What’s with the monkey, anyway? The ape on the unicorn is an image that intrigued us when we saw it in the margin of a 14th century illuminated manuscript as we were researching logo and label material. This image made us both so curious and lighthearted that we decided to look into the symbology behind it. There are many variations on what the monks who drew these creatures were getting at, and ultimately, who really knows? Virgins, purity, Christ, Satan, knights & maidens slaying unicorns…it all sounds fascinating! We lean toward the first idea we heard from a friend that studied ancient manuscripts as a grad student. The ape symbolizes the basic human instinct and scandalous behavior while the unicorn (or monocerous) symbolizes purity. It’s sort of a yin-yang from medieval times. Dig?
~Deanna
