The Thistle
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
THE THISTLE (R8x32) 3C (4C set) MMM 21- 8 1s petronella to opposite side
9-16 1s petronella to 2nd place own side
17-24 2s+1s+3s advance and retire twice
25-32 2s+1s+3s circle 6H round and back
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Information
There is also a Scottish highland dance, The Thistle - Highland Dance Video sometimes danced today at Highland games around the world, as part of Scottish National dances repertoire.The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland, although the particular species originally represented has never been conclusively identified.
The native spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is considered a likely candidate. It has deeply lobed, spiny leaves, prickly stems and purple flower heads which appear during the summer. Its flowers provide nectar for bees and butterflies, while birds such as goldfinches feed on its seeds.
The thistle has appeared in Scottish royal imagery since the fifteenth century. It featured on silver coins issued during the reign of James III, and royal accounts record the purchase of gold thistle ornaments for James V during his visit to France in 1536–1537. The plant also appears in William Dunbar's poem The Thrissil and the Rois, written in connection with the marriage of James IV of Scotland to Margaret Tudor of England in 1503.
In 1687, James VII established the present Order of the Thistle, Scotland's highest order of chivalry. Its insignia features a thistle surrounded by the Latin motto "Nemo me impune lacessit", meaning "No one provokes me with impunity". The thistle also appears in the badges of Scottish military regiments, on coins and in heraldic designs, frequently depicted beneath a royal crown.
Spear Thistle (Cirsium Vulgare), A Native Scottish Thistle
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Text from this original Thistle article on Wikipedia.
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