Unicorn in heraldry
In heraldry, a horse-like beast with a long twisted horn, a beard, a lion’s tail and cloven hooves. Two unicorns supported the royal arms of Scotland; since 1603 a unicorn faces the English lion on the royal arms. It is Scotland’s national animal.
Meaning
Heraldry draws the unicorn, Fox-Davies writes, with a horse’s body, head and mane, a lion’s tail, the legs and feet of a deer, a long twisted horn and a beard. On the royal arms it wears a gold coronet as a collar and a gold chain; Britannica’s blazon of the supporter is a silver unicorn with gold horn, hooves, mane and tufts. The National Trust for Scotland calls it the official national animal of Scotland.
Origin and history
When the unicorn entered the Scottish royal arms is disputed. VisitScotland says William I first used it on the Scottish royal coat of arms in the twelfth century. The National Trust for Scotland reads the heraldic record differently and dates its arrival in the royal arms to about the mid-1500s. Both agree on what came next. Before the Union of the Crowns in 1603 the Scottish arms were supported by two unicorns; when James VI of Scotland became James I of England he replaced one with the English lion. Oswald Barron describes the same moment: James brought the Scottish unicorn to face the English leopard across his shield, and the lion and unicorn have been the royal supporters ever since.
Why it is chained
The Royal Collection Trust explains the chain by a legend that only a king could overpower and command a unicorn: the chain and the crown at its neck show it brought under the monarch’s command. The National Trust for Scotland is more careful. It does not know for sure, but believes the chain showed the power of Scottish kings, that only they could tame the untameable.
When people believed in it
Until the seventeenth century, Fox-Davies writes, everyone believed the animal existed. The unicorn horns shown in churches and collections, such as the abbey of St Denis, turned out to be narwhal tusks, and the translators of the Bible strengthened the belief by rendering the Hebrew re’em, probably a rhinoceros, as “unicorn”. The monks and heralds of the Middle Ages, in the account Fox-Davies quotes, told that only a maiden could tame one. The unicorn of legend, apart from its heraldry, is among the mythical creatures.
Where you’ll see it
In Edinburgh the Palace of Holyroodhouse has unicorns on gateposts, walls and plaster ceilings, the Royal Collection Trust notes. The National Trust for Scotland points to the unicorns on top of Scotland’s mercat (market) crosses and to the figurehead of HMS Unicorn in Dundee. On the royal arms the unicorn stands opposite the lion.
Read next
- Next in HeraldryFleur-de-lisA stylised flower of three petals bound by a band: the emblem of the kings of France, and from them a charge in heraldry. Today it is also the badge of the Scout movement and the emblem of New Orleans.
- The unicorn of legend and natural history, before it became a royal supporter.UnicornA horse-like beast with a single horn on its forehead, described by Greek and Roman writers as an untameable animal of India, made a figure of Christ and purity in the Middle Ages, and the national animal of Scotland’s royal arms.
See also
Lion rampant, Coat of arms, Family crest, Tinctures (heraldic colours), Ordinaries, Marks of cadency.
Sources
- A Complete Guide to Heraldry, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, 1909 (Project Gutenberg ebook 41617), T. C. & E. C. Jack, via Project Gutenberg, Chapter XIII, Monsters: The Unicorn, pp. 219–222
- Heraldry (1911 Encyclopædia Britannica), Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th edition (1911), vol. 13, article by Oswald Barron, Encyclopædia Britannica, via Wikisource, Supporters
- Unicorns, Learning resources (Internet Archive copy, 9 August 2025), Royal Collection Trust, resource text
- The unicorn – Scotland’s national animal, Stories (Internet Archive copy, 5 June 2026), National Trust for Scotland, story text
- The unicorn in the history of Scotland, Inspiration: culture, VisitScotland, page text
- Coat of arms, Britannica (Internet Archive copy, 25 August 2026), Encyclopaedia Britannica, caption to the Royal Arms
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols formed from curves and waves.
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 10, 2026. How we research
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