Maryland Crest

 Flag Outline

 

This shield decal is directly inspired by the centuries-old heraldic coat of arms belonging to George Calvert, the 1st Lord Baltimore, who was granted the original charter for the Maryland colony in the early 17th century. The graphic visually represents a practice known in English heraldry as "quartering," which allowed noble families to combine their maternal and paternal lineages onto a single shield. The alternating black and gold diagonal bars in the top-left and bottom-right sections are taken from the coat of arms of Calvert's paternal family line, while the red-and-white bottony crosses in the remaining quadrants represent his maternal ancestry, the Crossland family. By combining these two distinct medieval motifs into a single unified emblem, Calvert established a striking family crest that eventually laid the foundation for the iconic design of the modern Maryland state flag.

 

George Calvert wanted to build a peaceful, prosperous colony, but he accidentally designed a family crest that looks like a medieval game of Tetris that crashed midway through.