U is for Unicorn

        (My theme for this year’s A to Z Blog Challenge is traditional English language nursery rhymes, and their block printed illustrations.)

The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown.

The lion beat the unicorn, all around the town.

Some gave them white bread, and some gave them brown,

And some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town.

        Unfortunately, giving them cake only served to reinforce negative behavior.

        Okay, this one really does have a historical origin: the lion is England while the unicorn is Scotland.  They are the two heraldic supporters of the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, but there has been rivalry and enmity between the two that particularly came to a head during the reigns of Elizabeth I of England and Mary Queen of Scots in the sixteenth century, as well as the Acts of Union in 1707 that made England and Scotland one kingdom.
As a political statement this rhyme seems to indicate an attitude of being tired of the whole squabble.  I know of no particular explanation for the bread and cake, however.

        Most of the older illustrations are pretty straightforward and show the two animals rampant on their hind legs fighting, with a crown on the ground between them.  The first one here is obviously of that type.  So is the second, which I included because it’s a particularly handsome example.  (It’s another copper engraving printed intaglio, but oh well.  I forgive it because of the lovely textures and shading.)  Not until later, after the era of common wood block prints had passed, do we tend to get views of the two troublemakers being drummed out of town, or illustrations in which there are any visible injuries as a result of the fighting.

        The third illustration sticks with the same iconography, but with a more modern carving style.  Instead of trying to reproduce the look of an ink drawing, as earlier wood block prints usually do, this 20th century artist is having a little more fun with some of the unique properties of wood block printing.  She’s got more white lines on black, more interesting textures (such as the ground), and more look of carviness.

        The final illustration is interesting because it shows the unicorn employing a more horse-like fighting style.  I’m not sure what your best strategy might be when you have the ability to kick like a horse behind, or stab with a horn in front, but it’s reasonable to suppose that you might do some of both.  I appreciate that this artist is treating the unicorn and lion as if they are real animals, not just heraldic symbols.

        Do you think one of them will eventually win the fight, or do you think they’re really just rough-housing, with no intention of ever actually ending it?

        A final note for impressionable children: Constant bickering may well get you drummed out of the company of others.

[Pictures: Wood block print from Vocal Harmony, or No Song, No Supper, c 18o0 (Image from Opie, The Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book);

Copper engraving from Songs for the Nursery, printed for Tabart & Co, c 1808 (Image from Internet Archive);

The Lion and the Unicorn, wood engraving by Enid Marx, 1939 (Image from The JC);

Wood block print from Mother Goose’s Quarto of Nursery Rhymes published by McLoughlin Bros., nineteenth century (Image from International Children’s Digital Library).]