Highland Thistle Penannular Plaid BroochA fixed pin penannular style plaid brooch with thistle motif. Brooches with large movable central pins were near universal as garment fasteners in the Iron Age, although the design was heartily adopted and elaborated by the peoples of Scotland and Ireland in the centuries between 700 and 900AD. The thistle has been a national symbol of Scotland since at least the time of James III. As the Renaissance took hold of Scotland, the thistle became an