The Great Seal of the State of Maryland is the official government emblem of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Its official service is to authenticate acts by the

General Assembly of Maryland The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber ...

(state legislature), but it is also used for display purposes at most state buildings. Although the state seal has been changed in design several times throughout history, the current model represents the reverse side of the original seal. The seal consists of two sides, a reverse and an obverse. In official contexts, only the reverse side is used.

History

The first seal was stolen in 1645 by Richard Ingle during a rebellion, but a similar one was sent as a replacement by

Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (8 August 1605 – 30 November 1675), also often known as Cecilius Calvert, was an English nobleman, who was the first Proprietor of the Province of Maryland, ninth Proprietary Governor of the Colony of Newf ...

(1605-1675). This seal was used except for a period from 1692–1715 until a new one was adopted in 1794. That seal used

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

an imagery, such as a woman holding scales of justice on the obverse and on the reverse the motto "Industry the Means, Plenty the Result". In 1817 and 1854, symbols of the

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

were used along with a version of the original reverse on the 1854 version. The original Calvert seal was brought back into use in 1874, and has had various corrections made to its image and meaning in 1959 and 1969.

Obverse side

Maryland has the distinction of having a dual-sided seal, rare among

s and the world. The obverse side of the state seal, which was described by statute in 1959 (Chapter 396, Acts of 1959), shows Lord Baltimore as a knight in full armor mounted on a charger with a drawn sword in hand. The

caparison A caparison is a cloth covering laid over a horse or other animal for protection and decoration. In modern times, they are used mainly in parades and for historical reenactments. A similar term is horse-trapper. The word is derived from the Lat ...

s of the horse on which Lord Baltimore is mounted bear his family coat of arms. The inscription on the rim of the seal shows the phrase, ''Cecilius Absolutus Dominus Terræ Mariæ et Avaloniæ Baro de Baltimore'', which translates to ''"Cecil, Absolute Lord of Maryland and

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

, Baron of Baltimore"'' (Chapter 79, Acts of 1969; Sections 13-101 through 13-105 of the State Government Article of the

Annotated Code of Maryland The Annotated Code of Maryland, published by The Michie Company, is the official codification of the statutory laws of Maryland. It is organized into 36 named articles. The previous code, organized into numbered articles, has been repealed. Amend ...

Reverse side

The reverse of the seal shows the Calvert

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

, described as follows: :

Quarterly A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content (media), content. They are generally financed by advertising, newsagent's shop, ...

first and fourth, a paly of six Or and Sable, a bend counterchanged; quarterly second and third, quarterly Argent and Gules a

cross bottony A number of cross symbols were developed for the purpose of the emerging system of heraldry, which appeared in Western Europe in about 1200. This tradition is partly in the use of the Christian cross an emblem from the 11th century, and increasi ...

counterchanged. Above the shield an earl's

coronet A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara does ...

surmounted by a barred

helm Helm may refer to: Common meanings * a ship's steering mechanism; see tiller and ship's wheel * another term for helmsman * an archaic term for a helmet, used as armor Arts and entertainment * Matt Helm, a character created by Donald Hamilton * ...

affronté Argent. The

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. H ...

are a

plowman A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...

(dexter) and a

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

(sinister), the former holding a spade and the latter a fish; the

mantling In heraldry, mantling or "lambrequin" (its name in French) is drapery tied to the helmet above the shield. In paper heraldry it is a depiction of the protective cloth covering (often of linen) worn by knights from their helmets to stave off the ...

of ermine (reverse Gules) is entire and surrounds the whole composition. The

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

is a crown with two pennants, the dexter Or and the sinister Sable. The

state motto Most of the United States' 50 states have a state motto, as do the District of Columbia and 3 of its territories. A motto is a phrase intended to formally describe the general motivation or intention of an organization. State mottos ca ...

, ''Fatti maschii, parole femine'' (), has its origin in the archaic

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and translates as "Manly deeds, womanly words", or more generally, "Strong deeds, gentle words", which is the translation the

government of Maryland The government of Maryland is conducted according to the Maryland Constitution. The United States is a federation; consequently, the government of Maryland, like the other 49 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie enti ...

cites officially. Maryland is the only state with a motto in Italian. The saying is the motto of the

Calvert family Baron Baltimore, of Baltimore, County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1625 and ended in 1771, upon the death of its sixth-generation male heir, aged 40. Holders of the title were usually known as Lord Baltimor ...

(the Barons Baltimore), who first founded the Colony of Maryland.

George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (; 1580 – 15 April 1632), was an English politician and colonial administrator. He achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I. He lost mu ...

(1579-1632), made it his family's motto in 1622 and it appears that the saying was well known in 17th-century England. The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

text encircling the seal, ''Scuto bonæ voluntatis tuæ coronasti nos'', is from verse 12 of Psalm 5 from the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

; it translates to ''"With favor Wilt Thou Compass Us as with a Shield"'' The founding date of 1632 completes the circle. Though the reverse side has been the only part of the seal to be cut and is the part that is primarily used on official government documents, the obverse side can be found displayed around the state, especially on state government buildings, including the

Maryland State House The Maryland State House is located in Annapolis, Maryland. It is the oldest U.S. state capitol in continuous legislative use, dating to 1772 and houses the Maryland General Assembly, plus the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. In ...

Gallery

File:Baltimore arms.png, alt=, Coat of arms of the Barons Baltimore. File:Seal of Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore Absolute Lord of the Land of Mary and of Avalon.png, alt=, Observe and reverse side of the seal of Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore. File:Laws of Maryland at large, with proper indexes Fleuron W007025-3.png, alt=, Coat of arms of Maryland from 1765. File:Coat of arms of Maryland (1876).png, alt=, The historical coat of arms of Maryland from 1876. File:US-NBN-MD-state seal detail (type 2) (Series 1882BB reverse) proof.jpg, alt=, Reverse side of the seal of Maryland on

National Bank Note National Bank Notes were United States currency banknotes issued by National Banks chartered by the United States Government. The notes were usually backed by United States bonds the bank deposited with the United States Treasury. In addition, ...

series 1882 BB.

Notes

References

External links

* Maryland Archives
Maryland State Symbols – State Seal
* Maryland Secretary of State

* Maryland Army National Guard

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seal Of Maryland Symbols of Maryland