Massachusetts Coat of Arms

History of the Arms of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Massachusetts Coat of Arms

Seals, such as those that appear on documents certified by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have a long history and were mentioned even in the Bible. They were widely used many centuries ago because most persons, even of high rank and wealth, did not read or write. Acceptance of a document was signified by making an impression of one’s coat of arms into a blob of soft wax, usually with an engraved signet ring. There was a general reluctance to affix seals to documents unless absolute certainty of the contents could be confirmed. This eventually led to the idea that documents of state and other important personal papers, such as deeds, should contain a seal that bore witness to their authenticity.

When the Province of Massachusetts began in 1692, the royal coat of arms of England, combined with a motto specific to the reigning monarch, became the official seal.

Soon after its first meeting under the Massachusetts Constitution, the state legislature appointed a committee “to consider & determine upon a Seal for this Commonwealth.” A month later, on December 13, 1780, the Council and Governor John Hancock accepted Nathan Cushing’s design for a new seal. Paul Revere was once again commissioned to engrave the seal, which returned to its original design of a native American Indian. Revere presented his bill on December 23, 1780 – the signed original is located at the Massachusetts Archives. The Council provided only a casual description of how the seal should look, so subsequent engravers varied the appearance of the seal.

It was not until June 4, 1885, that the legislature prescribed the seal in its present form. According to St.1885, c. 288:
The arms, which form the central part of the Great Seal
…shall consist of a shield, whereof the field or surface is blue, and thereon an Indian dressed in his shirt and moccasins, holding in his right hand a bow, and in his left hand an arrow, point downward, all of gold; and in the upper corner above his right arm, a silver star with five points. The crest shall be a wreath of blue and gold, whereon is a right arm, bent at the elbow, and clothed and ruffled, the hand grasping a broadsword, all of gold. The motto shall be “Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem.”

Starting in 1894 there was an attempt to provide a more accurate representation of the appearance of the Indian…. Secretary of the Commonwealth William M. Olin consulted various ethnologists, and the Indian was redesigned within the restrictions of the 1780 and 1885 laws. In 1898, Edmund H. Garrett’s design was made the official representation of the coat of arms for the state, according to St. 1898, c. 519:
The coat-of-arms as drawn and emblazoned under the direction of the present secretary of the Commonwealth, and now deposited in the office of said secretary, is hereby adopted and declared to be the official representation of the coat-of-arms of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and all designs of said coat-of-arms for official use shall conform strictly to said representation.

Source: Excerpted from The History of the Arms and Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Description of the Massachusetts Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms consist of “a shield having a blue field or surface with an Indian thereon, dressed in a shirt and moccasins, holding in his right hand a bow, and in his left hand an arrow, point downward, all of gold; and, in the upper corner of the field, above his right arm, a silver star with five points. The crest is a wreath of blue and gold, on which in gold is a right arm, bent at the elbow, clothed and ruffled, with the hand grasping a broadsword”. The shield’s shape is called “Plantagenet”; the Native American model used was of the Algonquin nation; the arrow points downward to indicate that the Indian is peaceful; and the star indicates that Massachusetts was one of the original thirteen states; it was sixth. The sword illustrates the Latin motto that is written in gold on a blue ribbon around the bottom of the shield: “Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem”. This is the second of two lines written about 1659 by Algernon Sydney, English soldier and politician, in the Book of Mottoes in the King’s Library in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was adopted in 1775 by the Provincial Congress and means “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.”

Source: Governor Deval Patrick

General Laws of Massachusetts Related to the Coat of Arms

PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT

TITLE I. JURISDICTION AND EMBLEMS OF THE COMMONWEALTH, THE GENERAL COURT, STATUTES AND PUBLIC DOCUMENTS

CHAPTER 2. ARMS, GREAT SEAL AND OTHER EMBLEMS OF THE COMMONWEALTH

Chapter 2: Section 5. Coat of arms, seal and flags of commonwealth; state secretary as custodian; conformance to specifications; use and display regulations

Section 5. The state secretary shall be the custodian of the coat of arms, seal and flags of the commonwealth and all representations of said arms, seal and flags shall conform strictly to the specifications which shall be prepared under the direction of the state secretary in the year nineteen hundred and seventy-one and deposited in his office. The proper use and display of said arms, seal and flags of the commonwealth and their manufacture are hereby subject to such regulations relating thereto which the state secretary may from time to time issue, provided that such regulations shall be in conformity with all the relevant legislation of the United States and of the commonwealth.

Source: The General Laws of Massachusetts