they may appear as a charge on the shield or as a crest. they are described in the "blazon" (heraldic description) by their "tincture" (color) and "attitude" (position). sometimes the teeth and claws of a lion can be colored differently from the rest of its body; it is said to be "armed" of that color (e.g. "a lion or armed gules" is a gold lion with red teeth and claws). sometimes the tail is even described, if it is shown in an unusual way. one reason why lions are shown in so many different ways is because when heraldry developed, a lot of people wanted a lion on their coat of arms, but no two coats of arms can be the same. the purpose of heraldry in the middle ages was to identify people with bold images over the outside of their armour. since a lot of people started putting lions on their coats of arms, they placed them in a lot of different positions and in every color used in heraldry. in france and germany, they even made patterns of colors on some of their lions, as if they were painted.