Honi soit qui mal y pense
"Honi soit qui mal y pense" is a French phrase meaning: "Shamed be he who thinks evil of it". The phrase is sometimes archaically rendered as "Honi soit quy mal y pense", "Hony soyt qe mal y pense", "Hony soyt ke mal y pense", "Hony soyt qui mal pence" and various other phoneticizations. It is the motto of the English chivalric Order of the Garter. In Modern French it is rendered as "Honni soit qui mal y pense" (the modern conjugation of the verb honnir being honni).[1] It is also written at the end of the manuscript Sir Gawain and the Green Knight but it appears to have been a later addition.[2] Its literal translation from Old French is "Shame be to him who thinks evil of it".[3] It is sometimes re-interpreted as "Evil be to him who evil thinks".[4]
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[edit] History
This statement supposedly originated when King Edward III was dancing with his first cousin and daughter-in-law, Joan of Kent. Her garter slipped down to her ankle, causing those around her to snigger at her humiliation. In an act of chivalry Edward placed the garter around his own leg, saying "Honi soit qui mal y pense", and the phrase later became the motto of the Order.
[edit] Translation
It may be understood as 'A scoundrel, who thinks badly by it', or 'Shame on him, who suspects illicit motivation'.
Another alternative translation: "Spurned be the one who evil thinks".
[edit] Heraldic use
The motto of the Order appears on a representation of the garter, surrounding the shield, on the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, the motto of the Royal arms, Dieu et mon droit, being displayed on a scroll beneath the shield. Several British Army and Canadian Army regiments also use the motto of the Order of the Garter, including the Royal Horse Artillery, Grenadier Guards, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment, Life Guards and the Blues and Royals. The Canadian Grenadier Guards, The Royal Regiment of Canada, The Royal Montreal Regiment and New Zealand's 6th Hauraki Infantry Regiment also use it as their mottos.
It is on the front of current British passports.
Further, the motto is also present on the emblem of the Grenadier Guards, the Canadian Grenadier Guards, the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, The Times (London), Corps of Royal Engineers, the Royal Australian Engineers and the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps and is denoted on a circular belt, surrounded by a wreath, with the crown jewels atop. It is also the motto on the emblem of the Royal Logistic Corps which in April 1993 became an amalgamation of the trades of 5 Corps, which included the Royal Corps of Transport and the Royal Army Service Corps plus the Postal and Courier Services of the Royal Engineers, all of these forming Corps used the motto in their emblem. The motto was also used on the official emblem of the South Australian Railways.
The motto appears on the coat of arms of the British Columbia Supreme Court, and it was part of the official emblem of the Royal Yacht Britannia.
The motto appears on the coat of arms of Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester from 1531 to 1555.
The motto appears on the shield that is displayed in all Courts of England and Wales.
[edit] Other appearances
Bounty mutineer James Morrison had the motto with a garter tattooed around his left leg, according to William Bligh's Notebook.[5]
The title of the University of Sydney newspaper, Honi Soit, is derived from the motto.
Robert A. Heinlein's novel Friday makes use of the expression in Heinlein's usual irreverent manner. The protagonist, a female secret agent, is asked by her hostess Janet how Friday feels about females (in a sexual connotation). When pressed by males present to hear Friday's response, she claims (falsely) that Friday had whispered "honi soit qui mal y pense" into her ear.
The Judge, in Bernard Malamud's novel The Natural, utters the phrase to Roy Hobbs while trying to convince him to throw a game by not getting a hit.
The phrase is mentioned several times in the song "Parlez-vous français?" by Baccara, which represented Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978
It is also the motto of The King's school, Grantham, England.
[edit] See also
- Dieu et mon droit, the motto of the British Monarch
- Ich dien, the motto on the Prince of Wales's feathers
This was also the motto on the school badge at Market Harborough Grammar school, England.
[edit] References
- ^ wordreference.com
- ^ Waldron, Ronald Alan, editor (1970). Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press. pp. 139. ISBN 9780810103283. http://books.google.com/books?id=99-SAHCAMmoC&printsec=frontcover&cad=0#PPA139,M1. OCLC 135649
- ^ "Order of the Garter". Encyclopedia Americana. XII. New York: Encyclopedia Americana Corp.. 1919. pp. 300. http://books.google.com/books?id=NmQMAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA300,M1.
- ^ Thomas, Tayler (1866). "Equites Garterii". The Law Glossary: Being a Selection of the Greek, Latin, Saxon, French, Norman, and Italian Sentences, Phrases, and Maxims, Found in the Leading English and American Reports and Elementary Works: With Historical and Explanatory Notes : Alphabetically Arranged, and Translated into English, for the Use of the Members of the Legal Profession, Law Students, Sheriffs, Justices of the Peace, Etc. Etc.. New York: Baker, Voorhis & Co.. pp. 183. ISBN 1886363129. http://books.google.com/books?id=ApPTyWXqOygC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA183,M1.
- ^ fatefulvoyage.com
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