It has been common knowledge for hundreds of years that the first known recording of Sussex's famous martlets being used to represent the county was in 1611 when cartographer John Speed deployed it to represent the of the Kingdom of the South Saxons (Sussex) in his atlas, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine.
Very little was known regarding the origins of Sussex’s martlets in the years up to 1611. That was until this year when I initiated further research to unearth the origins of Sussex’s famous emblem and to find the answer to the crucial question, Why did Speed choose to represent Sussex with the martlets?
Following my research and the evidence I collected it is now firmly regarded that the county emblem originated and derived from the coat of arms of the 14th century ‘Knight of the Shire’, Sir John de Radynden. De Radynden was born in 1274 in Radynden (Radinden) Manor which was located in modern day Preston Park.
Please take a look at the material I discovered, which I and other amateur local historians now strongly believe concludes that the Sussex Martlets derive from the coat of arms of a powerful and influential 14th century Brightonian...
https://sussexflag.wordpress.com/sussexmartlets/
Cheers
Very little was known regarding the origins of Sussex’s martlets in the years up to 1611. That was until this year when I initiated further research to unearth the origins of Sussex’s famous emblem and to find the answer to the crucial question, Why did Speed choose to represent Sussex with the martlets?
Following my research and the evidence I collected it is now firmly regarded that the county emblem originated and derived from the coat of arms of the 14th century ‘Knight of the Shire’, Sir John de Radynden. De Radynden was born in 1274 in Radynden (Radinden) Manor which was located in modern day Preston Park.
Please take a look at the material I discovered, which I and other amateur local historians now strongly believe concludes that the Sussex Martlets derive from the coat of arms of a powerful and influential 14th century Brightonian...
https://sussexflag.wordpress.com/sussexmartlets/
Cheers