The knight in the tournament, iconographic theme rendered on medieval tiles from Wallachia

Abstract

The stove tiles from the 15th and 16th centuries discovered in some countries in Central Europe often approach, as decoration, the theme of the medieval knight. The archaeological research carried out on the territory of Romania brought to light a vast and diverse material related to this subject. The present study analyzes three stove tiles discovered in Muntenia - at Târgovişte and Curtea de Argeş, former princely courts and capitals of Wallachia, in the Middle Ages, pieces whose iconographic theme is “the knight in the tournament”. The specimens, chronologically dated between the end of the 14th century and the 16th century, stand out for the original character of the compositions.