Law School Mace

The William & Mary Law School mace (ca. 1850 – 1855) is carried each year at Commencement by the president of the Student Bar Association (the SBA). The mace is a nineteenth-century replica of the mace in the British House of Commons in the Palace of Westminster, created ca. 1661, after the restoration of the monarchy. The W&M Law School mace was presented to the Commonwealth of Virginia by Great Britain in 1965, as part of the 750th anniversary of the Magna Carta. It was subsequently transferred to the Law School in the late 1960s, from the anniversary exhibit at Jamestown Settlement.

Made entirely of brass, the replica weighs 13 pounds. The shaft consists of one short and two long sections, with longitudinal branches from which spring roses and thistle flowers. The head is divided into four panels containing, respectively: a crowned rose; a thistle, a harp; and a fleur-de-lis. A Royal Crown with orb and cross surmounts the head. On the cap are the Royal Arms with the garter supported by a crowned lion and unicorn, with the motto Dieu et mon droit ("God and my right") and the initials C. R. ("Carolus Rex"), for King Charles II of England.

The British have eleven such maces which were wrought during the reign of Charles II, James II, William and Mary, and Queen Anne. Two maces are in the House of Lords, one is in the House of Commons, and the rest are in the Tower of London. The British maces, which are the Monarch's personal property, are lent to the Houses of Parliament as emblems of their authority.

Except during graduation ceremonies, the Law School mace is on display in the Wolf Law Library's Nicholas J. St. George Rare Book Room.