пользователей: 30398
предметов: 12406
вопросов: 234839
Конспект-online
РЕГИСТРАЦИЯ ЭКСКУРСИЯ

NATIONAL SYMBOLS

The most important British symbols are the national flag, the national anthem and the royal coat of arms. 

The UK flag is called the Union Flag. It is sometimes wrongly referred to as the Union Jack, although this name is correct when the flag is flown on a jackstaff at sea. The flag is actually three flags in one. It is made up from the crosses of three patron saints of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Welsh dragon does not appear on the flag because when the first Union Flag was created in 1606, Wales was already united with England. It was conquered by England in the 13th century and in 1536, under Henry VIII, the Act of Union joined England and Wales officially. Therefore Wales is represented by the English flag instead of the Welsh dragon.

The national anthem is “God Save the Queen”. It originated in a patriotic song first performed in 1745. It became known as the national anthem from the beginning of the 19th century. On official occasions, only the first verse is usually sung. 
 

The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom is the official coat of arms of the British monarch. Variants of the Royal Arms are used by other members of the Royal Family and by the British Government in connection with the administration and government of the country. In Scotland, the Queen has a separate version of the Royal Arms, giving the Scottish elements pride of place.

The main element of the official coat of arms is the shield which is divided into four quarters. The first and fourth quarters represent England and depict three gold lions passant on a red field; the second quarter stands for Scotland and shows a red lion rampant on a gold field; the third quarter symbolises Ireland and depicts the gold harp of Ireland on a blue field. On the left, the shield is supported by the English Lion. On the right it is held by the Unicorn of Scotland. The unicorn is chained because in mediaeval times a free unicorn was considered a very dangerous beast. 

The coat features both the motto of British monarchs “Dieu et mon droit” (French for “God and my right”) and the motto of the Order of the Garter “Honi soit qui mal y pense” (French for “Evil to him who evil thinks”) on a representation of the Garter behind the shield.

The words “Dieu et mon droit” were the military password chosen by King Richard I before the battle of Gisors in 1198, meaning that he was no vassal of France, but owed his royalty to God alone. The French were defeated in battle, but the password was not adopted as the royal motto of England until the time of Henry VI (1422–1466) and has since been retained by his successors. The motto appears below the shield of the Royal Coat of Arms.

The motto of the Order of the Garter “Honi soit qui mal y pense” may well have been directed at critics of the King’s claims to the French throne; however, according to a tradition first recorded by Tudor chroniclers, the motto originated at a feast celebrating the capture of Calais in 1347. The King’s mistress, the Countess of Salisbury, was mocked by courtiers for losing her garter during a dance, but Edward at once stepped forward and tied the blue ribbon around his own knee, uttering the motto as a rebuke and declaring that the Garter would soon be held in the highest esteem. The Order of the Garter, an ancient order of knighthood of which the Queen is Sovereign, was founded by Edward III in 1348 during the Hundred Years War with France.

Each country in the UK has its own patron saint, flag, national day and floral emblem.

St. George is the patron saint of England. His emblem, a red cross on a white background, is the flag of England, and part of the British flag. St. George’s emblem was adopted by Richard the Lion Heart and brought to England in the 12th century. The king’s soldiers wore it on their tunics to avoid confusion in battle.

St. George was a brave Roman soldier who protested against the Romans’ torture of Christians and died for his beliefs. The popularity of St. George in England comes from the time of the early crusades when it is said that the Normans saw him in a vision and were victorious. One of the best-known stories about St. George is his fight with a dragon. But it is highly unlikely that he ever fought a dragon, and even more unlikely that he ever actually visited England. Despite this, St. George is known throughout the world as the dragon-killing patron saint of England.

St. George’s Day is observed on April 23 but for most people in England it is just another ordinary day. Only one in five people know that this day is a holiday.

The national flower of England is the rose. The flower has been adopted as England’s emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses – civil wars (1455–1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).

On November 30, Scottish people observe St. Andrew’s Day. The Scottish flag is the cross of St. Andrew. It is said to be one of the oldest national flags of any country, dating back at least to the 12th century.

St. Andrew was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus and brother of St. Peter. He was a fisherman by trade. St. Andrew is believed to have died on a diagonal cross which the Romans sometimes used for executions and which, therefore, came to be called St. Andrew’s cross. The blue stands for the sky.

The national flower of Scotland is the thistle, a prickly-leaved purple flower which was first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defence.

St. David’s Day is celebrated in Wales on March 1 in honour of St. David, the patron saint of Wales. He was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop, who lived in the 6th century. He spread the word of Christianity across Wales. The most famous story about St. David tells how he was preaching to a huge crowd and the ground is said to have risen up, so that he was standing on a hill and everyone had a better chance of hearing him.

The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St. David’s Day. The vegetable called leek is also considered to be a traditional emblem of Wales. There are many explanations of how the leek came to be adopted as the national emblem of Wales. One is that St. David advised the Welsh, on the eve of the battle with the Saxons, to wear leeks in their caps to distinguish friends from enemies. As Shakespeare records in “Henry V”, the Welsh archers wore leeks at the battle of Agincourt in 1415.

On St. David’s Day, some children in Wales dress in their national costume. The national flag of Wales, depicting a fiery red dragon against a green and white background, is also flown.

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Northern Ireland. His emblem, a red diagonal cross on a white background, is the flag of Ireland, and part of the British flag. St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland. Born in Britain, he was carried off by pirates and spent six years in slavery before escaping and training as a missionary. The most famous story about St. Patrick is him driving the snakes from Ireland. March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, is an official bank holiday in Northern Ireland.

The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a three-leaved plant similar to clover. An Irish tale tells of how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

There are certain symbols and icons which even the British themselves consider as “British”. This is just a selection of those things which spring to mind whenever one hears the word “British”.


13.07.2015; 15:10
хиты: 164
рейтинг:0
Гуманитарные науки
история
история европы
для добавления комментариев необходимо авторизироваться.
  Copyright © 2013-2024. All Rights Reserved. помощь