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, 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; they are not advised by the government, as occurs with most other orders.
The order's primary emblem is the thistle, the national flower of Scotland. The motto is (Latin for "No one provokes me with impunity").1687 Statutes, quoted in Statutes (1987), p6 The same motto appears on the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom for use in Scotland and pound coins minted in 1984, 1989, 1994, and 1999 (since withdrawn), and is also the motto of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, the Scots Guards, the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada. 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, but it is now dormant.
History
The claim that James VII was reviving an earlier order is generally not supported by the evidence. The 1687 warrant states that during a battle in 786 with Angles under Æthelstan of East Anglia, the cross of St Andrew appeared in the sky to Achaius, King of Scots; after his victory, he established the Order of the Thistle and dedicated it to the saint.This version, without the date, is given in the warrant 'reviving' the order in 1687. (1687 warrant, quoted in Statutes, 1978, p. 1) This seems unlikely on the face of it, since Achaius died a century before ÆthelstanNicholas, p. 4, footnote 1, notes that Achaius died more than a century before Aethelstan (though it is now thought that the opponents in this battle were not the East Anglian king Æthelstan (born around 894) but an earlier Northumbrian of the same name, and not the legendary Scottish King Achaius but the historical Pictish King Óengus II).
An alternative version is that the order was founded in 809 to commemorate an alliance between Achaius and Emperor Charlemagne; there is some plausibility to this, insofar as Charlemagne is believed to have employed Scottish bodyguards.Nicolas, Appendix, p.vi, quotes Nisbet's A system of heraldry, which relates this version. Yet another version is that Robert the Bruce instituted the order after his victory at Bannockburn in 1314.Mackey and Heywood, p. 890
Most historians consider the earliest credible claim to be the founding of the order by James III, during the fifteenth century. He adopted the thistle as the royal badge, issued coins depicting thistlesMcGill, pp. 290–291 and allegedly conferred membership of the "Order of the Burr or Thissil" on Francis I of France, although there is no conclusive evidence for this.Nicolas, p. 3Nicolas, footnote 7, p. 15, quotes Nisbet in support of these claims.
Some Scottish order of chivalry may have existed during the sixteenth century, possibly founded by James V and called the Order of St. Andrew, but lapsed by the end of that century, although the evidence is unclear.Stevenson, Katie "The Unicorn, St Andrew and the Thistle: Was there an Order of Chivalry in Late Medieval Scotland?" , Scottish Historical Review. Volume 83, Page 3–22, April 2004Nicolas quotes Elias Ashmole's Treatise on Military Orders (1672) which mentions a ceremony involving Knights of St Andrew (i.e. Knights of the Thistle) but Nicolas goes on to say that "it was not pretended that there were any "Knights of the Thistle" or "of St Andrew" after the accession of James VI in 1567" A royal thistle collar is depicted in a book of hours, prepared for James IV in about 1503, where he is shown kneeling at an altar bearing the royal arms encircled by a collar of thistles and a badge depicting St Andrew.McGill, p. 291 In a painting of 1538, James V is shown wearing a gold collar of linked thistles with a St Andrew badge, although the King's wardrobe inventories of the period make no mention of a thistle collar.McGill, pp. 291–292
In 1558, a French commentator described the use of the crowned thistle and St Andrew's cross on Scottish coins and banners but noted there was no Scottish order of knighthood.Calendar of State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (1898), 206. Writing around 1578, John Lesley refers to the three foreign orders of chivalry carved on the gate of Linlithgow Palace, with James V's ornaments of St Andrew, proper to this nation.Leslie, John, Historie of Scotland, vol. 2, STS (1895), 230–1.Charles Burnett, 'Outward Signs of Majesty', Janet Hadley Williams, Stewart Style, 1513–1542 (Tuckwell, 1996), p. 291. In 1610 William Fowler, the Scottish secretary to Anne of Denmark was asked about the Order of the Thistle. Fowler believed that there had been an order, founded to honour Scots who fought for Charles VII of France, but it had been discontinued in the time of James V, and could say nothing of its ceremonies or regalia.E. K. Purnell & A. B. Hinds, HMC Downshire, vol. 2 (London, 1936), pp. xxii-xxiii, 388.
James VII issued letters patent "reviving and restoring the Order of the Thistle to its full glory, lustre and magnificency" on 29 May 1687.1687 Warrant, quoted in Statutes (1978), p. 1 His intention was to reward Scottish Catholics for their loyalty, but the initiative actually came from John, 1st Earl and 1st Jacobite Duke of Melfort, then Secretary of State for Scotland. Only eight members out of a possible twelve were appointed; these included Catholics, such as Melfort and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, his elder brother James, 4th Earl and 1st Jacobite Duke of Perth, plus Protestant supporters like the Earl of Arran.
After James was deposed by the 1688 Glorious Revolution no further appointments were made, although the exiled House of Stuart continued to issue a Jacobite version until 1784 (the last appointment being Charlotte Stuart, Jacobite Duchess of Albany), although none of those were recognised by the British Crown.McGill, p 294 Queen Anne appointed knights to the Order from 1704,Joseph Timothy Haydn's Book of Dignities (Longmans, 1851), p. 434 and it has remained in existence since then, and is used to recognise Scots 'who have held public office or contributed significantly to national life.'
Founder knights: 1687 creation James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth; went into exile with James in 1688, died in France 1716 George Gordon, 1st Duke of Gordon; exiled in 1689 but returned home and pardoned, included in the 1703 revival by Anne, died 1716 John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl; reconciled with new regime in 1689, died 1703 James, Earl of Arran; confirmed in his titles by William III in 1698, heavily involved in the disastrous Darien scheme, abstained from the vote passing the Acts of Union 1707, killed in a duel with Lord Mohun, 1712 Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth; imprisoned after 1688, released in 1696 and moved to Paris, died 1701 John Drummond, 1st Earl of Melfort; went into exile with James in 1688, died in France 1714 George Douglas, 1st Earl of Dumbarton; went into exile with James in 1688, died in France 1692 Alexander Stuart, 5th Earl of Moray; lost office after 1688, died at home 1701
Composition
The Kings of Scots, later the Kings of Great Britain and of the United Kingdom, have served as sovereigns of the Order.1687 Warrant, quoted in Statutes (1978), p2 states revive the said Order, of which his Majesty is the undoubted and rightful Sovereign 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".1687 Warrant and 1687 Statutes, quoted in Statutes (1987) pp. 1–3 In 1827, George IV increased the number to sixteen members.Warrant of 8 May 1827, quoted in Statutes (1978) Women (other than Queens regnant) were originally excluded from the Order, since members were required to be Knights Bachelor before appointment;(1703 Statutes, article 14, quoted in Statutes (1978), p. 17); only men could be created as such. George VI created his wife Queen Elizabeth a Lady of the Thistle in 1937 by a special statute,Additional statute, 12 June 1937, quoted in Statutes (1978), p. 60 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" or "Extra Ladies" and do not count towards the sixteen-member limit.Many such statutes are quoted in Statutes (1978), all of which follow a fixed formula. Members of the British royal family are normally admitted through this procedure; the first to be so admitted was Prince Albert.Additional statute 17 January 1842, quoted in Statutes (1978), p. 33. The first royal knight (other than a monarch) was a younger son of George III, Prince William Henry (later William IV), however he was admitted as one of the twelve ordinary knights (Nicolas, p. 51). King Olav V of Norway, the first foreigner to be admitted to the order, was also admitted by special statute in 1962.Additional statute of 18 October 1962, quoted in Statutes (1978), p. 63
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.Nicolas, p. 33, says that the Duke of Hamilton was given special permission by Queen Anne, hitherto unprecedented, to belong to both the orders of the Thistle and Garter. The first to resign from the Order of the Thistle was John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll in 1710;Nicolas, p. 32 the last to take such an action was Thomas Dundas, 2nd Earl of Zetland in 1872.The Times, 30 November 1872, p. 9
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.Nicolas, p. 35. Unlike the other British orders, the statutes of the Order of the Thistle do not specify a procedure for the removal of a Knight.