The Surprising Centuries-old Origins of the Unicorn

[@anthonyhiggins7409]

I will never not find it absolutely wild that my country’s (Scotland) national animal is the unicorn. I always used to think - could we not have picked something that actually exists? But it’s started to grow on me in recent years.

[@pbsstoried]

I’ll address this in an upcoming Monstrum “sister” episode!-*Dr. Z*

[@DavidCruickshank]

As an Englishmen i've always been jealous of you guys, Scotland gets a Unicorn, Wales gets a Dragon and we just get a Lion....how boring. I wish we had a cool fantastical animal like you.

[@collin4555]

@@DavidCruickshank of course what doesn't show in the heraldry is that it's a talking lion

[@SlapstickGenius23]

@@collin4555 Aslan from Narnia?

[@penny_the_wiser413]

Believe in the magic, it actually makes life better.

[@donnguyen1107]

Also the Qilin in China is also said to be one of the four holy animals alongside the dragon, the phoenix (fenghuang), and the turtle. But in China they changed it to the white tiger, azure dragon, yellowe dragon, vermillion bird, and black turtle. In Vietnam we call them Ky Lan and they're still one of the four benevolent animals with dragon, turtle and phoenix. We call them Long, Lan, Quy, Phuong.

[@meganofsherwood3665]

That's really cool!

[@annonymousannonymous9586]

In Japan they are called Kirin, and America seems more familiar with Kirin than Qilin.

[@tijanamilenkovic9442]

@@annonymousannonymous9586 fun fact: kirin means giraffe in Japanese

[@annonymousannonymous9586]

The same with Korea and the "Girin".

[@sarakennedy3467]

That's cool and I think bats symbolize good luck in China. I remember the bat in the Sagwa the chinese siamese cat cartoon not sure how accurate the series is, it was on PBS KIDS I know dragons are like a symbol of China they always come to mind when I think of China

[@elijenkins2181]

I nearly wrote a paper on unicorn tapestries in university but was disuaded by my professor as it had literally nothing to do with the course I was taking. But since then I have been fascinated by their myths and legends and how societies have viewed them. Thanks for the wonderful video.

[@1IGG]

Maybe not the best topic for a legal paper.

[@dstinnettmusic]

I was a teenager in German class when I realized that Unicorn just means “one horn” I realized, when comparing the rise of the stories about European dragons (knights who hunted Crocodiles during the crusades and oversold their accomplishments until those crocs had wings and could spit fire) and realized that Unicorns were almost certainly just Rhinos.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

Our Anglophone depictions of Dragons are loosely based on Indian Mugger crocs.

[@Mikeztarp]

@@SlapstickGenius23 With maybe some dinosaur bones for inspiration.

[@dstinnettmusic]

@@Mikeztarp I don’t think we need that as an explanation. Whale bones would be something that would be much more likely to see and…they weren’t in the habit of digging up fossil sites.

[@Saffron-sugar]

There are plenty of deer, elk and antelope that have a genetic abnormality that caused them to grow, only one horn. Thus, real life unicorns. Mystery solved.

[@awellculturedmanofanime1246]

​@@SlapstickGenius23your source?? What the hell is it with people claiming shi out of nowhere dragons are based on animals more accurately snakes etc and over time humans fantasy defined them better and then authors infact one of the oldest depictions of what we would consider western type dragons is in wales and Germany etc before any of the whole contact with asia or the americas

[@lilbasenji1]

Yes finally we get to learn about the unicorn!!! Thanks for making this! I have read a book that mentioned violent unicorns, but I couldn’t understand where the idea came from. Thanks for explaining that to me! Also I am completely shocked that there are so many types of unicorn. Okay now someone needs to make coloring books and stickers for the other kinds of unicorn like creatures. Lol

[@pbsstoried]

I’ll be talking about the VERY violent unicorns of the past in an upcoming Monstrum episode!-*Dr.Z*

[@lilbasenji1]

@@pbsstoried Hey Dr. Z!! Oh I am so so excited!!!!! I always look forward to another monstrum video. I am curious to find out more about violent unicorns. The dark past of of a commonly seen purity icon.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

@@pbsstoried Hey, Horse type unicorns are the best known of unicorn types.

[@someesingh2827]

@@pbsstoried Greetings Dr. Zarka! There is one theory regards the unicorn seal that it is actually two horned but since many of its depictions are 2D we can't see the other horn which is exactly parallel to it. Still we did find a sort of 3D terracotta model (horribly disfigured) with one horn. It's a complex issue. U know Greeks were convinced that Unicorns were real and they lived in India (maybe they confused with Rhino). Still, are there any unicorn myths in Africa? Just curious.

[@VioletWhirlwind]

@@someesingh2827 I think I've heard of an African unicorn...it was called the Orongo if I recall correctly. There's also one from North America that is very deer-like. I don't know about South America or Australia.

[@cramerfloro5936]

I always found it interesting how fantasy works depict unicorns as these pure, benevolent creatures, when the only folktale I consistently heared since childhood containing it, "the brave little tailor", shows it as a bloodthirsty, wild beast.

[@kevinobill4818]

I have to say only the Rhinoceros are the best and they need more protections.

[@garycarpenter6433]

You are so right bro they are disappearing

[@riallebalfour4767]

…Didn’t the White Rino only just go extinct? The last male died, right?

[@iqbaalannaafi4944]

​@@riallebalfour4767 That's the Northern variant. The Southern White Rhino variant is still around, albeit endangered.

[@dominictrujillo3323]

I personally think that all animals that are on the verge of becoming extinct need just as much protection from us as well.

[@garycarpenter6433]

Not to mention Elephant 🐘,Lions 🦁🐯🐻🐼🐻‍❄️🦓🦒🦛🦥🦍🐪🐫🦦🦅🦉🦌🦬🦜🐬🐋

[@mrandrews3616]

Just finished reading the Last Unicorn. Perfect timing.

[@annefoley6950]

Once upon a time at a Scholastic bookfair, I picked up a book that presented all these different unicorns, from the perspective of a universe where they were real. I wish I could find that book again, this episode brings back great memories

[@pbsstoried]

BRING BACK THE BOOK FAIR!-*Dr.Z*

[@deirdregibbons5609]

A unicorn is the symbol of the Boston Marathon, a tradition dating back to the late 19th century. The Boston Athletic Club that started the Marathon had a unicorn featured in the club's heraldry. The unicorn represents something elusive that requires hard work and perseverance to obtain. It is a symbol of the hard work, commitment and perseverance athletes have who qualify, train and run in the race.

[@agronomist98]

In Malay culture and folk tales, we don't have unicorn or a mythology animal looks like unicorn, but we have a mythology animal looks like a pegasus called Kuda Sembrani, two wings horse use as a royal ride of Nusantara's king

[@Lily_of_the_Forest]

Pegasuses are beautiful too

[@meganofsherwood3665]

Okay, that's cool!

[@RocketJo86]

Is this somehow related to the Mongolian Chiimor? I really like the myth and design of this one, far more than the western Pegasus, tbh.

[@medusa_slayer]

I love that you mentioned Karkadan but I'm surprised I didn't see Yale in here. Not technically a unicorn but with the body and hooves of a gazelle and tail and mane of a lion, this creature had two horns that were so flexible it could retract them behind his head. It only used one horn each time thus why so many people thought of it to be a unicorn. It's definitely an honorable mention

[@friend_trilobot]

I always thought that, bc (1) there are several legends of "virgins" or maidens taming dragons, (2) in the fairy tale "The brave little Tailor" the tailor has to stop a giant, deadly, rampaging unicorn, and (3) i read in grad school an Old English text describing an "einhorn" (or whatever the old English form of "one-horn" was, been a minute) stabbing an elephant just like the Karkadan account but written in old English, i always thought the origin of the "virgin maid" being the only one that can lure in an ethereal unicorn was originally about a virgin being the only one who can stop a wild and rampaging creature similar to the older, chimeric, and deadly version - like the idea was that the power of a pure virgin could tame a savage creature. At any rate I bet there was a transitional period in which ideas like this coups be found, or that different ideas persisted in different regions of medieval Europe ... but I'm not an expert on folklore, myth or medieval history, so I could be way off! Lol

[@meganofsherwood3665]

That was what I thought, too! "Only a pure maiden could tame a wild unicorn" or something like that

[@dannymarashi]

Lovely to see that the shadhavar (pronunciation aside :P) got a little mention somewhere in the mix. They're definitely my favourite of the bunch and their parallels to sirens only endears them more to me. :)

[@rami_ungar_writer]

Recently, The Owl House released its pilot animation, and a unicorn was featured for a few seconds...with several spider or cockroach legs under its equine body. So I guess that was more of a throwback to the older variants.

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

Whether because it was an emblem of the incarnation or of the fearsome animal passions of raw nature, the unicorn was not widely used in early heraldy, but become popular from the 15th Century. Though sometimes shown collared and chained, which may be taken as an indication that it has been tamed or tempered, it is more usually collared with a broken chain attached, showing that it has broken free from its bondage.

[@jso6790]

Thanks for this. I love learning about how these myths have ties to misunderstandings or misinterpretations of the natural world and you, Dr. McTier and also Dr. Zarka deliver this so often. I was especially intrigued by the Indus Valley unicorns (Harappan?) ones, as that goes back very deeply. Given how much connection there was to rhinos and various antelope, I wonder what Sub-Saharan African civilizations had to say, or if their intimate connection to the "source" animals disabused them of any mythical notions.. or granted them ones about say.. bears or other creatures of the far north. (I am familiar with the hyena stories, which are very cool)

[@CthulhuRose]

Loved this video! Learning the lesser known origins and stories of the unicorn, the darker side to the mythology :D Most people only think of the glitter and sparkles, but like with everything in history, how things are percieved now isn't how things used to be. I really like the design for the army pride badges, I'll be getting one of those for myself!

[@CthulhuRose]

Alas, the patches don't seem to be available... apart from a few sub-par knock offs :( No Unicorn patch for me! 😭

[@DavidCruickshank]

Was honestly expecting a Monstrum episode lol. Awesome video anyway!

[@pbsstoried]

Oh don’t fear, we have a companion episode on the way!-*Dr.Z*

[@DavidCruickshank]

@@pbsstoried Awesome can't wait 😊

[@Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache]

I enjoy that across multiple cultures, we all enjoy seeing something have a spike in its head and calling it majestic or powerful.

[@cynthiabotsko2449]

Fascinating stories. Curious also about ancient Greek stories of Pegasus finding a later crossover with that westernized ideal of the "purity" unicorn. Really interesting to see cross-cultural mythos & naturalist interpretations. Thank you!

[@leekestner1554]

You should look up the Racka Sheep of Romania. They have a pair of long spiral straight horns. They are a very ancient breed going back to Medieval days and perhaps further. I think that it is possible that their horns may have been sold to traders who took them far away and marketed them as unicorn horns. People never having heard of Racka sheep wouldn't know.

[@Lucius1958]

Peter S. Beagle, who wrote _The Last Unicorn_ , did later cover the QIlin and the Karkadan in his short--story collection, _The Overneath_ ... BTW, there's also the 'Magdeburg Unicorn': a 17th c. 'reconstruction' of a partial wooly rhino fossil, which is quite hilarious...

[@GojiMet86]

It's a wild ride of how the narwhal tusk was sold to the people of the antiquity as an actual unicorn. Someone must have hunted the narwhal down, fully knowing it was not a horse or a land mammal of any kind, then passed it off as to a merchant, who then claimed it came from a horse.

[@R.Merkhet]

Fascinating, like having the long, spiraling horn of a whale wasn't interesting enough.

[@NighttimeDaydreams]

​@@R.Merkhet naw, it's gotta be ✨magical✨

[@R.Merkhet]

@Whispurr magic is only magical when you don't know how it works. 🌒🌕🌘. Then it's called technique.

[@R.Merkhet]

What is magic anyway? Science with wonder, perhaps 🤔

[@ecurewitz]

Except it doesn’t have a horn, but a very long tusk. And only the males have it

[@slayer0235]

Some other elements of European unicorn folklore that have been sadly lost over the years: - The unicorn was supposed to be so pure that its horn could purify poisons. If a unicorn tried to drink from a pool of contaminated water it would touch its horn to the water first, making it safe to drink. This virtue even extended to liquids poured into the horn after being hollowed out into a cup. As such, there was a lively trade in cups made from "unicorn" horns for people who feared assassination by poison. - The unicorn as a symbol of justice: It was also believed that unicorns would discern the guilty from the righteous. If a unicorn was brought before a man being tried for murder, it would impale him through the heart if he was guilty and pass him by if innocent.

[@LittleTiger10]

i really loved this episode. so informative of both the historical and present use of the unicorn.

[@MisterCynic18]

Ngl that fire breathing unicorn patch is pretty badass

[@s-a-r-a-h]

My favorite book as a kid was a book talking about all the different types of unicorns, and I'm so glad this video mentions all of them!

[@horsetuna]

I think I had this book too. It mentions a story about needing a net to catch the wind, the black unicorn with multicolor horns, and even a story set in the Arctic about going through a portal to get a unicorn horn to save a child

[@Imperiused]

So, about the rabbit with horn thing... this might be a representation of Shope papilloma virus in rabbits. Drawing rabbits with horns or antlers was somewhat common I think.

[@MoonBratStudio]

That's what I was thinking too! I came across it while researching the jackalope origin. So horrifying! Poor rabbits. : (

[@princet.6998]

Fun fact, in Japan giraffe is actually called kirin, based on the myths of Qilin

[@rueburch2856]

I was about to say write the same thing. Same for Korean. And then of course there is the Japanese beer company too.

[@injunsun]

The surprising thing to me was the LGBT inclusion at the end. I, a gay man of 54 years, was somewhat unaware. With so much against us going on, hate preachers saying we should be lined up against walls and shot in the backs of our heads for existing, knowing the community is going on, in spite of my losing abilities to help these days.... It's just something I needed to hear today. Hate hurts us all. Thank you for sharing genuine History, and linking it into today's world. I hope straight allies will enjoy and understand this, as part of their own History. After all, most of us not straight people come from straight parents who weren't expecting to birth unicorns.

[@rusteshackleferd8115]

I love all of these videos. PBS Eons is a great channel to be subscribed to!

[@עומרשרייבר-ל4ר]

Did not expacted such a deep dive about unicorns of all things. It was very interesting.

[@grapeshot]

I don't remember watching the movie Cabin in the Woods and that was the first time I learned that unicorns are actually evil.

[@donnguyen1107]

Since the live action Little Mermaid is coming up this May, (MerMay lol) I’d LOVE to see what you can give us on mermaids/merpeople being one of my personal favorites. Emily touched on mermaids with the Sirens episode of Monstrum but I’d love to see what you can give us with the merpeople across cultures: Nereids and Tritons in Greco Roman myths, Ningyos in Japan, Jiaoren from China, Mami Wata and others from Africa, Selkies from Scotland, Merrows from Ireland, Pania from New Zealand, Iara from Brazil, Ne Hwas from the Passamaquoddy, Sedna from the Inuit, etc.

[@meganofsherwood3665]

Yes, please!

[@skurvay3429]

Thank you so much for Finally talking about the Unicorn & other single horned creatures. Now I'll be waiting for you to talk about Pegasus & various other Flying Ungulates, believe me there are tons of them across the world, such as the horses of the Greek sun god Helios, or the Greek Hippogriff & Hippalectryon, or the Turkish Tulpar, or the Hindu Uchchaihshravas, or the Portuguese Cavalo do Pensamento & Cavalum, or the Chinese Tianma & Chollima, or the Norse Sleipnir, And that's barely scrapping the tip of the barrel.

[@tijanamilenkovic3425]

Chollima is Korean😅

[@johnsteiner3417]

Unicorns were split-hoofed, so horned horse is a modern reinvention. Modify a couple proteins in mountain goats, and you get horns growing closer together and curling so tightly the two horns merge into an alicorn.

[@KingFluffs]

Unicorns go back atleast a few thousand years, and their horns were not white, but black. Alledgedly (and you'll find this in a lot of old tales) only a Virgin Maid could tame one, with disasterous results if she weren't chaste (the unicorn would impale her and go on a rampage). There is a fungal condition (it's more common in goats, and yes, humans) that can cause a bone like growth to appear on the horses head (or another spot that sadly becomes infected). There's an author (who's name I can't recall) who supposes Unicorns existed up until the 1800's and provides "proof" of his claims.

[@pyro-millie5533]

This is such cool mythology and I love the modern evolution of the symbolism too! Well told!!

[@kainingyao7873]

To any of you who are fans of Genshin Impact, our cocogoat Ganyu is part qilin. Even her constellation is Latin for "Chinese Unicorn".

[@R.Merkhet]

The irony about cryptozoologists is that once they find definitive proof of their focus, unicorns, yeti, or whatever, their quarry's status changes to biological subject. By definition, , when a cryptozooligist succeeds they lose their subject.

[@Draxynnic]

Do they lose their subject, or do they switch from being a cryptozoologist to a regular zoologist that is now the expert on a species that was previously unrecognised by science?

[@R.Merkhet]

@Draxynnic you're exactly right. If they continue to study their proven find, they're not studying a cryptic. It's just a question of nomenclature. From my understanding, the cryptozoologists , the ones with advanced degrees anyway, didn't start out as such, they risked being ridiculed by their colleagues in the scientific community when they chose that path. About getting back into the mainstream, I imagine he/she would want professional validation.

[@wolfsea19]

Brilliant, one of my favourite videos so far!

[@yensid4294]

A white horse with a single spiral horn is definitely a modern interpretation. A horse doesn't have cloven hooves, a lion's tail, or a chin beard & it never had horns or antlers. But the unicorn did (allegedly) Doubtful it was ever based on a horse...

[@Thommy2n]

I am still of a mind that we have unicorns in real life, Indian Rhinos. They are distant relatives to horses and they have one horn, as far as being magical, they are in their own special way. And even their scientific name is 'Rhinoceros Unicornis' You will not change my mind.

[@Draxynnic]

Most unicorn legends seem to trace back to people attempting to describe a rhinoceros by making comparisons to familiar animals. Body of a horse, feet of an elephant, and tail of a lion is actually a pretty decent description as long as the listener pictures something big that's like a horse rather than an actual horse.

[@grapeshot]

Watching the movie Cabin in the Woods I found out that unicorns are actually evil.

[@CthulhuRose]

That's where my mind went too, haha! That unicorn was awesome :D a refreshing take on the unicorn legend when most depictions seen in media are usually overtly saccharine.

[@ytunnuyt]

An amazing movie

[@pbsstoried]

@@CthulhuRose Well, now you know what's in the intro. of the Monstrum unicorn episode-*Dr. Z*

[@clarehidalgo]

I mean, it was based on Scottish Unicorns

[@alex9190]

the last unicorn scared me so much as a kid

[@lyndsaybrown8471]

Fun(?) fact: while working in public accounting, we would often refer to phenomenally fast growing companies as unicorns. Everyone was trying to find their unicorn client to grow with, since their success usually meant large cash flow for us.

[@katieswartz782]

that was beautiful! and I did not even see the queer tie in at the end, and felt so uplifted by it

[@petroglyph888mcgregor2]

There are still a few One-Horned Rhinoceroses around. Someone wrote a book about their comeback called "The Return of the Unicorn"

[@RIXRADvidz]

The Irish Rovers sang ''the Unicorn Song'', my first unicorn was when I was 7, a pencil holder with a place for the pencil to be the horn, several decades later in my twilight years I've turned to the Unicorn for my happiness. I've adopted almost 100 plush toy Unicorns, including ephemera and paraphernalia amasses quite the menagerie

[@Sarappreciates]

The queer community is decorating itself in most of my favorite things! First it was fairies, then rainbows, now mermaids and unicorns too! I'm not part of the community, but I try to be a good ally. I've been married to the same guy for over 30 years, and I think everybody who wants a chance at love should be able to marry who they want and be entitled to family planning just like anyone else. I could never just flip a switch and be willing to marry another woman. It's not a choice. It's weird how some political parties say they want "small government" while they keep shoving their ideology down our pants. I won't lie; it's a little predatory.

[@1IGG]

Simple: they lie. And want to shove their weird control fetish down people's throats 100 percent agree with you.

[@lindafreeman7030]

The one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater? Totally a unicorn!

[@eddierayvanlynch6133]

Sure sounds good to me 😉

[@grapeshot]

Oryxs they've always reminded me of unicorns.

[@aphronium7688]

Wonderful essential and informative exposition on the unicorn! It is always about the subjective interpretation...

[@miller_niki1982]

Why aren’t there more people talking about how badass those Ukrainian badges are?! The unicorn looks like they could handle themselves in a fight and they’re *green* like if you mixed the two colors of the Ukrainian flag….

[@restezlameme]

Exactly what I was thinking!

[@basievanheerden]

Wow, well done! I am impressed with your research and the meaningful way that you wove the story. Keep it up!

[@damaracarpenter8316]

Such a great video! And I so appreciate the coverage of the connection between lgbt folk and unicorns.

[@rolandropnack4370]

There are real-live white unicorns in the mountains of the italian peninsula. A rare gene defect is more common than usual in the deer population there. From time to time you can spot albinotic young bucks with a deformed skull, resulting in one single horn-like antler on their forehead. Indeed the european unicorn is often depicted more goat-like than horse-shaped. The rare sight of a white one-horned deer, which is a shy wood dweller by nature, comes really close to that image.

[@syx9986]

Anyone else feel this was a little... "short?" Like, it was intended to be a longer video that had to yield to a predetermined time limit. Please, producers, this is great stuff! Give us more!

[@Beryllahawk]

My very very favorite mythical critter!!

[@dustyfingas]

karkadan literally means rhinoceros in arabic and farsi, and what you quoted from the arabian peninsula scholars is actually how they describe the rhinoceros, an exotic animal.

[@tammygant4216]

I know this isn't the point, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I'm pretty solidly Gen X...and I know and love the movie, The Last Unicorn...I often sing the closing song (so haunting and beautiful). Again, not the point, but I went there. I learned a lot from your video and look forward to your next installment.

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

Likewise, I'd consider at least the movie for The Last Unicorn as a solidly GenX thing, rather than Millennial, but we certainly don't have (and wouldn't want) an exclusive claim on it.

[@lorigoshert6667]

I was wondering about that too. I'm Gen X and was very young when the movie came out.

[@jannetteberends8730]

I saw a real unicorn. (Rhinos have 2 horns). It was an Oryx that lost one of his horns on a life stream from Namibia. S/he came close to the unicorn as we imagine it. Especially we you see it from the sight.

[@aaroncunningham8307]

Y'all get the feeling that a lot of early Unicorn depictions were just the artist sculpting in profile so they wouldn't have to carve both horns?

[@henrypatterson3021]

Can you please talked about the origins of Orcs. For the longest time i thought they just from the Lord of the Rings series but have learned they are actually much older, and i would like to here the history of that.

[@strangething77]

Before Tolkien, an orc was a type of sea monster.

[@merlapittman5034]

Fascinating creature and this video is great but so short! Now I want to hear more! 😁

[@pbsstoried]

More to come in a Monstrum episode!-*Dr.Z*

[@moonstonepearl21]

Narwhales are real even though they look like they shouldn't be. I'm surprised you didn't mention the unicorn of the sea!

[@Ratteni]

Oh, unicorns are a spectrum, that's so neat!!! ^^

[@tomv7017]

i love this channel

[@penny_the_wiser413]

The only thing I know about my mother is that she loved unicorns. I loved them before I knew she did.

[@chloesibilla8199]

Where did that super cool chimera picture come from from the begining of the episode?

[@cookshok2014]

Amazing 🤩🤩🤩

[@TheKrispyfort]

Beautiful 🦄

[@ScarletCandlelight]

The Indian rhinos are actually called unicorns in their Latin name. At work I used to call them my chubby sweet unicorns. (I am a zoo keeper and zoologist)

[@warrenbradford2597]

Subjective interpretation. That is an interesting concept to about. I might use this idea for one of my stories one day.

[@rub-al-khali4265]

Great video 👍

[@williswameyo5737]

In the medieval era and the Viking age, Narwhal tusks were assumed to be unicorn horns- believing they had the ability to cure various ailments

[@LKMNOP]

I know historians say that the single horn animal you see in figures of ancient times, but maybe those were double horned animals but if you look at it they don't show the other eye etc. It's probably just the way they carve them. Those are profiles. Could very well be a two-horned beast

[@-RONNIE]

Thanks for the video

[@serenityq26]

to me qilin are qilin, would never have thought "its a type of unicorn". interesting observation. love the video

[@dylantennant6594]

I do have one question though: How did the unicorn become Scotland's national animal? When looking at the heraldry of The U.K I am always confused by Unicorn of Scotland. The Lion of England I get as the symbol was brought over from France originally and was associated with Richard Coer De Leon. The Stag of Ireland has ancient gaelic routes and The Red Dragon of Wales has a whole myth around its origins. But why a Unicorn for Scotland, especially sense I have never heard any myths about Unicorns from there. Horse creatures for sure with the Kelpie and Nuckelavee, but where did the unicorn come from?

[@rileymanders2167]

so good

[@firekovu]

I recall in my history class when my teacher told how the emperor obtained the "mythical beast" (giraffe) and when his advisors saw it, they were like "Go put that back!" 😂

[@jessicajayes8326]

🎼When the last eagle flies over the last crumbling mountain...

[@thomilsvlog4544]

And the last lion roars at the last dusty fountain…

[@asdkotable]

Completely unrelated, but I am loving Dr. McTier's top? Dress? Anyone know where I can get one like it?

[@cookshok2014]

Very Great fun 😊

[@garycarpenter6433]

My drama teacher collects unicorn 🦄 figures and I saw a story about a unicorn from Wales that was on Paranormal: Caught on camera 🎥 from two college guys and I was surprised to see it and when they went to find it,it was gone.... it's also mentioned in the bible along side the behemoth

[@NovaSaber]

What about narwhals? I mean, obviously they didn't inspire anyone's first concept of a unicorn, but isn't the fact that narwhal tusks were sold as "unicorn horns" the reason unicorns are depicted with spiral horns?

[@sandyruitenberg2928]

I wanted to say the same thing! I think that was information that should have been mentioned when talking about the western unicorn.

[@Draxynnic]

Weirdly enough, there was a period where it was believed that everything on land had an equivalent in the sea and vice versa. So narwhals were, in some places, viewed as sea unicorns. Which would technically make narwhal horn legitimate alicorn according to that belief (although obviously it didn't actually have the mystical properties), and the narwhal might even have been viewed as evidence that the unicorn HAD to exist as the narwhal's land counterpart.

[@queenyokoofkei3257]

Oh she forgot to mention that the unicorn is the national animal of Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (owing to unicorns being the mortal enemies of lions which are England’s national animal) But I didn’t know that unicorns were a symbol adopted by the LGBTQ community. That honestly makes unicorns a little more badass in my book!

[@naturalistmind]

We humans may be the only animal that has myths but I'm convinced that dogs have figured out how to benefit from ritual.

[@R.Merkhet]

Caterpillars also if butterflies are their angels 😇

[@MzShonuff123]

Hey! Gen Xers know the Last Unicorn, too 😊

[@lindafreeman7030]

We may know the novel better.

[@Wolfcreed117]

"When the last eagle flies over the last crumbling mountain. When the last lion roars at the last dusty fountain. In the Shadow of the forest, though she may be old and worn. They will stare unbelieving, at the last unicorn." ❤🦄

[@MarlonOwnsYourCake]

It's so weird that I was singing"ready to die" by the unicorns to myself and this came up in my recommended

[@squashbird9426]

Please do the Phoenix

[@TylerRakstis]

That last part ironically gives a whole new meaning this fan comic dub to a certain franchise that has unicorns sometimes as their "mane" character. Pardon the pun. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpKynHhubNKrl6c

[@clayharris7740]

0:03 unicorns beautiful white horse badass and majestic prehistoric rhinos chimera or terrifying but adorable rabbits

[@priyanksukalita5342]

can you do one on the chandraketugarh mermaid too?

[@idiotgoddess2114]

Imagine if a Unicorn and the Loch Ness Monster were the true king and queen of Scotland.

[@StreetHierarchy]

All I know about unicorns is that, if you dream about them, that means you're a replicant.

[@EldersTree]

Interesting, learning from Pakistan