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Look up semper fidelis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Semper Fidelis is Latin for "Always Faithful". Well known in the United States of America as the motto of the United States Marine Corps, this phrase, often shortened to Semper Fi (pronounced /ˌsɛmpər ˈfаɪ/) in Marine contexts, has served as a slogan for many families and entities, in many countries, dating at least as far back as the 14th century. Within the groups below, users are listed in chronological order according to when they are believed to have adopted the motto; however, in many cases dates of adoption are not well established.
The motto was widely used in Great Britain and Ireland. B. Burke (1884, p. 1180)[1] lists the following families as using the motto Semper Fidelis in Great Britain and Ireland in their coats of arms: Barbeson, Bonner, Broadmead, Carney, Chesterman, Dick, Dickins, Duffield, Edge, Formby, Garrett, Haslett, Houlton, Kearney, Lynch, Lund, Marriott, Nicholls, Pollexfen, Smith, Steele, Steuart, Stirling and Wilcoxon. A disproportionate number of these families were Scottish or Irish. A more recent adoption is by Senator Joe Doyle, in arms granted by the Chief Herald of Ireland during the year of 1999. Some of the more notable families from Burke's list are:
The City of Exeter, in Devon, England, has used the motto since at least 1660, when it appears in a manuscript of the local chronicler, Richard Izacke. Izacke claimed that the motto was adopted in 1588, to signify the city's loyalty to the English Crown. According to Izacke, it was Queen Elizabeth I who suggested that the city adopt this motto (perhaps in imitation of her own motto, Semper eadem, "Ever the same"); her suggestion is said to have come in a letter to "the Citizens of Exeter," in recognition of their gift of money toward the fleet that had defeated the Spanish Armada. John Hooker's map of Exeter of around 1586 shows the city's coat of arms without the motto, suggesting that the city's use of the motto is no older than this. However the city archives do not hold any letter relating to the motto, and Grey (2005) argues that the Elizabethan origin of the motto may be no more than a local myth, since it is not recorded in contemporary chronicles, and that it may have been adopted at the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy to compensate for the city's less than total loyalty to the crown during the English Civil War.
The motto "Semper fidelis" is applied to the Ukrainian city of Lviv (in Latin, "Leopolis"; formerly Lwów in Polish) in 1658 by Pope Alexander VII in recognition of the city's key role in defending Europe from Muslim invasion. That same year, the Sejm (parliament) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth passed the Semper fidelis Poloniae ["Ever Faithful to Poland"] Act (as most people construed the Latin phrase).
Curiously, both Leopolis and Exeter, in addition to sharing the same motto, featured a three-turreted castle on their coats-of-arms. This is apparently a coincidence.
Today, in Poland, the motto is referenced mainly in connection with the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1919, following the collapse of Austro-Hungary in the wake of World War I, and more especially in connection with the Polish-Bolshevik War that followed.
In Ukraine, the phrase is much less used, in reference to the survival of the Ukrainian Church through the period of Soviet persecution.
"Semper fidelis" is the motto of the town of St. Malo, in Brittany, France; the date of its adoption is not known, but it appears to have been in use in the 17th century[5], replacing an earlier motto, Cave canem.
"Semper Fidelis" is the motto of the city of White Plains, in New York, United States.
The 1st (Exeter and South Devon) Rifle Volunteer Corps, raised in Exeter in 1852, was using the motto on its cap badge by 1860 at the latest; the Illustrated London News reported its use in its 7 January 1860 issue[6]. The motto was continued by The Devonshire Regiment of the British Army, the 11th of foot, on its formation from the South and North Devon militias in 1881. The motto was further continued on the badges of the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment when the Devonshires were amalgamated into them in 1958. This use of the motto evidently derives from these regiments' close connection with the city of Exeter, where they had a base from their foundation (see the Illustrated London News article referenced above) until their disappearance by amalgamation in 2007.
Semper fidelis is the motto of The West Nova Scotia Regiment (of the Canadian Forces), formed in 1936. It inherited the motto from The Lunenburg Regiment, formed in 1870.
Semper fidelis is the motto of the cadets corps from the Dutch Royal Military Academy. The corps was founded in 1879.[citation needed]
Semper fidelis is also the motto of the the 11th Infantry Regiment, which was founded in May 1861 by President Abraham Lincoln. It served as part of the Army of Ohio and later in the Indian wars, Spanish-American war, 1916 Mexican Border war, World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam war. Today it trains young Army officers at Fort Benning, Georgia.
The United States Marine Corps adopted the motto Semper Fidelis in 1883, on the initiative of Colonel Charles McCawley (January 29, 1827 – October 13, 1891), the 8th Commandant of the Marine Corps[7].
There were three mottos prior to Semper Fidelis including "Fortitudine" (meaning "with courage") antedating the War of 1812, "Per Mare, Per Terram" ("by sea, by land"; presumably inherited from the British Royal Marines, whose motto it already was), and, up until 1843, there was also the motto "To the Shores of Tripoli". "Semper fidelis" signifies the dedication and loyalty that individual Marines have for "Corps and Country", even after leaving service. Marines frequently shorten the motto to "Semper Fi".
[[Semper fidelis is the motto of Portuguese Marines (Fuzileiros).
Semper fidelis is the motto of CFB Valcartier. The base was originally erected as a military camp in August 1914.
Semper fidelis is the motto of a Swiss Grenadier regiment formed in 1943. There was no Grenadier Regiment in 1943. The Grenadiers only formed one company in each infantry regiment.
Semper Fidelis (Chinese:永遠忠誠) is the motto of the Republic of China Marine Corps since April 1, 1947.
Semper Fidelis is the official motto of the Hungarian Government Guard since 28 August 1998.
Semper Fidelis is the motto of the 1st company of the Brazilian Military Institute of Engineering.
Semper Fidelis is the motto of the Romanian Protection and Guard Service, a company which is concerned with the national security and personal security of officials in Romania. [8]
Semper Fidelis is the motto of the Submarine Force of the Chilean Navy.
B. Burke (1884) lists a number of similar mottoes that appeared in family or city coats of arms in Great Britain and Ireland, though none was ever as popular as Semper fideles. They include:
