Armorial Gold Heraldry Symbolism

ARMORIAL GOLD HERALDRY SYMBOLISM LIBRARY
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

ULLUM: Originated with the Mogul dynasty founded in 1206. Considered a mark of dignity.

UNICORN: In Japan it is called Kirin, and in China Ki-lin. The name is based on the Hebrew word re'em, in early versions of the Old Testament translated as "monokeros", meaning "one horn", which became "unicorn" in English; a fabulous and mythological, and magical beast. Ctesias (Greek historian, B.C. 400) describes the Unicorn as a beast with the legs of a buck, the tail of a lion, the head and body of a horse, and a single horn in the middle of its forehead. Fable has it the horn is white at the base, black in the middle, and red at the tip. The body of the Unicorn is white, the head red, and eyes blue. Unicorns were elusive and mysterious creatures, said to be the personifications of innocence and purity, and as such were often identified with virgins. According to the legends of the middle Ages, placing a virgin in his haunts was the only way to catch a Unicorn; upon seeing the virgin, the creature would lose its fierceness and lie quiet at her feet. This is said to be an allegory of Jesus Christ, who willingly became man and entered the Virgin's womb, when the hunters of blood took him. The one horn symbolises the great Gospel doctrine-that Christ is one with God. Aristotle called it the Wild Ass; Pliny, the Indian Ass; Lobo also describes it in his History of Abyssinia. According to a belief once popular, the Unicorn by dipping its horn into a liquid could detect whether or not it contained poison. Amongst royalty and with the nobility in the Middle Ages, it became quite fashionable to own a drinking cup made of the horn of a Unicorn.

URN: See Vase. symbolizes the triumph of immortality over death, and to the ancients a symbol of the afterlife.

Heraldry Symbolism Library by Armorial Gold Heraldry Services is provided as a free resource tool for Heraldry enthusiasts. The Heraldry Symbolism Library and the information contained therein, has been researched through original manuscripts and Armorial Gold’s own sources. The Heraldry Symbolism Library is provided as a free resource tool for Heraldry enthusiasts. Reproduction in any form is prohibited.