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If you
have read the 'Magic' section, it is clear to you
why the unicorn was so popular to be hunted, especially
in Medieval Italy where poisoning was a common way
of murder.
The unicorn
is a gentle, proud, but fierce beast, who is also
very intelligent and therefore, almost impossible
to capture the way you would capture a deer. We
humans are an unworthy race to even look at a being
of elemental beauty, let alone try to trick it,
just to kill it for its horn.
Which
is what our ancestors did. A unicorn is known to
be noble and intelligent, but has a strange downfall
for someone innocent and beautiful. There are many
stories of young maidens who once had a unicorn
sleep on their lap, combed his mane, and some even
rode him. Apparently, not all maidens were pure
enough to keep it a secret, and word had spread
throughout the world, that a unicorn can be tamed
with purity.
After
that knights and hunters would pay maidens to attract
unicorns, or would watch them. When a unicorn would
come forward and put his head on the maiden's lap,
a maiden who has been payed to do so would slip
a golden bridle over the unicorn's neck. The unicorn
would be ensnared, and it would be impossible for
him to escape when the hunters come out and kill
him.
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