Winged unicorn
A winged unicorn is a fictional equine with the wings of a pegasus and the horn of a unicorn. There is no specific name given to such creature, but it is sometimes referred to using a portmanteau of pegasus and unicorn. Often forgotten is the use of Unisus, the definition of what is now the combination of the unicorn and the pegasus.
In some literature and media, it is also referred as an "alicorn", which is a historical word for a horn of unicorn.[1] However, this word has become a non-standard usage, popularized by Bearing an Hourglass (1984) and other fantasy novels by Piers Anthony.[2]
Appearances in architecture
Winged unicorns have made many appearances in art. Ancient Achaemenid Assyrian seals bear depictions of winged unicorns and winged bulls as representations of evil.[3][4]
Appearances in fiction
Irish poet W. B. Yeats wrote of imagining a winged beast that he associated with laughing, ecstatic destruction. The beast took the form of a winged unicorn in his 1907 play The Unicorn from the Stars and later that of the rough beast slouching towards Bethlehem in his poem The Second Coming.[5]
In the continuity of Hasbro's My Little Pony and its related media after 2010 (including its My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic television series), winged unicorns[nb 1] play a role as ponies of royal status. Two of them, Celestia and Luna, who are sisters, are also the rulers of Equestria, a major fictional setting in the continuity. Twilight Sparkle became a winged unicorn during the third season's finale. [9]
Gallery
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Carousel ride
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Note
- ^ In the early episodes of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic television series, the species is not specifically named; for example, the sisters Celestia and Luna were referred as unicorns in first season's première episode "Friendship Is Magic - part 1" despite having wings.[6] However, an amulet with a pair of wings and a horned head of a horse is referred as the "Alicorn Amulet" in the third season's fifth episode "Magic Duel" (written by M. A. Larson),[7] and the species is explicitly named "alicorn" in its season finale "Magical Mystery Cure" (also written by Larson).[8]
References
- ^ Shepard, Odell (1930). The Lore of the Unicorn. London: Unwin and Allen. ISBN 9781437508536.
- ^ According to Nathan2000, when asked how he came up with the term, he answered, “I saw fantasy statuettes in an ad, and one was of a winged unicorn, titled an alicorn, so I figured that was the name and used it. I have not been able to verify it elsewhere.”
- ^ Brown, Robert (2004). The Unicorn: A Mythological Investigation. Kessinger Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-7661-8530-2.
- ^ Von Der Osten, Hans Henning (1931). "The Ancient Seals from the Near East in the Metropolitan Museum: Old and Middle Persian Seals". The Art Bulletin. 13 (2): 221–41. JSTOR 3050798.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Ward, David (1982). "Yeats's Conflicts With His Audience, 1897-1917". ELH. 49 (1): 155–6. JSTOR 2872885.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Faust, Lauren. "Friendship Is Magic - part 1". My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Season 1. Hasbro Studios.
{{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|began=,|episodelink=,|city=,|transcripturl=, and|ended=(help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ Larson, M. A. "Magic Duel". My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Season 3. Hasbro Studios.
{{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|city=,|ended=,|transcripturl=,|began=, and|episodelink=(help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ Larson, M. A. "Magical Mystery Cure". My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Season 3. Hasbro Studios.
{{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|city=,|ended=,|transcripturl=, and|began=(help); Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "'My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic' exclusive: Twilight's becoming a princess!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 15 February 2013.