To understand why the motto of Great Britain is in French and not in English, you need to take a short excursion into the history of this amazing country located in the British Isles.
Coat of Arms of Great Britain
Great Britain is a country with a long history that has gone through more than one conquest. In its current form, the coat of arms of Great Britain has existed since the reign of Queen Victoria, the most popular and beloved queen of the British.
In the center of the coat of arms there is a shield on which, in the 1st and 4th quarters, there are three leopards, which the British call "British lions" according to heraldry traditions. Leopards are the emblem of the Plantagenet kings and the symbol of England.
In the second quarter of the coat of arms, on a gold background, there is a red, standing lion - the symbol of Scotland. The third quarter of the coat of arms depicts a golden harp, which is the symbol of Northern Ireland.
A lion and a unicorn hold the shield on both sides. The lion symbolizes England and the unicorn symbolizes Scotland.
The shield is encircled by the ribbon of the Noble Order of the Garter, which bears the inscription in Latin: “Honi soit qyi mal y pense”. From the Old French language, the motto is translated "Shame on the one who thinks badly about it."
There is a legend that at one of the royal points, arranged at the court of King Edward III of Britain, the Countess of Salisbury lost her garter. When King Edward III the third lifted the garter from the floor, laughter rang out among the guests.
Following the best traditions of chivalry of that time, King Edward III immediately established the original order, and the edifying phrase "Shame on the one who thinks badly about it" became his motto.
Below at the foot of the shield is a ribbon with the British motto in French: "God and my right." There are also depicted three flowers on one stem: a rose, a thistle and a shamrock. Since ancient times, flowers have been a mute symbol of the unbreakable unity of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The coat of arms is crowned with a golden tournament helmet, on which there is a golden crowned lion.
UK motto
Initially, the spelling of the UK motto was “Diet et mon droit”, which translated from Old French means “God and my right”. Over time, the motto has changed somewhat and now it sounds like “Dieu et mon droit”, which also translates as “God and my right”.
Why is the motto in French? The fact is that after the conquest of England in 1066 by the Normans and the defeat of the Saxons, the local nobility of England, the French language began to enter the everyday life of the British nobility.
In those days, French was considered the height of sophistication and aristocracy, and English was considered the language of the rude, uneducated Saxons and the common people. It was considered bad form to speak English.
Therefore, all documentation, correspondence, records, and the very communication among the aristocrats and the royal court, were conducted exclusively in French.
Unsurprisingly, the UK motto is also written in French. In those distant times, it looked quite natural and can only surprise a modern person.
