Today is Yorkshire Day. Being born and bred in that county, I feel it only right to mention the fact… and to share a little of the old lore, taught to me by my great grandparents many years ago.
Great grandma drank her tea from a delicate bone china cup, with a matching saucer. Great grandad always had a mug for his tea, and upon it were intriguing words. On one side was the Motto, and on the other was the Coat of Arms.
The Motto was simple:
‘Ear all, see all, say nowt;
Eat all, sup all, pay nowt;
And if ivver tha does owt fer nowt – Allus do it fer thee’sen.
(Translation: ‘Hear all, see all, say nothing; Eat all, drink all, pay nothing;
And if ever you do anything for nothing – always do it for yourself.)
The Yorkshireman’s coat of arms is a curious affair. It consists of a shield surmounted by a horse’s head, supported by a huntsman and an ostler. Beneath it runs another motto and within the shield are a flea, a fly, a bacon flitch and a magpie.
Like all heraldry, the symbolism requires some explanation. The motto, translated to Yorkshire, reads Qui capit ille habet or ‘Cop t’lot an’ stick.’ The horse and horsemen are the easiest to explain, as Yorkshire, beyond its boundaries, was infamous for horse dealing… though not always fairly. The saying runs that the men of my county could swap a dead horse for a live one and yet leave the new owner of the deceased beast feeling they’d had the best of the bargain.
In 1904, the Spectator published a request for elucidation of the symbolism of the Coat of Arms, choosing to print the version displayed on a sign in the Black Swan in York… the capital city of Yorkshire.
(There may be those who claim that Yorkshire has no right to a capital city, being merely a county and not a country. Do not say this to a native of Yorkshire.)
A Flea, a Fly, a Magpie, an’ Bacon Flitch
Is t’ Yorkshireman’s coat-of-arms:
An’ t’ reason they’ve choszen these things so rich
Is becoss they hev all speshal charms,
A flea will bite whoivver it can,
An’ soa, my lads, will a Yorksherman.
A fly will sup with, Dick, Tom, or Dan,
An’ soa, by Gow! will a Yorksherman.
A magpie can talk for a terrible span,
An’ soa, an’ all, can a Yorksherman.
A flitch is no gooid whol it’s hung, ye’ll agree,
No more is a Yorksherman, don’t ye see?
(There are other versions, some less complimentary and probably written by Lancastrians. Anyone who thinks the War of the Roses is just history has never met a Yorkshireman… although these days the rivalry is more habitual than martial.)
The true Yorkshire Tyke does not mind these apparent insults, but takes them, with a perverse pride, as a backhanded compliment. After all, there’s nowt so queer as folk.
I loved getting great grandad to explain the words and images on his mug. And, when he was done, he would raise his tea in the Yorkshire Toast:
Here’s ta me, and me wife’s husband, not forgetting me’sen!!
It has been said that the way to depress a Yorkshireman is to tell him that he is just the same as everyone else. Not that he would believe you… after all, he comes from God’s Own County (even Wikipedia says so) where the land abounds with ancient stones and mysteries and every summer, the county wears royal robes.
Happy Yorkshire Day!
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Happy Yorkshire Day, Sue 🙂
LikeLike
And to you, Jane 🙂
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is so great. I’m married to a Yorkshireman, although he hasn’t lived there for almost 50 years. He never did have the accent. What does me’sen mean? I will share this with my delightful father-inlaw.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It means ‘myself’, Darlene 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now, that makes sense. Thanks!
LikeLike
😀
LikeLike
Congratulations! The motto is fantastic, and the best i have ever read. Lol Michael
LikeLike
That’s Yorkshire for you 😉
LikeLike
Lovely post and photo Sue. Happy Yorkshire Day.
LikeLike
Thanks, Di. Happy Yorkshire Day 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Sue, fun and educational 💜💜💜 Happy Yorkshire Day.💜
LikeLike
Thanks Willow. Lots of memories 🙂 xx
LikeLike
Lovely ones too, sadly I don’t remember my paternal grandparents, and only have one memory of my maternal ones once, don’t mention boiled chicken 😟
LikeLike
😀
I was lucky, I had most of my grandparents and great granparents while I was growing up . xx
LikeLike
That is amazing 💜
LikeLike
It was ❤
LikeLike
💜
LikeLiked by 1 person
An interesting post, Sue. We are going to be in York for two days too.
LikeLike
It is a wonderful city…and with so very much to discover there…
LikeLike
I’ve read this three times and I want to know where the doughnuts are! In Israel they eat doughnuts on Chanukah (oil, you know) … but why doughnuts for Yorkshire day?
LikeLike
That was an error… but you saw that 😉
LikeLike
Oh, I thought I’d missed an important link somewhere! It never occurred to me that I missed bumped into an error. I didn’t think you made mistakes — I though that was just ME :-D.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh gawd, I make loads of ’em.
LikeLike
That ‘translation’ is priceless. 🙂 Happy Yorkshire Day! 😀
LikeLike
Heh 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Born in Yorkshire 75 years ago, I always knew it as ‘God’s own COUNTRY’, not County. I see that a film that came out a couple of years ago was titled ‘God’s own COUNTRY’.
LikeLike