12/Maryland Manual

MARYLAND'S OFFICIAL STATE SYMBOLS

GREAT SEAL OF MARYLAND

The Great Seal of Maryland is used by the Governor and the Secretary of State to authenticate Acts of
the General Assembly and for other official purposes. The first Great Seal was sent from England shortly
after settlement of the colony Except for the period of crown rule (1692-1715) when different seals were
used, the first Great Seal remained in use, though slightly altered, until the Revolution. The State of
Maryland then adopted a new seal similar in form and spirit to those of other states. One hundred years
later, Maryland readopted its old seal (Joint Resolution no. 5, Acts of 1876). Only the reverse of this seal
has ever been cut. The obverse, however, is still considered part of the seal and often adorns public
buildings.

The reverse consists of an escutcheon, or shield,
bearing the Calvert and Crossland arms quartered.
Above is an earl's coronet and a full-faced helmet.
The escutcheon is supported on one side by a
farmer and on the other by a fisherman. It symbol-
izes Lord Baltimore's two estates: Maryland, and
Avalon in Newfoundland. The Calvert motto on
the scroll is "Fatti maschii parole femine, " usually
translated "manly deeds, womanly words. " The
Latin legend on the border (the last verse of Psalms
5 from the Vulgate) is translated "with favor wilt
thou compass us as with a shield. " The date, 1632,
refers to the year the Maryland charter was granted
by Charles I, king of England, to Cecilius Calvert,
second Lord Baltimore.

The obverse of the Seal shows Lord Baltimore
as a knight in full armor mounted on a charger. The
inscription translated is "Cecilius, Absolute Lord of
Maryland and Avalon, Baron of Baltimore" (Chap-
ter 79, Acts of 1969; Code State Government
Article, secs. 13-101 through 13-105).