• Hist Sci Med · Jul 2011

    Historical Article

    [The unicorn and the unicorn horn among apothecaries and physicians].

    • Louis-Paul Fischer and Véronique Cossu Ferra Fischer.
    • Laboratoire d'anatomie, Faculté de médecine Lyon-Est, 8, av. Rockefeller, 69008 Lyon.
    • Hist Sci Med. 2011 Jul 1; 45 (3): 265-74.

    AbstractIn the 4th century A.D. the first unicorn was shown as a little horse with a twisted horn and was completely different from the Oriental one described by Marco Polo. The new unicorn appeared during the 4th century A.D. in Alexandria. This animal enamoured of purity was used as a Christian symbol of purity and sacrifice and adornment of churches like in Lyons in the 13th century. In the 15th & 17th centuries the unicorn was found again in famous tapestries like La Dame B la Licorne as it meant courage, speed and purity. Since the 6th century the powder of unicorn horn was used as a medicine or a drug against poisoning. Depictions of unicorn can be found in chemist's signs, engravings or paintings until the 19th century.

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