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[Mike_Oettle]

Lions were extraordinarily common in coats of arms even before the Crusades.
It seems that they were already a popular symbol in the devices borne by Flemish knights before 1066.
Many Flemings accompanied William of Normandy’s army to England, and others followed across the Channel. Heraldists are now largely agreed that heraldry, invented in Flanders, became widespread in England after the so-called Norman Conquest, and was taken up in most parts of the Continent following the First Crusade.
Probably not many coats of arms included lions before the First Crusade, but after the knights returned from that venture, they were to be seen on shields across Europe. They were especially popular in Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and Germany, but nowhere were they more popular than in the Low Countries.
In those days lions could apparently still be seen not far from Mediterranean shores.
Regards,
Mike