Coat of arms of Scotland

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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. 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.

The arms feature a red rampant lion with blue tongue and claws situated within a red double border decorated with fleurs de lis, known as the 'royal tressure'. The fleurs de lis in the tressure are traditionally said to represent the "auld alliance" with France, but this is unlikely as there are records of the tressure being used before 1295, when the alliance began. It may have been added to make the arms more distinctive, as a lion rampant is a common heraldic charge. The arms historically formed part of a full achievement used by the monarchs of Scotland. The exact form of this varied, but in its fullest version it typically included a helm, mantling, crest, two mottoes, supporters, a compartment, and the collar of the Order of the Thistle. The helm faced forwards and had a barred visor. The mantling was often gold with ermine lining, but other colours were used. The crest consisted of a forward facing red lion, crowned and holding a sword and sceptre, sitting on another crown. These were often stylised to represent the physical crown, sceptre, and sword used by Scottish monarchs, together called the Honours of Scotland. Above the crest was the slogan "In Defens", a contraction of "In My Defens God Me Defend", and surrounding the shield was the collar of the Order of the Thistle. The supporters are two crowned and chained unicorns, each carrying banners. The banner of the dexter supporter was the arms themselves, and that of the sinister supporter the national flag of Scotland. The compartment typically included thistles, the national flower of Scotland, and later versions of the arms also included the motto of the Order of the Thistle, Nemo me impune lacessit. Most of these elements were retained in the Scottish coat of arms after the Union of the Crowns, and in the Scottish versions of the coat sof arms of Great Britain and, later, the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, some changes were made: the sinister supporter was replaced with a crowned lion holding a banner bearing the flag of England, the dexter supporter now bears the flag of Scotland, and the coat of arms changed to reflect that used at the time.

When Mary, Queen of Scots married Francis, Dauphin of France, in 1558, Mary's Royal arms of Scotland were impaled with those of the Dauphin, whose arms were themselves quartered with those of Scotland to indicate his status as King consort of Scotland. Following the death of Mary I of England in November 1558, the Scottish queen briefly claimed the English crown and quartered the Scottish arms with the royal arms of England, while the Dauphin added the English arms as an escutcheon to his coat, but this claim was renounced in 1560 and the English arms not used thereafter. When Francis ascended to the throne of the Kingdom of France in 1559 as King Francis II, his arms were altered to indicate his status as King of France, with those of Mary also being altered to reflect her elevated status as Queen consort of France. Following the death of Francis in 1560, Mary continued to use the arms showing Scotland and France impaled, (with a minor alteration of the arms to reflect her change of status from queen consort to Queen dowager), until her marriage to Henry, Lord Darnley, in 1565. (Such symbolism was not lost upon Queen Elizabeth I of England, given that the English monarchy had for centuries held a historical claim to the throne of France, symbolised by the arms of France having been quartered with those of England since 1340). Following the marriage to Darnley, the arms of Scotland reverted to the blazon which had preceded the marriage to Francis.

On the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1603, James VI inherited the thrones of England and Ireland. The arms of England were quartered with those of Scotland, and a quarter for Ireland was also added. At this time the King of England also laid claim to the French throne, therefore the arms of the Kingdom of England were themselves already quartered with those of the Kingdom of France. James used a different version of his royal arms in Scotland and this distinction in royal protocol continued post the Acts of Union of 1707. (Today, the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom used in Scotland continue to differ from those used elsewhere). During the reign of King Charles II, the royal arms used in Scotland were augmented with the inclusion of the Latin motto of the Order of the Thistle, the highest Chivalric order of the Kingdom of Scotland. The motto of the Order of the Thistle, Nemo me impune lacessit, appears on a blue scroll overlying the compartment. (Previously, only the collar of the Order of the Thistle had appeared on the arms). The addition by King Charles of Nemo me impune lacessit ensured that the blazon of his Royal arms used in Scotland complemented that of his Royal arms used elsewhere, in that two mottoes were displayed. The blazon used elsewhere had included the French motto of the arms, Dieu et mon droit, together with the Old French motto of the Order of the Garter, the highest Chivalric order of the Kingdom of England. The motto of the Order of the Garter, Honi soit qui mal y pense, appears on a representation of the garter surrounding the shield. Henceforth, the versions of the Royal arms used in Scotland and elsewhere were to include both the motto of the arms of the respective kingdom and the motto of the associated order of chivalry. From the accession of the Stuart dynasty to the throne of the Kingdom of Ireland in 1603, the Royal Arms have featured the harp, or Cláirseach, of Ireland in the third quadrant, the style of the harp itself having been altered several times since. The position of King of Ireland ceased with the passage by the Oireachtas of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, when the office of President of Ireland (which had been created in late 1937) replaced that of the King of Ireland for external as well as internal affairs. The Act declared that the Irish state could be described as a republic, following which the newly created Republic of Ireland left the British Commonwealth. However, the modern versions of the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland used both in Scotland and elsewhere, and also the arms of Canada, continue to feature an Irish harp to represent Northern Ireland.

Since the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Scottish arms are now generally used in combination with the arms of England and Ireland. However, the original royal banner of Scotland, also known as the "Lion Rampant", continues to be used officially in Scotland; being flown from royal residences when the King is not in residence and used in an official capacity by the First Minister, Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Lord Lyon King of Arms and lords lieutenant in their lieutenancies. Unofficially, the royal banner is often used as a secondary national flag, being most often seen at sporting events involving Scottish national teams. (Both the Scottish Football Association and Scotland national football team use a logo based upon the royal arms).