The Lion and the Unicorn

The Lion and the Unicorn

The Lion and the Unicorn are time-honoured symbols of the United Kingdom. They are properly speaking heraldic supporters, appearing in the full Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The lion stands for England and the unicorn for Scotland. The combination therefore dates back to the 1603 accession of James I of England who was already James VI of Scotland.

Nursery rhyme

Their notorious rivalry in heraldic legend has translated into a famous nursery rhyme:

:The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown:The lion beat the unicorn all around the town.:Some gave them white bread, and some gave them brown;:Some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town. ["The Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book" (1955), p.26.] .

This rhyme was played upon by Lewis Carroll, who incorporated them as characters in "Through the Looking-Glass". Here, the crown they are fighting for belongs to the White King, which, given that they are on the White side as well, makes their rivalry all the more absurd. Carroll subverts the traditional view of a lion being alert and calculating by making this particular one slow and rather stupid, although clearly the better fighter. The role of the Unicorn is likewise reversed by the fact that he sees Alice as a "monster", though he promises to start believing in her if she will believe in him. Sir John Tenniel's illustrations for the section caricature Benjamin Disraeli as the Unicorn, and William Ewart Gladstone as the Lion, alluding to the pair's frequent parliamentary battles, although there is no evidence that this was Carroll's intention. [ [http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/alice6.html Picture Origins - Lenny's Alice in Wonderland site ] ]

Literary references

*An 1899 book of this title was written by Richard Harding Davis.
*Derived from the above meaning, "The Lion and the Unicorn", an essay, was written by George Orwell in 1940.
*"The Lion and the Unicorn: Historian's Testament" is a 1969 book by Arthur Bryant.
*Another book "The Lion and the Unicorn", concerning the rivalry of William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli, was published by Richard Aldous in 2007.
*This rhyme also appears in Neil Gaiman's Stardust (novel).
*Harold Shand's pub in The Long Good Friday is called the "Lion & Unicorn"

Notes

ee also

*Royal coat of arms of Scotland
*Coat of arms of Canada


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Lady and the Unicorn — ( fr. La Dame à la licorne) is the modern title given to a series of six tapestries woven in Flanders of wool and silk, from designs ( cartoons ) drawn in Paris in the late fifteenth century, [See [http://www.musee moyenage.fr/ang/pages/page… …   Wikipedia

  • (the) lion and the unicorn — the lion and the unicorn [the lion and the unicorn] two animals that appear on the British ↑royal arms (= a special royal symbol). The lion represents England, and the unicorn, an imaginary animal like a horse with a long horn on its forehead,… …   Useful english dictionary

  • The Lion and the Unicorn (journal) — Infobox Journal title = The Lion and the Unicorn discipline = Literature abbreviation = UNI website = http://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/lion and the unicorn/index.html publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press country = USA history = 1977 to… …   Wikipedia

  • lion and the unicorn — two animals that appear on the British royal arms (= a special royal symbol). The lion represents England, and the unicorn, an imaginary animal like a horse with a long horn on its forehead, represents Scotland. There is a traditional children’s… …   Universalium

  • Nico the Unicorn — is a family movie made in 1998, which follows the story of young Billy Hastings and his adventures with a mystical unicorn named Nico. The film is based on the children s book of the same name, written by Frank Sacks. Nico the Unicorn s filming… …   Wikipedia

  • (the) royal arms — the royal arms [the royal arms] noun [pl] the personal symbol of the British king or queen, consisting of a lion and a unicorn holding a ↑shield, on which other symbols represent England, Scotland and Ireland. The words ↑Honi soit qui mal y pense …   Useful english dictionary

  • The Jukes family — was a New York hill family studied in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The studies are part of a series of other family studies, including the Kallikaks, the Zeros and the Nams, that were often quoted as arguments in support of eugenics,… …   Wikipedia

  • The Domino Club — Studioalbum von The Men They Couldn’t Hang Veröffentlichung 1990 Label Silvertone Format …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • The Flintstones (film) — The Flintstones Theatrical film poster by Drew Struzan Directed by Brian Levant Prod …   Wikipedia

  • The Rose and the Ring — is a satirical work of fiction written by William Makepeace Thackeray and originally published at Christmas 1854 (though dated 1855). [Roger Lancelyn Green, The Golden Age of Children s Books , in: Sheila Egoff, G. T. Stubbs, and L. F. Ashley,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”