The Lion and the Unicorn

In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Alice comes upon the lion and the unicorn. The two creatures are in the midst of fighting for the crown. As the White King explains, they are actually fighting for his crown.

I've recalled this scene several times during my stay in London, as it seems as though I've viewed at least one sculptural repesentation of the Lion and the Unicorn every day that I've been here. I could not remember the signifance of these two animals, however, so I decided to do a little digging.

According to "Project Britain: British Life & Culture" by Mandy Barrow (http://woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/motto.html), the Lion and the Unicorn represent the official coat of arms for the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The lion stands for England while the Unicorn signifies Scotland.

As an interesting side note, the Unicorn wears a chain because people during the medieval era believed that unfettered unicorns were dangerous (Barrow).

This combination of the two animals on the coat of arms dates back to 1603, when James VI of Scotland became king of England ("The lion and the unicorn").

Barrow, M. (2010). The official coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Project Britain: British Life & Culture. Accessed 27 July 2010, from http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/motto.html

The lion and the unicorn. (2010). Accessed 27 July 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/the_Lion_and_the_Unicorn

*Click on the image below to view a digital story that I created about the lions seen in and about London*


Credits:

All material in this digital story is original, except for the music track which was provided courtesy of Microsoft's Photo Story 3.