why is Glasgows old motto, the fish that never swam, the tree that never grew, the bell that never rang?

Answer 1

Many people, including Glaswegians themselves, are only vaguely aware of the stories and legends associated with the coat of arms. So here is the background to:

There's the tree that never grew,
There's the bird that never flew,
There's the fish that never swam,
There's the bell that never rang.

The Tree That Never Grew
The tree in the coat of arms is a now sturdy oak tree, but it started out as a branch of a hazel tree. The legend says that St Mungo was in charge of a holy fire in St Serf's Monastery and fell asleep. Some boys who were envious of his favoured position with St Serf put out the fire. But St Mungo broke off some frozen branches from a hazel tree and, by praying over them, caused them to burst into flames.

The Bird That Never Flew
This commemorates a wild robin which was tamed by St Serf and which was accidentally killed. St Mungo was blamed for the death but he is said to have taken the dead bird, prayed over it and it was restored to life.

The Fish That Never Swam
The coat of arms always shows the fish with a ring held in its mouth. This is because a King of Strathclyde had given his wife a ring as a present. But the Queen gave it to a knight who promptly lost it. Some versions of the story say that the King took the ring while the knight was asleep and threw it in the river. The King then demanded to see the ring - threatening death to the Queen if she could not do so. The knight confessed to St Mungo who sent a monk to catch a fish in the river Clyde. When this was brought back (presumably catching salmon in the Clyde in those days was a lot easier then!) St Mungo cut open the fish and found the ring. When the Bishop of Glasgow was designing his own seal around 1271, he used the illustration of a salmon with a ring in its mouth and this has come down to us in today's coat of arms.

The Bell That Never Rang
In 1450, John Stewart, the first Lord Provost of Glasgow, left an endowment so that a "St Mungo's Bell" could be made and tolled throughout the city so that the citizens would pray for his soul. The bell was still ringing out in 1578, as there is an entry in the City Treasurer's accounts two shillings (10p) "for one tong to St Mungowis Bell." A new bell was purchased by the magistrates in 1641 and that bell is on display in the People's Palace museum near Glasgow Green.

In 1631, another bell was made, this time for the Tron Church on which was inscribed the words "Lord, let Glasgow Flourish by the preaching of the word." Whether Glasgow flourished with spiritual assistance or the hard work of its people (or both), there is no doubt that Glasgow, now the largest city in Scotland, (twice the size of the capital, Edinburgh ) has certainly prospered.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
why is Glasgows old motto, the fish that never swam, the tree that never grew, the bell that never rang?

Answer 3

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sstewart1873/Index/webpages/Legend.htm


The City of Glasgow, rather surprisingly, did not have a Coat of Arms until the middle of the 19th century. The Lord Lyon King at Arms gave approval for one to be adopted in 1866, which incorporated a number of symbols and emblems that were assocciated with the legends surrounding St Mungo. These emblems had only been used on official seals up until then.

The Bird that never flew,
The Tree that never grew,
The Bell that never rang,
The Fish that never swam.

The Bird in the crest commemorates a wild Robin that St Serf, St Mungo's old master, tamed. The Robin was accidentally killed by some of St Serf's disciples who in turn blamed St Mungo. When St Mungo took the dead bird in his hands and prayed over it, it was restored to life and flew chirping to its master.

Legend informs us that the Tree, which is now portrayed in the crest as an oak, started life as a hazel branch. As a boy in the monastery, St Mungo was left in charge of the holy fire in the refectory of St Serf's Monastery. He fell asleep one night and some of the other boys who were envious of his favoured position, put out the fire. When he woke and found what had happened, St Mungo broke off some frozen branches from a hazel tree and, by praying over them, caused them to burst into flames.

It is thought that the square Bell may have been aquired by St Mungo on a trip to Rome but there is no definite information as to how he obtained it. In the 15th Century St Mungo's Bell had become a notable institution in Glasgow. In 1450, John Stewart, the first Provost of Glasgow, left, as did many others, an endowment to have the bell tolled throughout the city to call the citizens to pray for his soul. The bell was still ringing out in 1578, as there is an entry in the City Treasurer's accounts for two shillings "for one tong to St Mungowis Bell." A replacement was purchased by the magistrates in 1641 and this bell still exists in the People's Palace on Glasgow Green.

The Fish is a salmon, which is always shown with a ring in it's mouth. The ring was a present from Hydderch Hael, King of Cadzow, to his wife, Queen Languoreth.


I'm sorry but some people are just useless and he must be one of them.

Answer 4

Glasgow Coat Of Arms

Answer 5

The saying is a description of our coat of Arms, which contains a fish, a tree, a bell and a bell. Our motto is "let Glasgow Flourish"

http://www.glasgow.com/thecity.php contains more details

Answer 6

Because on the cities coat of arms there is a fish a tree and a bell. God bless glasgow!!!

Answer 7

WOW! I see the silly factor after all these years. I thought it was referring to a literal "foxhole" as in World War One. But, now I see that the word is based on two words ... fox and hole ... which could actually mean a literal hole owned by a fox. Well, how would a fox own anything besides its fur? I mean the hole is in the ground and does he/she have a written documentation of ownership like a deed OR can the fox even read or write. I see now how silly this whole thing is and I greet your perceptiveness with the tribute of a star given FOR SILLINESS.

Answer 8

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Oh, I'm so going to start saying "you will never find an Atheist in a fox tree".

Answer 9

ERM! im frm glasgow and that guy thomas's answer is way out of order! Glasgow is a wonderful place! and I have never used ONE of those sayings and I've never heard any1 saying it either?

Answer 10

It has been shortened from "Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of his word" to todays wording "Let Glasgow flourish". Time dims vision and knowledge.