2021-08 Fluer-De-Lis

One of the most notable symbols within Scouting is the Fleur-de-lis.  This symbol has been used by many European nations, most notably within France where the translation is respectively “flower lily”. 

This symbol is capable of holding many meanings at the same time. Religious, political, artistic, symbolic, and emblematic. Throughout history the fleur-de-lis has been used by French royalty.  Within the Catholic church the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph are often depicted with a lily. This symbol is also often used on the compass rose found on maps and globes, a tradition started by Pedro Reinel. Some of you may even follow a pro football team that places this flower lily on everything that bears their name.

In the early creation of the Boy Scouts, Lord Baden-Powell implemented the fleur-de-lis into the Scout’s badge.  Here is what he has to say about the subject. Found in the book, Lessons from the Varsity of Life, by Lord Baden-Powell.

Lord Baden-Powell -

Years ago, soon after the Boy Scouts were first started, certain critics accused the movement of being a military one.

Whenever anything new is started there are bound to be people who get up on their hind legs to find fault with it, often before they know what it is all about.

In this case they said that the Scout movement was designed to teach the boys to be soldiers, and they quoted in proof that the crest of the movement was, as they described it: “A spear-head, the emblem of battle and bloodshed.”

I was asked by cable what I had to say about it. I telegraphed back: “The crest is the fleur-de-lys, a lily, the emblem of peace and purity.”

But it wasn’t for that reason that Scouts took it. In the Middle Ages, Charles, King of Naples, owing to his French descent had the fleur-de-lys as his crest.

It was in his reign that Flavio Gioja, the navigator, made the mariner’s compass into a practical and reliable instrument. The compass card had the initial letters of North, South, East and West upon it.  In Italian the North was “Tramontana.”

So, he put a capital T to mark the North point. But in compliment to the King he made a combination of the letter T with the King’s fleur-de-lys crest. From that time the North point has been universally shown on the maps, charts, and compass cards by that sign.

The actual meaning to be read from the fleur-de-lys badge is that it points in the right direction (and upwards) turning neither to the right nor the left, since these lead backward again. The stars on the two side arms stand for the two eyes of the Wolf Cub having been opened before he became a Scout, when he gained his First-Class Badge of two Stars. The three points of the fleur-de-lys remind the Scout of the three points of the Scout’s Promise - Duty to God and King, Helpfulness to other people, and Obedience to the Scout Law.

Tale of the Unknown Scout

Scouting was brought to America by William D. Boyce, a Chicago publisher, and the way Boyce discovered Scouting is one of the movement’s most colorful stories. Boyce, it seems, was in London in the fall of 1909 and was out in a famed London fog looking for an office in the center of the city. Nearly at his wit’s end, Boyce stopped a young man and asked directions. Not only did the youth tell Boyce how to reach his destination, he actually led Boyce there to make certain the American found his way without becoming lost again. Boyce, to show his gratitude, offered the youth a tip, but the youth would not accept it. When asked why, the young man told Boyce he was a Boy Scout and taking a tip would negate the good deed he had done and violate his Scouting code.

The youth’s gesture impressed Boyce, who later visited with Lord Baden-Powell himself. Boyce was so taken with Baden-Powell and the Scouting idea that back in America he and other men interested in youth development founded the Boy Scouts of America in Washington, D.C., on February 8th, 1910. No one knows who the Scout was who performed his Good Turn for Boyce, but he has not been forgotten. In Gilwell Park in London, American Scouts had a statue erected in his honor. A large-scale representation of the Silver Buffalo Award, the statue bears the inscription, “To the Unknown Scout Whose Faithfulness in the Performance of the Daily Good Turn Brought the Scout Movement to the United States of America.”

Founders of the BSA

Today marks the 108th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. Below are the individuals who played a key role in establishing this great program.

Robert S. S. Baden-Powell

As a youth, Robert Baden-Powell greatly enjoyed the outdoors, learning about nature and
how to live in the wilderness. After returning as a military hero from service in Africa, BadenPowell
discovered that English boys were reading the manual on stalking and survival in the
wilderness he had written for his military regiment. Gathering ideas from Ernest Thompson
Seton, Daniel Carter Beard, and others, he rewrote the manual as a nonmilitary nature skill
book and called it Scouting for Boys. To test his ideas, Baden-Powell brought together 22 boys
to camp at Brownsea Island, off the coast of England. This historic campout was a success
and resulted in the advent of Scouting. Thus, the imagination and inspiration of Baden-Powell,
later proclaimed Chief Scout of the World, brought Scouting to youth the world over.

Ernest Thompson Seton

Born in Scotland, Ernest Thompson Seton immigrated to America as a youth in the 1880s.
His fascination with the wilderness led him to become a naturalist, an artist, and an
author, and through his works he influenced both youth and adults. Seton established a
youth organization called the Woodcraft Indians, and his background of outdoor skills
and interest in youth made him a logical choice for the position of first Chief Scout of the
BSA in 1910. His many volumes of Scoutcraft became an integral part of Scouting, and his
intelligence and enthusiasm helped turn an idea into reality

Daniel Carter Beard

Woodsman, illustrator, and naturalist, Daniel Carter Beard was a pioneering spirit of the
Boy Scouts of America. Already 60 years old when the Boy Scouts of America was formed,
he became a founder and merged it with his own boys’ organization, the Sons of Daniel
Boone. As the first national Scout commissioner, Beard helped design the original Scout
uniform and introduced the elements of the First Class Scout badge. ‘‘Uncle Dan,’’ as he
was known to boys and leaders, will be remembered as a colorful figure dressed in
buckskin who helped form Scouting in the United States.

William D. Boyce

In 1909, Chicago publisher William D. Boyce lost his way in a dense London fog. A boy
came to his aid and, after guiding the man, refused a tip, explaining that as a Scout he
would not take a tip for doing a Good Turn. This gesture by an unknown Scout inspired
a meeting with Robert Baden-Powell, the British founder of the Boy Scouts. As a result,
William Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America on February 8, 1910. He also
created the Lone Scouts, which merged with the Boy Scouts of America in 1924.

James E. West

James E. West was appointed the first Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America in
1911. Although orphaned and physically handicapped, he had the perseverance to graduate
from law school and become a successful attorney. This same determination provided the
impetus to help build Scouting into the largest and most effective youth organization in
the world. When he retired in 1943, Dr. West was recognized throughout the country as
the true architect of the Boy Scouts of America.