E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Lion
(a public-house sign).
1
Black lion comes from the Flemings.
2
“Au noir lyon la fleur-de-lis
Prist la terre de ca le Lys.”
Godefroy de Paris.
Blue, the badge of the Earl of Mortimer, also of Denmark.
3
Blue seems frequently to represent silver; thus we have the Blue Boar of Richard III., the Blue Lion of the Earl of Mortimer, the Blue Swan of Henry IV., the Blue Dragon, etc.
4
Crowned, the badge of Henry VIII.
5
Golden, the badge of Henry I., and also of Percy, Duke of Northumberland.
6
Passant gardant (walking and showing a full face), the device of England.
7
Rampant, the device of Scotland.
8
Rampant, with the tail between its legs and turned over its back, the badge of Edward IV. as Earl of March.
9
Red, of Scotland; also the badge of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who assumed this badge as a token of his claim to the throne of Castile.
10
Sleeping, the device of Richard I.
11
Statant gardant (i.e. standing and showing a full face), the device of the Duke of Norfolk.
12
White, the device of the Dukes of Norfolk; also of the Earl of Surrey, Earl of Mortimer, and the Fitz-Hammonds.
13
“For who, in field or foray slack,
Saw the blanche lion e’er fall back? [Duke of Norfolk].”
Sir Walter Scott: Lay of the Last Minstrel.
The winged lion. The republic of Venice. Its heraldic device.
14
White and Red Lions. Prester John, in a letter to Manuel Comnenus, of Constantinople, 1165, says his land is “the home of white and red lions.”
Blue seems frequently to represent silver; thus we have the Blue Boar of Richard III., the Blue Lion of the Earl of Mortimer, the Blue Swan of Henry IV., the Blue Dragon, etc.
