Thank you so much for this story. I teach foraging classes for kids and adults, and this is a great story about the Thistle. My dad told me I have ancestry from Scotland. From a town called Rose.
That's interesting, I read it was because they ate it when they were starving and other crops would not grow, but I like the story of the man stepping on the thistle and causing the army to loose the war.
From the 8th to the 15th centuries Vikings and Norse settlers, mainly Norwegians, colonised parts of what is now the periphery of modern Scotland -- mostly Orkney and the northern isles.
The Scottish haven’t always wanted independence. In 2014, 55% voted against independence and 45% voted for it. I believe the main reason is financial- they are able to spend more than they can collect in taxes. The reason it’s worth paying the Scottish a ‘bribe’ is because they harbour the UK’s nuclear submarines because they have docks in the middle of nowhere.
You are correct that roses did not originate in England. However, they have become the national flower. The flower has been adopted as England's emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).
