Laurence Andrew (fl. 1510-1537) was a printer and translator active in Antwerp. Not much is known about him and many of the works he translated and/or printed have not survived into present day.
However, one book that did survive was The noble lyfe a[nd] natures of man of bestes, serpentys, fowles a[nd] fishes [that] be moste knoweu published in Antwerp. The date of publication is unknown, but historians of the book regularly date the book to 1527. The noble lyfe is a translation of portions of the Hortus Sanitatis, a natural history published in Germany in 1485.
The entry for the unicorn read:
“Monocheron yt is a vnicorne for it hath but one horne standinge in his forhede & it is so sharp yt what so euer it touchet wt his horn it tereth it a sonder or rõneth it thrugh / & it is a beste wt iiij. fete feringe nothere yron nor stele / & it feghteth oftentymes agaynst ye oliphant & thursteth hym in ye beli wt his sharpe horne & so ouercõmeth hym.”
My modernization of the passage:
Monoceron that is a unicorn for it has but one horn standing in his forehead and it is sharp that whatsoever it touches with his horn it tears it asunder or run it through & it is a beast with four feet fearing not iron nor steel & it fights oftentimes against the elephant and thrust him in the belly with his sharp horn & overcomes him.
Another great read. Thabk you for sharing these
speaking of a rhino I presume. Hints the elephant and fighting
speaking of a rhino I presume. Hints the elephant and fighting