The Unicorn: A Mythological Investigation by Robert Brown [1881]

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Contents Start Reading

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This short book covers some of the same ground as the more popularly oriented Lore of the Unicorn, by Odell Shepard, before it ventures into comparative mythology. The present volume was written in the late 19th century at a time when all mythological and folklore narratives were believed to be astronomical metaphors. Brown sees the Unicorn as a lunar symbol, and draws on mythology from a wide range of sources to make his case, from Northern European to Vedic and Zoroastrian. He uses some idiosyncratic jargon; e.g. 'Kamic' means Ancient Egyptian.

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Title Page and Front Matter
Foreword
Contents
I. The Heraldic Unicorn
II. Opinions Respecting the Terrestrial Existence of the Unicorn
III. The Unicorn In Archaic Art
IV. Deus Lunus
V. The Lunar Phases
VI. Hekatê
VII. Medousa the Gorgô
VIII. Inô and Melikertes
IX. The Three-Legged Ass of the Bundahis
X. Aspects of the Moon
XI. The Contest Between the Lion and the Leopard
XII. The Lion and the Unicorn
Abbreviations
Index