Sir Darius the Clairvoyent Posted October 22 Is used in nations as diverse as Iran, Norway and ethiopia (and a whole bunch of others, mostly northern european). Why? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Darius the Clairvoyent Posted October 22 How about dragons, eagles and ravens? Is there a deeper meaning to this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted October 23 Even Australia 'appropriated ' a lion symbol - the classic Holden car emblem 'King of the beasts' , and all that .... they might have used a kangaroo instead , but thought that might indicate 'clutch problems' Dragons, eagles, ravens, snakes ; two levels of symbolism - a general mythological meaning that the country or area aspires to - as part of the myth associated with the founding of the state or country eg Mexico Eagle, snake and cactus . The legend says that the Aztecs left their home to look for a place to start a new life. Their god had told them to find a lake where an eagle with a snake in its beak would stand on a nopal cactus growing from a rock. That would be the place to build their new city. Eventually they saw just that and settled there . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Darius the Clairvoyent Posted October 23 16 hours ago, Nungali said: Even Australia 'appropriated ' a lion symbol - the classic Holden car emblem 'King of the beasts' , and all that .... they might have used a kangaroo instead , but thought that might indicate 'clutch problems' Dragons, eagles, ravens, snakes ; two levels of symbolism - a general mythological meaning that the country or area aspires to - as part of the myth associated with the founding of the state or country eg Mexico Eagle, snake and cactus . The legend says that the Aztecs left their home to look for a place to start a new life. Their god had told them to find a lake where an eagle with a snake in its beak would stand on a nopal cactus growing from a rock. That would be the place to build their new city. Eventually they saw just that and settled there . But Lions in particular. I find it so bizarre that they are that common in northren Europe. Could you shed some light on it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Darius the Clairvoyent Posted October 23 Apart from the lions of the Plantagenet(England and Normandy) coat of arms, 12th-century examples of lions used as heraldic charges include the Staufen (Hohenstaufen)and Wittelsbach (Palatinate) coats of arms, both deriving from Henry the Lion, the royal coat of arms of Scotland, attributed to William the Lion,[b] the coat of arms of Denmark, first used by Canute VI, the coat of arms of Flanders (Jülich), first used by Philip I, the coat of arms of León, an example of canting arms[c]attributed to Alfonso VII (1126), and the coat of arms of Bohemia, first granted to Vladislaus II. Coats of arms of the 13th century include those of the House of Sverre (coat of arms of Norway), the Ludovingians (the lion of Hesseused 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). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blue eyed snake Posted October 23 the Dutch still have the lion Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted October 23 7 minutes ago, Sir Darius the Clairvoyent said: But Lions in particular. I find it so bizarre that they are that common in northren Europe. Could you shed some light on it? Only that I think the idea of 'king of the beasts' was adopted ; strong, fierce , etc . Why northern Europe more than other places ? WEel, I am southerner , better ask someone from up there 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blue eyed snake Posted October 23 quick search in dutch language came up with this (quora) Quote The lion was already used as an emblem in ancient times by tribes and empires in Africa and Asia. The lion's range was much larger then, so most people were familiar with the animal. The use of the lion in heraldry was adopted in Europe in the Middle Ages from both the Romans and Eurasian peoples. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dedicated Posted October 24 On 23/10/2024 at 5:29 AM, Sir Darius the Clairvoyent said: Is used in nations as diverse as Iran, Norway and ethiopia (and a whole bunch of others, mostly northern european). Why? The lion can be a symbol to represent heart. My surname crest has a lion 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
