Unicorn Lore
January 30, 2022 8:03 PM Subscribe
Tell me your unicorn lore from various parts of the world. My 5-year-old is obsessed with unicorns, and wants me to make a story-adventure for her (like an escape-room-in-a-box sort of thing) about unicorns, and also possibly rainbows and cheetahs.
I have the basics down pat, and I'm working through library books about unicorns, but it's legit hard to google "unicorns" or "unicorn lore" and not get madness. I'm putting together a little book for her with unicorn lore, and the story will progress through several centuries of legends down to the present (where unicorns live in our local forest preserve and she has to make sure it's a safe/healthy place for them to live, by going on hikes and identifying plants). We are de-emphasizing the "virgin" part and going with "courageous and pure of heart," so I'm not very interested in "virgin" lore specifically. (But any story where the female virginal heroine could be retold as "brave and pure of heart" is totes fine!)
My initial impulse is to organize not just by timeline (ancient to modern) but by location, and I'm willing to massage local myths so they fit with the overall mythos/the little book I'm making for her. (I have friends in various countries sending her letters including local lore/info.)
Links are very helpful!
I have the basics down pat, and I'm working through library books about unicorns, but it's legit hard to google "unicorns" or "unicorn lore" and not get madness. I'm putting together a little book for her with unicorn lore, and the story will progress through several centuries of legends down to the present (where unicorns live in our local forest preserve and she has to make sure it's a safe/healthy place for them to live, by going on hikes and identifying plants). We are de-emphasizing the "virgin" part and going with "courageous and pure of heart," so I'm not very interested in "virgin" lore specifically. (But any story where the female virginal heroine could be retold as "brave and pure of heart" is totes fine!)
My initial impulse is to organize not just by timeline (ancient to modern) but by location, and I'm willing to massage local myths so they fit with the overall mythos/the little book I'm making for her. (I have friends in various countries sending her letters including local lore/info.)
Links are very helpful!
I remember a lot of unicorn stories from my childhood featuring the ability of the unicorn to purify contaminated water/soil… so maybe you could do some easy pH indicator or other “tests” to follow where the unicorn has been?
posted by janell at 9:03 PM on January 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by janell at 9:03 PM on January 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
I think you could do a lot with how the different types of "unicorns" vary (Europe v. China v. India for example) and also I'm thinking about a short story where most people saw a smelly, immense rhino but one guy knew it was an actual unicorn. And in the Last Unicorn of course wasn't often recognized. Being able to hide in plain sight, except for certain people who could see you.
She also was transformed into a human and back, which is a trope I've seen done elsewhere. Lots of story possibilities there. Maybe unicorns can do that at will, or in great need, or if they have the right magical whatsit. Maybe they don't like it, except for fun things like eating ice cream or riding roller coasters that they can't do as unicorns. Maybe they need help learning how to do human things and your heroine can assist.
Unicorns heal and purify with their horns; they may or may not make you immortal (there's another short story about how boring immortality is and so you would not actually want to ingest some of their horn). They can either be very fierce and fiery or somewhat passive and shy. That could give you many options in building characters.
For comedy, there's the unicorns in Gravity Falls who were actually not able to do anything magical except make their horns turn colors in time to music, and were kind of jerks.
And what about narwhals? Seems like you could bring them in as well. Perhaps they used to be land unicorns, or land unicorns used to be them, or maybe they are only distant cousins.
Horns of course can be useful as keys, or can light up a dark place. Unicorn hair could be part of a magic spell that opened a door. Perhaps unicorns are hard to make laugh, because they have heard so many jokes in their long lives, and so you need an especially good joke or silly action to get them to tell you a secret code.
posted by emjaybee at 9:04 PM on January 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
She also was transformed into a human and back, which is a trope I've seen done elsewhere. Lots of story possibilities there. Maybe unicorns can do that at will, or in great need, or if they have the right magical whatsit. Maybe they don't like it, except for fun things like eating ice cream or riding roller coasters that they can't do as unicorns. Maybe they need help learning how to do human things and your heroine can assist.
Unicorns heal and purify with their horns; they may or may not make you immortal (there's another short story about how boring immortality is and so you would not actually want to ingest some of their horn). They can either be very fierce and fiery or somewhat passive and shy. That could give you many options in building characters.
For comedy, there's the unicorns in Gravity Falls who were actually not able to do anything magical except make their horns turn colors in time to music, and were kind of jerks.
And what about narwhals? Seems like you could bring them in as well. Perhaps they used to be land unicorns, or land unicorns used to be them, or maybe they are only distant cousins.
Horns of course can be useful as keys, or can light up a dark place. Unicorn hair could be part of a magic spell that opened a door. Perhaps unicorns are hard to make laugh, because they have heard so many jokes in their long lives, and so you need an especially good joke or silly action to get them to tell you a secret code.
posted by emjaybee at 9:04 PM on January 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
I'm partial to modern lore of the real so-called unicorn, Elasmotherium. Some say our human ancestors lived along side them!
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:19 PM on January 30, 2022
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:19 PM on January 30, 2022
My initial impulse is to organize not just by timeline (ancient to modern) but by location
Is space a location?
posted by flabdablet at 10:06 PM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
Is space a location?
posted by flabdablet at 10:06 PM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
My first thought was also of narwhals!
My second was of the mysterious unicorn tapestries that date from c. 1500 and now live at The Cloisters in NYC: (wikipedia link)
What a journey, no? Even just the bit that they might have once covered potatoes… and/but then were purchased for $1 million a mere 100 years ago.
(Such a marvelous project/gift, by the way. Magical.)
posted by argonauta at 10:39 PM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
My second was of the mysterious unicorn tapestries that date from c. 1500 and now live at The Cloisters in NYC: (wikipedia link)
What a journey, no? Even just the bit that they might have once covered potatoes… and/but then were purchased for $1 million a mere 100 years ago.
(Such a marvelous project/gift, by the way. Magical.)
posted by argonauta at 10:39 PM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'm not sure how helpful it is, but my first thought was also of tapestries: in my case, the six Lady and the Unicorn tapestries at the Cluny Museum in Paris. One for each of the five senses... and one more.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 3:33 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 3:33 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
My personal unicorn lore is that unicorns will become real when Scotland becomes an independent, sovereign state.
This is why you see lots of unicorn imagery in art of the middle ages, they were real back then. They disappeared after the unification when Scotland became part of the Kingdom of Great Britiain.
2014 was a very exciting time for me.
posted by phunniemee at 5:27 AM on January 31, 2022 [6 favorites]
This is why you see lots of unicorn imagery in art of the middle ages, they were real back then. They disappeared after the unification when Scotland became part of the Kingdom of Great Britiain.
2014 was a very exciting time for me.
posted by phunniemee at 5:27 AM on January 31, 2022 [6 favorites]
It's probably not entirely appropriate for a 5yo, but mining the Charlie the Unicorn series for lore would make for a heck of a trip.
posted by xedrik at 7:36 AM on January 31, 2022
posted by xedrik at 7:36 AM on January 31, 2022
I will still watch The Last Unicorn voiced by Mia Farrow. Definitely brave and pure of heart, with overtones of esotercism and folklore. It's a beautiful animation, it aged well.
(Peter S. Beagle rendition, animated by Topcraft)
posted by firstdaffodils at 12:57 PM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
(Peter S. Beagle rendition, animated by Topcraft)
posted by firstdaffodils at 12:57 PM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Also seconding The Last Unicorn. Schmendrick and Molly Grue are awesome.
Legend, featuring Tom Cruise, Mia Sara and Tim Curry, includes a key story element about a unicorn.
The Unicorn, a song written by Shel Silverstein and sung by The Irish Rovers.
Sequel, The Continuing Story of the Unicorn, written by George Millar and sung by The Irish Rovers.
The last pages of Lords and Ladies, written by Terry Pratchett, includes the section where Granny Weatherwax takes the Elf Queen's captive unicorn to task. Esme and Nanny Ogg are having a bit of conversation after the wedding:
The unicorn lowered its head and charged. Nanny Ogg reached the nearest tree with low branches and leapt upward....
Granny Weatherwax folded her arms.
“Come on, Esme!”
“No. I ain't been thinking clear enough, but I am now. There's some things I don't have to run from.”
posted by TrishaU at 8:49 PM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Legend, featuring Tom Cruise, Mia Sara and Tim Curry, includes a key story element about a unicorn.
The Unicorn, a song written by Shel Silverstein and sung by The Irish Rovers.
Sequel, The Continuing Story of the Unicorn, written by George Millar and sung by The Irish Rovers.
The last pages of Lords and Ladies, written by Terry Pratchett, includes the section where Granny Weatherwax takes the Elf Queen's captive unicorn to task. Esme and Nanny Ogg are having a bit of conversation after the wedding:
The unicorn lowered its head and charged. Nanny Ogg reached the nearest tree with low branches and leapt upward....
Granny Weatherwax folded her arms.
“Come on, Esme!”
“No. I ain't been thinking clear enough, but I am now. There's some things I don't have to run from.”
posted by TrishaU at 8:49 PM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Sorry to threadsit, just this! "Ghibli adopted prior TLU animation studio in Japan," I just thought it was neat. Good luck!
posted by firstdaffodils at 10:27 AM on February 5, 2022
posted by firstdaffodils at 10:27 AM on February 5, 2022
Check out The Lore of the Unicorn, a book from 1930 by Odell Shepard. It is definitely not a book for kids, but it has the info you’re looking for.
Perhaps also take a look at The Unicorn Handbook by Carolyn Turgeon. Again, not really a kids’ book, but really beautiful and fun and might be a good primary source for you.
posted by verbminx at 11:24 PM on February 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
Perhaps also take a look at The Unicorn Handbook by Carolyn Turgeon. Again, not really a kids’ book, but really beautiful and fun and might be a good primary source for you.
posted by verbminx at 11:24 PM on February 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:07 PM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]