Chapter Lion to Lips of L by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Lion to Lips

Lion (a public-house sign).
   Black lion comes from the Flemings.

“Au noir lyon la fleur-de-lis
Prist la terre de ca le Lys.”
Godefroy de Paris.

   Blue, the badge of the Earl of Mortimer, also of Denmark.
    Blue seems frequently to represent silver; thus we have the Blue Boar of Richard III., the Blue Lion of the Earl of Mortimer, the Blue Swan of Henry IV., the Blue Dragon, etc.
   Crowned, the badge of Henry VIII.
   Golden, the badge of Henry I., and also of Percy, Duke of Northumberland.
   Passant gardant (walking and showing a full face), the device of England.
   Rampant, the device of Scotland.
   Rampant, with the tail between its legs and turned over its back, the badge of Edward IV. as Earl of March.
   Red, of Scotland; also the badge of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who assumed this badge as a token of his claim to the throne of Castile.
   Sleeping, the device of Richard I.
   Statant gardant (i.e. standing and showing a full face), the device of the Duke of Norfolk.
   White, the device of the Dukes of Norfolk; also of the Earl of Surrey, Earl of Mortimer, and the Fitz-Hammonds.

“For who, in field or foray slack,
Saw the blanche lion e'er fall back? [Duke of Norfolk].”
Sir Walter Scott: Lay of the Last Minstrel.

   The winged lion. The republic of Venice. Its heraldic device.
   White and Red Lions. Prester John, in a letter to Manuel Comnenus, of Constantinople, 1165, says his land is “the home of white and red lions.”

Lion-hunter (A). One who hunts up a celebrity to adorn or give prestige to a party. Mrs. Leo Hunter, in Pickwick, is a good satire on the name and character of a lion-hunter.

Lion-killer (The). Jules Gerard (1817-1864).

Lion Sermon (The). Preached in St. Katharine Cree church Leadenhall-street, London, in October, to commemorate “the wonderful escape” of Sir John Gayer, about 250 years ago, from a lion which he met with on being shipwrecked on the coast of Africa. Sir John was Lord Mayor in 1647.
   Sir John Gayer bequeathed £200 for the relief of the poor on condition that a commemorative sermon was preached annually at St. Katharine Cree. It is said that Sir John was on his knees in prayer when the lion came up, smelt about him, prowled round and round him, and then stalked off.

Lion-sick Sick of love, like the lion in the fable. (See Shakespeare: Troilus and Cressida, ii. 3.)

Lion Tamer (The). Ellen Bright, who exhibited at Wombwell's menagerie, was so called. She was killed by a tiger in 1880, at the age of seventeen.

Lion and Unicorn The animosity which existed between these beasts, referred to by Spenser in his Faërie Queene, is allegorical of the animosity which once existed between England and Scotland.

“Like as a lyon, whose imperial powre
A prowd rebellious unicorn defyes.”
Book ii. canto 5.

   Lion and Unicorn. Ever since 1603 the royal arms have been supported as now by the English lion and Scottish unicorn; but prior to the accession of James I. the sinister supporter was a family badge. Edward III., with whom supporters began, had a lion and eagle; Henry IV., an antelope and swan; Henry V., a lion and antelope; Edward IV., a lion and bull; Richard III., a lion and boar; Henry VII., a lion and dragon; Elizabeth, Mary, and Henry VIII., a lion and greyhound. The lion is dexter- i.e. to the right hand of the wearer or person behind the shield.

Lion and the True Prince (The). The lion will not touch the true prince (1 Henry IV., ii. 4). This is a religious superstition; the “true prince,” strictly speaking, being the Messiah, who is called “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” Loosely it is applied to any prince of blood royal, supposed at one time to be hedged around with a sort of divinity.

“Fetch the Numidian lion I brought over;
If she be sprung from royal blood, the lion
Will do her reverence, else he'll tear her.”
Beaumont and Fletcher: The Mad Lover.

Lion of God Ali was so called, because of his zeal and his great courage. (602, 655-661.)