| Type: | emblem |
| Symbol of the Scout Movement | |
| Country: | Worldwide |
| F-Date: | 1907 |
| Owner: | public domain |
The world scout emblem, used worldwide by Scouts and many Scout organizations within the Scout Movement is the fleur-de-lis, commonly with a five-point star in each outer lobe. This emblem was adopted by Scouts from the inception of the Scout Movement and is used, in various forms, by many Scout organizations.
In 1897, Robert Baden-Powell trained soldiers in India in scouting. The British Army awarded trained army scouts a brass fleur-de-lis-shaped badge. In 1907, Baden-Powell issued copper fleur-de-lis badges to participants of his experimental camp on Brownsea Island in 1907[1] and he included a simple fleur-de-lis design Scout badge in his book, Scouting for Boys.[2] Soon after, a five-pointed star was added to each of the outer lobes of the fleur-de-lis. Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts adopted the fleur-de-lis as their symbol.[3]
The fleur-de-lis represents the north point on a map or compass and is intended to point Scouts on the path to service. The three lobes on the fleur-de-lis represent the three parts of the Scout Promise: duty to God, service to others and obedience to the Scout Law.[4] A "bond", tying the three lobes of the fleur-de-lis together, symbolizes the family of Scouting.[5] The two five-point stars stand for truth and knowledge, with the ten points representing the ten points of the Scout Law.