Mirror Case
1370–1400, France
© The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights reserved.

Carved onto this mirror case is the Assault on the Castle of Love, which was first acted out in Italian courts for entertainment, showing the central role knights played in popular ideals of romance. Here, knights besiege a castle, with the one on the right drawing a bow with a floral arrow. Women throw down flowers, an ineffective defence, and succumb to the powers of the men.

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