The narwhal tusk has been highly sought-after in Europe for centuries. This stems from a medieval belief that narwhal tusks were the horns of the legendary unicorn. According to some theories, Vikings and Greenland Norse began trade of narwhal tusks, which, via European channels, would later reach markets in the Middle East and East Asia. The idea that Norsemen hunted narwhals was once held, but was never confirmed and is now considered improbable.
Across medieval Europe, narwhal tusks were given as state gifts to kings and queens. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the price tag of tusks was said to be a couple of hundred times greater than its weight in gold. Ivan the Terrible had a jewelry-covered narwhal tusk on his deathbed, while Elizabeth I received a narwhal tusk allegedly valued at £10,000 pounds sterling from the privateer Martin Frobisher; both items were staples in cabinets of curiosities.
Considered to have magical properties, narwhal tusks were used to counter poisoning, and all sorts of diseases such as measles and rubella. The rise of science towards the end of the 17th century led to a decreased belief in magic and alchemy. After the unicorn notion was scientifically refuted, narwhal tusks were rarely employed for magical purposes.
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