Talk:Unicorn
|
|
In medieval times, entrepreneurs would occasionally manufacture a unicorn by surgery on a goat kid: they would remove one horn bud and relocate the other to the centre of the forehead. (This technique continued to as recently as the 20th century, for circus displays.)
I deleted this text. It is a fantasy based on unfamiliarity with medieval surgery. Wetman 20:06, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)
- While I agree on deletion of a potentially suspicious passage given without a reference, I'd rather not underestimate the ancient surgery; see, e.g., Trepanation. Mikkalai 20:17, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)
The unicorn is known to be attracted to virgin girls. When he finds one wandering alone in the woods, he "lays down" with her, and "puts his head in her lap". In Old English, this is an obvious metaphor for rape. In modern times, the unicorn has been romanticised as a creature of grace and beauty, and its origin as a cautionary tale for young girls has been lost. Just because it's legendary, doesn't mean we can simply invent anything. Notice the passive voice in the first sentence. Wetman 16:36, 5 May 2004 (UTC)
- (moved from User Talk:Wetman) Hey, regarding "unicorn": If I'm using bad grammar, go ahead and fix it. If you feel I need to site my sources, go ahead and let me know. Don't assume I'm making things up. In the language analysis department, I suggest you go back to your Shakespeare. Compare the unabridged to the abridged editions of Macbeth, especially the scene with the play. The particular methods of capturing the unicorn have been recounted in every story involving unicorn lore that I've ever read- try "The Unicorn in Myth and Legend".thanks, Pat User:Patterson
- If the unicorn imagery in William Shakespeare and his contemporaries is the subject, Patterson should state it. There's already a relevent subsection that could be expanded. What the image meant to Shakespeare (interesting addition to genuine history of the legend) probably does not include an Old English metaphor for rape, however. Find the relevent Shakespeare quotes and use them. Draw some conclusions.Question: is the unicorn a metaphor of unbridled passion in animal nature. Is Nature tamed by the Virgin? As for rape, Shakespeare wrote a whole poem in his early days: The Rape of lucrece. That's a place to look for Shakespeare's feelings about rape. A discussion of Rüdiger Robert Beer, Unicorn: myth and reality 1977 would be useful here too. Wetman 23:00, 5 May 2004 (UTC)
| Contents |
Invisible Pink Unicorn
"The Invisible Pink Unicorn is an internet created fictional deity as a satire of religions." Does this belong at Satire? It doesn't belong at Pink does it? Or Religion? Can Wikipedia plug just every vacuous burlesque of everything? Wetman 23:15, 19 May 2004 (UTC)
- I'm not sure what you mean by asking where this article "belongs". It has its own page, so it doesn't need to belong to any other article in particular. Bryan 03:32, 17 Jul 2004 (UTC)
Reem
Should discuss the "reem" of the Bible. --Daniel C. Boyer 17:52, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)
OK; I've written a bit. It could stand some expansion, though. --Ben Standeven
Circus
Should discuss 1980s circus appearance of unicorn colt. --Daniel C. Boyer 17:56, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Unicorn skeleton
I removed the following passage because it makes no sense: how did Leibniz, who died in 1716, manage to study a skeleton discovered in the 1760s? More information is needed before this can be put in the article. The Singing Badger 21:12, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)
- Allegedly, however, the skull, with a seven-foot-long horn, survived. One hundred years later [i.e. one hundred years after 1663], a similar skeleton was unearthed at Einhornloch; both skeletons were examined by Liebniz, who, after having doubted the existence of the creature, claimed to have been converted by this evidence.
Rainbow of unicorns
This was just added by an anon to the fiction section:
- A group of unicorns is sometimes referred to as a "Rainbow of Unicorns."
Anyone know which fictional setting is this referring to? It should be attributed. Bryan 07:54, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)
It's been changed to "glory of unicorns" now, which apparently comes from a book by Bruce Coville. The funny thing is that unicorns are usually imagined as solitary creatures. —Charles P. (Mirv) 03:18, 10 May 2005 (UTC)
- Exactly true. I've removed the bit, partly because it's misleading. "Unicorns come in collectible sets boxed with cellophane windows. Unicoprns lose resale value when removed from the box." --Wetman 03:53, 10 May 2005 (UTC)
lascaux painting
Does anyone seriously think that this painting depicts a unicorn? It's called "the Unicorn", sure, but it clearly has two horns. —Charles P. (Mirv) 14:09, 9 May 2005 (UTC)
- I agree with you. I think the reason why it is called the unicorn is that no one knows what kind of animal it is.--Wiglaf 19:22, 9 May 2005 (UTC)
Unicorn in heraldry
AFAIK, the famous German poet Schiller had a unicorn in his coat of arms. Is anybody able to verify this?
- Granted to Schiller personally, and selected by him? --Wetman 18:16, 10 May 2005 (UTC)(flaig@sanctacaris.net)
Duplicating "Sources in antiquity"
The following text adds nothing to what is already more specifically treated in "Sources in antiquity":
- Although unicorns are mythical creatures, many scholars have wondered whether the myth might be distantly based on a real animal.
- The latin name for unicorn (c.f. Kirchner, Athanasius -- Arca Noee) differs by only one letter from the latin name for rhinocerous, leading some to speculate that the modern unicorn was a myth spawned by stories of the rhino related by Europeans who had returned from the crusades.
Some editor seems unaware of unicorns in antiquity at all. Is there anything here to return, in better more specific condition, to the article? --Wetman 20:18, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)