Gallus Glasgow L: Let Glasgow Flourish

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By Alex Spade [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Let Glasgow flourish is the city’s motto. It derives from the 6th century St Mungo, our founder and patron saint, one of whose sermons is said to have included the words “Lord, let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the word”. The Coat of Arms on the left was adopted in 1866 and shows Mungo’s miracles: the tree that never grew, the bird that never flew, the bell that never rang and the fish that never swam. Intrigued? The Evening Times has a basic Eye Spy Glasgow feature on them.

The Coat of Arms and / or depictions of the miracles are everywhere around the city, although you have to be prepared to look up in many cases. Here are a few examples that I’ve noticed on recent wanderings.

Great Tapestry of Scotland
Botanic Gardens
Festival brochure
Kelvin Bridge
Buchanan Street
Albert Bridge
People’s Palace
Cathedral precinct
Museum of Religion
Unicorn fountain
St Mungo at The Tron
Glasgow’s Coat of Arms, Gorbals

Tomorrow, in M, we’re off to the library!

A to Z Challenge 2015, Scotland, UK ,

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  5. Yes Anabel, a very intriguing post! Thanks for providing the link for Eye spy Glasgow. I will read up on that page after writing this one 🙂

    Thanks also for the recommendation of where to see windmills in NL. I will keep that in mind until I could actually see the place and not just be there for transit.

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  6. Let Glasgow flourish is a wonderful city motto. It’s so wonderful that the coat of arms and the miracles are found throughout the city and in such varied art forms. It would be fun just to walk around the city and try to spot them.

    Minneapolis’s motto is En Avant, meaning “forward” in French. I probably never would have known that if this blog post wouldn’t have made me curious enough to google it. (We also have an ugly City Seal that for the best of my knowledge is only displayed in and on City Hall).

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    • It’s a gallus expression of civic pride! Many of them are Victorian, which you would expect, but I like that there are modern adaptations too. Now I’ve started looking, I see them everywhere.

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  8. Looking forward to the library! That coat of arms is really interesting. I like that its based on the various miracles the city has experienced.

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  9. Great pictures of the coat of arms and just some great carvings showing the miracles. I love how people can walk by something that is beautiful and they never see it. You did:)

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  14. i look forward to revisiting the Mitchell tomorrow – it HAS to be, hasn’t it?
    spent many a quiet hour there with my head in some amazing books (even though i was an undergrad at edinburgh) guess i wouldn’t need to go now with so much online

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  16. My husband would go crazy over the coat of arms. We have an old world home and have stuffed it full of artifacts we love. The workmanship in all is beautiful.

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