Difference between revisions of "George Wythe's bookplate"

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Based on a Wythe family coat-of-arms<ref>Alonso Thomas Dill, ''[[George Wythe: Teacher of Liberty]]'' (Williamsburg, Virginia: Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission, 1979), 3.</ref>, the bookplate features a griffin (a mythical beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion) [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/segreant segreant] on the crest and three griffins [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/passant passant] on the [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/escutcheon escutcheon]. In heraldry, the griffin denotes strength, intelligence, courage and leadership. Coincidentally, the [http://www.wm.edu College of William and Mary] chose the griffin as its [http://www.wm.edu/about/mascot/about/index.php mascot] in 2010.
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Based on a family coat-of-arms<ref>Alonso Thomas Dill, ''[[George Wythe: Teacher of Liberty]]'' (Williamsburg, Virginia: Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission, 1979), 3.</ref>, [[George Wythe|George Wythe's]] personal bookplate features a griffin (a mythical beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion) [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/segreant segreant] on the crest and three griffins [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/passant passant] on the [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/escutcheon escutcheon]. In heraldry, the griffin denotes strength, intelligence, courage and leadership. Coincidentally, the [http://www.wm.edu College of William and Mary] chose the griffin as its [http://www.wm.edu/about/mascot/about/index.php mascot] in 2010.
  
 
The motto "Secondis Dubiisque Rectus" translates as "Upright in Prosperity and in Perils."<ref>Dill, 3.</ref> This was also the motto chosen by [[William Blackstone|Sir William Blackstone]] for the commemorative rings given to the King, Lord Chancellor, and close friends and family to mark the occasion when he was called to the Coif: "I was called a Serjeant; the motto on my rings being, Secundis, dubiisque, rectus."<ref>''Reports of Cases Determined in the Several Courts of Westminster-Hall, from 1746 to 1779'' (London: S. Sweet, et al., 2nd ed., 1828), 681.</ref>
 
The motto "Secondis Dubiisque Rectus" translates as "Upright in Prosperity and in Perils."<ref>Dill, 3.</ref> This was also the motto chosen by [[William Blackstone|Sir William Blackstone]] for the commemorative rings given to the King, Lord Chancellor, and close friends and family to mark the occasion when he was called to the Coif: "I was called a Serjeant; the motto on my rings being, Secundis, dubiisque, rectus."<ref>''Reports of Cases Determined in the Several Courts of Westminster-Hall, from 1746 to 1779'' (London: S. Sweet, et al., 2nd ed., 1828), 681.</ref>

Revision as of 13:08, 17 May 2013

Based on a family coat-of-arms[1], George Wythe's personal bookplate features a griffin (a mythical beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion) segreant on the crest and three griffins passant on the escutcheon. In heraldry, the griffin denotes strength, intelligence, courage and leadership. Coincidentally, the College of William and Mary chose the griffin as its mascot in 2010.

The motto "Secondis Dubiisque Rectus" translates as "Upright in Prosperity and in Perils."[2] This was also the motto chosen by Sir William Blackstone for the commemorative rings given to the King, Lord Chancellor, and close friends and family to mark the occasion when he was called to the Coif: "I was called a Serjeant; the motto on my rings being, Secundis, dubiisque, rectus."[3]

Wythe Bookplates

References

  1. Alonso Thomas Dill, George Wythe: Teacher of Liberty (Williamsburg, Virginia: Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission, 1979), 3.
  2. Dill, 3.
  3. Reports of Cases Determined in the Several Courts of Westminster-Hall, from 1746 to 1779 (London: S. Sweet, et al., 2nd ed., 1828), 681.