Unicorns

I went through some things in my room the other day and found my old collection of Bruce Coville unicorn stories, and then several unicorn statues in another box. As I looked them over, I got to thinking about how many happy childhood memories I had with those beautiful images and magical tales. Of the Peter S. Beagle novel The Last Unicorn and its subsequent film, and of recent stories with unicorns in them (like Harry Potter, Legend, and since it fresh in my mind from a recent film viewing, Peter's mount in Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe). Another of my favorites is Elizabeth Goudge's Little White Horse. In most unicorn-centric tales (even Sailor Moon!), I distinctly remember a young girl being the one the creature connects with.

The maiden and the unicorn is a noted historical pairing in many works of art, and in medieval times the unicorn had allegorical significance related to the relationship of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Unicorns could only be seen or tamed by virtuous young maidens so the legend says. Scholars and historians have fought over whether or not unicorns even exist for centuries. They say every girl goes through her "horse" phase, but I guess I'm not quite over mine, since I find myself still wanting to believe :-)