GREAT SEAL OF MARYLAND

(REVERSE)


[Reverse of the Great Seal of Maryland]

The reverse consists of an escutcheon, or shield, bearing the Calvert and Mynne 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 symbolizes 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.

Maryland State Symbols


Maryland Manual On-Line

 Maryland Manual On-Line, 1999

July 6, 1999   
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