Unicorn

The unicorn is a legendary creature shaped like a horse, but slender and with a single — usually spiral — horn growing out of its forehead. Though the popular image of the unicorn is that of a white horse differing only in the horn, the traditional unicorn has a billy-goat beard, a lion's tail, and cloven hoofs, which distinguish him from a horse. 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."

Fiction

Modern fantasy fiction tends to perpetuate the medieval notion of a unicorn as a beast with magical qualities or powers.

Related Topics:
Fantasy - Magical

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unicorns notably appear in:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept series
• C. S. Lewis's The Last Battle
• Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn
• Madeline L'Engle's A Swiftly Tilting Planet and Many Waters
• J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
• Ridley Scott's Legend and Blade Runner (movies)
• Roger Zelazny's Amber novels
• Bruce Coville's A Glory of Unicorns
• Timothy Findley's Not Wanted on the Voyage
• Terry Brooks's The Black Unicorn