The Animal Characters of Our Island Story

The Animal Characters of Our Island Story

Within museums throughout the United Kingdom, you can view ever-flowing manes of golden lions, emerald wings of scarlet dragons outstretched in flight and pale, celestial unicorns in graceful stride all emblazoned upon tapestries of immense medieval splendour. Moving from the era of the Pearl Poet and into the present, these mythical creatures can be seen frequently in our everyday lives, appearing upon coinage, governmental branding and, unmissable to even the most unobservant, appearing as golden imprint accompanying a grand heraldic crest on the face of our passports. Like many things, the origins of these beasts have deep roots that extend down into the depths of ancient history and are widely unknown to the common public. One thing of which they are aware, is that these whimsical creatures have been awarded the titleship of our national animals.

Why is Scotland, England and Wales represented respectively by the Unicorn, Lion and Dragon? Consider that there exists zero archaeological remains of such creatures on these isles; two are entirely mythical, existing purely within the mind, and the lion’s antiquarian expansion is estimated to have been southern France, at its most North-Western point. Like so many things with mysterious origin, the answer is a longstanding mix of history and politics with ever-changing connotations.

The unicorn has had great significance to Scottish people, tracing back when we existed as a collection of painted tribes with a Celtic tongue, from which we expressed this white, spiral-horned horse possessed powers of water purification, domineering strength, purity of mind blended with noble temperament and grace. This perfect creature continued in tales and folklore and was eventually incorporated into the Scottish Coat of Arms in the 12th century, with a heraldic shield flanked by unicorns until the 1707 Act of Union which had overseen the swapping of one with a lion.

This lion is the now-extinct Barbary lion, the national animal of England. The lion has succeeded to its exalted place within English symbolism as a result of an complex royal bloodline and the inheritance of heraldry beginning with Norman aristocracy. The lion was the embodiment of courage, with these notions becoming cemented in English society, with medieval warrior and rulers with a reputation for bravery branded the nickname "the Lion", with Richard the Lionheart being the most well-known example of this tradition.

The Red Dragon of Wales appears to have its origins entrenched in warfare. Its reptilian form was emblazoned upon the battle standards of historic Welsh kings fending off Roman, Saxon and English armies. The Red Dragon itself engaged in battle with an invading White Dragon within the pages of the ancient Brittonic epic, the Mabinogion. This valiant symbol finally received recognition in 1953, with it being given an augmentation of honour.

The honour of heraldic depiction and adoption as a national symbol is one gifted only on the significance and omnipresence throughout a nation’s history and culture. People often say we live in an era not of invention but of refinement, but what if I were to suggest a living, fullyextant animal with a physical presence on this land, to be our new national animal? Or, at least share the title? I propose the Felis Silvestris, the Scottish wildcat, as the nomination.

‘The Animal Characters of Our Island Story’ is a campaign launched by the Journal of Matters Relating to Felines wherein we attempt to influence public figures and institutions to oversee the development of titlesharing between the unicorn and the Scottish wildcat as the national animals of Scotland. The basis of the campaign is bringing the Scottish Wildcat into prominence in Scottish society through the shared title of the Scottish National Animal between the Scottish Wildcat and the Unicorn. Fundamentally, the motive for the campaign is promoting the image and awareness of these felines in the light of their existential struggle that is discussed at length in opening article, ‘The Ghost of Our Woodland’. It would be a wonderful effort to highlight the existence of this frequently overlooked, endangered animal and would build upon the heritage of our nation. There is also the distant possibility that we spark some international fashion, where the next trendy conservation move is lobbying for titlesharing and frequently changing national animals for the purposes of ecological conservation. For example, if we are successful in convincing the Scottish government in honouring the wildcat with this exalted title, perhaps it may prompt the other nations of the United Kingdom to follow our example.

Other motives include a sort of penitence that us, as Scottish people and our government, can pay as reparations for our maltreatment to this beautiful species. Glasgow university has already set the standard of action with twenty million pounds being contributed from their budget to right the wrongs of their past dwellings of history. This is the perfect basis for us as a nation to apologise en masse to the Scottish wildcat and right our past wrongs in the height of forgiveness and exalt its position in welcoming it into the family of Scottish symbolism for centuries to come. The purging of cats, the burning of forests for agriculture and the driving out of them from their leafy forest homes for the amusement and agricultural pursuit of man mars our history and our present. The historic presence of the wildcat extended all throughout this island but is now confined to the highlands, hated throughout history being classes as pests from gamekeepers and landowners. If we fail in preserving the Scottish wildcat population and it fades from existence to live only as ink and paper of history books. Crowning the Scottish wildcat species allows them to live on as a regal, mythical animal for future generations whom will have never seen one nor have such a blessed opportunity for such an encounter.

This act would not be as unorthodox or revolutionary as it appears. Closest example is Wales; with the title being shared between the Red Kite a predatory bird which very much real, and a Heraldic Animal, the Red Dragon, which is obviously mythic. There are also many countries on the European continent were the status of national animal is shared, or at least classed in different way between different species. I will divide them between ‘Ecological’ and ‘Heraldic’. Other countries include Greece (Dolphin, Phoenix), Serbia (Lynx, White Eagle), Portugal (Iberian Wolf, Cockerel of Barcelona), Norway (Fjord Horse, Lion), and Russia (Brown Bear, Double-Headed Eagle). This is in no means an exhaustive list, there exists many more examples of shared titleship on both the European and international stage. The sharing of this position is well-treaded ground and with no country on the European continent classing the wildcat as their own national animal, it is a prime opportunity for Scotland to do so ourselves.

People may be suggesting that the lion would be a better contender for this move and would be right to usurp Felis Silvestris of the crown of the second national animal, primarily due to iconic imagery given from the Royal Standard, a bi-colour flag with the fleur-des-lis and a standing lion. Our response would be the physical dwelling that the wildcat has had in this country, being a permanent resident of these islands, The Lion is real of course, but never resided on this island compared to the wildcat that has been a permanent resident since the Ice Age. A national culture also needs to move on and giving the wildcat precedence over the medieval lion would be a wonderful opportunity to allow us to let go of the past and begin creating a new image for our country.

Politically, the introduction of new national animals may provide a unifying factor that is so desperately needed now. It would be ridiculous to suggest that this nomination of a national animal will cure all of the ills present in our society, but animals have a universal appeal and an animal receiving increased recognition is something that everyone can appreciate and support. Time to allow our native fauna to spill out onto the pages of history and be a star attraction amongst the menagerie of national animals.

Requesting a statement of judgement, I reached out to members of the Scottish parliament, local politicians of Aberdeen and to political societies at our university. No members of the Scottish parliament responded to my proposals and Martin Ford, an Aberdeenshire councilman for the Green Party, was the only politician to entertain some correspondence with me, providing the following:

‘‘I was fortunate enough to see a Scottish wildcat family, a mother and three kittens, while on a cycling holiday. It was the highlight of my trip and I have never forgotten the surprise and delight of watching them …both your campaigns would serve to remind people, through a species of great conservation concern, that nature matters and matters to them. People take more care of things they value. Anything that counters detachment from and disregard for nature is worthwhile at this critical time in our relationship with the natural world on which we all depend.’’

To my surprise, I was ignored by every single university society that I had contacted, without a single message of acknowledgement or declining to comment. This is excluding the Aberdeen University Conservative and Unionist Association, who could not have been more reciprocal to my enquiry. So courteous they were, the Chairman, Joshua Mills, had even arranged a meeting with me on the same day of my request to discuss the matter in depth, before committing to the following composition:

‘The Aberdeen University Conservative and Unionist Association are delighted to see the Journal of Matters Relating to Felines acknowledging the plight of the Scottish wildcat, the gift of shared titleship with the Unicorn is a fitting reward and symbol for this feline. We hope the Scottish wildcat shall endure for future generations and remain a symbol of the wild nature of Scotland. We are supporting the Journal of Matters Relating to Felines in all peaceful attempts to persuade the Scottish Government to honour the feline with the gift of shared titleship. Furthermore, a campaign to bring the danger faced by this wildcat to the general public would be welcomed.’

Contained within the paragraphs of this article is information which I hope is sufficient in both quantity and quality to build a mountain of reasoned evidence and substantiated virtue for the Scottish wildcat to climb for it to step upon the podium to share with the unicorn as universally recognised symbols of the Scottish nation. If the proposals made by our ‘The Animal Characters of Our Island Story’ campaign are adopted, then in amicable company, the ethereal forms of the equine and feline can live forever amongst harebell, the thistle, and the burnet rose within our forests before the faded blue summits of the Cairngorms and together in the hearts of Scottish people for generations to come.

Composed By, Maurice Alexander, Undergraduate of Business Management