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{{short description|Legendary single-horned horse-like creature}}
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{{About|the legendary animal|other uses|Unicorn (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Unicron|Unicon (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox mythical creature
|name = Unicorn
|image = Oftheunicorn.jpg
|caption = 17th-century woodcut depiction of a unicorn
|Grouping = [[Legendary creature|Mythical creature]]
|Sub_Grouping =
|AKA = [[Monoceros (mythology)|Monocerus]]
|Similar_entities = [[Qilin]], [[Re'em]], [[Indrik]], [[Shadhavar]], [[Camahueto]], [[Karkadann]]
|Folklore = Worldwide
}}
[[File:Domenichounicorndetail.jpg|thumb|''[[A Virgin with a Unicorn]],'' fresco by [[Domenichino]], {{c.|1604–1605}} ([[Palazzo Farnese|Palazzo Farnese, Rome]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Zampieri Domenico, Madonna e unicorno |url=http://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda.v2.jsp?tipo_scheda=OA&id=58897 |work=Fondazione Federico Zeri, University of Bologna}}</ref>]]
The '''unicorn''' is a [[legendary creature]] that has been described since [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]] as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling [[horn (anatomy)|horn]] projecting from its forehead.

In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years or so been depicted as a white [[horse]]- or [[goat]]-like animal with a long straight horn with spiraling grooves, cloven hooves, and sometimes a goat's beard. In the [[Middle Ages]] and [[Renaissance]], it was commonly described as an extremely wild [[forest|woodland]] creature, a symbol of purity and grace, which could be captured only by a virgin. In encyclopedias, its horn was described as having the power to render poisoned water potable and to heal sickness. In medieval and Renaissance times, the tusk of the [[narwhal]] was sometimes sold as a unicorn horn.

A [[bovine]] type of unicorn is thought by some scholars to have been depicted in [[Indus seal|seal]]s of the [[Bronze Age]] [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Indus Valley civilization]], the interpretation remaining controversial. An equine form of the unicorn was mentioned by the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] in accounts of [[natural history]] by various writers, including [[Ctesias]], [[Strabo]], [[Pliny the Younger]], [[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]],<ref name=Britannica>{{cite EB1911|wstitle= Unicorn |volume= 27 | pages = 581&ndash;582 |last1= Phillips |first1= Catherine Beatrice }}</ref> and [[Cosmas Indicopleustes]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/04z/z_0500-0600__Cosmas_Indicopleustis__Christiana_Topographia_(MPG_088_0051_0476)__GM.pdf.html|title=Cosmas Indicopleustis - Christiana Topographia (MPG 088 0051 0476) [0500-0600] Full Text at Documenta Catholica Omnia|website=www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu}}</ref> The [[Bible]] also describes an animal, the [[re'em]], which some translations render as ''unicorn''.<ref name="Britannica" />

The unicorn continues to hold a place in popular culture. It is often used as a symbol of fantasy or rarity.<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unicorn Unicorn], Merriam-Webster Dictionary.</ref> In the 21st century, it has become an [[LGBTQ symbols|LGBTQ symbol]].

== History ==
[[File:Stamp seal and modern impression- unicorn and incense burner (?) MET DP23101 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Indus stamp seal and modern impression; unicorn and incense burner or manger, 2600–1900 BC]]

===Indus Valley civilization===
A creature with a single horn, conventionally called a unicorn, is the most common image on the [[soapstone]] stamp seals of the [[Bronze Age]] [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Indus Valley civilization]] ("IVC"), from the centuries around 2000 BC. It has a body more like a cow than a horse, and a curved horn that goes forward, then up at the tip.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kenoyer |first=Jonathan Mark |title=Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998}}</ref> The mysterious feature depicted coming down from the front of the back is usually shown; it may represent a harness or other covering. Typically, the unicorn faces a vertical object with at least two stages; this is variously described as a "ritual offering stand", an [[incense burner]], or a manger. The animal is always in profile on [[Indus seal]]s, but the theory that it represents animals with two horns, one hiding the other, is disproved by a (much smaller) number of small [[terracotta]] unicorns, probably toys, and the profile depictions of bulls, where both horns are clearly shown. It is thought that the unicorn was the symbol of a powerful "clan or merchant community", but may also have had some religious significance.

In [[South Asia]], the unicorn is only seen during the IVC period, and disappeared in South Asian art after this. [[Jonathan Mark Kenoyer]] stated the IVC "unicorn" has no "direct connection" with later unicorn motifs observed in other parts of the world; nonetheless, it remains possible that the IVC unicorn had contributed to later myths of fantastical one-horned creatures in [[West Asia]].<ref>[[Jonathan Mark Kenoyer|Kenoyer, J.M.]], catalogue entry in Aruz, Joan (ed), ''Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus'', p. 404 (quoted) and 390 (terracotta), 2003, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=8l9X_3rHFdEC google books]; [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/324062 Metropolitan Museum], "Stamp seal and modern impression: unicorn and incense burner (?)" ca. 2600–1900 B.C.", for harness. "Iconography of the Indus Unicorn: Origins and Legacy", in ''Connections and Complexity:New Approaches to the Archaeology of South Asia'', 2013, Left Coast Press, {{ISBN|9781598746860}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ddRmDAAAQBAJ&dq=Indus+unicorn&pg=PA120 Google Books]</ref>

=== Classical antiquity ===
Unicorns are not found in [[Greek mythology]], but rather in the accounts of [[natural history]], for Greek writers of natural history were convinced of the reality of unicorns, which they believed lived in India, a distant and fabulous realm for them. The earliest description is from [[Ctesias]], who in his book ''[[Indica (Ctesias)|Indika]]'' ("On [[India]]") described them as [[Onager|wild ass]]es, fleet of foot, having a horn a [[cubit]] and a half ({{Convert|700|mm|in|disp = comma|abbr = in}}) in length, and colored white, red and black.<ref>{{cite book
|last = Ctesias
|orig-date=390 BC
|author-link = Ctesias
|title = Indica (Τα Ἰνδικά)
|chapter = 45
|url = https://www.livius.org/ct-cz/ctesias/photius_indica.html
|access-date = 2020-03-26
|archive-date = 2012-07-16
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120716183321/http://www.livius.org/ct-cz/ctesias/photius_indica.html
|url-status = dead
}} (quoted by [[Photios I of Constantinople|Photius]])</ref> Unicorn meat was said to be too bitter to eat.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Bhairav|first1=J. Furcifer|title=Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons of India|last2=Khanna|first2=Rakesh|publisher=Blaft Publications Pvt. Ltd.|year=2021|isbn=9789380636467|location=India|pages=395|language=English}}</ref>

[[File:Unicorn in Apadana, Shush, Iran--2017-10.jpg|thumb|Winged bull, perhaps perceived as a unicorn, in [[Apadana]], [[Susa]], Iran]]
Ctesias got his information while living in [[Persian Empire|Persia]]. Unicorns or, more likely, winged bulls, appear in [[relief]]s at the ancient Persian capital of [[Persepolis]] in Iran.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Unicorns and Other Magical Creatures |last=Hamilton |first=John |publisher=ABDO Publishing Company |year=2010 |isbn=978-1617842818}}</ref> [[Aristotle]] must be following Ctesias when he mentions two one-horned animals, the [[oryx]] (a kind of [[antelope]]) and the so-called "Indian ass" ({{lang|grc|ἰνδικὸς ὄνος}}).<ref>{{cite book |last=Aristotle
 |author-link  = Aristotle
 |others      = trans. William Ogle
 |title       = On the Parts of Animals (Περι ζώων μορίων)
 |chapter     = Book 3. Chapter 2.
 |url         = http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/parts/
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080501140737/http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/parts/
 |archive-date = 2008-05-01
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Aristotle
 |author-link  = Aristotle
 |others      = trans. [[D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson]]
 |title       = History of Animals (Περί ζώων ιστορίας)
 |chapter     = Book 2. Chapter 1.
 |url         = http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/history/
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070630051759/http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/history/
 |archive-date = 2007-06-30
}}</ref> [[Antigonus of Carystus]] also wrote about the one-horned "Indian ass".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/paradoxography/texts/antigonus|title=Paradoxography - Antigonus|website=sites.google.com}}</ref> [[Strabo]] says that in the [[Caucasus]] there were one-horned horses with stag-like heads.<ref>{{cite book |last=Strabo
|author-link = Strabo
|title = Geography
|chapter = Book 15. Chapter 1. Section 56.
|url = https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/15A3*.html }}</ref> [[Pliny the Elder]] mentions the oryx and an Indian [[ox]] (perhaps a [[Indian rhinoceros|greater one-horned rhinoceros]]) as one-horned beasts, as well as "a very fierce animal called the monoceros which has the head of the [[Deer|stag]], the feet of the [[elephant]], and the tail of the [[boar]], while the rest of the body is like that of the horse; it makes a deep lowing noise, and has a single black horn, which projects from the middle of its forehead, two cubits [{{Convert|900|mm|in|disp = comma|abbr = in}}] in length."<ref>{{cite book |last=Pliny
 |author-link = Pliny the Elder
 |others     = trans. John Bostock
 |title      = Natural History
 |chapter    = Book 8, Chapter 31
 |url        = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D31
}} Also [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D30 Book 8, Chapter 30], and [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D11%3Achapter%3D106 Book 11, Chapter 106].</ref> In ''On the Nature of Animals'' ({{lang|grc|Περὶ Ζῴων Ἰδιότητος}}, {{lang|la|De natura animalium}}), [[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], quoting Ctesias, adds that India produces also a one-horned horse (iii. 41; iv. 52),<ref>{{cite book |last=Aelian|author-link = Claudius Aelianus |others=trans. A.F.Scholfield |title=On the Nature of Animals (Περὶ Ζῴων Ἰδιότητος, De natura animalium) |year=220 |orig-year=circa |chapter=Book 3. Chapter 41. |url=http://www.attalus.org/translate/animals3.html#41}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Aelian|author-link = Claudius Aelianus |others=trans. A.F.Scholfield |title=On the Nature of Animals (Περὶ Ζῴων Ἰδιότητος, De natura animalium) |year=220 |orig-year=circa |chapter=Book 4. Chapter 52. |url=http://www.attalus.org/translate/animals4.html#52}}</ref> and says (xvi. 20)<ref>{{cite book |last=Aelian|author-link = Claudius Aelianus |others=trans. A.F.Scholfield |title=On the Nature of Animals (Περὶ Ζῴων Ἰδιότητος, De natura animalium) |year=220 |orig-year=circa |chapter=Book 16. Chapter 20. |url=http://www.attalus.org/translate/animals16.html#20}}</ref> that the {{transliteration|grc|[[Monoceros (mythology)|monoceros]]}} ({{lang|grc|μονόκερως}}) was sometimes called {{transliteration|grc|cartazonos}} ({{lang|grc|καρτάζωνος}}), which may be a form of the Arabic {{transliteration|ar|[[karkadann]]}}, meaning '[[rhinoceros]]'.

[[Cosmas Indicopleustes]], a 6th-century Greek traveler who journeyed to India and the [[Kingdom of Aksum]], gives a description of a unicorn based on four bronze figures he saw in the four-towered palace of the King of [[Ethiopia]]. He states, from report: <blockquote>They speak of him as a terrible beast and quite invincible and that all its strength lies in its horn. When he finds himself pursued by many hunters and on the point of being caught, he springs up to the top of some precipice whence he throws himself down and in the descent turns a somersault so that the horn sustains all the shock of the fall, and he escapes unhurt.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cosmas Indicopleustes
|author-link = Cosmas Indicopleustes
|title = Christian Topography
|chapter = Book 11. Chapter 7.
|url = http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/cosmas_11_book11.htm}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20120805164810/http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Ancient/Indus2.html Manas: History and Politics, Indus Valley]. Sscnet.ucla.edu. Retrieved on 2011-03-20.</ref></blockquote>

=== Middle Ages and Renaissance ===
[[File:Wildweibchen mit Einhorn.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Wild man|Wild woman]] with unicorn,'' tapestry, {{Circa|1500–1510}} ([[Basel Historical Museum]])]]
[[File:Unicorn annunciation.jpg|thumb|''Hunt of the Unicorn [[Annunciation]]'' (ca. 1500) from a Netherlandish [[Book of hours|Book of Hours]]]]
[[File:Annunciation with the Unicorn and Adoration of the Magi.jpg|thumb|''Annunciation with the Unicorn'' and ''[[Adoration of the Magi]]'' from the [[Buhl Altarpiece]], ca. 1495]]

[[Middle Ages|Medieval]] knowledge of unicorns stemmed from [[Re'em|biblical]] and ancient sources, and unicorns were variously represented as a kind of [[Onager|wild ass]], [[goat]], or [[horse]].

Several European medieval travelers claimed to have seen unicorns in their travels outside of Europe. For example [[Felix Fabri]] claimed to have seen a unicorn in [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=נאור |first=עמית |date=2019-12-10 |title=Unicorns in the Holy Land? |url=https://blog.nli.org.il/en/hoi_unicorns/ |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=The Librarians |language=en-US}}</ref>

The predecessor of the medieval [[bestiary]], compiled in [[Late Antiquity]] and known as {{transliteration|grc|[[Physiologus]]}} ({{lang|grc|Φυσιολόγος}}), popularized an elaborate [[allegory]] in which a unicorn, trapped by a maiden (representing the [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Virgin Mary]]), stood for the [[Incarnation]]. As soon as the unicorn sees her, it lays its head on her lap and falls asleep.{{r|Hall1983|p=160}} This became a basic emblematic tag that underlies medieval notions of the unicorn, justifying its appearance in both secular and [[Sacred art|religious art]]. The unicorn is often shown hunted, raising parallels both with vulnerable virgins and sometimes the [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion of Christ]]. The myths refer to a beast with one horn that can only be tamed by a [[Virginity|virgin]]; subsequently, some writers translated this into an allegory for Christ's relationship with the Virgin Mary.

The unicorn also figured in [[courtly love|courtly terms]]: for some 13th-century [[France|French]] authors such as [[Theobald I of Navarre|Thibaut of Champagne]] and [[Richard de Fournival]], the lover is attracted to his lady as the unicorn is to the virgin. With the rise of [[Renaissance humanism|humanism]], the unicorn also acquired more orthodox secular meanings, emblematic of chaste love and faithful marriage. It plays this role in [[Petrarch]]'s ''Triumph of Chastity'', and on the reverse of [[Piero della Francesca]]'s portrait of Battista Strozzi, paired with that of her husband [[Federico da Montefeltro]] (painted {{circa}} 1472–74), Bianca's [[triumphal car]] is drawn by a pair of unicorns.<ref>Marilyn Aronberg Lavin, 2002. ''Piero della Francesca'', pp. 260–265.</ref>

However, when the unicorn appears in the medieval legend of ''[[Barlaam and Josaphat]]'', ultimately derived from the life of the [[Buddha]], it represents death, as the ''[[Golden Legend]]'' explains.{{r|Hall1983|p=184}} Unicorns in religious art largely disappeared after they were condemned by [[Molanus]] after the [[Council of Trent]].{{r|Hall1983|p=305}}

The unicorn, tamable only by a virgin woman, was well established in medieval lore by the time [[Marco Polo]] described them as "scarcely smaller than elephants. They have the hair of a buffalo and feet like an elephant's. They have a single large black horn in the middle of the forehead... They have a head like a wild boar's... They spend their time by preference wallowing in [[mud]] and slime. They are very ugly brutes to look at. They are not at all such as we describe them when we relate that they let themselves be captured by virgins, but clean contrary to our notions." It is clear that Marco Polo was describing a rhinoceros.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Noah |title=The Story of Marco Polo |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofmarcopolo00broouoft |orig-date=1898 |publisher=Palala Press (originally The Century Co.) |isbn=978-1341338465 |page=[https://archive.org/details/storyofmarcopolo00broouoft/page/221 221] |date=2015 |type=reprint}}</ref>

==== Alicorn ====
{{Main article|Unicorn horn}}
The horn itself and the substance it was made of was called '''alicorn''', and it was believed that the horn holds magical and medicinal properties. The [[Danish people|Danish]] physician [[Ole Worm]] determined in 1638 that the alleged alicorns were the tusks of narwhals.<ref>{{cite book|title=Mythical creatures|author=Linda S Godfrey|publisher=Chelsea House Publishers|year=2009|page=28|isbn=978-0-7910-9394-8}}</ref> Such beliefs were examined wittily and at length in 1646 by Sir [[Thomas Browne]] in his ''[[Pseudodoxia Epidemica]]''.<ref>{{cite book
|last =Browne
|first =Thomas
|author-link = Thomas Browne
|title = Pseudodoxia Epidemica
|year =1646
|chapter = Book 3. Chapter 23.
|url = http://penelope.uchicago.edu/pseudodoxia/pseudo323.html}}</ref>

False alicorn powder, made from the tusks of [[narwhal]]s or horns of various animals, was sold in Europe for medicinal purposes as late as 1741.<ref>{{cite book|title=Exotic Zoology|url=https://archive.org/details/exoticzoologyill0000leyw|url-access=registration|author=Willy Ley|year=1962|publisher=Viking Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/exoticzoologyill0000leyw/page/20 20–22]|oclc=4049353}}</ref> The alicorn was thought to cure many diseases and have the ability to detect poisons, and many physicians would make "cures" and sell them. Cups were made from alicorn for kings and given as a gift; these were usually made of [[ivory]] or [[walrus]] ivory. Entire horns were very precious in the Middle Ages and were often really the tusks of narwhals.<ref>{{cite book|author=Shepard, Odell|title=The Lore of the Unicorn|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/lou/index.htm|publisher=London, Unwin and Allen|orig-year=1930|year=2005|isbn=978-1-4375-0853-6}}</ref>

== Entrapment ==
[[File:The Unicorn in Captivity - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[The Unicorn in Captivity]]'', one of ''[[The Hunt of the Unicorn]]'' tapestries, {{Circa|1495}}–1505, [[The Cloisters]]]]
[[File:(Toulouse) Le Vue (La Dame à la licorne) - Musée de Cluny Paris.jpg|thumb|''Sight'', from the {{lang|fr|[[La Dame à la licorne]]}} tapestry set, {{c.|1500}} ([[Musée de Cluny]], Paris)]]
One traditional method of hunting unicorns involved entrapment by a virgin.

In one of his notebooks [[Leonardo da Vinci]] wrote:

{{blockquote|The unicorn, through its intemperance and not knowing how to control itself, for the love it bears to fair maidens forgets its ferocity and wildness; and laying aside all fear it will go up to a seated damsel and go to sleep in her lap, and thus the hunters take it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.universalleonardo.org/work.php?id=438|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061015075618/http://www.universalleonardo.org/work.php?id=438|url-status=usurped|archive-date=October 15, 2006|title=Universal Leonardo: Leonardo da Vinci online › Young woman seated in a landscape with a unicorn|website=www.universalleonardo.org}}</ref>}}

The famous late [[Gothic art|Gothic]] series of seven [[tapestry]] hangings ''[[The Hunt of the Unicorn]]'' are a high point in [[Europe]]an tapestry manufacture, combining both secular and religious themes. The tapestries now hang in [[the Cloisters]] division of the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in [[New York City]]. In the series, richly dressed [[Nobility|noblemen]], accompanied by huntsmen and hounds, pursue a unicorn against {{lang|fr|[[mille-fleur]]}} backgrounds or settings of buildings and gardens. They bring the animal to bay with the help of a maiden who traps it with her charms, appear to kill it, and bring it back to a castle; in the last and most famous panel, "The Unicorn in Captivity", the unicorn is shown alive again and happy, chained to a [[pomegranate]] tree surrounded by a fence, in a field of flowers. Scholars conjecture that the red stains on its flanks are not blood but rather the juice from pomegranates, which were a symbol of fertility. However, the true meaning of the mysterious resurrected unicorn in the last panel is unclear. The series was woven about 1500 in the [[Low Countries]], probably [[Brussels]] or [[Liège]], for an unknown patron. A set of six [[engraving]]s on the same theme, treated rather differently, were engraved by the French artist [[Jean Duvet]] in the 1540s.

Another famous set of six tapestries of {{lang|la|[[The Lady and the Unicorn|Dame à la licorne]]}} ("Lady with the unicorn") in the [[Musée de Cluny]], [[Paris]], were also woven in the [[Southern Netherlands]] before 1500, and show the five senses (the gateways to temptation) and finally Love ("{{lang|fr|A mon seul desir}}" the legend reads), with unicorns featured in each piece. Facsimiles of these unicorn tapestries were woven for permanent display in [[Stirling Castle]], [[Scotland]], to take the place of a set recorded in the castle in a [[Scottish Royal tapestry collection|16th-century inventory]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Ancient unicorn tapestries recreated at Stirling Castle|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-33237947|website=BBC News|access-date=11 June 2017|date=23 June 2015}}</ref>

A rather rare, late-15th-century, variant depiction of the ''[[hortus conclusus]]'' in religious art combined the [[Annunciation to Mary]] with the themes of the ''Hunt of the Unicorn'' and ''Virgin and Unicorn'', so popular in secular art. The unicorn already functioned as a symbol of the [[Incarnation of Christ|Incarnation]] and whether this meaning is intended in many ''prima facie'' secular depictions can be a difficult matter of scholarly interpretation. There is no such ambiguity in the scenes where the archangel [[Gabriel]] is shown blowing a horn, as hounds chase the unicorn into the Virgin's arms, and a little Christ Child descends on rays of light from God the Father. The [[Council of Trent]] finally banned this somewhat over-elaborated, if charming, depiction,<ref>G Schiller, ''Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. I'',1971 (English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London, pp. 52-4 & figs 126-9, {{ISBN|0-85331-270-2}}, [https://www.sagen.info/forum/media/hortus-conclusus.5313/ another image]</ref> partly on the grounds of realism, as no one now believed the unicorn to be a real animal.

[[Shakespeare]] scholars describe unicorns being captured by a hunter standing in front of a tree, the unicorn goaded into charging; the hunter would step aside the last moment and the unicorn would embed its horn deeply into the tree (See annotations<ref>''The Complete Works of Shakespeare'', Fourth Edition, [[David Bevington]], pg. 1281;''The Norton Shakespeare'', Second Edition, pg 2310, footnote 9; ''[[The Riverside Shakespeare]]'', Second Edition, page 1515</ref> of [[Timon of Athens]], Act 4, scene 3, c. line 341: "wert thou the unicorn, pride and wrath would confound thee and make thine own self the conquest of thy fury".)

== Heraldry ==

In [[heraldry]], a unicorn is often depicted as a horse with a goat's cloven hooves and beard, a lion's tail, and a slender, spiral horn on its forehead<ref name="friar">{{cite book
|last=Friar
|first=Stephen
|title=A New Dictionary of Heraldry
|year=1987
|pages= 353–354
|publisher=Alphabooks/[[A & C Black]]
|place=London
|isbn=978-0-906670-44-6}}</ref> (non-equine attributes may be replaced with equine ones). Whether because it was an emblem of the Incarnation or of the fearsome animal passions of raw nature, the unicorn was not widely used in early heraldry, but became popular from the 15th century.<ref name="friar" /> Though sometimes shown collared and chained, which may be taken as an indication that it has been tamed or tempered, it is more usually shown collared with a broken chain attached, showing that it has broken free from its bondage.

=== Scotland ===
{{See also|The Lion and the Unicorn}}
In heraldry the unicorn is best known as a symbol of [[Scotland]]: the unicorn was believed to be the natural enemy of the lion – a symbol that the English royals had adopted around a hundred years before<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/why-is-the-unicorn-scotland-s-national-animal-1-3953188 |title=Why is the Unicorn Scotland's national animal? |newspaper=The Scotsman | date=19 November 2015 |access-date=14 April 2019}}</ref> Two unicorns supported the [[royal arms of Scotland|royal arms]] of the [[King of Scots]] and [[Duke of Rothesay]], and since the [[Acts of Union 1707|1707 union]] of England and Scotland, the [[royal arms of the United Kingdom]] have been supported by a unicorn along with an English lion. Two versions of the royal arms exist: that used in Scotland gives more emphasis to the Scottish elements, placing the unicorn on the left and giving it a crown, whereas the version used in England and elsewhere gives the English elements more prominence. [[John Guillim]], in his book; ''A Display of Heraldry'', has illustrated the unicorn as a symbol of power, honor and respect.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://in.pinterest.com/pin/418975571559537216/|title=So much for goats, or, cute creatures in coats of arms|website=Pinterest}}</ref>

Golden coins known as the [[unicorn (coin)|unicorn]] and half-unicorn, both with a unicorn on the [[obverse]], were used in Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the same realm, carved unicorns were often used as [[finials]] on the pillars of [[Mercat cross]]es, and denoted that the settlement was a [[royal burgh]]. Certain noblemen such as the [[Earl of Kinnoull]] were given special permission to use the unicorn in their arms, as an [[augmentation of honour]].<ref name=Nisbet>{{cite book|last=Nisbet|first=Alexander|title=A System of Heraldry|publisher=William Blackwood|location=Edinburgh|date=1816|url=https://archive.org/stream/systemofheraldry01nisbuoft#page/304/mode/2up}}</ref> The crest for [[Clan Cunningham]] bears a unicorn head.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=U5pkxvtxyr8C&q=clan+cunningham+unicorn & tartans] George Way, Romilly Squire; HarperCollins, 1995; page 84 "Cunningham CREST A unicorn's head couped Argent armed Or MOTTO 'Over fork over'</ref>

== Modern culture ==
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, unicorns experienced a notable resurgence in popular culture, appearing prominently in children’s toys, clothing, stationery, and digital media.<ref>{{cite news
 |last=Gross
 |first=Jenny
 |title=Llamas Are the New Unicorns
 |work=The New York Times
 |date=2020-04-14
 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/parenting/llamas-hot-toys.html
 |access-date=2025-12-02
}}</ref> The creature became a recurring motif in books and animated series, most notably in animated TV Series [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]] and [[Unicorn Academy]]. This period also saw a rise in references to unicorns in English-language books, as shown in [[Google Books Ngram Viewer|Google Ngram]] data.<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Google Books Ngram Viewer: unicorn
 |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=unicorn&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3
 |website=Google Books Ngram Viewer
 |access-date=2025-12-02
}}</ref>

The popularity of unicorn imagery also extended to food, fashion, and online aesthetics among adults, contributing to the broader “unicorn trend” characterized by rainbow-colored palettes, sparkles, and stylized fantasy motifs.<ref>{{cite news
 |last=Safronova
 |first=Valeriya
 |title=In the Age of Unicorn Food
 |work=The New York Times
 |date=2017-04-19
 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/19/style/unicorn-food-starbucks.html
 |access-date=2025-12-02
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
 |last=Hunt
 |first=Elle
 |title=The rise of unicorn food: why is everything so sparkly?
 |work=The Guardian
 |date=2017-04-13
 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/13/the-rise-of-unicorn-food-why-is-everything-so-sparkly
 |access-date=2025-12-02
}}</ref>

[[Toymaker]]s have produced toy designs featuring other animals, including cats, that are given a unicorn-style horn, as well as unicorn-themed accessories, such as headbands with a single horn for kids and adults. Unicorn-themed birthday parties also emerged as a popular trend.

See also: [[Unicorn trend]].

=== Queer culture ===
{{See also|LGBTQ symbols}}
[[File:GlimmerPrideUnicornPicture.jpg|thumb|A toy unicorn, about which its creators have written, "Meet Glimmer, the Pride unicorn! Show off your pride or support your favorite member of the LGBTQIA+ community with this adorable, colorful unicorn plush." Note its hair has, as its creators describe it, "vibrant rainbow colors", like the [[Rainbow flag (LGBTQ)|rainbow flag]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241009153440/https://www.amazon.com/Glimmer-Pride-Unicorn-Colorful-Handmade/dp/B0CHXGGTLQ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1YDJR5ZH99ID0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.I9j_fecvi5LpsgBpAeMFPqeq4GxKUJ2zfmaXJLwXx_g.9_uBn-NxSi0PNzbG41CvvtENY2BPQ-f03I8DZwTbeok&dib_tag=se&keywords=Glimmer+the+pride+unicorn&qid=1728488049&sprefix=glimmer+the+pride+unicorn%2Caps%2C115&sr=8-1|title=Amazon.com: Glimmer the Pride Unicorn - LGBTQIA - Rainbow Unicorn Stuffed Animal - Colorful Unicorn Plush - Handmade Unicorn Doll : Toys & Games}}</ref>]]
By the beginning of the 21st century, unicorns became a [[LGBT symbols|queer icon]], second only to the rainbow flag, symbolizing queerness.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=How did unicorns get so gay? An investigation |url=https://www.mic.com/life/how-did-unicorns-get-so-gay-investigation-23625803 |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=Mic |date=24 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Wareham |first=Jamie |date=2018-08-17 |title=Unicorns are the gay, LGBTI and queer icons of our time (and I'm obsessed) |url=https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/evidence-unicorns-are-queer-icons/ |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=Gay Star News |language=en-GB |archive-date=2022-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302130745/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/evidence-unicorns-are-queer-icons/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Rainbow flag and blue skies.jpg|upright|thumb|A [[Rainbow flag (LGBTQ)|rainbow flag]] flying.]]
The [[Rainbow flag (LGBT)|rainbow flag]], created by American artist [[Gilbert Baker (artist)|Gilbert Baker]] in 1978 as a joyous symbol of the diversity of the [[LGBT community|queer community]], became prominent during the gay rights protests of the 1970s and 1980s. Unicorns, which were intrinsically linked to rainbows since the [[Victorian era]], became a symbol of the queer community.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2017-10-15 |title=Why the unicorn has become the emblem for our times {{!}} Alice Fisher |url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/15/return-of-the-unicorn-the-magical-beast-of-our-times |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

There is no consensus on how the unicorn became a gay icon.<ref name=":0"/> Alice Fisher, an editor of Observer Design magazine, notes that the values of a unicorn – as rare and magical – have resulted in the word being used with various connotations. However, she argues that the Victorian association between rainbows and unicorns has resulted in unicorns becoming a queer icon.<ref name=":2" />

When directly asked, queer people give different answers about why they have close personal relationships with unicorns.<ref name=":0" /> They often relate to one or more of the following aspects: uniqueness, magical quality, elusiveness and gender fluidity.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=How Did the Unicorn Become a Symbol of Queerness? |url=https://www.thewhale.com/gay-unicorn-symbolism/ |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=The Whale |date=29 October 2021 |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815170817/https://www.thewhale.com/gay-unicorn-symbolism/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

Queer individuals tend to relate to the unicorn because of their unique sexual orientation and gender identity.<ref name=":3" /> Tracey Anne Duncan, a queer New Orleans journalist, described her connection to unicorns when she watched [[The Last Unicorn (film)|''The Last Unicorn'']] as a child. In the film, the protagonist believed she was one of a kind throughout her life. Tracey was able to relate to that feeling, even though she did not really know what "her kind" was at that time.<ref name=":0" />

The unicorn is an imaginary animal that lives in a world of myths and legends.<ref name=":3" /> Queer people, whose existence may seem to blur the lines between societal norms of masculinity and femininity, may feel like they do not fully belong in this world. It explains their interests in mythical creatures such as unicorns, mermaids, and fairies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Iversen |first=Kristin |title=Why Millennials' Obsession With Mermaids, Unicorns, And The Color Pink Matters |url=https://www.nylon.com/articles/mermaids-unicorns-millennial-pink-lgbtq-queer-culture |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=Nylon |date=6 June 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

Some argue that the gender fluidity of the unicorn makes it a suitable representation of the LGBT community. In ancient myths, the unicorn is portrayed as male, whereas in the modern times, it is depicted as a female creature.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

== Similar animals in religion and myth ==
=== Biblical ===
[[File:Ur-painting.jpg|right|thumb|The [[aurochs]]]]
[[File:San Giovanni Evangelista in Ravenna, unicorn.jpg|right|thumb|Unicorn [[mosaic]] on a 1213 church floor in [[Ravenna]]]]
An animal called the ''[[re'em]]'' ({{langx|he|רְאֵם}}) is mentioned in several places in the [[Hebrew Bible]], often as a metaphor representing strength. The allusions to the ''re'em'' as a wild, untamable animal of great strength and agility, with mighty horn or horns<ref>[[Book of Job|Job]] 39:9–12; [[Psalms]] 22:21, 29:6; [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 23:22, 24:8; [[Deuteronomy]] 33:17; compare Psalms 112:11</ref> best fit the [[aurochs]] (''Bos primigenius''); this view is further supported by the Assyrian cognate word ''rimu,'' which is often used as a metaphor of strength, and is depicted as a powerful, fierce, wild mountain bull with large horns.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Hirsch|first1=Emil G.|last2=Casanowicz|first2=I. M.|title=Unicorn|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14584-unicorn|website=Jewish Encyclopedia|access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref> This animal was often depicted in ancient [[Mesopotamia]]n art in profile, with only one horn visible.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/unicorn|title=Unicorn|date=29 August 2022|website=Britannica|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref>

The translators of the [[Authorized King James Version]] of the [[Bible]] (1611) followed the Greek [[Septuagint]] (''monokeros'') and the Latin [[Vulgate]] (''unicornis'')<ref>Psalms 21:22, 28:6, 77:69, 91:11; [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 34:7. The Latin ''rhinoceros'' is employed in Numbers 23:22, 24:8; Deuteronomy 33:17, Job 39:9–10</ref> and employed ''unicorn'' to translate ''re'em'', providing a recognizable animal that was proverbial for its untamable nature. The [[American Standard Version]] translates this term "wild ox" in each case.

The classical Jewish understanding of the Bible did not identify the ''Re'em'' animal as the unicorn. However, some rabbis in the [[Talmud]] debate the proposition that the ''[[Tahash]]'' animal (Exodus 25, 26, 35, 36 and 39; Numbers 4; and Ezekiel 16:10) was a domestic, single-horned [[kosher]] creature that existed in Moses' time, or that it was similar to the ''keresh'' animal described in [[Marcus Jastrow]]'s Talmudic dictionary as "a kind of antelope, unicorn".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://halakhah.com/shabbath/shabbath_28.html|title=Babylonian Talmud: Shabbath 28|website=halakhah.com}}</ref>

===Chinese mythology===
[[File:Pottery unicorn. Northern Wei (386-534 CE).jpg|thumb|Pottery unicorn. Northern Wei. Shaanxi History Museum.]]
The ''[[qilin]]'' ({{zh|c=麒麟}}), a creature in [[Chinese mythology]], is sometimes called "the Chinese unicorn", and some ancient accounts describe a single horn as its defining feature. However, it is more accurately described as a hybrid animal that looks less unicorn than [[chimera (mythology)|chimera]], with the body of a deer, the head of a lion, green [[Scale (zoology)|scales]] and a long forwardly-curved horn. The [[Japanese mythology|Japanese]] version (''kirin'') more closely resembles the Western unicorn, even though it is based on the Chinese ''qilin''. The Quẻ Ly of [[Vietnam]]ese myth, similarly sometimes mistranslated "unicorn" is a symbol of wealth and prosperity that made its first appearance during the Duong dynasty, about 600 CE, to Emperor Duong Cao To, after a military victory which resulted in his conquest of [[Tây Nguyên]]. In November 2012 the History Institute of the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences, as well as the [[Korean Central News Agency|Korea News Service]], reported that the [[Kiringul]] had been found, which is associated with a kirin ridden by [[King Dongmyeong of Goguryeo]].<ref>{{citation|title=Lair of King Tongmyong's Unicorn Reconfirmed in DPRK|date=November 29, 2012|url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2012/201211/news29/20121129-20ee.html|publisher=[[Korean Central News Agency]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203012958/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2012/201211/news29/20121129-20ee.html|archive-date=December 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Quinn|first=Ben|title=Unicorn lair 'discovered' in North Korea|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/30/unicorn-lair-discovered-north-korea|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=5 August 2013}}</ref>

Beginning in the [[Ming dynasty]], the ''qilin'' became associated with [[giraffe]]s, after [[Zheng He]]'s [[Treasure voyages|voyage]] to [[East Africa]] brought a pair of the long-necked animals and introduced them at court in [[Nanjing]] as ''qilin''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=Samuel M. |title=The Emperor's Giraffe |journal=Natural History |date=December 1992 |volume=101 |issue=12 |url=http://muweb.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/art/WILSON09.ART |access-date=2012-04-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202235051/http://muweb.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/art/WILSON09.ART |archive-date=2008-12-02 }}</ref> The resemblance to the ''qilin'' was noted in the giraffe's [[ossicones]] (bony protrusions from the skull resembling horns), graceful movements, and peaceful demeanor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chinanews.com/news/2004year/2004-05-31/26/442822.shtml|title=此"麟"非彼"麟"专家称萨摩麟并非传说中麒麟|website=www.chinanews.com}}</ref>

''[[Shanhaijing]]'' (117) mentioned the ''Bo''-horse ({{zh|c=駮馬|p=bómǎ}}), a chimera horse with an ox tail, a single horn, a white body, and a sound like a person calling. The creature was said to live at Honest-head Mountain. [[Guo Pu]] in his ''jiangfu'' said that the ''Bo''-horse was able to walk on water. Another similar creature, also mentioned in ''Shanhaijing'' (80) and said to live in Mount Winding-Centre, was the ''Bo'' ({{zh|c=駮|p=bó}}), but it had a black tail, tiger's teeth and claws, devoured leopards and tigers.<ref name=str>{{cite book|title=''A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways Through Mountains and Seas''|author=Strassberg, Richard E.|publisher=University of California Press|year=2002|location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0-520-21844-4|pages=116–117, 127–128}}</ref>

== Hornless unicorn ==

[[File:Henry Manners hornless unicorn.jpg|thumb|upright|Hornless unicorn at feet of effigy of [[Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland|Henry Manners]]]]{{See also|Horse}}
In ''[[The Lady and the Unicorn]]'' tapestry set of ({{Circa|1500}}), it has been claimed, the ''Taste'' tapestry shows a young unicorn without a horn among the animals in the [[millefleur]] background, above the two women.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.obrasbellasartes.art/2014/06/el-misterio-en-los-tapices-de-la-dama-y.html |title=El Misterio en los Tapices de la Dama y el Unicornio |language=es |trans-title=The Mystery in the Lady and the Unicorn Tapestry |website=Obras Bellas Artes |first=Liliana |last=Wrobel |year=2014 |quote=En el tapiz que representa el GUSTO ... El fondo de "mil flores" está repleto de animales entre los que se destaca un joven unicornio con el cuerno aún sin formar. |trans-quote=In the tapestry representing TASTE ... The "[[millefleurs|thousand flowers]]" background is full of animals, among which a young unicorn stands out with its horn not yet formed.}}</ref>

The [[alabaster]] burial monument of [[Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland]] shows a hornless unicorn at his feet.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The History of Belvoir Castle |first=Irvin |last=Eller |year=1841 |publisher=R. Tyas |ol=6590343M |pages=368–9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=St Mary the Virgin, Bottesford - Part 2 |url=https://raggedrobinsnaturenotes.blogspot.com/2019/02/st-mary-virgin-bottesford-part-2.html |date=22 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.churchmonumentsgazetteer.co.uk/Leicestershire.html |title=Bottesford - St Mary |website=Gazetteer of Church Monuments |access-date=2024-06-09 |archive-date=2024-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524045402/http://www.churchmonumentsgazetteer.co.uk/Leicestershire.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Al-mi'raj]] (unicorn-like creature in Arabic mythology)
* [[Bestiary]]
* ''[[Elasmotherium]]'' (extinct rhinoceros species known as "Siberian unicorn")
* [[Invisible Pink Unicorn]] (a modern satirical religious symbol)
* [[List of horses in mythology and folklore]]
* [[Monoceros (constellation)|Monoceros]] (constellation)
* [[Okapi]] (real animal once known as "African unicorn")
* [[Pegasus]]
* [[Sin-you|Sin-you (mythology)]]
* ''[[Synthetoceras]]'' (extinct protoceratid/prehistoric pronghorn species, once lived throughout Eurasia and North America)
* [[Winged unicorn]]
{{div col end}}

{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Hall1983">{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=James |title=A history of ideas and images in Italian art |date=1983 |publisher=Murray |location=London |isbn=0719539714}}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Unicorns}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/mythic-creatures/land-creatures-of-the-earth/unicorns-west-and-east American Museum of Natural History, ''Mythic Creatures'': Unicorns, West and East]
* [http://www.summagallicana.it/unicorno/Zur%20Rezeptionsgeschichte%20des%20Einhorns.pdf Pascal Gratz, ''De Monocerote – Zur Rezeptionsgeschichte des Einhorns''] (PDF, German)
* [http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast140.htm David Badke, ''The Medieval Bestiary'': Unicorn]

{{Portal bar|Fantasy}}
{{Heraldic creatures}}
{{Kingdom of Scotland}}
{{Horse topics}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Unicorns| ]]
[[Category:National symbols of Scotland]]
[[Category:Human gender and sexuality symbols]]
[[Category:Fairy tale stock characters]]