Symbol of The Unicorn, 2006
16x12 Print $30.00 (shipping included)

Symbol of The Unicorn - The message on this art print reads: The unicorn is a lonely, solitary creature that symbolizes hope

This mysteriously magical and beautiful legendary creature exists in the minds of those who believe in the unicorn.

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The unicorn was once revered in society as a symbol of honesty. In the Middle Ages, many upper-class family crests contained an image of the unicorn for this reason. The unicorn's counterpart was the lion, as they were both considered king of all animals. In many cases, both the unicorn and lion were placed on the crests as symbols of honesty, purity, and strength. In time, the unicorn came to be seen as an emblem of the spring season, and the lion stood for summer. As the unicorn was a symbol of chastity and purity, it was claimed that it could only be captured by a virgin's touch. Because of this, a virgin was almost always included in the unicorn hunts that were organized. Eventually, it was realized that it was impossible to capture a real, live unicorn. Therefore, many people turned to weavers to "capture" them on tapestries. Some of these tapestries, known as the Unicorn Tapestries, now hang in museums across the world. Hanging in the Cluney Museum in Paris are two of the most famous of the tapestries. Later, with the resurgence of the Christian religion, the unicorn became a symbol of the Virgin Mary. It was also believed to be the guardian of the Tree of Life in the Bible. However, before it ever became a Christian symbol for purity and virginity, the unicorn was a symbol of the moon. As such, it was a symbol of the virgin goddess of the hung, Artemis, also known as the Roman goddess Diana.

Throughout much of literature the unicorn has made its fair share of appearances. Peter S. Beagle devoted an entire book, The Last Unicorn, to this mythical creature. In many instances, he wrote of the animal as if it were an ethereal creature. "...Her [the unicorn's] neck was long and slender, making her head seem smaller than it was, and the mane that fell almost to the middle of her back was as soft as dandelion fluff and as fine as cirrus. She had pointed ears and thing legs, with feathers of white hair at the ankles; and the long horn above her eyes shone and shivered with its own seashell light even in the deepest midnight. She had killed dragons with it, and healed a king whose poisoned wound would not close, and knocked down ripe chestnuts for bear cubs." Beagles writes of the unicorn as if it were a kind, giving animal who, when needed, could also be dangerous and threatening.

The combination of the color of the horn and its ability to shine with its own light even in the darkest of nights lends the unicorn an ethereal, almost heavenly quality. Later in his book, Beagle relates to the belief of the symbolic meaning of the unicorn. "‘Unicorns are for beginnings,' he [Schmendrick the Magician] said, ‘for innocence and purity, for newness. In this passage, Beagle clearly alludes to the beliefs of the Middle Ages where the unicorn was thought to be a symbol of purity and virginity. Beagle indirectly hints at the belief that only pure girls were allowed to be near it. In pages 72 through 74 of Chapter Five of The Last Unicorn, Beagle makes reference to the tradition surrounding princes and princesses who are to be married. He has a young princess who unsuccessfully tries to lure the unicorn out of hiding so that she can place the golden bridle on it, as a way of proving herself to be pure and untouched. It is understood that the unicorn will not appear, and after a few futile efforts, the prince tells the princess to leave it be, that she has satisfied custom and they can now be married (Beagle, 73-74). This is a distinct reference to the tradition behind the marriage of princes and princesses. Beagle also tries to write of the unicorn in an almost Christ-like way. "With an old, gay, terrible cry of ruin, the unicorn reared out of her hiding place. Her hooves came slashing down like a rain of razors, her mane raged, and on her forehead she wore a plume of lightning.

The three assassins dropped their daggers and hid their faces, and even Molly Grue and Schmendrick cowered before her. But the unicorn saw none of them. Mad, dancing, sea-white, she belled her challenge again...[as]...the Red Bull came. He was the color of blood, not the springing blood of the heart but of the blood that stirs under an old wound that never really healed. A terrible light poured from him like sweat, and his roar started landslides flowing into one another. His horns were as pale as scars..." (Beagle, 94-95). In this passage, it is evident that Beagle puts his unicorn in a "God vs. The Devil" situation. Where the unicorn is described in a way that portrays her as an angel fighting for her people, Beagle depicts the Red Bull as a Satan figure. Whereas the unicorn is "sea-white", the bull is blood red. Where the unicorn is surrounded by a white (possibly representing good) lightning, the bull is enveloped in a "terrible" light. Throughout the entire passage, Beagle contrasts the unicorn and the bull in a manner that can only be described as good versus evil.

Bibliography

• "Unicorns" Http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/1272/unicorn.html. March 11, 2000. "Unicorn Myths and Legends".
• Http://members.tripod.com/%7Ewaterdragon/origins.html. March 11, 2000. "Origins of the Unicorn".
• Http://stud-www.uni-marbug.de/~Vigier/unicorn.html. March 14, 2000
• Beagle, Peter S. The Last Unicorn. New York: Penguin Publishing, 1991 "Unicorns". The New Book of Knowledge, Volume U-V 19. Grolier Incorporated, 1982.