danes were about to descend upon an unwary and unsuspecting
camps of Scots when the Danes, who were walking barefoot so as not
to make any noise and so sneak up on the Scots, stumbled through a
briar patch of thistles. Their agonized moans and cries of pain
quickly woke the Scots who won the battle that was quickly joined,
no doubt aided by the tender feet of the Danish Vikings! |
The symbol of the Thistle, it's prickly stem crowned with a
majestic purple flower, was prominently featured in the Heraldic
Crests of many Highland Clans and of Noble Scottish Houses. The
early Kings of Scotland used the Thistle as their personal heraldic
crest and in their Coat of Arms.
In modern times, many Scottish Associations, rugby clubs,
football teams and other sports organizations feature the thistle in
their team logos, as a point of Scottish pride and as a symbol of
toughness!
In 1687 King James II created the unique Scottish Order of
Knighthood, the Order of the Thistle. It is one of the oldest orders
of Knighthood still in existence.
For over a thousand years then, the Thistle has been a distinctly
Scottish symbol and has become an emblem of Scotland herself, with
the accompanying motto, "Nemo Me Impune Lacessit" - Wha daur meddle
wi' me - Who dares meddle with me!
 As a tattoo design, the Thistle is a distinctly Scottish emblem,
and speaks of the pride in being one of the forty million people who
are descended from Scots who emigrated around the world. If you ever
go to a Highland Games meet, you will see nearly as many
representations and decorative uses of the symbol of the Thistle as
you will see kilts and sporrans. The thistle is a symbol of pride,
determination, tenacity and toughness in the face of great hardship
and long odds.
Get inspired by some really great images and photos in our
Thistle
Inspiration Gallery
See also:
Flower & Plant Tattoo Index,
Heraldic Tattoos,
Scottish Clan Tattoo Index
Tattoo designs - T >>
Thistle
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