Lion (heraldic)

See also: Lion (homonymy)

In Heraldic, the lion and the leopard indicate the same animal, but with a position of different head.

With the head of profile, it is a lion . Into heraldic of empire, the ministers carry a frank district (of azure for the counts, of mouths for the barons) charged with a head of gold lion (of money for the ambassadors).
With the head of face, it is a leopard . A meeting being necessarily of face, the Dalmatian blazon is with three meetings of leopards.

The position of the body does not influence the name, but the two “twins” have preferred positions: thus the lion is “crawling” (upright), the leopard is “busy” (lengthened). The tail of the lion is traditionally turned towards the interior, that of the leopard towards outside, the leopard is bearded than the lion… but it seems that all that is only coquettery of illustrators.

The “king of the animals”, with his reputation of force, bravery, of nobility, so in conformity with the medieval ideal, could only allure those which wanted to choose armorial bearings. And in fact the lion and its alter ego the leopard are very numerous, especially in the Anglo-Norman zone (Plantagenêt). The success of the lion is the cause of its own vulgarizing, which illustrates well the “heraldic saying”: “which does not have a blazon, carries a lion” .

Having lost its identity capacity, the lion saw itself allotting a whole series of characteristics to try to recover it. One is vis-a-vis a number impressing of lions which differ sometimes only by negligible details like the color from the claws, or the position of the legs (if the leg postpones right is posed, it is then “jumping” and either “crawling”). One is far from the rule which wants that the pieces of furniture are clearly identifiable by far… but it is true also that the more time passes, the more their function moves away from dust of the frays…

Lion

The position of the lion is to be crawling, which means that it is in a position where it seems to climb a coast (= a slope). (Primitive Direction to crawl, coming from old francic (H) the rampon " to climb with griffes"). Another explanation is often found: the lion would not be crawling (=grimper), but catching something with its three raised members, balances some on its back leg which occupies the point of the ecu. The word would come then from rapiens , which with the same root as abduction . This etymology a long time selected, seems now nonfounded.

Formerly, on the triangular ecus, the back leg went down clearly in the point; but with the fashion of the square ecus, this dissymmetry tends to attenuate, to even disappear. The crawling lion tends to being posed on its two back legs in the more modern representations, and when it serves as small piece of furniture. However the lion posed on its two legs postpones blasonne “ jumping ”.

antiquated Model: “Of money to the lion of crimson, which is of Leon (old)”.
traditional Model: “Of money to the lion of mouths, armed, lampassé and crowned azure, which is of Arménie (Cilicie)”.
modern Model: “Of money with three lion cubs of mouths, which is of Picardy”.

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