In Defens

In my defens God me defend is the motto of both the Royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland and Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom used in Scotland. Contemporary versions of the Royal arms show an abbreviated motto, in the form of IN DEFENS or, where English is used as an alternative, IN DEFENCE. The motto appears above the crest of the arms, in the tradition of Scottish heraldry.

Adopted during the reign of the Stewart dynasty, and certainly in use by the reign of James IV (1488–1513), "In my defens God me defend" was originally the only motto associated with Scotland's Royal arms, with versions appearing in both truncated and abbreviated forms;In my defens, for example, having been adopted for the Royal arms of James IV. (An embroidered wall hanging depicting these arms is displayed in the Great Hall at Stirling Castle). Later versions of the arms which feature the abbreviated form IN DEFENS include the armorial by Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount, which appears in his Register of Scottish Arms (1542).

The motto is also associated with an old Scots prayer, of which there are several versions where In my defens God me defend appears as the opening line, including:

In my defence God me defend
And bring my sawl to ane good end
ane vertuous lyf procureth ane happie death...

And:

In my defence God me defend
And bring my soul to ane good end
When I am sick and like to die
Father of Heaven have mercy on me.

Also, in the form of a couplet:

In my defense God me defend
and bring my saulle to ane guid end O Lord.

Another variation of the phrase, appearing as BE MY DEFENS GOD ME DEFEND FOREVER MORE, is to be found engraved upon a number of traditional Ballock knives, with one particular example, (dated 1624), now forming part of the Arms and Armour collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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