The Great Seal of the State of Connecticut has been the coat of arms of the U.S. state of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

since May 1784. It depicts three grapevines and a ribbon below with the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

motto: ''Qui Transtulit Sustinet'' (English: He who transplanted sustains), with SIGILLUM REIPUBLICÆ CONNECTICUTENSIS (English: Seal of the State of Connecticut) in the border.

History

The first seal of Connecticut was brought from England by Colonel

George Fenwick Sir George Fenwick (2 February 1847 – 23 September 1929) was a New Zealand newspaper proprietor and editor. He is best known for his time as manager and editor of the ''Otago Daily Times'', during which time he supported the campaign initiated ...

in 1639. It was the seal of the Saybrook Colony and was turned over to the Connecticut Colony at about the time that it purchased the land and fort at

Saybrook Point Old Saybrook Center is the primary village and a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Old Saybrook, Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,278 at the 2020 census, out of 10,481 in the entire town of Old Saybro ...

from Colonel Fenwick in 1644. The seal was used by the General Court (

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of pres ...

) from that time forward, but there is no clear record of who had custody of the seal. On October 9, 1662 the assembly formally declared that the seal would be kept by the Secretary of the Colony and used as the Seal of the Colony on necessary occasions. It remained the colony's seal until October 1687, when Sir

Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714) was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served ...

took control of the colony's government and the seal disappeared. On October 25, 1711, a meeting of the Governor and Council (upper house of the assembly) resolved, that "a new stamp shall be made and cut of the seal of this Colony, suitable for sealing upon wafers, and that a press be provided with the necessary appurtenances, for that purpose, as soon as may be, at the cost and charge of this Colony, to be kept in the secretary's office". The new, less elaborately decorated seal was larger in size and more oval shaped than the original. The words of the motto remained the same, but the number of grape vines was reduced to three and the legend ''Sigillum Coloniae Connecticutensis'' ("Seal of the Connecticut Colony") is added to the edge of the seal. The three vines may have been intended to represent the three colonies: New Haven Colony, Saybrook Colony and

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

. After the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the inscription on the colonial seal was no longer appropriate. Therefore, in May 1784 the General Assembly directed the Secretary to alter the inscription to read ''SIGILL. REIP. CONNECTICUTENSIS''. However, when a new version of the seal was prepared, the inscription contained the words spelled out: ''SIGILLUM REIPUBLICÆ CONNECTICUTENSIS'' ("Seal of the Republic of Connecticut"). There has been no subsequent alteration to the official state seal. In 1931 the General Assembly required that all representations of the state seal conform to the description in chapter 54 of the Public Acts of that year. This legislation also prohibited reproduction of the seal except by or under the direction of the Secretary of the State. It is the only non-circular state seal out of the fifty states, and is joined only by the Seal of Guam when

insular area In the law of the United States, an insular area is a U.S.-associated jurisdiction that is not part of the 50 states or the District of Columbia. This includes fourteen U.S. territories administered under U.S. sovereignty, as well as three so ...

s are included.

Motto

''Qui transtulit sustinet'' (

"He who transplanted sustains", also "He Who Transplanted Still Sustains" or " eWho Transplanted Continues to Sustain") is the state motto of

depicted on a blue ribbon below the grapevines. The motto has been re-used for the name of Connecticut's

SustiNet SustiNet is a Connecticut health care plan passed into law in July 2009. Its goal was to provide affordable health care coverage to 98% of Connecticut residents by 2014. The name SustiNet derives from the motto of the State of Connecticut: "Qui ...

program to provide health care to state residents.

History of motto

Connecticut state coat of arms (illustrated, 1876)

The current motto differs slightly from the 1639 version (c.f. ''Sustinet qui transtulit''). It was first seen in the colonies in 1639 on a seal brought from England by Colonel

. The meaning of the motto was explained on April 23, 1775 in a letter stamped in Wethersfield, Connecticut: "We fix on our Standards and Drums the Colony arms, with the motto, Qui Transtulit Sustinet, round it in letters of gold, which we construe thus: God, who transplanted us hither, will support us". In 1889, State Librarian

Charles J. Hoadly Charles Jeremy Hoadly (1828–1900) was an American librarian and historian who served as State Librarian and director of the Connecticut State Library from 1855 to 1900. He insisted on spelling his surname as "Hoadly," though most of his ext ...

published an article, " The Public Seal of Connecticut" that indicated the 80th Psalm as a possible source. The article stated:

"The vines n the State Sealsymbolize the Colony brought over and planted here in the wilderness. We read in the 80th Psalm: 'Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: Thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it" – in Latin, 'Vineam de Aegypto transtulisti, ejicisti gentes et plantasti eam'; and the motto expresses our belief that He who brought over the vine continues to take care of it – ''Qui transtulit sustinet''".

Grapevines

The grapevines are said to represent more specifically either early towns or the early individual colonies. Some 19th-century versions of the Connecticut Great Seal show several grapevines. The best answer today is that the grapevines should be taken to represent the three original colonies of Connecticut: (Hartford), Quinnipiac (New-Haven), and Saybrook, though it can also represent the first three settlements of the Connecticut colony proper- Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield, as New Haven and Saybrook were reluctant additions to Connecticut.

Seal of the Governor

There is also a seal of the

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Connec ...

. Unlike the State Seal however, it uses the

coat of arms of Connecticut The coat of arms of Connecticut is an official emblem of the state of Connecticut, alongside the seal and state flag. The General Assembly of Connecticut adopted a design for the official arms of the state on March 24, 1931, which it ordered to ...

as its central motif. File:Seal of the Governor of Connecticut.svg, Seal of the

File:Seal of the Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut.svg, Seal of the Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut File:Seal of the Senate of Connecticut.svg, Seal of the

Connecticut State Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sen ...

File:Seal of the Connecticut Department of Transportation.svg, Seal of the Connecticut Department of Transportation

References

External links

The Great Seal of the State of Connecticut
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seal Of Connecticut

Symbols of Connecticut 1784 introductions