The Palatine Lion (), less commonly the Palatinate Lion, is an heraldic charge (see also: heraldic lions). It was originally part of the family coat of arms of the House of Wittelsbach and is found today on many coats of arms of municipalities, counties and regions in South Germany and the Austrian Innviertel. Forms The main design is described as sable a lion rampant or, crowned, armed and langued gules. Originally uncrowned, the lion was first depicted with a red crown in the early 14th century in the Zürich armorial. This probably relates to the pre-eminent position held by the Prince-Elector of the Palatinate as an imperial vicar, since the Golden Bull of 1356. In addition to these two main forms, there are a number of variants. Many villages used the symbols of their ruling families as seals. In order to minimise the risk of confusion, the detail of the coat of arms was changed when authority was granted to use them. Occasionally other colours were used in order to stay faithful to the rule of tincture. History Emergence The Palatine Lion first appears in the County Palatine of the Rhine under the Wittelsbach Count Palatine, Otto the Illustrious in his equestrian seal (Reitersiegel) of 1229. However, the use of the symbol is probably older; it may well go back to predecessors of the Wittelsbachs, the Welf counts palatine, who ruled from 1195 to 1214: Counts Palatine Henry the Elder and Henry the Younger. Prior to that the Hohenstaufen Count Palatine Conrad, father-in-law of Henry the Elder, had around 1,190 coins minted with a lion image. The colours of the Hohenstaufens were also gold and black. Wittelsbach era Following the enfeoffment of the Bavarian Duke Louis in 1214 with the County Palatine of the Rhine, Duke Otto II of Bavaria inherited the County of Bogen in the mid-13th century along with its blue and white lozenged coat of arms. For centuries the golden lion on a black field and the blue and white lozenges were used as the family coat of arms of the Old Bavarian and Palatine Wittelsbachs. Not until the 16th century did the distinction between the lion for the Palatinate and the lozenges for Bavaria slowly gain ground. In Siebmacher's Armorial of 1605 there are four coloured illustrations that use the Palatine Lion. They represent the coats of arms of the Electorate of the Palatinate and the