How a Horse Became an Ox, and an Ox Became a Unicorn
In a previous blog post recounting the history of the Al’mi-raj (fig. 1) – that fantastical rabbit with a black spiraling horn, source of terror of an entire island, and gift to Alexander the Great, – I brought up another single-horned creature that featured in the mythology around Alexander, his steed Bucephalus (fig.2).
That recently changed. As I’ve expanded my practice I’ve become more familiar with the various resources available to researching and digging into manuscripts, where the original image I saw must have come from. Additionally, the access to these documents has increased over the years – one of the benefits of our more connected world is the digitization of these fragile and aged resources.
And so behold – Bucephalus as a unicorn with a peacock tail!
Paris, Petit Palais, Museum of Fine Arts of the City of Paris, LDUT 456 fol. 17v
The trail began with a random Google search that led me to this entertaining article from Medium* about the Alexander Romance: essentially, in the centuries following Alexander’s demise his fame only grew, as did the myths and stories around his life. So popular were these tales that they spread across the world. Examples are found throughout Europe, but also areas outside of the Western tradition such as India, Mongolia, and even Malay, this wikipedia page† gives a great breakdown of versions by language/area. These tales are where the al-mi’raj comes from.
One of the images featured in the article included the long-lost (to me) Bucephalus with a peacock tail, and came with a helpful link to a Flicker album‡ that included numerous depictions and, most helpfully, their sources. This brings me to two separate manuscripts that feature Bucephalus with the peacock tail – and it turns out they are both from the same time period, location, and patron.
The first is Book of the Conquests and Deeds of Alexander (LDUT 456, figures 4-8)), held within the Dutuit collection of the Petit Palais in Paris. It dates to the 15th century and was produced by a team of miniaturists that included the respected Willem Vrelant for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy§.
Second is The Deeds or History of the Noble King Alexander, King of Macedonia (Français 9342), this text belongs to the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. It was also produced in the 15th century and is once again associated with Philip the Good and his stepson the Count of Nevers, John II. Based upon the notes, it appears to have been a gift from the Duke to his stepson¶.
Another exceptionally skillful execution featuring elaborate miniatures.
The next question to rise – why was Bucephalus depicted in such a way? To attempt to answer this question, perhaps it is best to look at what source materials said about the horse’s appearance.
All accounts of the life of Alexander the Great that were written by his contemporaries are largely lost, save for a few excerpts#. None of these mention what Bucephalus looked like, but all describe him as a wild, temperamental, and formidable beast that only Alexander would be able to tame when he was a young boy.
Pliny the Elder, who lived about 350 years after Alexander, would give us slightly more information on the horse’s appearance in his Natural History:
“They called the animal Bucephalus, either because of its fierce appearance or from the mark of a bull’s head branded on its shoulder.”**
The Alexander Romances, where our fantastic Bucephalus is found, are the very books that began including more descriptions of the horse – that he had a star-shaped mark on his forehead, that he had blue eyes, a black coat, that he had the literal head of an ox on the body of a horse, that he was a unicorn or fathered a race of unicorns – all seem to be embellishments from these texts. The earliest examples are from 500-600 years after Alexander’s death. This tracks with what we know about the Alexander Romances, that they were highly mythologized and featured many different fantastical exploits and beasts found throughout the life of Alexander.
Looking at the name “Bucephalus” it occurs to me that it could even be a kind of visual game of telephone over the centuries. A literal interpretation of the name might depict a horse with the head of an ox, or the horns of an ox:
Over the years, it could be that what was two horns became interpreted as one horn (as an interesting aside that I am not going to get into because this was supposed to be a quick update and it turned into days of research Alexander the Great was also occasionally depicted with horns.)
So it seems that as the myth of Alexander grew, so too did the myth of Bucephalus. There are strong references to what would have been contemporary mythology and symbolism on display in these depictions – while unicorns were seen as pure symbols of Christ they were also feared for their ferocious nature that only the most virtuous could tame. Peacocks were also associated with nobility, splendor, and divinity – which would reflect upon the only man who would ever ride him.
For now I will consider myself satisfied at having found multiple depictions of Bucephalus with the tail of a unicorn – interestingly both from within the same time and place. In the future, I may see if there are other Alexander Romances that have a depiction that includes both the horn AND the peacock tail. The Romances themselves are full of one of my other medieval favorites – medieval monsters and depictions of the other – so that’s a whole new rabbit hole to go down.
Citations:
††Arrian. The Campaigns of Alexander. Translated by Aubrey De Sélincourt, Penguin Books, 1971.
*Dillard, George. “The Bizarre Afterlife of Alexander the Great.” Medium, Medium, 7 May 2023, worldhistory.medium.com/the-bizarre-afterlife-of-alexander-the-great-8e1d336e1ef2.
¶“Français 9342.” Consultation, archivesetmanuscrits.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cc13023s. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
#“Historiography of Alexander the Great.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Sept. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historiography_of_Alexander_the_Great#cite_ref-grxxii_1-0.
**The Elder, Pliny. “Book VIII.” Natural History, pp. 109, https://www.loebclassics.com/view/pliny_elder-natural_history/1938/pb_LCL353.109.xml?mainRsKey=V7FKrS&readMode=recto.
†credit to HL Ian the Green for his interpretation of the mentioned weight.
‡Lehner, Sigmund. “The Manufacture of Ink : Comprising the Raw Materials, and the Preparation of Writing, Copying, and Hektograph Inks…” Internet Archive, Philadelphia : H.C. Baird, 1 Jan. 1892, archive.org/details/gri_33125001322243/page/n133/mode/2up?q=brazil.
Manuscripts and Additional
Wasson, Donald L. “Bucephalus.” World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org#organization, 18 Sept. 2024, www.worldhistory.org/Bucephalus/.
The Gesture of History of the Noble King Alexander, King of Macedonia. Bibliothèque nationale de France, 1401-1500. Français 9342.
Book of the Conquests and Deeds of Alexander. Petit Palais, Museum of Fine Arts of the City of Paris,1401-1500. LDUT 456.
Roman de Toute Chevalerie. Bibliothèque nationale de France, 1301-1400. Français 24364.
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Hi, I'm Caitlin
I’m a practicing artist located in Massachusetts focusing in traditional creative approaches including stained glass, ceramics, and material creation.
This blog covers my process, interests, and inspirations as research becomes a larger part of my practice.
