When he came to power in the 12th century, the Scottish King William I placed a unicorn on his royal coat of arms. Three-hundred years later, King James III emblazoned gold coins with unicorns. When England and Scotland unified, in 1603, and James VI became James I of England, he replaced the two unicorns on his coat of arms with a unicorn and a lion, England’s national animal, to showcase his dedication to unity. In Scotland, the symbol of the unicorn dates back to Celtic mythology. The white creature, horselike but with the spiraling horn of a narwhal, was masculine and powerful yet also innocent and pure. Only a virgin maiden, or a king, could tame one of these magical beasts. In this display, historic and contemporary media come together to trace the long life of the mythical unicorn. —Elena Clavarino