We'd like to use analytics cookies to understand which symbols people look up, so we know what to research next. They are not used for advertising and we set none of them unless you say yes. What we store.
Two heraldic birds doing completely different jobs.
Size and feet. An eagle is a principal charge, drawn large with wings spread and talons showing. A martlet is small, swallow-like, and has no feet at all — tufts of feathers appear where the legs would be. The martlet is also a cadency mark: in English practice it identifies a fourth son.
Both are heraldic birds, but the martlet is small, has no visible feet and is a mark of cadency rather than a principal charge.
Drawn from the visual attributes recorded for each symbol. Only traits the two records disagree about are listed.
| Trait | Eagle (heraldic charge) | Martlet (heraldic charge) |
|---|---|---|
| Symmetry | vertical | none |
| Eagle (heraldic charge) | Martlet (heraldic charge) | |
|---|---|---|
| Feet | Talons, prominently shown | None — feather tufts instead |
| Size on the shield | Large, often the principal charge | Small, often several together |
| Attitude | Usually displayed, wings spread | In profile, wings closed or swept |
| Function | A charge, often with imperial association | A charge and the cadency mark of a fourth son |
| Relationship (from Symbolwise's records) | Commonly confused with Martlet (heraldic charge) — Both are heraldic birds, but the martlet is small, has no visible feet and is a mark of cadency rather than a principal charge. | Commonly confused with Eagle (heraldic charge) — Both are heraldic birds, but the martlet is small, has no visible feet and is a mark of cadency rather than a principal charge. |
Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (1909), via Project Gutenberg · retrieved 2026-08-20
The standard English-language reference, and a period one: published 1909, so it states Edwardian English practice as though universal and is occasionally sharp about continental usage. Cited for blazon terminology, the conventional depiction of charges, and — notably — for its own detailed refutation of tincture symbolism.
College of Arms, London · retrieved 2026-08-20
The heraldic authority for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and for much of the Commonwealth. Authoritative for those jurisdictions only; Scottish practice differs and is governed separately.
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-20
Tertiary reference. Cited for the blazon term, the conventional form of a charge and uncontested historical detail. Never cited for a claim that a charge carries a fixed symbolic meaning.
A bend runs from the top left of the shield to the bottom right as you look at it; a bend sinister runs the other way. The bend sinister is widely said to mark illegitimacy, and that is not quite right: the mark used in English practice was the narrower baton sinister, granted case by case rather than applied automatically. 'Bar sinister' is not a heraldic term at all — a bar is horizontal and cannot be sinister.
Look at what the arms end in. A cross patonce widens outward and splits into three splayed points at each end; a cross fleury ends in a full fleur-de-lis. In practice the two are drawn so similarly that the standard authorities themselves differ over particular coats, and this is one of the genuinely unsettled distinctions in blazon.
Count the points. Both have arms that narrow at the centre and widen outward. A cross pattée ends in four straight edges — four points in total. A Maltese cross has each outer edge notched inward, producing two points per arm and eight in all.
Look at the front half. A griffin has an eagle's beaked head, pointed ears, feathered wings and taloned forelegs on a lion's hindquarters; a lion is a lion throughout. A wingless griffin is not an error either — the male griffin is a distinct charge drawn without wings and set about with spikes.