medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
"Onager, here, must surely be being used for unicorn. The unicorn's horn
de-poisons poison.
Nice wordplay, Marjorie."
First, I can't take credit for the wordplay. I'm not so clever by half. My problem is with C&G's wording. The dictionary doesn't say the horn depoisons anything. It says the horn points out or designates a horn [in itself, strange wording] that can't be attacked by poisonous water. I thought of the unicorn connection, but discarded it b/c of this expression. And why should onagers/unicorns etc. symbolize anchorites? If there is a connection, it would have to do with the virginity aspect, I suspect. I also suspect that it's the ass as a symbol of humility, associated with Christ's birth and entry into Jerusalem, that should be so associated. Being zoologically challenged, I don't even know if asses, male or female, have horns!
MG
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