Unicorn horn

Seen as one of the most valuable assets that a person could possess, unicorn horns were given as diplomatic gifts, and chips and dust from them could be purchased at apothecaries as universal antidotes until the 18th century.

[4] These writings influenced authors from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance: the unicorn becomes the most important and frequently mentioned fantastic animal in the West, but it was considered real.

Other parts of its body were alleged to have medicinal properties, and in the 12th century abbess Hildegard of Bingen recommended an ointment against leprosy made from unicorn liver and egg yolk.

It comes and immediately goes into the lake, and making with his horn the sign of the cross, renders the power of the poison harmless Freeman 1983, p. 27This theme became very popular, and in 1389 Father Johann van Hesse claimed to have seen a unicorn emerge at sunrise to decontaminate the contaminated water of the River Marah, so that the good animals could drink.

[10] Studies and translations of these drawings and stories popularized the belief that the power of the animal came from its horn, which could neutralize the poison as soon as the liquid or solid touched the alicorn piece.

[11] The alicorn was assigned many medicinal properties and, over time, in addition to the purification of polluted water in nature,[12] its use was recommended against rubella, measles, fevers and pains.

[18] Of a twisted configuration, alicorns were traded as valuable items for many centuries: according to legend, the "horn" on display at the Musée national du Moyen Âge was a gift from the Caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, to Charlemagne in 807.

[14] Its medicinal use was attested and revived possibly in the 13th century, when pharmacists incorporated narwhal teeth (presented as unicorn horns) in their treatments; they displayed large pieces in order to distinguish it from products of other animals, such as the ox.

[12] Depictions of unicorns in a religious context were discouraged indirectly by the Council of Trent in 1563, despite their display in the Saint-Denis Cathedral in Paris, and St Mark's Basilica in Venice.