In heraldry what is a martlet?
Martlet way in the world. Martlet A martlet in English heraldry is a heraldic charge depicting a stylised bird similar to a swift or a house martin, with stylised feet. It should be distinguished from the "merlette" of French heraldry, which is a duck-like bird with a swan-neck and chopped-off beak and legs. The word "martlet" is derived from the bird known as the martin, with the addition of the diminutive suffix "-let"; thus martlet means "little martin". The origin of the name martin is obscure, though it may refer to the festival Martinmas, which occurs around the same time martins
Martlet land and property of Dundalk and district in about 1319 by marriage to Joan de Verdon daughter of Theobald de Verdon. Three of these martlets, in reversed tinctures, form the arms of the local association football team Dundalk FC. It has been suggested that the restlessness of the martlet due to its supposed inability to land, having no usable feet, is the reason for the use of the martlet in English heraldry as the cadency mark of a fourth son. The first son inherited all the estate by primogeniture, the second and third traditionally went into the Church, to serve