Merlette

Two merlettes in the coat of arms of Héinischt .

The merlette ( diminutive of the French merle "blackbird") is a duck-like, heraldic mutilated bird with a beak and feet missing. It has been widespread in French and Rhenish coats of arms since the early days of heraldry . According to legend, only knights participating in the crusades were allowed to wear this heraldic animal as an award, but this cannot be clearly proven. In the case of unusual motifs like this one, especially if there is a regional accumulation, it can be assumed that the taste is based on the model.

Many heraldists see the merlette as a mutilated blackbird . It resembles the canette , the mutilated duck , and the English martlet , the mutilated house martin (this one is slimmer).

In German heraldry, the merlette is the symbol of the fourth son in the line of succession, and also in the Canadian system.

It can also be found in the coat of arms of the Cadillac car brand (which is now only stylized as a logo).

literature

• Gert Oswald : Lexicon of Heraldry. VEB Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1984, soA

Web links

Commons : Merletten im Wappen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Bernhard Peter: Special motifs: Merlette (private page)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Bernhard Peter: Special motifs: Merlette (private page).