Why is the national animal of Scotland a unicorn?

The unicorn as a mythical animal is kind, filled with glitter, colors, and rainbows, but it wasn't always like this. In fact, it originally was a wild and untamed beast that was believed to be real. While Scotland is a country full of legends, the truth is that if the unicorn is the national animal, it is not due to a legend, as it might seem. Many swore they had seen this animal that the Greeks believed lived in India, including Marco Polo.

Some described it as more like a horse, others as a goat with a lion's tail, and some even said it resembled an elephant, mistaking it for rhinoceroses. What everyone agreed on was its impossibility to be tamed, preferring to die rather than submit: only a virgin lady as pure as it could do so. Back then, markets were filled with objects made from ivory and unicorn horn powder, which were actually made from narwhal tusks-commonly used to represent it-and walrus; as it was believed they had healing properties.

The first time it was used on the Scottish coat of arms is believed to have been during the reign of William I in the 12th century. Later, 200 years later, gold coins were minted. In 1603, King James IV of Scotland also became I of England, unifying the crowns and also the coats of arms. It was then that one of the two unicorns protecting the crown was replaced by a lion, the national animal of England. Currently, on the English coat of arms, the lion appears on the left, and the unicorn on the right of the Scottish coat of arms.

Interestingly, in both, it is chained, a symbol of the strength and pride of kings who can even capture a unicorn. Figures of this exotic animal, which is not mythical, can be found throughout the region, with market crosses being a safe place, the town squares where markets were held and public announcements were read, symbolizing authority and prosperity. In Edinburgh, Crail, Inverness, Stirling, Culross, and many more places, a stone unicorn adorns these squares.

It is also represented in Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh Castle, St. Giles' Cathedral, Craigmillar Castle (all in Edinburgh), Stirling Castle, the fountain at Linlithgow Palace, HMS Unicorn in Dundee, or the University of Glasgow. For Scotland, it represents the same values that the country champions: pride, nobility, courage, and purity; using its power for good. From King Arthur to the monster of Loch Ness, through the Selkies, or the dozens of ghosts inhabiting enchanted castles, Scotland chose an animal that was a legend for many but very real for them.