Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index



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  • Title: Lady and the Unicorn: À Mon Seul Desir
  • Creator:
  • Description: A woman stands in a garden before an open tent that bears the phrase "à mon seul desir." The phrase is open to a number of interpretations including "according to my desire/will alone." The woman is flanked by a lion and a unicorn that display the Le Viste coats of arms. She holds a jewelled chain in her veil--the very chain she wears in the accompanying panels in this series. Scholars continue to debate whether she is placing the chain in the casket or taking it from it. This scene is often interpreted as the refusal of temptation, in which the woman renounces the pleasures of the five senses that are depicted in the acompanying panels. Other interpretations consider the woman's virginity as the focus of the work. On the circular field of grass and the millefleur background are an ape, a goat--both sometimes symbols of lust- rabbits--symbols of fertility and sexual desire--and dogs--symbols of fidelity. Some scholars have argued that the series was commissioned as a wedding present from Antoine le Viste to Jacqueline Raguier, while others suggest that Jean IV le Viste commissioned the work.
  • Source: Wikimedia Commons
  • Rights: Public domain
  • Subject (See Also): Animals Apes Dame a la Licorne, Tapestry Series Dogs Goats Heraldry Jean le Viste, President of the Cours des Aides and Commissioner of the Dame a la Licorne Series Rabbits Senses Unicorns
  • Geographic Area: France; Low Countries
  • Century: 15
  • Date: ca. 1484-1500
  • Related Work: All six tapestry panels available from Musée national du Moyen Âge: http://www.musee-moyenage.fr/ang/pages/page_id18368_u1l2.htm
  • Current Location: Paris, Musée national du Moyen Âge, Cl. 10831 - 10834
  • Original Location:
  • Artistic Type (Category): Digital images; Textiles
  • Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Silk; Wool; Tapestries
  • Donor: Layman; Antoine le Viste or Jean IV Le Viste, President of the Cours des Aides
  • Height/Width/Length(cm): //
  • Inscription:
  • Related Resources: Carl Nordenfalk, "The Five Senses in Late Medieval and Renaissance Art," JWCI 48 (1985): 1-22.