Somerset County (Maryland)
SOMERSET COUNTY (MARYLAND)
State : Maryland
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Origin/meaning
Somerset County, Md., named after Lord Baltimore’s sister-in-law Mary Somerset, had used its Great Seal from its founding in 1666 until 1707, then shelved it for 251 years. The Old Princess Anne Days Committee and the Board of County Commissioners dusted off a black and white version in 1957, then researched the original colors and put it back in use.
Within the oval is a shield bearing a very slightly modified version of the Stuart royal arms. Several of the early county seals, including the present one, are based on the Stuart royal arms. The alterations in the Somerset County Seal are a reversal of the position of the fleur-de-lys (the royal arms has two above and one below), an absence of the flower design in the inside of the border around the rampant lion, and a simpler drawing of the harp. Also, the Garter encircling the royal arms has been reduced to a simple band.
“Covnty Somerset,” (spelled the Old English way.) “Semper Eadem, ”means, “always the same.”
The Oval Band: The Garter has encircled the royal shield since the reign of King Edward III. A colored illustration of the Order of the Garter and of the Royal Arms show the Garter to be blue, bordered with gold. It seemed logical, then, for the oval band on the Somerset County Seal to be colored in this way.
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Literature:https://www.naco.org/articles/behind-seal-%E2%80%93-feb-22-2016