U is for Unicorn
Unicorns are very frou frou these days, cute and fun, like rainbows and stars and magic. So sparkly.
It wasn’t always the case. Once they were majestic creatures, extensively used in medieval tapestry as a symbol of purity, often used in heraldry. You can see this tapestry at The cloisters in NYC.
Unicorns appear in the Coat of Arms of Scotland. It was said their horns could purify poisoned water, could provide all sorts of healing power.
The King James Version of the Old Testament contains nine references to unicorns, thanks to a mistranslation of the Hebrew word re’em. The original word was likely the Assyrian rimu (auroch), an extinct species of wild ox.
But then again... Numbers 4:25 describes a covering of animal skins made to drape over the mishkan, the portable sanctuary that the Israelites built for the duration of their wandering in the wilderness: “They shall bear the curtains of the Tabernacle, and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, and the covering of tahash that is upon it.” The word tahash refers to a creature, but no one is quite sure what it is. Some translations suggest that it is a dolphin or seal. The Talmud has another idea:
Rabbi Ela said that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said that Rabbi Meir used to say: The tahash that existed in the days of Moses was a creature unto itself … And it had a single horn on its forehead, and this tahash happened to come to Moses for the moment while the Tabernacle was being built, and he made the covering for the Tabernacle from it. And from then on, the tahash was suppressed and is no longer found. (Shabbat 28b)
The rabbis also say that the tahash had multicolored skin. One horn, skin of many colors, and it was never seen again? Sure sounds like a rainbow unicorn.
In popular culture … in the Harry Potter books, the villain Voldemort drinks unicorn blood to stay alive.
I remember going to the circus in the mid 1980’s. Back then, the Ringling Brothers show had real unicorns! In actuality, they were goats that had been surgically altered to have a single horn …but don’t let reality dim your sense of whimsy.
So let’s play a sweet, whimsical song, lyrics by Shel Silverstein.
My granddaughter, age 11, is just now growing out of her love for all things unicorn.
ReplyDeleteUnicorns are not as popular here as they were. I find them (the glittery horn and hoof variety) all the time in the Goodwill Outlet store bins. Mickey loves the texture of those horns! I'm starting to see more sloths, which I didn't know were an "in" animal.
ReplyDeleteI like majestic unicorns. I think it’s sad they’ve been made into toys. But even dinosaurs are toys these days.
ReplyDeleteLove
Locksley at George's GP World
You're the second unicorn post I've seen so far today. I had a brief unicorn phase in my tweens, but it was very brief. Although, there was that unicorn hat I made. That was fun.
ReplyDelete