THE REALITY, MYTHOLOGY, AND FANTASIES OF UNICORNS

A scholarly examination of unicorn folklore weaves its way through art and archaeology.

Williams uses the research he compiled for his novel, The Garden at the Roof of the World(2013), to trace the evolution of the unicorn myth through European and Eastern cultures. From the Hebrew re’em, associated with the tabernacle, to the Chinese qilin, a heavenly messenger that foretold the greatness of Confucius, the author pursues the unicorn through the historical and archaeological record. Along the way, he finds nothing resembling the single-horned horse of contemporary fantasy but does find a menagerie of bull- and goatlike creatures as well as hare and feline varieties depicted in Islamic art and literature. While exploring specific myths, such as the enmity between the unicorn and the lion, Williams discovers an association between unicorns and the moon in heraldry in Assyrian and Babylonian art and a metaphor for spiritual development in the tradition of the unicorn hunt: “The hunt for the unicorn is the hunt for God within the world.” Williams proposes his own theory about the origin of the unicorn early on, speculating that the extinct Elasmotherium, a single-horned relative of the rhino, may have survived long enough into human history to have inspired the legend’s iconography, finding support for his theory in the characteristics of the Islamic karkadan and in the writings of Marco Polo. Yet Williams is not credulous; he admits that his theory may be wishful thinking, and he’s similarly skeptical of conclusions reached by other authors. He also smartly anticipates readers’ possible criticisms—pointing out, for instance, that in ancient seals found in the Indus Valley, two-horned animals were shown with both horns even in profile. Williams gets bogged down at one point in a discussion of Sumerian and Assyrian myths, and a late chapter about unicorns in modern art and literature feels cursory. Overall, though, readers will find this to be a well-researched and illustrated exploration of an enduring legend.

A serious, concise, and erudite exploration of a longtime myth.