MARTLETS, in Heraldry, little birds represented without feet, and used as a difference or mark of distinction for younger brothers, to put them in mind that they are to trust to the wings of virtue and merit, in order to raise themselves, and not to their feet, inasmuch as they have little land to take their stand upon.
MARTLETS
article · 321 chars · lineage ↗ · page image at NLS ↗