The Exalted Unicorn

‘This is a four-footed beast that has a single horn on its forehead; it is very strong and pierces anything it attacks…The unicorn is too strong to be caught by hunters, except by a trick: if a virgin girl is placed in front of a unicorn…all of its fierceness will cease…and thus quieted is easily caught.’

– Isodore of Seville, [7th century CE] (Etymologies, Book 12, 2:12-13)