<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lion (heraldry)</span>

Lion (heraldry)

<p>The <b>lion</b> is a common <a href="/en/Charge_(heraldry)" title="Charge (heraldry)" class="wl">charge</a> in <a href="/en/Heraldry" title="Heraldry" class="wl">heraldry</a>. It traditionally symbolises <a href="/en/Courage" title="Courage" class="wl">courage</a>, <a href="/en/Nobility" title="Nobility" class="wl">nobility</a>, <a href="/en/Royal_family" title="Royal family" class="wl">royalty</a>, strength, stateliness and <a href="/en/Courage" title="Courage" class="wl">valour</a>, because historically the <a href="/en/Lion" title="Lion" class="wl">lion</a> has been regarded as the "king of beasts".<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-Garai73_1-0"><a href="#cite_note-Garai73-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span> The lion also carries <a href="/en/Judeo-Christian" title="Judeo-Christian" class="wl">Judeo-Christian</a> symbolism. The <a href="/en/Lion_of_Judah" title="Lion of Judah" class="wl">Lion of Judah</a> stands in the <a href="/en/Emblem_of_Jerusalem" title="Emblem of Jerusalem" class="mw-redirect wl">coat of arms of Jerusalem</a>. Similar-looking lions can be found elsewhere, such as in the coat of arms of the Swedish royal <a href="/en/House_of_Bjelbo" title="House of Bjelbo" class="wl">House of Bjelbo</a>, from there in turn derived into the <a href="/en/Coat_of_arms_of_Finland" title="Coat of arms of Finland" class="wl">coat of arms of Finland</a>, formerly belonging to Sweden.</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Element in heraldry</div>
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<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1134653256" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:#f9f9f9;display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox" about="#mwt10"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style>
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<div class="side-box-image"><span class="noviewer"><span><img loading="lazy" alt="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" data-file-type="drawing" height="40" width="40" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/60px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/80px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 2x"></span></span></div>
<div class="side-box-text plainlist">Look up <i><b><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lioncel" title="wiktionary:lioncel" class="extiw" target="_blank">lioncel</a></b></i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.</div></div>
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<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Lev_vyskakujici.svg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Lev_vyskakujici.svg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Lev_vyskakujici.svg/170px-Lev_vyskakujici.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="1025" data-file-height="1084" data-file-type="drawing" height="180" width="170" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Lev_vyskakujici.svg/255px-Lev_vyskakujici.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Lev_vyskakujici.svg/340px-Lev_vyskakujici.svg.png 2x" alt="Lev_vyskakujici.svg"></a><figcaption>Lion as a <a href="/en/Crest_(heraldry)" title="Crest (heraldry)" class="wl">crest</a>.</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Finland.svg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Coat_of_arms_of_Finland.svg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Coat_of_arms_of_Finland.svg/170px-Coat_of_arms_of_Finland.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="1000" data-file-type="drawing" height="213" width="170" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Coat_of_arms_of_Finland.svg/255px-Coat_of_arms_of_Finland.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Coat_of_arms_of_Finland.svg/340px-Coat_of_arms_of_Finland.svg.png 2x" alt="Coat_of_arms_of_Finland.svg"></a><figcaption>Lion as a primary <a href="/en/Charge_(heraldry)" title="Charge (heraldry)" class="wl">charge</a> in the <a href="/en/Coat_of_arms_of_Finland" title="Coat of arms of Finland" class="wl">coat of arms of Finland</a> (1978 design, based on the 16th-century coat of arms of the <a href="/en/Grand_Duke_of_Finland" title="Grand Duke of Finland" class="wl">Grand Duke of Finland</a>).</figcaption></figure>



The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Christian symbolism. The Lion of Judah stands in the coat of arms of Jerusalem. Similar-looking lions can be found elsewhere, such as in the coat of arms of the Swedish royal House of Bjelbo, from there in turn derived into the coat of arms of Finland, formerly belonging to Sweden. 