The Lion and the Unicorn
Encyclopedia
The Lion and the Unicorn are 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.
number of 20170. It is usually given with the lyrics:
The legend of the two animals may have been intensified by the Acts of Union 1707
and it was one year later that William King
(1663–1712) recorded a verse very similar to the first stanza of the modern rhyme. This seems to have grown to include several other verses. Apart from those above only one survives:
This rhyme was played upon by Lewis Carroll
, who incorporated them as characters in Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. 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.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. They are, properly speaking, heraldic supporters appearing in the full Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom, and are officially known as her Arms of Dominion...
. The lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
stands for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and the unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
for Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The combination therefore dates back to the 1603 accession of James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
who was already James VI of Scotland.
Nursery rhyme
The traditional legend of enmity between the two heraldic animals is recorded in a nursery rhyme which has a Roud Folk Song IndexRoud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...
number of 20170. It is usually given with the lyrics:
- 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 legend of the two animals may have been intensified by the Acts of Union 1707
Acts of Union 1707
The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
and it was one year later that William King
William King (poet)
-Life:Born in London, the son of Ezekiel King, he was related to the family of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. From Westminster School, where he was a scholar under Richard Busby, at the age of eighteen he was elected to Christ Church, Oxford in 1681. There he is said to have dedicated himself...
(1663–1712) recorded a verse very similar to the first stanza of the modern rhyme. This seems to have grown to include several other verses. Apart from those above only one survives:
- And when he had beat him out,
- He beat him in again;
- He beat him three times over,
- His power to maintain.
This rhyme was played upon by Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
, who incorporated them as characters in Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. Here, the crown they are fighting for belongs to the White King
White King (Through the Looking Glass)
The White King is a fictional character who appears in Lewis Carroll's fantasy story Through the Looking-Glass. Aside from Alice herself, he is one of the earliest chesspieces that are introduced into the story...
, 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
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
as the Lion, alluding to the pair's frequent parliamentary battles, although there is no evidence that this was Carroll's intention.
See also
- Royal coat of arms of ScotlandRoyal coat of arms of ScotlandThe royal coat of arms of Scotland was the official coat of arms of the monarchs of Scotland, and was used as the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland until the Acts of Union of 1707...
- Coat of arms of CanadaCoat of arms of CanadaThe Arms of Canada is, since 1921, the official coat of arms of the Canadian monarch, and thus also of Canada...