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Christians and the Unicorn

Dec 2018

Early Christians had a complex love/hate relationship with the mythical unicorn. Unicorns showed up in the King James and some Catholic interpretations of the Bible. Some churches would even stash away what pastors assumed were unicorn horns (narwhal tusks sold to them by traders, evidently). They coveted the supposed water-purifying properties of the horn, but while dreaming of finding a unicorn, they also spent much artistic energy depicting the unicorn's capture and slaughter, as this 15th Century artwork at the NYC Met Cloisters museum show.


This image is featured on a set of Romance Oracle cards -- the card is "Free Yourself," one Instagram user pointed out.









Elsewhere at the Cloisters







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Apostle St. Andrew was a bit of a bad-ass, evidently.

Saint Andrew, driving away the demons, disguised as dogs.



p class="PhotoCaption"> Saint Andrew rescuing a bishop bedeviled by Satan dressed as a woman.





Hero tapestry, 1th Century, Netherlands.







Hero tapestry, 15th century Netherlands









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