Leopard (heraldic animal)
The leopard is a common heraldic animal used in heraldry .
Heraldic and zoological leopards
The heraldic leopard is very different from the leopard ( Panthera pardus ). It has no spots and often has a mane . In heraldry, the leopard therefore generally resembles a lion . The reason for this is that in the Middle Ages, mixed breeds of male lions and female panthers were called leopards. This assumption has persisted in heraldry . The coat of arms of Barenburg nevertheless shows a spotted animal.
Difference between lion and leopard
Heraldry differentiates between lion and leopard only through the position of the heraldic figure in relation to the viewer. In the old heraldic art, however, no distinction was made.
Default:
- The leopard is always shown striding and with its head turned towards the viewer.
- The lion is shown rising or running with the gaze to the right (heraldic, i.e. from the point of view of the bearer of the coat of arms).
Details:
- Later the lion standing on its hind feet and looking sideways (turned towards the viewer) was called a lioned leopard .
- A leoparded lion is a lion that is walking and looking straight ahead.
Löwter Leopard (family coat of arms of the Counts of Sayn )
Striding (leoparded) lion ( Schenck zu Schweinsberg )
Deviation:
- Based on the posture or line of sight, the heraldist determines the focus for the designation.
- However, this can not be applied to the family coat of arms lion of the von Pentz family : it looks like the leopard, but does not walk, but stands on all four paws (he would only be walking if he had raised the right front paw and pushed the right back paw more forward ). If the focus were on the line of sight, this lion would be called a standing, leoparded lion . It actually happened in the Genealogical Handbook of the Nobility . However, this is diametrically opposed to the standard name leoparded lion and thus a contradiction in terms. Therefore, the lion of those von Pentz must be described as standing and looking (looking at the beholder).
In the coat of arms
Three leopards
There are many countries with leopards in their national coat of arms. In some states, leopards point to the former colonial rule of the British .
- Coat of arms of Denmark (forward-looking lions)
- Coat of arms of the United Kingdom * (as a symbol for England, see also coat of arms of England )
- Coat of arms of Canada
- Estonian coat of arms
- Coat of arms of Dalmatia
* and all modified versions (see also coat of arms of Scotland and coat of arms of Canada )
Two leopards
A leopard
(Real) leopards
- Benin coat of arms
- Coat of arms of Gabon (Black Panther)
- Malawi coat of arms
- Coat of arms of Somalia
- Coat of arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (former Zaire)
In the literature
Many older translations of the novel " The Gattopardo " by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa incorrectly translate the title and the heraldic animal of the main character as "The Leopard". In fact, it is an ocelot (pardle cat), a type of cat that cannot roar - in an ironic allusion to the character's behavior. The family coat of arms of the Tomasi di Lampedusa , however, actually adorns a leopard.
