The Saybrook College, Yale University
Registration number 20060929E
This certifies that the heraldic arms of The Saybrook College, Yale University are registered as an original design and described by the blazon below
Arms: Quarterly I and IV azure, three lions rampant, or; II and III sable, an engrailed cross within a border engrailed both or, and five roundels sable on the cross.
Yale website: http://saybrookcollege.com
Design rationale
Quarters I and IV are for Fiennes, the family of Lord Saye and Sele; II and III represent Greville, the family of Lord Brooke.
William Fiennes (1582-1662), First Viscount Saye and Sele, backed the Parliament during the English Civil Wars and earned the nickname of "Old Subtlety" for his devious political maneuvering. Robert Greville (1608-1643), Second Baron Brooke, was also a member of the Puritan faction. The author of a philosophic treatise on the nature of truth, he was killed in 1643 by a stray bullet while leading the parliamentary forces at the siege of Litchfield. Lord Saye and Sele and Lord Brooke were the chief promoters of the Puritan company that founded the town of Old Saybrook at the mouth of the Connecticut River. In 1701, Saybrook became the site of the Collegiate School, which was removed to New Haven seventeen years later to form the nucleus of Yale College. Saybrook students commemorate the two peers' roles as "step-founders" of the College with a Lord Saye and Sele Birthday Celebration, held each year on a weekend in late spring.
The College Arms are carved in stone over the main gate and can also be seen to advantage on the Banner of Arms which is carried before the Saybrook Seniors in the Commencement procession. Their official colors are blue and gold.