Tapestries are a source of continual fascination to contemporary audiences. Something about these gothic textiles is evocative of a magic of bygone eras. One of the most romantic and most iconic examples of this is The Unicorn in Captivity. The enormous hanging is over 8”x12” and is stunningly detailed throughout. The woven, not embroidered, scene illustrates fantastical beasts and animals whose nature has frustrated historians for generations. Some argue that the work is a product of the Renaissance and represents a Christian allegory; others contend that the piece depicts traditional fertility symbols. Although filled with complex and often contradictory symbols, The Unicorn in Captivity is filled with a myriad of rich Christian and Pagan
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The work and its many symbols can be interpreted as concurrently Christian and Pagan. “It may seem strange modern observers that the same tapestry is intended to convey both religious and secular significance…but people of the late Middle Ages delighted in this type of juxtaposition” . Therefore, it is not necessary for the contemporary analyst to argue one interpretation at the expense of the other; they were designed to coexist. The most obvious symbol is the unicorn. A wild beast, appearing especially goat-like in this depiction, was considered “a powerful male icon” , associated with fertility due to the phallic nature of its horn. In the same vein of powerful male figures, “early theologians made possible the acceptance of [Christ] by learned Christians…by interpreting the unicorn as a Christian symbol” . The other large subject, the pomegranate tree, can be similarly considered. Known even in ancient Greek mythology, the pomegranate is a symbol of marriage and fertility and whose seeds are used to “express the hope of a married pair for many children ”. A Christian spin on the same imagery draws the pomegranate as the Church with the seeds as the congregation . The two are merged in a Biblical passage that equates pomegranates with both fertility and purity . Other botanicals also feature strongly, providing a mille-fleur background for the subjects. There are over a
The work and its many symbols can be interpreted as concurrently Christian and Pagan. “It may seem strange modern observers that the same tapestry is intended to convey both religious and secular significance…but people of the late Middle Ages delighted in this type of juxtaposition” . Therefore, it is not necessary for the contemporary analyst to argue one interpretation at the expense of the other; they were designed to coexist. The most obvious symbol is the unicorn. A wild beast, appearing especially goat-like in this depiction, was considered “a powerful male icon” , associated with fertility due to the phallic nature of its horn. In the same vein of powerful male figures, “early theologians made possible the acceptance of [Christ] by learned Christians…by interpreting the unicorn as a Christian symbol” . The other large subject, the pomegranate tree, can be similarly considered. Known even in ancient Greek mythology, the pomegranate is a symbol of marriage and fertility and whose seeds are used to “express the hope of a married pair for many children ”. A Christian spin on the same imagery draws the pomegranate as the Church with the seeds as the congregation . The two are merged in a Biblical passage that equates pomegranates with both fertility and purity . Other botanicals also feature strongly, providing a mille-fleur background for the subjects. There are over a