Legend of Unicorns
You can call the Middle Ages a mystical or dark period. However, there is a well-known fact that every innovation that emerges brings with it a sense of curiosity.
Unicorns may not be real, but if we consider the movies we watch and the fairy tales we read, we can say that they have managed to have a very lasting effect. Let's admit it happens when we feel like it was real from time to time. Legend has it that these magical and beautiful unicorns caused the water level to rise in the Indian river and brought abundance to the country.
People have dreamed of the existence of unicorns for centuries.
The earliest known depiction of a unicorn, found in the Lascaux Caves of present-day France, dates to around 15,000 BC. Or, people believed it was real until they realized that the Lascaux unicorn had two horns placed confusingly close together.
According to the Greek historian Ctesias, unicorns are real, and they have records.
The earliest record of unicorns in Western literature belongs to the Greek historian Ctesias. The Greek historian notes that the horse had a white body, purple head, blue eyes and a multicolored horn.
The earliest record of unicorns in Western literature belongs to the Greek historian Ctesias. The Greek historian notes that the horse had a white body, purple head, blue eyes and a multicolored horn.
According to the famous traveler Marco Polo, ''unicorns are quite rude and ugly.''
Marco Polo believed he had come across unicorns on his travels. The famous traveler said about this encounter, “They were ugly and rude to look at. Unicorns are not as charming and eye-catching as we have described. “This was because the animals the traveler saw were not unicorns but actually rhinos.
Unicorns changed India's destiny
It is stated that Genghis Khan decided not to conquer India after meeting a unicorn that submitted to him. Genghis Khan saw this as a sign of his deceased father and withdrew his army.
Young women had power over unicorns
During the Dark Ages, there was a time when science fell short of irrational intuition. Collectors, known as animal hunters, were listing the biological properties and medicinal use of the animal community, which then included unicorns. It was in these collections that it was first described that young women had great power over creatures.
Unicorn myth endangered narwhals
It was believed that the horns of unicorns could resist poison and purify water. Of course, this situation prompted counterfeiters. It was bad news for the narwhal population, as the single tooth protruding from the front of the whale's head resembled a horse's horn. Moreover, the Danes even had a throne made of narwhal horns.
The horns of unicorns were really valuable
The “unicorn horn” was literally worth 10 times its weight in gold. In 1560, German merchants sold horse horns worth an astronomical 90,000 scudi to the pope. Until 1741, London pharmacies were the subject of a rather interesting trade, selling unicorn horns in powdered form. How true this is, of course, is unknown.
The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland
Unicorn heraldry can be found on ancient seals in Babylon and Assyria, but the most famous are tied to King James III of Scotland in the 1400s. The two gold coins of that era were known as unicorn and half unicorn! Today, the unicorn still stands out as Scotland's national animal.
