How to Sell a Myth: The Great Unicorn Scam

Elyse Waters-Brown - PhD Archaeology

The unicorn made a huge impact on the medieval economy due to the belief in its prophylactic powers. This myth, therefore, provides an excellent framework for highlighting the aspects most essential for long-term integration of a myth into society and rendering material profit.  To sell a myth, one must first determine what people desperately need, it needs to be within the realms of reality, one must carefully explain how it works with logical explanations that concur with the science of the time, and veracity of myth proved by way of tests to determine authenticity.

The unicorn mythology centers around the belief in its ability to detect and neutralize poisons. The demand for this service was so high, that the unicorn horn was worth more than gold and rare gems (Schoenberger 1951, 284). The threat of poisoning for the elite class was growing in the twelfth century and extended into the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (Gibbs 2009, 29, 82). Poison in drinks was of special concern as the strong taste of wine helps to hide the flavor of many poisons (Gibbs 2009, 51).

The next step in selling a myth is to make it believable. What you are selling needs to fit into the scientific understanding of the day, and not be removed from the natural world. Supernatural cures were often attributed to the work of demons and witches. As most physicians were devout Christians, authors of medical texts took special care in describing their cures as fitting with the natural order created by God (Rider 2011, 100). For hundreds of years, the European medical beliefs were based on the works of Galen, who advocated the humoural theory which described health in terms of temperature and moisture (Schulze 1935, 431). By the 12th century, there was an extreme diversity in poisons, with research suggesting there was a particular focus on cold poisons (Gibbs 2009, 19, 48, 106).  Some of the major authors of poison treatment such as Hildegard von Bingen and Averroes, were especially interested in how poisons worked and how medication could offset them (Throop 1998; Gibbs 2009). Some of their ideas are considered below.

Next in an endeavor to sell a myth, physical evidence must be provided as proof of the myth’s existence. Whole horns – usually owned by only the very rich, royalty, or those high in the religious order – sat on tables to detect poison (Schoenberger 1951, 284). Pieces might be fashioned into scepters, goblets, pendants, or handles of cutlery (Schoenberger 1951, 284;  Shepard 1930, 136-137). Powdered horn was mixed into drinks as an antidote (Schoenberger 1951, 284). In reality, whole pieces were either Mammoth tusks, Walrus tusks, goats horns, Indian Rhinoceros horns, or Narwhal tusks (Schoenberger 1951, 284). The powdered form was drawn from sources such as clay, pig or dog bone, whalebone, bones of fossilized animals, burnt horn, lime-stone, or stalactites (Shepard 1930, 116).

But why was it important to have physical objects as part of the myth? The senses are an important basis for belief in what is real. Saint Augustine highlighted the importance of personal experience for credibility, especially touch (Daston & Park 1998, 63).  The audience can engage with the item as a corporeal object, bringing it down from the lofty realms of the symbolic and grounding it in the world of reality (Geisbusch 2012, 206, 207).

The next step to promote belief in a myth is to explain how the object operates in natural terms. Medieval authors explained the horn’s effect through theories of sympathy or antipathy. Hildegard suggests antipathy and explains that the unicorn, as a warm animal, treats poison by balancing out the illnesses caused by their negative cooling factors (Throop 1998, 210- 211). In opposition to this, Laurens Catelan promotes the idea of specific form and asserts that antidotes cure poisons by virtue of being made from poisons (Shepard 1930, 150).  While we cannot say that either could be proved correct, these theories do show that both authors were very interested in explaining the effectiveness of unicorn products in natural terms.

The final stage to advance belief in a myth is to offer tests of authenticity. Though belief in the unicorn’s existence was steady for centuries, naturalists were aware that charlatans would try to make a quick buck by faking unicorn horns using something easier to obtain (Daston & Park 1998, 62; Shepard 1930).  David de Pomis suggests placing the believed unicorn horn in a closed container with three to four live scorpions and to wait for four hours. Dead scorpions would indicate that the object is a true unicorn horn (Shepard 1930, 117).  Cardan included a specific description as well as a test. According to this author, the horn is striated, hard, heavy, the colour of boxwood, and can save a pigeon poisoned with arsenic (Shepard 1930, 118). Laurens Catelan provided not one, but five tests that must be passed successfully to prove that the unicorn horn is authentic, which he apparently believed could work as he owned his own unicorn horn (Shepard 1930, 117-118).

Works Cited

Daston, L., & Park, K. (1998). Wonders and the order of nature, 1150-1750. New York: Zone Books.

Geisbusch, J. (2012). “For your eyes only? The magic touch of relics” in Dudley, S. (ed.) (2012). Museum objects experiencing the properties of things (Leicester readers in museum studies).

Gibbs, Frederick W. (2009). Medical understandings of poison circa 1250-1600. Thesis (Ph.D.), University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Nash, Nancy. (1993). The horn's dilemma. (rhinos face extinction) (Cover Story). Far Eastern Economic Review, 156(33), 27.

Rider, C. (2011). Medical Magic and the Church in Thirteenth-Century England. Social History of Medicine, 24(1), 92-107.

Schoenberger, G. (1951). A Goblet of Unicorn Horn. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 9(10), 284-288.

Schulze, H. (1935). Some Old Bizarre Medical Remedies. The Scientific Monthly, 40(5), 431-439.

Shepard, O. (1930). The lore of the unicorn, London.

South, M. (1987). Mythical and fabulous creatures: a source book and research guide, London.

Thompson C.J.S. (1904). Poison Romance and Poison Mysteries. London: George Routledge & Sons, LTD.

Throop P. (Trans), (1998), Hildegard von Bingen's Physica : the complete English                         translation of her classic work on health and healing, Rochester.

(Mis-)Identities, Tinted Glasses and Riddles: Roman and Natives in South-West Scotland

Alessandra Turrini - PhD Archaeology 

My research looks at native societies and at how they change at the end of the Long Iron Age: in simple terms, that’s the period from just before the Romans arrived, to just after they left. In this post, I will present part of my research from the region of Dumfriesshire, showing the inconsistencies between written sources and archaeology for the Roman Iron Age in Dumfriesshire, as well as the tantalising riddles that still remain unanswered.

To keep within the word limit, let us consider just two sources: Ptolemy’s Geography and Tacitus’s Agricola. The former is the description of a map for the known world, the latter the biography of the author’s father in law. They are both concerned in what is known to Romanists as the Flavian period: that is, the late first century AD. The Geography lists three tribes who live in south-west Scotland, the Selgovae, the Novantae and the Damnoni; and for each tribe it lists a number of key sites, or πόλεις: literally, the word means city, but a looser interpretation of ‘focal site’ is probably better (Ptolemy 1843, p.70 (3.7–9)). Building on this text, we could extrapolate three key factors about south-west Scotland in this period: a) there are cultural subdivision in the native social landscape; b) these subdivisions are reflected in physical landscape subdivision; c) each group has at least a degree of social organisation, with common sites of importance present in each territory.

The Agricola paints a not quite as flattering image: it says that the native tribes were so terrified that they did not dare to stand up the Roman soldiers, whose only issue was the weather (Tacitus 2006, 66–69 (ch.22)). If we were to extrapolate from this source at face value, we would certainly not think about a strong social identity, nor of social organisation. However, when dealing with historical sources, it is always necessary to remember their context. The Geography is based on military intelligence, probably the same one available to the Roman generals who first pushed into Scotland. It is based on an outsider’s point of view, and it may not record anything more than fleeting alliances between otherwise similar communities. The Agricola is, for all intents and purposes, a PR text to praise his main character: it would hardly be fitting of Agricola’s exploits if, after having spent the preceding chapters obliterating one tribe, the next tribe he engages with was not suitably cowered.

Map from one of the areas from my sample of Dumfriesshire, realised in ArcGIS with data from Canmore

The archaeological evidence from the region does not support a reading of centralisation for this period, showing a number of different fortifications and defended settlements potentially in synchronic use in the landscape of Dumfriesshire. It is also at odds with the cowering people that Tacitus portrayed. In fact, it shows a degree of co-operation and integration with the native people of Dumfriesshire, with the birth of an entirely new settlement system. 

Table with distances between closest polygonal settlements across my sample area. Also note the similarity between group A and the distance represented by two militaria (Roman miles)

In the Iron Age, settlements can be described as curvilinear enclosures, while during the period discussed a new system of polygonal enclosures springs up in the landscape; each settlement is located approximately two Roman miles away from the closest one, thus creating inter-visibility chains. None of the settlements in my sample have been excavated, but other similar settlements, like Carronbridge, have yielded a date of first through second century AD, so during the period the Romans were directly present in the south-west Scotland (Johnston et al. 1994). However, the identity of these settlements’ dwellers, their relationship with the rest of the native populations, and what happens to them after the second century AD, is a mystery. Polygonal settlements are more common in the Early Historic period, so the trend they started certainly continues on. There are several other polygonal settlements which do not fit in the two-mile pattern, which may or may not be contemporary with those that do. There also are examples of settlements within the two-mile pattern which have been relocated, suggesting that the system might have outlived the Romans.

Overall, the archaeological evidence is much more layered than the historical sources. It talks of a landscape inhabited by many communities, sharing the same architectural vocabulary; it also talks of change. The native populations did not seem to be afraid of the Romans: they, or at least some of them, embraced the new culture and mirrored these changes in their new homes.

Works Cited:

Johnston, D., L. Allason-Jones, S. Boardman, S. Carter, A. Clarke, B. Crone, M. Dalland, et al. 1994. “Carronbridge, Dumfries and Galloway: The Excavation of Bronze Age Cremations, Iron Age Settlements and a Roman Camp.” PSAS 124: 233–91.

Ptolemy, C. 1843. Geographia. Edited by C. F. A. Nobbe. Lipsia: Carolus Tauchnitius.

Tacitus. 2006. “Agricola.” In Agricola. Germania. Dialogus., 1–115. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk

Religion and Daily Life: What Church Architecture Can Tell Us About Life in Byzantine Lycia

Audrey Scardina - PhD in Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, with help from the The Suna & İnan Kıraç Research Institute on Mediterranean Civilizations AKMED research grants.  

In this post I will discuss the results of my August/September 2014 research trip to Southwest Turkey, ancient Lycia. I will focus on one of the sites covered in my LAMPS paper given on September 15th. The trip was undertaken in order to further research on my PhD, entitled, 'Ecclesiastical Architecture and Settlement in Byzantine Lycia,' where I study the architectural developments of Byzantine churches throughout the region in conjunction with secular builds. Through the changes in this architecture over time, I aim to glean a better understanding of the history of these sites and the people that populated them.

Figure 1. Plan of Istlada

Source: Institut für Klassische Archäologie, Wien

Our focus is the site of Istlada, which is located inland about ca. 1km from the sea (Bayburtluoğlu 2004, 212). It is built up a steep hill, where the church is located at the bottom of the hill. Of the church Clive Foss, who surveyed the Lycian Coast in 1994, says nothing except for acknowledging its existence (27). The site was surveyed by Thomas Marksteiner's team from 1994 - 1998, though I have yet to be able to access their publications. In a later publication, Marksteiner (2010, 142) dates the basilica to the 6th century, the associated apsidal room to the same period, and the barrel-vaulted chapel to the middle to late Byzantine period (Fig. 1).

Figure 2. Apse of basilca, looking east.

Source: Self

The 6th century basilica is built of stone-faced rubble and mortar (Fig. 2), where the stones are often large in size, ca. 60 - 80 cm. The apse of the basilica is built of ashlar masonry. The associated apsidal room, referred to by Marksteiner (2010, 142) as a 'reliquary chapel', is also built of stone-faced rubble and mortar, including the apse. The blocks used to build this chapel are notably smaller than those used to build the basilica, ca. 40-50 cm (Fig. 3). This change in construction technique, especially due to the apse being built of stone-faced rubble and mortar instead of ashlar, suggests that the chapel should be considered a second phase of construction. 

Figure 3. Apse of apsidal room

Source: Self

 

This theory is aided when examining the relationship of the apsidal room to the basilica. As is visible on the plan (Fig. 1), the way in which these two buildings functioned together is as yet unclear from the remains on the ground. If the northern chapel wall were to extend directly southwest, as the southern wall does, it would abut the basilica's southeast corner. There is, however, no evidence for this taking place. If the structures were built in the same period, as Marksteiner has suggested, one would expect an obvious doorway between the two structures, which, again is nowhere to be found.

Figure 4. Northern doorway of western wall in apsidal room

Source: Self

The matter becomes more complicated when looking at the wall to the west of the apsidal room, which presumably would have been the back wall of the building, as well as the access point. There are three gaps in the wall; one between the southern wall extending off the apse, tone that seems central, and then one to the north. The northern gap is the most incongruous; If the wall off of the north of the apse was to follow a straight line, as the southern wall does, it would hit this western wall to the south of the northern gap. There is, however, no evidence for wall joining on this segment of wall (Figure 4). What does exist is a large block of stone ca. 1m up the wall that protrudes to the east, north, and south of the wall, and above which is the springing of an archway. The problems do not stop here, ca. 70 cm from the arch springing is another wall, which would have cut the archway almost in half. It unclear if the rubble between these two walls was purposeful walling up, or is just rubble from the collapse of the archway. 

Figure 5. Apse of later chapel, looking southwest

Source: Self 

This suggests far more layers of occupation and phases of building than originally suggested by Marksteiner. The site is further complicated by the addition of the vaguely dated middle- to late-Byzantine Chapel located inside the basilica (Fig. 5). The chapel is built of s stone-faced rubble and mortar, where the stone facing is irregular. It was then covered in a layer of mortar that would have originally been frescoed (Marksteiner 2010, 142). At some point, most likely before the chapel was built, the windows and doors of the basilica were walled up. Though, as mentioned above, it is unclear whether the doorways to the apsidal were walled up, there is no evidence for filling in the windows of the apse. This could suggest that the apsidal room was still in use while the chapel was being used. 

Though my research trip was incredibly helpful to my project, as usual it left me with more questions than answers. For Istlada, I will begin by trying to examine the different phases of the building in more detail, as well as by studying the connection of the basilica and the apsidal room. I believe this is key to understanding how the function of this church changed over time, which may help us to understand how the interaction of citizens of Istlada with the church evolved as well. 

The better dating and understanding of the apsidal room may also help to refine the date of the chapel within the basilica as well. This phenomenon, of a chapel being built inside an earlier basilica, is actually region-wide and will need to be researched at a wider scale before any strong conclusions can be drawn. Until then I am left to wonder what the state of the earlier basilica would have been while the chapel was in use. Was it ruined? If so was it the collapse of the church that merited the much smaller rebuild, or was that due to changes in liturgy? Or, was the church at some point simply too large and impractical? Next time, maybe I will have the answers. 

Works Cited: 
BAYBURTLUOĞLU, C. 2004. Lycia (Volume 1 van Suna & İnan Kırac Research Institute on Mediterranean Civilizations travel guide series). Istanbul: Homer Kitabevi ve Yayincilik Ltd.

MARKSTEINER, T. 2010. Lykien: ein archäologischer Führer. Wien: Phoibos. 

ND. Institut für Klassische Archäologie, Istlada Survey. [online] Available at < https://klass-archaeologie.univie.ac.at/forschung/istlada-survey/> [Accessed 29 September 2014].