Nemo me impune lacessit

The meaning of the Order of the Thistle motto Nemo me impune lacessit is often translated as roughly, None provokes me unpunished.

Approaching more accurate translation

Since "lacessit" has no one-to-one translation into English, a simplistic translation such as None provokes me unpunished, distorts the original meaning, some of which can still be grasped, beyond the simple provocation/retribution apparent from the common translations of today.

Word-by-word, the phrase is literally

Nemo: None[1]
me: me[2]
impune: unpunished[3]
lacessit: milks-eagerly (present-tense third-person singular [4]) from "lac" for "milk"[5], plus "-esso" for "eagerly"[6]

More direct meaning in the present context for "milked", other than the abstract sense of "provoked to give issue"

The significance of this may at first seem little, but note that the sap of thistles is milky and is highly-regarded for its medicinal properties, exemplified in the species now known specifically as the Blessed milk thistle, although the term Milk thistle which is now given to a specific species, has been, and frequently remains colloquially, applied to a range of thistle species[7].

Scots of yester-year were unfathomably hardy drinkers[8], using a drink akin to today's Scotch Whisky habitually. This may have helped to survive the bitter cold weather, as alcohol thins the blood and increases circulation, spreading warmth to peripheral features which might otherwise get frostbite. A strong liver-remedy such as thistle, would be useful if relying on a liver-toxin for survival. The motto can legitimately be read with the meaning reversed from the common translation of today: ie "none unpunished provokes me", to mean, none who is not suffering damage (eg from alcohol use), would seek to milk a me!

Recognition of femininity as a major social influence in Scottish culture

With no common, simple English label which can be used in translating "lacessit", the English words given most frequently for "lacessit" are "provoke", "challenge", and so forth, apparently derived from reading of use contexts[9], and leading the ignorant to perceive an emphasis on overtones of violence and retribution, and losing entirely the feminine sense of (perhaps painful, and at times reluctant) provision-of-needs.

Scottish women have not consistently in the past been always so oppressed as in some occasions in the more recent past. Among Picts before the tenth century, matrilineal descent may have been widespread[10]; certainly some degree of Bilateral descent has existed in the Scottish clan system [11]; and isolated of matrilinearity as recently as the 19th and 20th Century. [12]

Celtic women were reputed by aspiring invaders such as the Romans, to be accomplished warriors in defense -- but equally, assertive enough to halt wars through direct physical intervention. [13]

Further subtleties to be absorbed

In order to better understand subtleties of the phrases' meaning, note as well as the literal direct translation derived above, and known Latin contextual usages of "lacessit", (see [14]), the phonic and etymological proximity[15][16] in Latin of the words "lacero": "to tear/slice/cut/mangle/lacerate"[17], as well as "lacryma": "tear-drop or droplet of sap"[18][19], "lacus": "a lake"[20], and "lacertus": "the upper arm" [21] and then "lacertosus": "strong, brawny" [22] ... and try to see ways in which Latin-speakers might have associated those words, along with "lacessit", with the root-word "lac" for milk, and all its connotations in a pre-industrial society.

Note also that Scottish society, until the industrial revolution, revolved largely around farming of Highland dairy cattle.

Other translations

A more colloquial translation into English could be " No one takes the piss out of me without getting chibbed" or "No one attacks me and gets away with it." Similarly, in Scots this may be rendered as "Wha daur meddle wi me?", which more literally means "Who dares meddle with me?".

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.

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.

References

See reference links inline above.

External links

Scottish coins

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