Red Rose of Lancaster

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The red rose was adopted as a symbol of the House of Lancaster by Edward Crouchback, the first Earl of Lancaster. The color red symbolizes martyrdom, but it can also represent romantic love.

The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the ruling House of Plantagenet, and in the Fifteenth Century warred with a rival cadet branch, the House of York. Because the House of York's symbol was a white rose, the conflict was called the War of the Roses.

The test is from "A Red, Red, Rose" by Robert Burns:

O my luve is like a red, red rose

That's newly sprung in June;

O my luve's like the melodie

That's sweetly played in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonny lass,

So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi' the sun;

I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only love,

And fare thee weel, awhile!

And I will come again, my love

Tho' it were ten thousand mile.

White Rose of York

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In the fourteenth century, Edmund of Langley, founder of the House of York, chose the white rose as his emblem. The white rose represents innocence, purity, and joy, and is associated with the Virgin Mary.

The House of York was a cadet branch of the ruling House of Plantagenet, and in the Fifteenth Century warred with a rival cadet branch, the House of Lancaster. Because the House of Lancaster's symbol was a red rose, the conflict was called the War of the Roses.

The text is Sonnet No. 54 by William Shakespeare:

O, how much more doth beauty beauteous seem
By that sweet ornament which truth doth give!
The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem
For that sweet odour which doth in it live.
The canker-blooms have full as deep a dye
As the perfumed tincture of the roses,
Hang on such thorns and play as wantonly
When summer's breath their masked buds discloses:
But, for their virtue only is their show,
They live unwoo'd and unrespected fade,
Die to themselves. Sweet roses do not so;
Of their sweet deaths are sweetest odours made:
And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth,
When that shall fade, my verse distills your truth.

Et in Arcadia Ego

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This design was inspired by a relief on a monument at Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire, England known as the "Shugborough House Inscription," which was inspired by a painting by Nicholas Poussin.

The relief shows shepherds reading an inscription on a tomb which says, "Et in Arcadia Ego," which means "I am also in Arcadia, or "I am even in Arcadia." Some think that the phrase "Et in Arcadia Ego" is spoken by Death, as signified by the skull, to remind people that death is everywhere.

However, many think that the inscription is actually a secret code. In addition to the phrase "Et in Arcadia Ego," the inscription contains the letter sequence D O U S V A V V M. Furthermore, a shepherd is pointing to the n in in.

Among the theories as to the meaning of the code is one that it is a secret love letter from the owner of the estate to his late wife. A more famous theory is that the message contains a hidden clue to the whereabouts of the Holy Grail, as the original painter Poussin was a member of the Priory of Sion, the same secret society in The Da Vinci Code.

Unicorn

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A unicorn is a mythological creature. In addition to the trademark single horn in the middle of its forehead, a traditional unicorn has a billy-goat beard, a lion's tail, and cloven hooves.

The unicorn's origin is unclear, though it may have been created from inaccurate accounts of real animals, such as the oryx, the rhinoceros, or even the narwhal.

Unicorns are characterized as being wild and untamable. One legend has it that only a virgin is capable of taming a unicorn. Its wild an untamable nature may have led to its adoption as a symbol of Scotland, as seen on the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The use of the Scottish motto, "Nemo me impune lacessit," is appropriate here because it means, "No on harms me with impunity."

Unicorn horns have also been highly sought after through the ages for their alleged medicinal purposes.

Irish Harp

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Throughout the Middle Ages, the harp was the most popular instrument in Ireland, and the Irish harp, or Clàrsach, has been a symbol of Ireland since the thirteenth century. Primarily, in Celtic society, the harp was used to accompany bardic poetry. Today, the harp is still on the coat of arms of Ireland.

The words in the design are from the Gaelic song "Mo ghile mear," which is usually translated as "My dashing darling," or "My shining love." The full version in both Gaelic and English can be seen here.

Scotland

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The kings of Scotland began using the red lion rampant as their symbol in the twelfth century. The Latin motto that goes with the coat of arms is "Nemo me impune lacessit," which literally means, "Nobody challenged me with impunity," but it has been rendered in Scots as "Wha daur meddle wi me?" or "Who dares meddle with me?"

This England

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The use of three lions as the symbol of the English monarchy dates back to King Richard I, "The Lionheart," and echoes the coat of arms of Normandy, from which William the Conquerer launched his famous invasion.

The national flag of England is St. George's Cross, a red cross on a white background. St. George is the patron saint of England, and his cross has been associated with England since at least the twelfth century.

The quote on the banner is from Act II, Scene 1 of Richard II by William Shakespeare. Here is the entire speech, which alludes to the fact that England has not been successfully invaded since William the Conquerer crossed the Channel:

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,—
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

Welsh Dragon

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In Welsh, it is simple known as "Y Ddraig Goch," the red dragon. In Wales, the dragon is associated with stories of both Merlin and King Arthur, and represents the perseverance of the Welsh people. It appears on the national flag of Wales.

The writing behind the dragon is from the medieval Welsh poem Cad Goddeu, or "The Battle of the Trees, " from the Book of Taliesin. In the poem, the hero animates the trees of the forest to fight for him against the god of the underworld, but there had been a great deal of scholarly debate over the poem's deeper meaning. The full version can be read in Welsh here, and in English here.

Incidentally, "The Battle of the Trees," translated into Sanskrit, was sung by the chorus in "Duel of the Fates," from Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Tudor Rose

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For thirty years, the War of the Roses raged across England between the House of Lancaster, represented by the red rose, and the House of York, represented by the white rose. When Henry Tudor, a member of the House of Lancaster, defeated Richard III to become King Henry VII, he married Elizabeth of York, uniting the two houses and founding the Tudor dynasty of English monarchs. The Tudor Rose represents the uniting of the two houses.

The poem used in this design is called "Of a rose, a lovely rose, Of a rose is al myn song," written circa 1350 by an anonymous author. The language is Middle English. This is the full text:

LESTENYT, lordynges, both elde and yinge,
How this rose began to sprynge;
Swych a rose to myn lykynge
In al this word ne knowe I non.

The Aungil came fro hevene tour,
To grete Marye with gret honour,
And seyde sche xuld bere the flour
That xulde breke the fyndes bond.

The flour sprong in heye Bedlem,
That is bothe bryht and schen:
The rose is Mary hevene qwyn,
Out of here bosum the blosme sprong.

The ferste braunche is ful of myht,
That sprang on Cyrstemesse nyht,
The sterre schon over Bedlem bryht
That is bothe brod and long.

The secunde braunche sprong to helle,
The fendys power doun to felle:
Therein myht non sowle dwelle;
Blyssid be the time the rose sprong!

The thredde braunche is good and swote,
It sprang to hevene crop and rote,
Therein to dwellyn and ben our bote;
Every day it schewit in prystes hond.

Prey we to here with gret honour,
Che that bar the blyssid flowr,
Che be our helpe and our socour
And schyd us fro the fyndes bond.

Note the archaic words such as shen for beautiful and the use of x for sh.