According to the original page and Google Translate, I think those animals on her supposed to stand for the Seven Deadly Sins. I am not sure what does each one of them stand for, however. The lion is probably Pride, unicorn may be Lust, pig could be Sloth, wolf could be Gluttony, snake could be Greed, scorpion Wrath, and the little fox might be Envy. However I may be wrong on some of them.
Arachnos said: According to the original page and Google Translate, I think those animals on her supposed to stand for the Seven Deadly Sins. I am not sure what does each one of them stand for, however. The lion is probably Pride, unicorn may be Lust, pig could be Sloth, wolf could be Gluttony, snake could be Greed, scorpion Wrath, and the little fox might be Envy. However I may be wrong on some of them.
The imagery in which the author goes on to describe the seven chief sins is graphic and powerful. They are personified as the Lion of Pride, the Serpent of Envy, the Unicorn of Wrath, the Bear of Sloth, the Fox of Covetousness, the Swine of Gluttony, and the Scorpion of Lust, each with its own offspring.
Of the Scorpion's progeny we are told that 'it doth not become a modest mouth to name the name of some of them,' while the Scorpion itself is a kind of worm, that has a face somewhat like that of a woman, but its hinder parts are those of a serpent. It puts on a pleasant countenance and fawns upon you with its head but stings with its tail.
As awesome as that is, it still doesn't explain how the unicorn is supposed to be wrath...
The original text of the Ancren Riwle says "The unicorn of Wrath, which beareth on his nose the horn with which he butteth at all whom he reacheth," so perhaps it's really referring to a rhinoceros.
The original text of the Ancren Riwle says "The unicorn of Wrath, which beareth on his nose the horn with which he butteth at all whom he reacheth," so perhaps it's really referring to a rhinoceros.
A very real possibility, though given how unicorn's were symbols of beauty I'm somewhat amazed he could mistake a rhino for one. Still, that was a neat bit of trivia. Thanks!
A very real possibility, though given how unicorn's were symbols of beauty I'm somewhat amazed he could mistake a rhino for one. Still, that was a neat bit of trivia. Thanks!
To be honest, the modern Unicorn myth evolved from the myth of the rhino when Marco Polo found the Javen Rhino way back in the 13th century. Before that, they were either referenced to one-horned oryx/antelope or the likes.
