The gentle and pensive maiden has the power to tame the unicorn, fresco, Palazzo Farnese, Rome, probably by Domenico Zampieri, ca 1602

A unicorn (from Latin unus 'one' and cornu 'horn') is a mythological creature often used in fantasy stories, picture book, and novels. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. A legendary creature is a mythological or folkloric creature (often known as "fabulous creatures" in historical literature Though the modern popular image of the unicorn is sometimes that of a horse differing only in the horn on its forehead, the traditional unicorn has a billy-goat beard, a lion's tail, and cloven hooves - these distinguish it from a horse. The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. A horn is a pointed projection of the Skin on the head of various Mammals consisting of a covering of horn ( Keratin and other Proteins The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe The lion ( Panthera leo) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four Big cats in the Genus Panthera. A cloven hoof is a Hoof split into two toes This is found on members within the Mammalian order Artiodactyla. ^[1] Marianna Mayer has observed (The Unicorn and the Lake), "The unicorn is the only fabulous beast that does not seem to have been conceived out of human fears. In even the earliest references he is fierce yet good, selfless yet solitary, but always mysteriously beautiful. He could be captured only by unfair means, and his single horn was said to neutralize poison. "

Medieval unicorns

Wild Women with Unicorn, c. 1500-1510, Basel, Historisches Museum

Youths riding goats (a Dionysiac motif in Antiquity) on 12th-century capitals from the abbey of Mozac in the Auvergne: the goats are indistinguishable from unicorns

Medieval knowledge of the fabulous beast stemmed from biblical and ancient sources, and the creature was variously represented as a kind of wild ass, goat, or horse. In Classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos (in Greek, Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος; associated with Roman Mozac Abbey is a former Cluniac monastery in the commune of Mozac near Riom in Auvergne, France. Auvergne ( Occitan: Auvèrnhe / Auvèrnha) is one of the 26 administrative regions of France.

The predecessor of the medieval bestiary, compiled in Late Antiquity and known as Physiologus, popularized an elaborate allegory in which a unicorn, trapped by a maiden (representing the Virgin Mary), stood for the Incarnation. A bestiary, or Bestiarum vocabulum is a compendium of beasts Bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals Late Antiquity (c 300-600 is a Periodization used by historians to describe the transitional centuries from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in The Physiologus is a Didactic text written or compiled in Greek by an unknown author in Alexandria; its composition has been traditionally dated to the An allegory (from αλλος allos "other" and el αγορευειν agoreuein "to speak in public" is a figurative mode of representation Incarnation which literally means embodied in flesh, refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature (generally a human who is the As soon as the unicorn sees her, it lays its head on her lap and falls asleep. This became a basic emblematic tag that underlies medieval notions of the unicorn, justifying its appearance in every form of religious art. The two major interpretations of the unicorn symbol hinge on pagan and Catholic symbolism. Sacred art is Imagery intended to uplift the Mind to the spiritual. Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller rustic" is a word used to refer to various religions and religious beliefs from across the world Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". The pagan interpretation focuses on the medieval lore of beguiled lovers, whereas some Catholic writings interpret the unicorn and its death as the Passion of Christ. This article describes the Christian Passion For other meanings see Passion. The unicorn has long been identified as a symbol of Christ by Catholic writers, allowing the traditionally pagan symbolism of the unicorn to become acceptable within religious doctrine. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Doctrine (Latin doctrina) is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachings quot or "instructions" taught principles or positions as the The original myths refer to a beast with one horn that can only be tamed by a virgin maiden; subsequently, some Catholic scholars translated this into an allegory for Christ's relationship with the Virgin Mary.

The unicorn also figured in courtly terms: for some 13th century French authors such as Thibaut of Champagne and Richard de Fournival, the lover is attracted to his lady as the unicorn is to the virgin. Courtly love was a Medieval European conception of ennobling love which found its genesis in the ducal and princely courts of Aquitaine, Provence This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Theobald I ( 30 May 1201 &ndash 8 July 1253) called the Troubadour, the Chansonnier, and the Posthumous, was Richard de Fournival or Richart de Fornival (1201- ?1260 was a medieval philosopher and Trouvère perhaps best known for the Bestiaire d'amour With the rise of humanism, the unicorn also acquired more orthodox secular meanings, emblematic of chaste love and faithful marriage. Renaissance Humanism was a European intellectual movement beginning in Florence in the last decades of the 14th century It plays this role in Petrarch's Triumph of Chastity. Francesco Petrarca ( July 20, 1304 – July 19, 1374) known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar

The royal throne of Denmark was made of "unicorn horns". The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The same material was used for ceremonial cups because the unicorn's horn continued to be believed to neutralize poison, following classical authors.

Medal of Cecilia Gonzaga by Pisanello, 1447

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. Pisanello (c 1395 &ndash probably 1455 known professionally as Antonio di Puccio Pisano or Antonio di Puccio da Cereto, also erroneously called Vittore Marco Polo ( September 15 1254 – January 9 1324 at earliest but no later than June 1325 was a Venetian trader and explorer 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. In computer gaming, a MUD ( Multi-User Dungeon, Domain or Dimension) is a multi-player computer game that combines elements of 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. In German, since the 16th century, Einhorn ("one-horn") has become a descriptor of the various species of rhinoceros. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages.

The ancient Norwegians were said to believe the narwhal to have affirmed the existence of the unicorn. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional The Narwhal ( Monodon monoceros) is an Arctic species of Cetacean. The unicorn horn was believed to stem from the narwhal tooth, which grows outward and projects from its upper jaw.

In popular belief, examined wittily and at length in the seventeenth century by Sir Thomas Browne in his Pseudodoxia Epidemica, unicorn horns could neutralize poisons. Sir Thomas Browne ( October 19, 1605 &ndash October 19, 1682) was an English author of varied works which disclose his wide learning Sir Thomas Browne 's vast work refuting the common errors and superstitions of his age Pseudodoxia Epidemica, first appeared in 1646 and went through five subsequent ^[2] Therefore, people who feared poisoning sometimes drank from goblets made of "unicorn horn". Alleged aphrodisiac qualities and other purported medicinal virtues also drove up the cost of "unicorn" products such as milk, hide, and offal. Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the Mammary glands of female Mammals (including Monotremes. Rawhide is a hide or animal skin that has not been exposed to Tanning. Offal is the Entrails and Internal organs of a Butchered Animal. Unicorns were also said to be able to determine whether or not a woman was a virgin; in some tales, they could only be mounted by virgins.

The hunt of the unicorn

Tapestry, Maiden with Unicorn, 15th century,(Musée de Cluny, Paris)

The Unicorn is Penned, the Unicorn Tapestries, circa 1495–1505, the Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

One traditional method of hunting unicorns involved entrapment by a virgin. The Musée de Cluny, officially known as Musée National du Moyen Âge, is a Museum in Paris, France. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Circa (often abbreviated c, ca, ca or cca and sometimes Italicized to show it is Latin) means "about" The Cloisters is the branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art and architecture of the European Middle Ages. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City, The City of New York

In one of his notebooks Leonardo da Vinci wrote:

"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. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ( April 15 1452 – May 2 1519 was an Italian Polymath, having been a scientist Mathematician, Engineer "^[3]

The famous late Gothic series of seven tapestry hangings, The Hunt of the Unicorn are a high point in European tapestry manufacture, combining both secular and religious themes. This article is about Gothic art See also Gothic architecture Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that lasted about 200 Tapestry is a form of Textile art. It is woven by hand on a vertical Loom. The Hunt of the Unicorn is a series of seven tapestries dating from 1495 &ndash 1505. The tapestries now hang in the Cloisters division of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The Cloisters is the branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art and architecture of the European Middle Ages. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City, The City of New York In the series, richly dressed noblemen, accompanied by huntsmen and hounds, pursue a unicorn against mille-fleur backgrounds or settings of buildings and gardens. Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime Mille-fleurs ( French) literally means "thousand flowers" and refers to a Background made of many small flowers and plants 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. The pomegranate ( Punica granatum) is a Fruit -bearing Deciduous Shrub or small Tree growing to between five and eight metres tall 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. The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is Liège (ljɛːʒ Older English: Luick, Walloon: Lidje, German: Lüttich; Latin: Leodium, Dutch A set of six engravings on the same theme, treated rather differently, were engraved by the French artist Jean Duvet in the 1540s. Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it Jean Duvet (1485 &ndash after 1562 was a French Renaissance Goldsmith and Engraver, now best known for his engravings

Another famous set of six tapestries of 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 ("A mon seul desir" the legend reads), with unicorns featured in each piece. The Lady and the Unicorn (La Dame à la licorne is the modern title given to a series of six tapestries woven in Flanders of wool and silk from The Musée de Cluny, officially known as Musée National du Moyen Âge, is a Museum in Paris, France. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The Southern Netherlands (Zuidelijke Nederlanden Países Bajos del Sur Pays-Bas du sud were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain ( Spanish

Facsimiles of the unicorn tapestries are currently being woven for permanent display in Stirling Castle, Scotland, to take the place of a set recorded in the castle in the 16th century. For ships named after the castle see Stirling Castle (disambiguation Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain.

Heraldry

Oblique view of the Old State House in Boston, Massachusetts, the seat of British colonial government from 1713 to 1776, showing the lion and the unicorn, the supporters of the Coat of arms of the United Kingdom

In heraldry, a unicorn is depicted as a horse with a goat's cloven hooves and beard, a lion's tail, and a slender, spiral horn on its forehead. The Old State House is a historic legislative building located at the intersection of Washington and State Streets in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom is the official Coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ^[4] 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. ^[4] Though sometimes shown collared, which may perhaps be taken in some cases 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 and cannot be taken again.

It is probably best known from the royal coat of arms of Scotland and the United Kingdom: two unicorns support the Scottish arms; a lion and a unicorn support the UK arms. A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located In Heraldry, supporters are figures usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland was the official Coat of arms of the monarchs of Scotland, and were used as the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom is the official Coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The arms of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries in London has two golden unicorn supporters (although, as emblazoned on its homepage, they have horses', not lions', tails). The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. ^[4]

Unicorn supporter of the arms of Scotland

Arms of Saint-Lô, France

Arms of Lišnice, Czech Republic

Arms of Ramosch, Switzerland

Possible origins

Hunts for an actual animal as the basis of the unicorn myth, accepting the conception of writers in Antiquity that it really existed somewhere at the edge of the known earth, have added a further layer of mythologizing about the unicorn. The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland was the official Coat of arms of the monarchs of Scotland, and were used as the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of Saint-Lô is a town and commune of France, the Préfecture (capital of the Manche département, in This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Lišnice (Lischnitz is a village in the Czech Republic. It is located in the Ústí nad Labem Region and is approximately 10 km south of the city of Most The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Ramosch ( Remüs) is a municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" These have taken various forms, interpreted in a scientific, rather than a wonder-filled manner, to accord with modern perceptions of reality.

Alleged skeletal evidence

The German unicorn skeleton allegedly discovered in 1663

Among numerous finds of prehistoric bones found at Einhornhöhle (Unicorn Cave) in Germany's Harz Mountains, some were selected and reconstructed by the mayor of Magdeburg, Otto von Guericke, as a unicorn in 1663. Stone Age Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens, Early human migrations "Paleolithic" Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Harz is a mountain range in central Germany It is the highest mountain chain in northern Germany occupying parts of the German states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt Magdeburg ( Low Saxon: Meideborg ˈmaˑɪdebɔɐx the Capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Otto von Guericke (originally spelled Gericke ˈgeːʁɪkə ( November 20, 1602 &ndash May 11, 1686 ( Julian calendar) The so-called unicorn had only two legs, and was likely constructed from fossil bones, perhaps of mammoths or other animals. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. A mammoth is any Species of the Extinct Genus Mammuthus. These Proboscideans are members of the elephant family and The skeleton was examined by Gottfried Leibniz, who had previously doubted the existence of the unicorn, but was convinced thereby. ^[5]

Baron Georges Cuvier maintained that as the unicorn was cloven-hoofed it must therefore have a cloven skull (making impossible the growth of a single horn); to disprove this, Dr. Baron Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier ( August 23 1769 &ndash May 13, 1832) was a French naturalist W. Franklin Dove, a University of Maine professor, artificially fused the horn buds of a calf together, creating a one-horned bull. The University of Maine, established in 1865 is the Flagship University of the University of Maine System. A calf (kɑːf plural calves, /kɑːvz/ is the young of various species of Mammal. ^[6]

P. T. Barnum once exhibited a unicorn skeleton, which was exposed as a hoax. Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5 1810 &ndash April 7 1891 was an American Showman remembered for Hoaxes and for founding the Circus that became the A hoax is a deliberate attempt to Dupe, Deceive or trick an audience into believing or accepting that something is real when in fact it is not or that

Since the rhinoceros is the only known extant land animal to possess a single horn, it has often been supposed that the unicorn legend originated from encounters between Europeans and rhinoceroses. Rhinoceros (raɪˈnɒsərəs often colloquially abbreviated rhino, is a name used to group five extant species of Odd-toed ungulates in the family The Woolly Rhinoceros would have been quite familiar to ice age people, or the legend may have been based on the rhinoceroses of Africa. The woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis) is an Extinct species of Rhinoceros native to the northern Steppes of Eurasia An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets Europeans and West Asians have visited Sub-Saharan Africa for as long as we have records. Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia (largely overlapping with the Middle East) is the southwestern portion of Asia. Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries

Elasmotherium or rhinoceros

One suggestion is that the unicorn is based on the extinct animal Elasmotherium, a huge Eurasian rhinoceros native to the steppes, south of the range of the woolly rhinoceros of Ice Age Europe. Elasmotherium ("Thin Plate Beast" was a Genus of giant Rhinoceros which stood on average high and long with a single two-meter-long horn For the superstate in George Orwell 's novel see Nations of Nineteen Eighty-Four. In physical Geography, a steppe ( German, from степь - "a flat and arid land" степ - /stɛp/ тал - tal дала - /dɑlɑ/ pronounced Elasmotherium looked little like a horse, but it had a large single horn in its forehead. It became extinct about the same time as the rest of the glacial age megafauna. Megafauna are species of large Animals ( Greek μεγας large + modern Latin fauna animal

However, according to the Nordisk familjebok (the Nordisk Familybook) and science writer Willy Ley the animal may have survived long enough to be remembered in the legends of the Evenk people of Russia as a huge black bull with a single horn in the forehead. Nordisk familjebok (en Nordic familybook is a Swedish Encyclopedia, published between 1876 and 1957 Willy Ley was a German-American science writer and space advocate who helped popularize rocketry and spaceflight in Germany and the United States. The Evenks or Evenki (autonym Эвэнкил Evenkil; Эвенки Evenki; 鄂温克族 pny ''Èwēnkè Zú'' formerly known as Tungus Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending

In support of this claim, it has been noted that the 13th century traveller Marco Polo claimed to have seen a unicorn in Java, but his description makes it clear to the modern reader that he actually saw a Javan Rhinoceros. Java (Jawa is an Island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city Jakarta. The Javan Rhinoceros ( Sunda Rhinoceros to be more precise or Lesser One-horned Rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros sondaicus) is a member of the family Rhinocerotidae Perhaps additional supporting evidence can be found in the fact that a rhinoceros' horn reacts with alkaloids by turning a different color. A majority of the medieval poisons were made from alkaloids, which coincides with the myth that unicorn horns change color when a poison in placed within them. This article is about the chemical compounds alkaloids For the Pharmaceutical company in the Republic of Macedonia see Alkaloid (company.

A single-horned goat

The connection that is sometimes made with a single-horned goat derives from the vision of Daniel:

And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. Daniel 8:5

In the domestic goat, a rare deformity of the generative tissues can cause the horns to be joined together; such an animal could be another possible inspiration for the legend. Antiquities researcher Timothy Zell also produced artificial unicorns dubbed "the Living Unicorn", remodelling the "horn buds" of goat kids in such a way that their horns grew together into a single one. Oberon Zell-Ravenheart ( b Timothy Zell, also formerly known as Otter G'Zell) ( b ^[7] Zell theorized that this process might have been used in the past to create court curiosities and natural herd leaders, because the goat was able to use this long straight horn effectively as a weapon and a tool. Medieval art often depicts unicorns as small, with cloven hooves and beards, sometimes resembling goats more than horses with horns. Medieval art covers a vast scope of time and place over 1000 years of Art history in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. This process is possible only with animals that naturally have horns. For a time, a few of these unicorns travelled with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling Brothers Circus was a Circus founded in the United States in 1884 ^[8]

The kirin

The Japanese kirin is depicted as a bearded one-antlered deer. The Qilin ( also spelled Kylin, or Kirin ( Japanese and Korean) is a Mythical hooved Chinese chimerical

The narwhal

Male Narwhal

The unicorn horns often found in cabinets of curiosities and other contexts in Medieval and Renaissance Europe were very often examples of the distinctive straight spiral single tusk of the narwhal (Monodon monoceros), an Arctic cetacean, as Danish zoologist Ole Worm established in 1638. The Narwhal ( Monodon monoceros) is an Arctic species of Cetacean. For the 2002 novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child see The Cabinet of Curiosities For the 2008 Jane's Addiction box set see A Cabinet of Curiosities The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere The Narwhal ( Monodon monoceros) is an Arctic species of Cetacean. The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major The Order Cetacea (sɪˈteɪʃiə L cetus, whale includes Whales Dolphins and Porpoises Cetus is The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Ole Worm ( May 13, 1588 &ndash August 31, 1655) (pronounced "Olə Vorm" who often went by the Latinized form of his name ^[9] They were brought south as a very valuable trade, passing the various tests intended to spot fake unicorn horns. The usual depiction of the unicorn horn in art derives from these. Elizabeth I of England kept a "unicorn horn" in her cabinet of curiosities, brought back by Arctic explorer Martin Frobisher on his return from Labrador in 1577. The Arctic is the Region around the Earth 's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. Sir Martin Frobisher (c 1535 or 1539 &ndash November 22, 1594) was an English seaman (from Wakefield, Yorkshire) who made three Modern Labrador Just like its island neighbour Newfoundland early settlement in Labrador was tied to the sea as demonstrated by the Montagnais, Innu and

Furthermore in the 1500's people believed that all land animals had a counterpart in the sea. The discovery of narwhals "proved" that unicorns really existed.

The oryx

The oryx is an antelope with two long, thin horns projecting from its forehead. ORYX is an encryption algorithm used in cellular communications Antelope are Ruminant hoofed Mammals of the family Bovidae in the order of Even-toed ungulates. Some have suggested that seen from the side and from a distance, the oryx looks something like a horse with a single horn (although the 'horn' projects backward, not forward as in the classic unicorn). Conceivably, travellers in Arabia could have derived the tale of the unicorn from these animals. The Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīra al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب jazīrat al-ʻarab) However, classical authors seem to distinguish clearly between oryxes and unicorns. The Peregrinatio in terram sanctam, published in 1486, was the first printed illustrated travel-book, describing a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and thence to Egypt by way of Mount Sinai. Erhard Reuwich ( Reeuwijk) was a Dutch artist as a designer of Woodcuts and a printer, who came from Utrecht but then worked in In Religion and Spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or Search of great Moral significance Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. For other places named Mount Sinai see Mount Sinai (disambiguation Mount Sinai (Arabic طور سيناء, Hebrew הר סיני also It featured many large woodcuts by Erhard Reuwich, who went on the trip, mostly detailed and accurate views of cities. For the origins of the technique and non-artistic use see Woodblock printing; for the related technique invented in the 18th century see Wood engraving Erhard Reuwich ( Reeuwijk) was a Dutch artist as a designer of Woodcuts and a printer, who came from Utrecht but then worked in The book also contained pictures of animals seen on the journey, including a crocodile, camel, and unicorn - presumably an oryx, which they could easily have seen on their route. A crocodile is any Species belonging to the family Crocodylidae (sometimes classified instead as the Subfamily Crocodylinae) Camels are Even-toed ungulates within the Genus Camelus. The Dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump and the

The eland

The eland

In Southern Africa the eland has somewhat mystical or spiritual connotations, perhaps at least partly because this very large antelope will defend itself against lions, and is able to kill these fearsome predators. Southern Africa is the Southernmost Region of the African Continent, variably defined by Geography or Geopolitics. The common eland ( Taurotragus oryx, also known as the southern eland) is a savannah and Plains Antelope found in East and Eland are very frequently depicted in the rock art of the region, which implies that they were viewed as having a strong connection to the other world, and in several languages the word for eland and for dance is the same; significant because shamans used dance as their means of drawing power from the other world. Rock art is a term in Archaeology for any man-made markings made on natural stone Eland fat was used when mixing the pigments for these pictographs, and in the preparation of many medicines.

This special regard for the eland may well have been picked up by early travellers. In the area of Cape Town one horned eland are known to occur naturally, perhaps as the result of a recessive gene, and were noted in the diary of an early governor of the Cape. Cape Town (Kaapstad Xhosa: Ikapa) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the There is also a purported unicorn horn in the castle of the chief of the Clan MacLeod in Scotland, which has been identified as that of an eland. Clan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan. The Gaelic form is Clann Mhic Leòid.

See also

• Invisible Pink Unicorn (a modern satirical religious symbol)
• Shadhavar (a unicorn-like creature in Persian folklore)
• Honda Unicorn
• Camahueto (mythological bull-unicorn)

References

• Beer, Rüdiger Robert, Unicorn: Myth and Reality (1977). The Invisible Pink Unicorn ( IPU) is the Goddess of a satiric Parody religion aimed at theistic beliefs which takes the form of a Shadhavar is a type of Unicorn in Persian folklore which resembles a Gazelle with a single hollow horn The Honda Unicorn is a Motorcycle, developed by Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI and presented during 2004 the first motorcycle in India to feature a The Camahueto from the Mythology of Chiloé has the form of a calf or Bull, with a small horn on its forehead similar to a Unicorn. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays (Editions: ISBN 0-88405-583-3; ISBN 0-904069-15-X; ISBN 0-442-80583-7. )
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1911: "Unicorn"
• Gotfredsen, Lise, The Unicorn (1999). Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) (Editions: ISBN 0-7892-0595-5; ISBN 1-86046-267-7. )
• Shepard, Odell. The Lore of the Unicorn. (1930) text
• The Living Unicorn

Notes

External links

• All About Unicorns: Historical unicorn information, plus a gallery of unicorn pictures
• Medieval bestiary: unicorn bibliography
• Jewish Encyclopedia: "Unicorn"
• The Cryptid Zoo: Unicorns in Cryptozoology
• Unicorns used to demonstrate spacial distribution modeling
• [1]: American Museum of Natural History: Mythic Creatures Special Exhibition: Background and gallery of unicorns