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A unicorn horn, also known as an alicorn, is a legendary object whose reality may have been accepted in Western Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Many healing powers and antidote's virtues were attributed to the horn of the unicorn. These properties, assumed real since the 13th century, made it one of the most expensive and most reputable remedies during the Renaissance, and justified its use in royal courts. Beliefs related to the "unicorn horn" influenced alchemy through spagyric medicine. The horn's purification properties were eventually put to the test in, for example, the book of Ambroise Paré, ''Discourse on unicorn'' - marking the beginnings of the experimental method. Seen as one of the most valuable assets that a king could possess, unicorn horns were exchanged and could be purchased at apothecaries as universal antidotes until the 18th century. Other horns were displayed in cabinets of curiosities. The horn was used to create sceptres and other royal objects, such as the "unicorn throne" of the Danish kings, the sceptre and imperial crown of the Austrian Empire, and the scabbard and the hilt of the sword of Charles the Bold. The legendary unicorn was never captured, but its symbolic association with virginity made it the symbol of the incarnation of God's Word, innocence and divine power Belief in the power of the unicorn's horn and its origins persisted from the Middle Ages to the 18th century, when the true source, the narwhal, was discovered. This marine mammal is the true bearer of the "unicorn horn", actually an extended tooth found in the mouth of males and some females. Since then, the unicorn horn has been mentioned in fantasy works, role-playing games and video games, which make use of its legendary symbolism. == Nature and properties == Coming from an ancient figure, the unicorn was described by Ctesias as carrying a horn which Indian princes would use to make hanaps against poison. These writings were taken up by Aristotle and Pliny the Elder; Claudius Aelianus also said that drinking in this horn protects against diseases and poisons. These writings influenced the authors from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance: the unicorn becomes the most important and most frequently mentioned imaginary animal in the West, its existence was considered real. Other parts of its body were given medicinal properties and, in the 12th century, abbess Hildegard of Bingen recommended an ointment against leprosy made from foie de licorne and egg yolk. Wearing a unicorn leather belt was supposed to protect a person from the plague and fever, while leather shoes of this animal lure diseases away from feet. The actual medicinal use was linked to its horn and purification power assumed true since the Antiquity, which was explicitly mentioned for the first time in the 13th century. Legends about this properties circulating since the Middle Ages were are the origin of a flourishing trade of these objects, which became more common up to the late 18th century, when their true origin was unknown. The unicorn never existed as represented, it is most often narwhal teeth known as "unicorn horns" during these times. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Unicorn horn」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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