Unicorn horn

A unicorn horn, also known as an alicorn,^[1] is a legendary object whose reality was accepted in Europe and Asia from the earliest recorded times. This "horn" comes from the creature known as a unicorn, also known in the Hebrew Bible as a re'em or wild ox.^[2] Many healing powers and antidotal virtues were attributed to the alicorn, making it one of the most expensive and reputable remedies during the Renaissance,^[3] and justifying its use in the highest circles. Beliefs related to the alicorn influenced alchemy through spagyric medicine. The horn's purificational properties were eventually put to the test in, for example, the book of Ambroise Paré, Discourse on unicorn.

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. Sections of horns were later 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 could never be captured alive, but its symbolic association with virginity made it the symbol of innocence and the incarnation of God's Word.

Belief in the power of the alicorn persisted until the 16th century, when the true source, the narwhal, was discovered. This marine mammal is the true bearer of the alicorn, 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.