Lion (heraldry)

It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts".

One of the earliest known examples of armory as it subsequently came to be practiced can be seen on the tomb of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, who died in 1151.

Coats of arms of the 13th century include those of the House of Sverre (coat of arms of Norway), the Ludovingians (the lion of Hesse used by Conrad of Thuringia), Luxembourg, the kingdom of Ruthenia (Volhynia), the House of Habsburg (the Habsburgs all but abandoned their original coat of arms after gaining the Duchy of Austria in the 1270s, but it remained in use in derived lineages such as the House of Kyburg), the kingdom of Bulgaria and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Rubenids).

According to Ménestrier, this is due to a jest made by Emperor Frederick, who granted Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia a coat of arms with a lion coué, that is, with its tail between its legs.

Vladislaus' men refused to follow this emblem, calling it an ape, so that Frederick agreed to improve the arms by giving the lion not just one but two erect tails.

[12] As many attitudes (positions) now exist in heraldry as the heraldist's imagination can conjure, as a result of the ever-increasing need for differentiation, but very few of these were apparently known to medieval heralds.

[13] The following table summarizes the principal attitudes of heraldic lions: Note: the term segreant denotes the same position, but is only used in reference to winged four-legged beasts like griffins and dragons.

[21] The tail also may be knotted (nowed), forked (queue fourchée), doubled (double-queued; as in the arms of the kingdom of Bohemia), or cut off (defamed).

Alternatively, a lion may be depicted with one head connected to two distinct bodies, in which case it its termed bicorporated.

For example, the blazon of the monarch of Scotland is Or, a lion gules, within a double tressure flory counter-flory of the same, armed and langued azure.

The lion-dragon is a lion with the lower body, hind legs, wings and tail of a wyvern, although Fox-Davies doubted the existence of this figure outside of heraldry books and reported not to know of any actual use of it.

[26] As a general rule, English heralds tend to identify lions as rampant (upright, in profile facing dexter), and leopards as passant guardant (walking, head turned to full face), but the heraldic distinction between lions and leopards is often ambiguous and in some cases may be controversial (as in the case of the royal arms of England, discussed below).

[28] German-American heraldist Carl-Alexander von Volborth agrees with Rietstap's translations, in contrast to those of Fox-Davies as stated above.

The word leopard is always made use of by the French heralds to express in their language, a lion full-faced, or gardant.

This explains the usage, retained until late in the 14th century, which assigned to the Lions of the Royal Shield of England the name of "leopards".

[32]In Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning (1976), German heraldist Ottfried Neubecker explained: When the blazon does not specifically mention a position, the lion may be assumed to be rampant.

An early heraldic convention found in medieval blazons uses the distinction between a lion and a leopard previously employed by the ancient Greeks.

Western depictions Heraldic lions have also found their way onto municipal or county seals in the United States.

Lion as a crest .
Lion as a primary charge in the coat of arms of Finland (1978 design, based on the 16th-century coat of arms of the Grand Duke of Finland ).
A Lion of Saint Mark , from the Echternach Gospels (late 7th century).
Enamel from the tomb of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou ( c. 1160 ).
The shield of Conrad of Thuringia ( c. 1230s ), a rare example of a preserved 13th-century knightly shield, displaying the Ludovingian lion barry .
Coat of Arms of Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia under Hetumid dynasty (1226–1341).
The coat of arms of the Landgrave of Hesse in the Wernigerode Armorial (late 15th century), shown as combining the lions of Hesse , Katzenelnbogen and Diez )
Two tailed embroidered gold lion from the end of the 17th century, Sweden.
Lion "passant guardant" or "Léopard"