The leopard in heraldry is traditionally depicted the same as a lion, but in a walking position with its head turned to full face, thus it is also known as a lion passant guardant in some texts, though leopards more naturally depicted make some appearances in modern heraldry. ''The Oxford Guide to Heraldry'' makes little mention of leopards but glosses ''leopard'' as a "term used in medieval heraldry for ''lion passant guardant''. Now used for the natural beast." Another name for this beast is the ounce.

Early heraldic leopards

The typical heraldic leopard differs from the natural leopard (''Panthera pardus'') in that it has no spots and often has a mane, but is generally similar in appearance to a heraldic lion, other than its attitude. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus ''Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

were thought to be a

crossbreed A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to mai ...

between a lion and a pard.

Arthur Charles Fox-Davies Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (28 February 1871 – 19 May 1928) was a British expert on heraldry. His ''Complete Guide to Heraldry'', published in 1909, has become a standard work on heraldry in England. A barrister by profession, Fox-Davies worke ...

wrote in 1909 that the distinction between lions (which were constantly

rampant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a charge, a supporter, or as a crest. The attitude of an heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the tincture of the figure ...

) and leopards (which were necessarily walking) originated in

French heraldry French heraldry is the use of heraldic symbols in France. Although it had a considerable history, existing from the 11th century, such formality has largely died out in France, as far as regulated personal heraldry is concerned. Civic heraldry on ...

and was brought into English heraldry along with so much else of English language and custom deriving from French traditions. But "the use of the term ''leopard'' in heraldry to signify a certain position for the lion never received any extensive sanction, and has long since become obsolete in British armory," though the distinction is still observed in French

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...

. Fox-Davies further notes that the lions depicted in the

royal arms of England The royal arms of England are the arms first adopted in a fixed form at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200) as personal arms by the Plantagenet kings who ruled England from 1154. In the popular mind they have come to symbolise the ...

, though passant guardant, have never represented anything other than ''lions'', also pointing out that another ancient (if controversial) rule distinguishing leopards from lions dictated that while several leopards could appear on one shield, there could not be more than one lion on the shield (with the apparent exception of two lions combatant); multiple rampant lions on one shield were called ''lioncels''.Fox-Davies (1909), p. 174.

Countries with leopards in their coats of arms

One leopard

Coat of arms of Fiji The coat of arms of Fiji is the heraldic device consisting of a shield divided quarterly by Cross of St. George and charged with a gold lion at the top, supported by two Fijian warriors, one on each side, and topped with a canoe as the cres ...

Coat of arms of Ghana The coat of arms of Ghana was designed by Ghanaian artist Nii Amon Kotei and was introduced on 4 March 1957. Description *The first quarter, on the upper left shows a sword used by chiefs, and a staff, used by the linguist (known as an ''okyeame ...

Two leopards

* Coat of arms of the principality of Hohenlohe *

Coat of arms of Normandy The flag and coat of arms of Normandy are symbols of Normandy, a region in north-western France. Normandy The traditional provincial flag, ''gules, two lions passant or'', is used in both former regions of France: Lower Normandy and Upper Norman ...

Three leopards

Coat of arms of Canada The Arms of Canada (french: Armoiries du Canada, links=no), also known as the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada (french: armoiries royales du Canada, links=no) or formally as the Arms of His Majesty the King in Right of Canada (french: Armoiries de Sa M ...

* Coat of arms of Denmark (12th century - 1819. After that changed to lions.) * Coat of arms of Estonia *

Coat of arms of England The royal arms of England are the arms first adopted in a fixed form at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200) as personal arms by the Plantagenet kings who ruled England from 1154. In the popular mind they have come to symbolise the ...

Coat of arms of Jersey The coat of arms of Jersey is the heraldic device consisting of a shield charged with three gold leopards on a red field. Utilised unofficially before the 20th century, its status as the coat of arms of the Bailiwick of Jersey was formalized i ...

Coat of arms of Guernsey The coat of arms of Guernsey is the official symbol of the Channel Island of Guernsey. It is very similar to the arms of Normandy, Jersey and England. Seal of Guernsey The Seal of Guernsey closely follows the Coat of Arms, it originates from 12 ...

Leopard's heads

Coat of arms of Dalmatia The coat of arms of Dalmatia is the heraldic symbol used for the historical region of Dalmatia on the eastern coast of Adriatic Sea. It is also featured on the ''crest'' of the coat of arms of Croatia. History The arms first appeared in 14th ce ...

, until 1526 the official arms of Croatia and was later used by

Kingdom of Dalmatia The Kingdom of Dalmatia ( hr, Kraljevina Dalmacija; german: Königreich Dalmatien; it, Regno di Dalmazia) was a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867) and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). It encompassed the entire ...

in Habsburg monarchy; it is now part of

Coat of arms of Croatia The coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Grb Republike Hrvatske) consists of one main shield and five smaller shields which form a crown over the main shield. The main coat of arms is a checkerboard (chequy) that consists of 13 red an ...

. *A leopard's face is frequently shown

Jessant-de-lys Jessant-de-lys is a heraldic term denoting a fleur-de-lys issuing out of any object. It is most frequently seen in conjunction with a leopard's face, meaning in heraldic language the face of a lion. Description Charles Boutell (1863) described ...

, as in the 13th century arms of Cantilupe displayed by

Thomas de Cantilupe Thomas de Cantilupe (25 August 1282; also spelled ''Cantelow, Cantelou, Canteloupe'', Latinised to ''de Cantilupo'') was Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Hereford. He was canonised in 1320 by Pope John XXII. Origins Thomas was the third ...

and his nephew William de Cantilupe.

Natural leopards

Coat of arms of Benin The coat of arms or national seal of Benin, originally introduced in 1964,'':de:Wappen Benins, Wappen Benins'' (German Wikipedia) was readopted in 1990 after being replaced in 1975. At the top of the emblem is the national crest that consists ...

Arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has changed several times since 1997. The current one was introduced in 2006 and depicts a leopard head, surrounded by an elephant tusk to the left and a spear to the right. Below are the three wor ...

(formerly

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

) * Coat of arms of Gabon ( black panther) * Coat of arms of Malawi *

Coat of arms of Somalia The coat of arms of Somalia was adopted on October 10, 1956 and features a golden framed shield of the Somali flag supported by two Cheetah standing on spears. The Cheetah is a common animal seen in Somalia. Cheetah are a common motif in Somali c ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopard (Heraldry) Felids in heraldry