fleur de lis - Scouting

In Scouting's early years, critics accused Baden-Powell of trying to turn boys into soldiers, holding up as evidence the Scout symbol, which they called 'a spear-head, the emblem of battle and bloodshed'. The Founder quickly replied, "The crest is the fleur de lis', the emblem of peace and purity."

In truth, he had chosen as Scouting's emblem the sign for the North Point, 'universally shown on maps, charts and compass cards', because "it points in the right direction (and upwards), turning neither to the right nor left, since these lead backward again..." Lady Baden-Powell added later, "It shows the true way to go."

Baden-Powell explained the origins of this sign. In the Middle Ages, mariner Flavio Gioja designed it to make the seaman's compass more reliable. In Italian, North was 'Tramontana'. Gioja used a capital 'T' to mark it, and in deference to King Charles of Naples, whose crest was the fleur de lis, combined the letter with that emblem.

The Scout symbol is white on a purple background, colours Baden-Powell chose because, in heraldry, white stands for purity and purple for leadership and helping others.