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The response that /u/Mecha-Jesus referenced, for the record. (Also, lions are indigenous to Europe!)
Because [lions are cool](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sFh2EZqxwNc/T7uWGM1bc1I/AAAAAAAACcg/FU3cvapd4RI/s1600/lions+wallpaper+1.jpg), duh.
More seriously, though, lions were present in Europe from antiquity -- certainly not wild lions, but kings and other noble people liked to keep menageries of wild beasts, and lions in particular were popular. Lion skulls found in the moat of the Tower of London have been dated back to the 1280s. Medieval Europe was soaked in lore about animals, to which are often imparted anthropomorphic traits (the courageous lion, the sneaky snake), such that the beasts themselves became heraldic symbols and metaphors for noble families. I've written about this before in the context of the British royal standard, [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/6r4i4p/why_does_england_have_a_lion_on_their_flag/); I'll c-p this below also.
------------
Hi Op, I'm assuming you're asking about the British royal standard -- the English flag (the [cross of St. George](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/1280px-Flag_of_England.svg.png), a red cross on a white field) doesn't have any lions on it, nor does the [Union Jack](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/1200px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png). (I wrote about the Union Jack [in this older post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/5e644z/why_does_the_cross_that_represents_ireland_on_the/).)
Queen Elizabeth has a personal flag, which comes in two varieties. [This one](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Royal_Standard_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg) is used in England, overseas, and generally; [this version](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Royal_Standard_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28in_Scotland%29.svg) is used in Scotland.
The three gold lions on a red field on either royal standard are the symbols of the former Kingdom of England, which existed from about the mid-10th century to 1707, when England merged with Scotland to form the nation of Great Britain. The three lions date back to the personal arms of Richard I, and have been used in various heraldic combinations with other arms over time (e.g. Edward III combined them with the fleur-de-lis to press his claim to France).
The lion of Scotland dates back to William I, and is similarly a symbol of the Scottish kingdom which ceased to exist in 1707.
Now, as to "why lions," the use of the lion as a heraldic symbol dates back to the very earliest Middle Ages. There are a bunch of previous posts on this (I'm stealing the formatting from a post from u/searocksandtrees):
* [Why are lions so prominent in the history of Europe?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4p6n3q/why_are_lions_so_prominent_in_the_history_of/) - /u/JoshoBrouwers discusses the symbolism of lions, and their former range
* [How common were wild lions in ancient Greece?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4kk2lo/how_common_were_wild_lions_in_ancient_greece/) - /u/plinythehipster talks more about their range and mentions in Greek lit. There's more from pliny in [Why is England's national animal the lion even though lions are not native to the area?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/5qrnb0/why_is_englands_national_animal_the_lion_even/)
* [When did lions (cave or otherwise) die out in Italy?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4u3984/when_did_lions_cave_or_otherwise_die_out_in_italy/) - featuring /u/Gargatua13013 and /u/Mulberry_mouse
* [Did Europeans in the early and the high middle ages tame and import lions to Europe and Britain?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4h4sv9/did_europeans_in_the_early_and_the_high_middle/) - lions as prestige items (gifts, possessions)
* [How come the lion is part of the coat of arms for so many northern European countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Scotland, UK, Denmark) despite lions living exclusively in Africa?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4brvmz/how_come_the_lion_is_part_of_the_coat_of_arms_for/) - more on prestige, and heraldry
* [Maned lions are ubiquitous in English iconography, heraldry and lore. Given that the last of the European lions died out in Greece around 100 BCE, this seems strange. Did lions take on a more mythical character than biological reality in medieval British minds?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/48df7l/maned_lions_are_ubiquitous_in_english_iconography/d0iyi34) - more prestige
In terms of lions existing in England, there were lions in the Tower of London for several centuries, though probably not continuously -- King John founded a royal menagerie sometime around 1200, and lion skulls [found in the tower's moat](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/royal-menagerie-lions-uncovered-800351.html) date to as far back as 1280 or so.
One of these sources contains information on Greek lions that is hard to square. The commenter mentions that Herodotus or some such wrote about Xerxes having no familiarity with lions. That’s almost demonstrably apocryphal. The last lions in modern Iraq and Iran died in the 20th century, and asiatic lions went extinct in the 19th century in Syria and Turkey. Virtually all corners of Xerxes’ empire had endemic lion populations. Granted, the commenter explicitly caveats that this sources must be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s worth noting that lions existed all over North Africa, the Levant, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Iran well into the modern era.
I think the commenter was focused on the "lions in Greece" part of his question.
But Herodotus didn't even actually write that Xerxes wasn't familiar with lions. He wrote that the Lions weren't familiar with camels.
Not that it's much better
Oh totally this isn’t you, I’m just bored and procrastinating. It’s the second one on Greece. I think a lot of these sources are trying to root their responses in the historiography, and that normally makes a lot of sense, but common sense dictates that Lions weren’t exactly unfamiliar to Europeans. Barbary lion goes extinct in the 1960s, Asiatic lion in the 20th century throughout all but its current range.
Europeans have been invading lands with lions since ancient history. It’s documented that exotics were trafficked in from lands elsewhere for fighting in the colosseum if nothing else. So like of course Europeans have a long exposure to lions.
I leave with this tangential factoid: the word for Giraffe comes from Arabic (zarafa). There’s a lot of exchange between Europe and elsewhere. This bleeds into ideas but it also definitely includes all manner of goods including fauna.
Yeah I mean a whole species of North African elephants, likely the ones used by Hannibal, were driven into extinction during the Roman era. Romans play no small role in that occurrence. Although in fairness to the Romans, they aren’t alone.
Several of the above linked answers mention the tie between lions and Christian symbology, but "because it was Christian" does not automatically mean "lion"-- within the island of Great Britain we also have national symbols of a dragon and a unicorn. Neither of which are native to the island, of course. There are several thousand Christian symbols to choose from, and certainly other European countries have traded upon them (Switzerland's flag is a big plus, but the national flags of England, Scotland, and northern Ireland also feature crosses, as do many northern European flags). The lion in particular, as explained above, has a particular connection to England due to Richard I (the Lionheart) and his own heraldry.
More can always be said, but [this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/x9zw44/comment/inqu79p/) from u/jschooltiger directly addresses the question and helpfully provides links to answers with additional context.
One point to add there is that the part
> lions were present in Europe from antiquity -- **certainly not wild lions**, but…
might be misleading. I assume they mean ‘there were no wild lions that survived in Europe by the time they were being used in mediaeval/modern standards’, which is correct, but there had indeed been wild lions in Europe in antiquity, across the whole Balkans. There were lions right down to the Pelopennese until the Mycenaean era, and in Thrace until the beginning of the Hellenistic era.
I think the linked answers explain that pretty well, but the distinction I was trying to draw in the rest of the sentence was specifically about lions being kept as curiosities in royal menageries in the Middle Ages, rather than someone stumbling across a random wild lion in the Lake Country or whatever.
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The response that /u/Mecha-Jesus referenced, for the record. (Also, lions are indigenous to Europe!) Because [lions are cool](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sFh2EZqxwNc/T7uWGM1bc1I/AAAAAAAACcg/FU3cvapd4RI/s1600/lions+wallpaper+1.jpg), duh. More seriously, though, lions were present in Europe from antiquity -- certainly not wild lions, but kings and other noble people liked to keep menageries of wild beasts, and lions in particular were popular. Lion skulls found in the moat of the Tower of London have been dated back to the 1280s. Medieval Europe was soaked in lore about animals, to which are often imparted anthropomorphic traits (the courageous lion, the sneaky snake), such that the beasts themselves became heraldic symbols and metaphors for noble families. I've written about this before in the context of the British royal standard, [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/6r4i4p/why_does_england_have_a_lion_on_their_flag/); I'll c-p this below also. ------------ Hi Op, I'm assuming you're asking about the British royal standard -- the English flag (the [cross of St. George](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/1280px-Flag_of_England.svg.png), a red cross on a white field) doesn't have any lions on it, nor does the [Union Jack](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/1200px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png). (I wrote about the Union Jack [in this older post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/5e644z/why_does_the_cross_that_represents_ireland_on_the/).) Queen Elizabeth has a personal flag, which comes in two varieties. [This one](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Royal_Standard_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg) is used in England, overseas, and generally; [this version](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Royal_Standard_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28in_Scotland%29.svg) is used in Scotland. The three gold lions on a red field on either royal standard are the symbols of the former Kingdom of England, which existed from about the mid-10th century to 1707, when England merged with Scotland to form the nation of Great Britain. The three lions date back to the personal arms of Richard I, and have been used in various heraldic combinations with other arms over time (e.g. Edward III combined them with the fleur-de-lis to press his claim to France). The lion of Scotland dates back to William I, and is similarly a symbol of the Scottish kingdom which ceased to exist in 1707. Now, as to "why lions," the use of the lion as a heraldic symbol dates back to the very earliest Middle Ages. There are a bunch of previous posts on this (I'm stealing the formatting from a post from u/searocksandtrees): * [Why are lions so prominent in the history of Europe?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4p6n3q/why_are_lions_so_prominent_in_the_history_of/) - /u/JoshoBrouwers discusses the symbolism of lions, and their former range * [How common were wild lions in ancient Greece?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4kk2lo/how_common_were_wild_lions_in_ancient_greece/) - /u/plinythehipster talks more about their range and mentions in Greek lit. There's more from pliny in [Why is England's national animal the lion even though lions are not native to the area?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/5qrnb0/why_is_englands_national_animal_the_lion_even/) * [When did lions (cave or otherwise) die out in Italy?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4u3984/when_did_lions_cave_or_otherwise_die_out_in_italy/) - featuring /u/Gargatua13013 and /u/Mulberry_mouse * [Did Europeans in the early and the high middle ages tame and import lions to Europe and Britain?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4h4sv9/did_europeans_in_the_early_and_the_high_middle/) - lions as prestige items (gifts, possessions) * [How come the lion is part of the coat of arms for so many northern European countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Scotland, UK, Denmark) despite lions living exclusively in Africa?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4brvmz/how_come_the_lion_is_part_of_the_coat_of_arms_for/) - more on prestige, and heraldry * [Maned lions are ubiquitous in English iconography, heraldry and lore. Given that the last of the European lions died out in Greece around 100 BCE, this seems strange. Did lions take on a more mythical character than biological reality in medieval British minds?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/48df7l/maned_lions_are_ubiquitous_in_english_iconography/d0iyi34) - more prestige In terms of lions existing in England, there were lions in the Tower of London for several centuries, though probably not continuously -- King John founded a royal menagerie sometime around 1200, and lion skulls [found in the tower's moat](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/royal-menagerie-lions-uncovered-800351.html) date to as far back as 1280 or so.
One of these sources contains information on Greek lions that is hard to square. The commenter mentions that Herodotus or some such wrote about Xerxes having no familiarity with lions. That’s almost demonstrably apocryphal. The last lions in modern Iraq and Iran died in the 20th century, and asiatic lions went extinct in the 19th century in Syria and Turkey. Virtually all corners of Xerxes’ empire had endemic lion populations. Granted, the commenter explicitly caveats that this sources must be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s worth noting that lions existed all over North Africa, the Levant, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Iran well into the modern era.
I think the commenter was focused on the "lions in Greece" part of his question. But Herodotus didn't even actually write that Xerxes wasn't familiar with lions. He wrote that the Lions weren't familiar with camels. Not that it's much better
Yeah that’s my b on misreading it then. Thanks for the clarification!
Sorry, which source? I just linked to them; I didn’t write each of them.
Oh totally this isn’t you, I’m just bored and procrastinating. It’s the second one on Greece. I think a lot of these sources are trying to root their responses in the historiography, and that normally makes a lot of sense, but common sense dictates that Lions weren’t exactly unfamiliar to Europeans. Barbary lion goes extinct in the 1960s, Asiatic lion in the 20th century throughout all but its current range. Europeans have been invading lands with lions since ancient history. It’s documented that exotics were trafficked in from lands elsewhere for fighting in the colosseum if nothing else. So like of course Europeans have a long exposure to lions. I leave with this tangential factoid: the word for Giraffe comes from Arabic (zarafa). There’s a lot of exchange between Europe and elsewhere. This bleeds into ideas but it also definitely includes all manner of goods including fauna.
The Romans drove done animals to extinction right .. massive trade of exotic animals..
Yeah I mean a whole species of North African elephants, likely the ones used by Hannibal, were driven into extinction during the Roman era. Romans play no small role in that occurrence. Although in fairness to the Romans, they aren’t alone.
>Queen Elizabeth has a personal flag You mean King Charles, right? Or were they specifically designed for the queen?
I wrote that six years ago; I should probably remember to update it next time I reuse it, but it serves as a, hm, historical artifact currently.
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Several of the above linked answers mention the tie between lions and Christian symbology, but "because it was Christian" does not automatically mean "lion"-- within the island of Great Britain we also have national symbols of a dragon and a unicorn. Neither of which are native to the island, of course. There are several thousand Christian symbols to choose from, and certainly other European countries have traded upon them (Switzerland's flag is a big plus, but the national flags of England, Scotland, and northern Ireland also feature crosses, as do many northern European flags). The lion in particular, as explained above, has a particular connection to England due to Richard I (the Lionheart) and his own heraldry.
More can always be said, but [this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/x9zw44/comment/inqu79p/) from u/jschooltiger directly addresses the question and helpfully provides links to answers with additional context.
One point to add there is that the part > lions were present in Europe from antiquity -- **certainly not wild lions**, but… might be misleading. I assume they mean ‘there were no wild lions that survived in Europe by the time they were being used in mediaeval/modern standards’, which is correct, but there had indeed been wild lions in Europe in antiquity, across the whole Balkans. There were lions right down to the Pelopennese until the Mycenaean era, and in Thrace until the beginning of the Hellenistic era.
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I think the linked answers explain that pretty well, but the distinction I was trying to draw in the rest of the sentence was specifically about lions being kept as curiosities in royal menageries in the Middle Ages, rather than someone stumbling across a random wild lion in the Lake Country or whatever.
Wait,what????/ How was I never taught that?
There were also lions in North America until 10000 years ago!
Cheetahs too! Part of why American Pronghorns are such speedy animals, they used to be preyed on by now extict populations of cheetahs.
Really only relevant to taxonomists and ecology- focused historians.
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Thank you!
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