hiya bucks in Bourne End, Flackwell Heath, Marlow, Wycombe, Wooburn June 2018 | Page 12

MARTLETS IN BUCKS
PART ONE
Some animals such as eagles, lions and boar, as well as mythical beasts
such as martlets and unicorns, were used in medieval heraldry. The little
known martlet was depicted as a mysterious bird that had no feet but
was believed to be fast and elegant in the air 1 .
A notable user of the martlet was the Earl of
Pembroke family that included Aymer de Valence
and his wife Marie de Saint Pol. The martlet had
qualities that this aristocratic family claimed
for themselves and displayed it for society to
admire.
As tradition indicated, when Marie de St Pol
founded Pembroke College in Cambridge on
Boxing Day, 1347, she gave the institution the
family name and coat of arms. Since then the
martlet has represented a ‘constant quest for
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knowledge, learning and adventure’;
traits that Pembroke College still
value today.
Quite incredibly, some of us can
attract the natural birds represented by the
mythical martlet into our gardens, or at least see
them flying overhead, because fortunately for
us they are common in Buckinghamshire. The
martlet was the medieval name for the swift, and
a general description for swallows and martins.
This trio of birds had things in common, which is