Dieu et mon droit

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The motto appears on a scroll beneath the shield of the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom.

Dieu et mon droit is the motto of the British Monarch.^[1] It appears on a scroll beneath the shield of the coat of arms of the United Kingdom.^[2] The motto refers to the divine right of the Monarch to govern^[3] and is said to have first been adopted as the royal motto of England by King Henry V in the 15th century.^[3]

Language

The motto is French for "God and my right" (a fuller version of the motto is also quoted as "God and my right shall me defend").^[4] Originally spelled Dieut et mon droict in early Modern French, the t in Dieut and c in droict were later dropped in accordance with present French orthography.^{[citation needed]}

For the Royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of England to have a French rather than English motto was not unusual, given that Norman French was the primary language of the English Royal Court and ruling class following the rule of William the Conqueror of Normandy and later the Plantagenets. Another Old French phrase also appears in the full achievement of the Royal Arms. The motto of the Order of the Garter, Honi soit qui mal y pense ("shame upon him who thinks evil of it"), appears on a representation of a garter behind the shield. Modern French spelling has changed honi to honni, but the motto has not been updated.

Other translations

Dieu et mon droit has been translated in several ways, including "God and my right," "God and my right hand,"^[5][6] "God and my lawful right,"^[7] and "God and my right shall me defend." ^[8]

The literal translation of Dieu et mon droit is "God and my right". However, Kearsley's Complete Peerage, published in 1799, translates it to mean "God and my right hand". The Kearsley volume appeared during publication of the 1st Edition (1796-1808) of the German Brockhaus Encyclopedia, which emphasized the raising of the "right hand" during installations and coronations of German Kings.

Use as royal motto

Dieu et mon droit has generally been used as the motto of English—and later British—monarchs since being adopted by Henry V. It was allegedly first used as a password by King Richard I in 1198 at the Battle of Gisors,^[9] when he defeated the forces of Philip II of France.^{[citation needed]} This implies that Richard owed his royalty to no power other than God and his own heredity, and was therefore subject to no earthly power nor other monarch. This can be taken as a direct reference to the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings.^[10]

Alternatively, the Royal Arms may depict a monarch's personal motto. For example, Elizabeth I's often displayed semper eadem; Latin for "always the same", and James I's depicted beati pacifici, Latin for "blessed are the peacemakers".^{[citation needed]}

Variants

The phrase was the inspiration for a joke motto by The Beatles, "Duit on Mon Dei" ("Do it on Monday"), which was later adopted as the title of the Harry Nilsson album Duit on Mon Dei.

See also

• Ich dien, the motto of the Prince of Wales
• List of state mottos

References