Martlet
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![Basic form of the French merlette, not to be confused with the English](/Images/godic/202501/26/Héraldique_meuble_Merlette.svg3243.png")
![Martlets on the heraldic shield of William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke (d.1296), drawn from his tomb in Westminster Abbey. Champlevee enamel with diapering](/Images/godic/202501/26/ShieldOfWilliamDeValence3243.jpg")
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A martlet in English heraldry is a heraldic charge depicting a stylized bird similar to a house martin or swallow, though missing 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.