The unicorn is a much-loved subject in both Eastern and Western cultures, gracing illuminated manuscripts, paintings, tapestries, ceramics, and coats of arms. This wide-ranging cultural history traces the interpretations and myths that have graown up around the unicorn in art, literature, science and religion. For centuries, natural historians have put forward fantastic theories to explain the unicorn's origin and appearance; theologians interpreted its significance with the help of biblical and philosophical texts; while poets and painters found it a source of creative inspiration.