The Friends of the Musée de Cluny have created a yearly Prize, “La Dame à la licorne”, awarded to an author for a work of high quality whose main theme is related to the centers of interest of the museum : art history, archaeology, music and history from the 5th to the 15th centuries.

All books published in French (including translations and catalogues) may compete. The jury is composed of medievalists. The author (or authors) receive 2.000 €.

The Prize was first awarded in 2007 to Nicole Reynaud for her work, Jean Fouquet, Les Heures d'Etienne Chevalier, published by Faton Editions, Dijon.

In 2008, the Prize was presented to Jacques Rossiaud, for his work Le Rhône au Moyen Age, published by Aubier, Paris.

In 2009, the Prize recognized Anne-Marie Eddé’s biographical study of Saladin, published by Flammarion.

The collective work Histoire du monde au XVe siècle, directed by Patrick Boucheron and published by Fayard, was honoured in 2010.

In 2011 the recipient was Jean-Claude Maire Vigueur, for his historical portrait of L'autre Rome. Une histoire des Romains à l'époque communale (XIIe-XIVe siècle), published by Tallandier.