How did lions become so embedded in European/English heraldry if their habitat was so far removed from medieval Europeans?

by MickeytheMick
jschooltiger

I’ve answered this before with regard to England, if it’s some interest: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/6r4i4p/why_does_england_have_a_lion_on_their_flag/dl2bs52/