The unicorn has been a symbol of Scotland since the time of Robert III in the fourteenth century, possible even as far back as the days of King William the Lion in the 1100s. In mythology, unicorns were immensely powerful and very dangerous creatures, symbols of the brute forces of nature. As such, the Scottish unicorn has always been depicted chained and collared by a crown, a symbol to everyone outside that the wild Scottish landscape (and perhaps the people living there!) could only be tamed within the kingdom and by the Kings of Scots.
