Unicornucopia: The Little Book of Unicorns. Caitlin Doyle

      Unicorn horns

      WERE BELIEVED TO CURE FEVERS, NEUTRALIZE POISONS, PROLONG YOUTH, AND

      act as an aphrodisiac (love potion).

      UNICORNS ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE

      special powers,

      INCLUDING PROTECTION, HEALTH, AND PURITY. THESE INCLUDE PROTECTION AGAINST STOMACH TROUBLE, EPILEPSY – AND EVEN THE PLAGUE. THOSE WHO DRANK FROM A UNICORN’S HORN WERE SAID TO BE PROTECTED FROM POISON, SINCE THE HORN WOULD PURIFY WHATEVER IT TOUCHED.

      A unicorn could even purify a lake or stream by simply dipping its horn into the water.

      IN APOTHECARIES ACROSS EUROPE,

      unicorn horns

      (OR ‘ALICORNS’) WERE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE UNTIL THE 18TH CENTURY, AS ONE OF THE MOST TRUSTED

      health remedies.

      IN ADDITION TO ELIXIRS AND POWDERS,

      items of unicorn clothing

      WERE ALSO MEANT TO PROTECT THE WEARER FROM MISFORTUNE AND DISEASE. ADORNED IN UNICORN-LEATHER SHOES AND A UNICORN BELT, THE FASHIONABLE MEDIEVAL WEARER WOULD EXPECT TO BE FREE OF DISEASE AND THE PLAGUE – BUT LIKELY WITH

      empty pockets, due to the high price tag.

      NICKNAMED THE

      ‘Siberian unicorn’,

      ELASMOTHERIUM SIBIRICUM IS THOUGHT TO HAVE LIVED ALONGSIDE HUMANS 26,000 YEARS AGO. A HAIRY

      prehistoric rhinoceros with a large horn,

      THIS ANIMAL’S SKELETON COULD HAVE BEEN MISTAKEN FOR A UNICORN’S.

      OTHER ANIMALS MISTAKEN FOR

      unicorns

      THROUGHOUT HISTORY INCLUDE THE

      Indian rhinoceros, narwhal, antelope, and wild ox.

      NICKNAMED ‘SEA UNICORNS’,

      narwhals

      HAVE LONG BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH UNICORNS. WHILE THESE

      small Arctic whales

      SEEM OTHERWORLDLY, THEY ARE DEFINITELY REAL.

      FIG. 1

      FIG. 2

      Narwhals are small whales,

      USUALLY FOUND IN THE ICY WATERS OF NORTHERN CANADA AND NORTHWESTERN GREENLAND. A MALE NARWHAL CAN WEIGH UP TO 1.8 TONNES (2 TONS) AND GROW UP TO 6 METRES (20 FEET) LONG. LIKE THEIR COUSINS, THE ORCA AND DOLPHIN,

      narwhals travel in large groups and eat mainly fish and shrimp.

      THE STRAIGHT, TWISTED TUSK OF THE NARWHAL IS ACTUALLY

      a long tooth

      THAT CAN MEASURE UP TO 3 METRES (10 FEET) LONG IN MALES, GROWING THROUGH THE UPPER LIP. (FEMALE NARWHALS CAN ALSO GROW A VERY SMALL TUSK.) THE NARWHAL TUSK ALWAYS GROWS