Though familiar to most of us as a chimerical charge in heraldry, or as one of the supporters of the Royal Arms of England, there are, perhaps, few who are aware of the important part played by the Unicorn in the religious symbolism of the Middle Ages. At that time, no doubt, men thoroughly believed in the existence of such an animal; and if excuse were necessary, it might be found in the fact that reckoning only from the year 1570, no fewer than twenty works could easily be named in the English, Latin, French, German, and Italian tongues, which have been written on the existence of the Unicorn. Nay, even in the nineteenth century more than one English traveller has sent home word from Thibet or Africa that at length he was on the track of the fabulous animal and would soon secure a specimen. - [Author]

Language: English