"molar
of a giant," set in leather; probably the tooth of a hippopotamus, or
the fossil tooth of some antediluvian creature. There is also what is
termed a "tester," composed of several "serpent's teeth" (glossopetra?), horns
of the "unicorn" (narwhal's teeth) and stones regarded as antidotes to
poison. These were all suspended by golden chains, and were valued at
seventy-five livres tournois.50
As
a companion piece to the "cock-stone," the hen furnished a concretion
possessing special virtues. This came from the fowl's gizzard and was
of a sky-blue color; its
48 In Konrad Von Megenberg's version, " Buch der Natur," ed. by Dr. Franz Pfeiffer, Stuttgart, 1861, p. 435.
"The writer erroneously derives the name from the Latin verb allertare, the true derivation being from the Greek αλέντωρ, a cock.
"Guiffrey, " Inventaires du Duc de Berry," vol. i, p. 166.
