The Unicorn

From China to the Bible: The origins of the unicorn

The roots of the unicorn reach further back than many assume. In China, the Chi-lin – a unicorn-like being with dazzling attributes – was already recorded in 2697 BC. Indian legends also describe a solitary, one-horned creature. By the 5th century BC, the Greek physician Ctesias, who lived at the Persian court, brought the unicorn into the Western imagination with his descriptions of a horned animal from India.

Travellers such as Marco Polo, in his famous Le Livre des Merveilles, further embedded the unicorn in European culture. Though his account likely described a rhinoceros, the European image of a graceful, horse-like creature with a long spiralled horn had already taken root.

A mistranslation with consequences: The unicorn in the Bible

Even the Bible features the unicorn – though only due to a mistranslation. The Hebrew word Re’em, probably denoting an aurochs or wild ox, was rendered in Greek and later Latin as Unicornis. This biblical “unicorn” was long accepted as real – a belief that persisted well into the 17th century.

The Unicorn in the Middle Ages: Symbolism and Allegory

In the Middle Ages, the unicorn became a central motif of Christian iconography. Medieval bestiaries describe it as strong and swift, but tamable only by a virgin. The image of the unicorn resting in a maiden’s lap symbolised the Annunciation and the Passion of Christ – the unicorn as Christ, the virgin as Mary.

Illuminated manuscripts, such as the Peterborough Bestiary, depict this allegory with striking tenderness. The motif soon merged with Marian imagery more broadly. The celebrated theme of the “Unicorn Hunt” was likewise given Christian meaning: the unicorn as Christ, hunted by Gabriel and his hounds named Mercy and Peace.

From salvation to commerce: The unicorn’s horn

By the late Middle Ages, the unicorn’s horn had become a precious commodity. In reality, these were narwhal tusks, traded as unicorn horns at extraordinary prices. Considered a universal antidote and aphrodisiac, they were displayed in princely treasuries and apothecaries such as “Zum Einhorn” and remain preserved in collections including the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Courtly love and worldly allure

Beyond the religious sphere, the unicorn also became a symbol of courtly love, fidelity, and power. The taming maiden represented the idealised beloved, a fusion of erotic desire and spiritual devotion.

Iconic works such as La Dame à la Licorne (Musée de Cluny, Paris) or The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries (The Cloisters, New York) show this duality in sumptuous detail. The latter culminates in a striking image: the unicorn, hunted by twelve men, finally captured yet serene, bound to a pomegranate tree amidst a flowering meadow of fertility symbols.

Renaissance reinventions

The unicorn retained its symbolic richness into the Renaissance. In Raphael’s Lady with a Unicorn or Stefan Lochner’s Madonna of the Rose Bower, the creature appears either as a subtle emblem of chastity or as a profound symbol of divine grace. Even the smallest depiction – such as a clasp on the Virgin’s robe – could carry layered meaning.