From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other meanings see Martlet (disambiguation)
The martlet as depicted in English heraldry, here with tincture sable

A martlet in English heraldry is a heraldic charge depicting a stylized bird similar to that of a house martin or swallow, though missing legs. A similar charge is found in French heraldry, known as a merlette, which refers to a duck-like bird with a swan-neck, truncated beak and missing legs.


The word "martlet" is derived from the same origin as house martin, a bird of the swallow family. The word from its ending "-let" appears to refer to the diminutive of this bird.



French Merlette[edit]



Early usage[edit]

de Valence[edit]


The arms of the Valence family, Earls of Pembroke show one of the earliest uses of the martlet. Their arms were orled (bordered) with martlets, as can be seen on the enamelled shield of the effigy of William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke (d.1296) in Westminster Abbey. Martlets are thus shown in the arms of Pembroke College, Cambridge, a foundation of that family.[citation needed]

Attributed arms of Edward the Confessor[edit]


Centuries after his death, Edward the Confessor was assigned attributed arms containing five martlets or (golden martlets). King Richard II (1377–1399) impaled this coat with the Plantagenet arms, and it later became the basis of the arms of Westminster Abbey, in which The Confessor was buried, and of Westminster School, founded within its precinct.[citation needed]

de Arundel of Lanherne[edit]

The French word for swallow is hirondelle, from Latin hirundo,[2] and therefore martlets have appeared in the canting arms of the ancient family of de Arundel of Lanherne, Cornwall and later of Wardour Castle. The arms borne by Reinfred de Arundel (d.c.1280), lord of the manor of Lanherne, were recorded in the 15th-century Shirley Roll of Arms as: Sable, six martlets argent.[5] This family should not be confused with that of FitzAlan Earls of Arundel, whose seat was Arundel Castle in Sussex, who bear for arms: Gules, a lion rampant or.[citation needed]

County of Sussex[edit]

The shield of the county of Sussex, England contains six martlets said to represent the six historical rapes, or former administrative sub-divisions, of the county. It seems likely this bore a canting connection to the title of the Earls of Arundell[clarification needed], who were the leading county family for many centuries, or the name of their castle.[citation needed]

de Verdon / Dundalk[edit]


Mark of cadency[edit]

It has been suggested[by whom?] that the restlessness of the martlet due to its supposed inability to land is the reason for the use of the martlet in English heraldry as the cadency mark of the fourth son. The first son inherited all the estate by primogeniture, the second and third traditionally went into the Church, to serve initially as priests in a church of which their father held the advowson, and the fourth had no well-defined place (unless his father possessed, as was often the case, more than two vacant advowsons). As the fourth son often therefore received no part of the family wealth and had to earn his own, the martlet may also be a symbol of hard work, perseverance, and a nomadic household. This explanation seems implausible, as the 5th and 6th sons were equally "restless", yet no apparent reference is made to this in their proper cadence marks.[citation needed]

Modern significance[edit]

The formerly supposed inability of the martlet to land is said by some modern commentators to symbolize the constant quest for knowledge, learning, and adventure. Thus the martlet has been incorporated into the modern arms of McGill University, in which the women's athletic teams are named the McGill Martlets;[citation needed] the University of Houston[citation needed] and the University of Houston Law Center; Worcester College, Oxford;[citation needed] Westminster School,[citation needed] the University of Victoria (where the student newspaper is also called The Martlet).[citation needed] The martlet is also used in the coat of arms of the Mill Hill School, and is in fact the name of the bi-annual "Martlet" magazine, which is published for the school alumni. The significance of the martlet in the arms of various ancient English colleges and schools is derived quite simply from elements within the arms of their founders.[citation needed]

In fiction[edit]





  2. ^ a b Cassell's Latin Dictionary
  3. ^ Dictionnaire Larousse Lexis
  4. ^
  6. ^ Ireland - DUNDALK

External links[edit]