Connecticut Arms of the State

Official Emblem

Adopted on March 24, 1931

The coat of arms of Connecticut is an official emblem of the state, 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 be drawn and filed with the Secretary of the State

Connecticut Arms of the State

The official description of the arms calls for: A shield of rococo design of white field, having in the center three grape vines, supported and bearing fruit. Below the shield shall be a white streamer, cleft at each end, bordered with two fine lines, and upon the streamer shall be in solid letters of medium bold Gothic the motto: "QUI TRANSTULIT SUSTINET" (He Who Transplanted Still Sustains)

While adopted in 1931, the coat of arms had appeared on the state flag since 1887.

Motto

Qui transtulit sustinet (Latin "He who transplanted sustains", also "He Who Transplanted Still Sustains" or "[He] Who Transplanted Continues to Sustain") is the state motto of Connecticut depicted on a blue ribbon below the grapevines.

The motto has been re-used for the name of Connecticut's SustiNet program to provide health care to state residents.

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.

Connecticut Law

The law designating the arms of Connecticut is found in the Connecticut General Statutes, Title 3, Chapter 32, Section 3-105.

TITLE 3. STATE ELECTIVE OFFICERS.
CHAPTER 32. SECRETARY.
SECTION 3-105. Arms of the state.

Sec. 3-105. Arms of the state. The following-described arms shall be the official arms of the state: A shield of rococo design of white field, having in the center three grape vines, supported and bearing fruit. The vine located in the center of the shield and the vine located on the right side of the shield shall ascend in a counterclockwise manner. The vine located on the left side of the shield shall ascend in a clockwise manner. The bordure to the shield shall consist of two bands bordered by fine lines adorned with clusters of white oak leaves (Quercus alba) bearing acorns. Below the shield shall be a white streamer, cleft at each end, bordered with two fine lines, and upon the streamer shall be in block letters the motto "QUI TRANSTULIT SUSTINET". A drawing of said arms, made in conformity herewith and filed in the office of the Secretary, shall be the official drawing of the arms of the state.

(1949 Rev., S. 178; 1953, S. 61d; 1959, P.A. 328, S. 1; 1961, P.A. 76, S. 1; P.A. 90-156, S. 1.)

History: 1959 act added provision re approval of certain reproductions by secretary; 1961 act deleted references to use of arms other than on official business; P.A. 90-156 added provisions re location of the vines and description of bordure to the shield and amended description of letters on the streamer.