the lion of Judah

Ever wondered where the Flemish Lion came from? I've been wondering for quite a while now. And during a game of trivial last night one of my friends came up with a very interesting remark. He suggested that the Flemish Lion was actually a Arabic symbol brought back to Europe during the Crusades by Godfroid Of Bouillon.

He wasn't that far from the truth at all. It took some time on google to find something interesting but I actually managed to find quite a lot of info on this matter. I lucked out and found a very interesting blog in Dutch about this matter. You can find it here: http://actuabelgica.blogspot.com/2007/07/de-egyptische-leeuw.html If you speak Dutch, please do cause it's quite elaborate.

I'll try to keep things short and simple. Al lot of European countries and regions actually use the same lion or a remarkable resemblance of this lion. Some examples are: The Netherlands, Belgium, Flanders, Brabant, Spain, Finland, Norway, Scotland, Estonia, Montenegro, Wales, Bulgary, Czech Republic, Calderdale, Luxembourg, ... and last but not least the football club Olympique Lyonnais.

But that doesn't answer the origin of the symbol. But it does make something clear. We all have a common background. It did come from the crusades! Even the official explanation of the Flemish Parliament takes it back to the time of the Middle Ages with a very brief referral to Count Philippe Of The Elsace.
The extreme-right wing nationalists of "Vlaams Belang" explain the use of a lion as symbol by saying it comes "from the Dragon, often used in European symbolism, still being used by the region of Wales". And further denies any other historical explanation. As we are used to...

Sadly enough there are no sources to be found to confirm this theory that links lions to dragons. Not regarding the escutcheon of Wales nor the use of dragons in heraldry.

Although the exact heritage is unclear the lion as a symbol was used by quite a few tribes and people across the Middle-East and is still being used in some cases:

*The Lion Of Judah: a symbol for the Kingdom Of David. An old Jewish symbol.

The Lion Of Judah is still being used by the Rastafari. As the Rastafari religion and the Jewish religion are very similar. Ethiopia used the lion on their old flag!

*The Arabian Lion: it was used by a lot of Arabian nobility and rich families or Sultans. Symbols can be found in any major Arabic city throughout the Middle-East.

*The Egyptian Lion: Lions were already used in the old Egyptian times of pharaos and sphinxes.

The first Europeans to use the lion were the English (Richard I aka Richard Lionheart in 1157) and the French (Geoffrey IV D'Anjou in 1151). The use of Lions in the heraldry stems from the first Crusades. The very first crusade was held to restore the Kingdom Of David in Jerusalem. As armours made knights unrecognizable, often Lions were painted on them. Usually on shields, escutcheons! Further more the lion always represented a royal symbol. The lion is the king of the animals. A lot of Kings and nobel families considered it a great honour to have the lion as their symbol. That's why it is so widely spread throughout Europe. You can check a few examples of lions used in heraldry here: http://www.fleurdelis.com/lions.htm

Next time you wave your "Flemish Lion" please remember where it came from!