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katymvt's review against another edition
3.0
2019 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge-A book featuring an extinct of imaginary creature (unicorn, obviously).
I'd give this 2.5 stars. It was jam packed with interesting information, but it was very dry.
I'd give this 2.5 stars. It was jam packed with interesting information, but it was very dry.
grubstlodger's review against another edition
3.0
Because I had greatly enjoyed ‘The Natural History of the Unicorn’ a couple of years ago, I was both excited and nervous about ‘The Lore of the Unicorn’. Where I wanted to know more - I was worried this book might contain more of the same. It wasn’t, the titles gave it away, where the first book was about the animals that inspired the unicorn legend, the second was more about how the legend was transmitted through texts.
There was wonderful snark in this book. As an academic, he is wonderfully dismissive of dissertation writing and student writing in general. He is no less forgiving of the unquestioning nature of mediaeval scholarship. Certainly compared to TH White in his bestiary, and Chris Lavery - Shepard pulls those writers to task for believing everything they read. However, when he finds a thinker who is brave enough to think for himself, he is full of praise.
The first chunk of the book is the closest to ‘The Natural History of the Unicorn’, it details the emergence of the unicorn myth and the difference between it’s forms. At the beginning there seems to be an African, Asian and European stories which are adapted to the different religions and cultures. The book paid most particular attention to the European unicorn; especially the story of the holy hunt, where a virgin is used to catch the unicorn - and the water conning skill, where a unicorn purifies water with it’s horn. It was interesting how the physical appearance of the unicorn changed over time.
The next chunk is about the ‘alicorn’, the unicorn horn that was a rare and vital part of European pharmacopeia. It was believed (or in the very least it was useful to believe) that unicorn horn could detect and cure poison. What I found really interesting was how this belief existed untested for five-hundred years, possibly because a belief in an antidote to all poison would be a useful deterrent for poisoners. The slight detour about the prevalence of poison, the fear that people in power had of it and the other anti-poison superstitions (snake tongues anyone?) was particularly fascinating.
The following chunk is about the war of words that slowly lessoned the belief in the unicorn.. and the way the belief resisted the call of the sceptics. This was the core of the book to me. I will never have the time in life to scour ancient tomes for references to unicorns so I am infinitely grateful for people like Shepard to do it for me.
The final chunk looks at different possible origins for the unicorn myth and variations of it. First it takes each one seriously, then it argues against each one and the last chapter synthesised them. I do love the unicorn myth because it is a microcosm of the intricate web of information spread throughout the world over the middle ages. Similar to the birth of the unicorn myth are the other beliefs and myths we still hold dear today.
This is an academically inclined book from the thirties, it does have a slightly dusty, library-haunted atmosphere but the sly humour and occasionally aggressive wit of Odell Shepard, together with the comprehensive nature of it made it fascinating to me. Not as accessible as ‘The Natural History of the Unicorn’ but more in-depth.
There was wonderful snark in this book. As an academic, he is wonderfully dismissive of dissertation writing and student writing in general. He is no less forgiving of the unquestioning nature of mediaeval scholarship. Certainly compared to TH White in his bestiary, and Chris Lavery - Shepard pulls those writers to task for believing everything they read. However, when he finds a thinker who is brave enough to think for himself, he is full of praise.
The first chunk of the book is the closest to ‘The Natural History of the Unicorn’, it details the emergence of the unicorn myth and the difference between it’s forms. At the beginning there seems to be an African, Asian and European stories which are adapted to the different religions and cultures. The book paid most particular attention to the European unicorn; especially the story of the holy hunt, where a virgin is used to catch the unicorn - and the water conning skill, where a unicorn purifies water with it’s horn. It was interesting how the physical appearance of the unicorn changed over time.
The next chunk is about the ‘alicorn’, the unicorn horn that was a rare and vital part of European pharmacopeia. It was believed (or in the very least it was useful to believe) that unicorn horn could detect and cure poison. What I found really interesting was how this belief existed untested for five-hundred years, possibly because a belief in an antidote to all poison would be a useful deterrent for poisoners. The slight detour about the prevalence of poison, the fear that people in power had of it and the other anti-poison superstitions (snake tongues anyone?) was particularly fascinating.
The following chunk is about the war of words that slowly lessoned the belief in the unicorn.. and the way the belief resisted the call of the sceptics. This was the core of the book to me. I will never have the time in life to scour ancient tomes for references to unicorns so I am infinitely grateful for people like Shepard to do it for me.
The final chunk looks at different possible origins for the unicorn myth and variations of it. First it takes each one seriously, then it argues against each one and the last chapter synthesised them. I do love the unicorn myth because it is a microcosm of the intricate web of information spread throughout the world over the middle ages. Similar to the birth of the unicorn myth are the other beliefs and myths we still hold dear today.
This is an academically inclined book from the thirties, it does have a slightly dusty, library-haunted atmosphere but the sly humour and occasionally aggressive wit of Odell Shepard, together with the comprehensive nature of it made it fascinating to me. Not as accessible as ‘The Natural History of the Unicorn’ but more in-depth.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
3.0
A little dry in places, but a very interesting book on the sources of the unicorn legend. The most depressing thing, perhaps, is the realization of how long the ivory craze has been with us.
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