Unicorn
Common in heraldry and legend alike, the unicorn’s imaginary nature did not prevent it having a vivid life in art and literature in the Middle Ages. It was thought to be a real creature, and scientific evidence from time to time appeared in the form of narwhal’s tusks and the slender horns of the odd antelope or gazelle traded from North Africa. However, the unicorn was chiefly celebrated for its allegorical significance, and it mattered not that no one had ever seen one (though Marco Polo famously described a rhinoceros he saw in India as a real, ugly unicorn).
The unicorn is a bright white beast, resembling either a small horse or a goat, with a single, long horn emanating from its forehead. It is extraordinarily fast-moving and utterly deadly if provoked, and thus is more or less impossible for hunters to catch. The unicorn is also said to be one of the most intelligent animals. It is a natural enemy of the elephant, and kills them by running underneath and piercing the beast’s soft underbelly with its horn. The horn itself is highly prized, and can render poison useless if put in poisoned food or drink.
The horn is also an aphrodisiac and, when powdered, a teeth-whitener. Though intelligent, fierce, and swift, there is one sure-fire way of catching a unicorn. A virgin must be led to the forest where unicorn is known to live. When the unicorn sees the virgin, it becomes docile, and will lay its head in her lap before falling fast asleep. It can then either be captured or killed on the spot with great ease by hunters who have concealed themselves near their virginal bait. The famous Unicorn Tapestries, now on display at The Cloisters, New York, depict this process.
The unicorn was unequivocally celebrated as a symbol of Christ. Psalm 92:10 reads ‘my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a unicorn’, and ‘my horn’ was interpreted as meaning Christ. In being small and inglorious (horn aside), the unicorn symbolised Christ’s humility. The method of catching the unicorn was a further allegorical celebration of Christ. The tragic capture or slaying of the unicorn was a symbol of Christ’s Crucifixion, and the moment of death was often depicted as a spear thrust through the unicorn’s flank, like Christ pierced by the spear of Longinus (John 19:31-37).
The unicorn laying its head on the lap – ie., the womb – of a virgin was seen as a symbol of the Immaculate Conception, in which Mary conceived Jesus whilst remaining a virgin. Its white colour, like today, was a symbol of chastity and purity, qualities strongly associated with Jesus. Even the creature’s fierceness allegorised the life of Christ, for the Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, immensely popular in medieval times, describes Jesus heading to hell after being crucified and defeating Satan and his minions, an event known as The Harrowing of Hell. The unicorn’s hunters represent those who persecuted Christ.