The Capture of a Unicorn

The springtime splendor of the noble's life in the Middlle Ages is nowhere expressed more joyously than in the famous series of sixteenth century tapestries known as The Unicorn Hunt. In elaborate and realistic detail they show three plumed hunters setting forth with their servants and hounds to capture the mythical one-horned beast in a flowery forest. Every face is a small gem of portraiture. Every bird, plant and animal is bursting with life.

For medieval men, with their love of symbolism and hidden meanings, the unicorn had both a religious and an erotic significance. In one sense it stood for the wounded and risen Christ. In another, it was a swift and unconquerable beast which could be tamed only by a virgin. When it was captured and chained it stood for a consummated marriage-an appropriate allusion in these tapestries, which were originally woven as a gift for Anne of Brittany when she married King Louis XII of France. Two tapestries were added fifteen years later to honor Francis I, who succeeded Louis

Below are links to images of six of this series of tapestries. The images are large, but fixed to load as fast as I can get them and still have good resolution.