--- title: The Hunters Return to the Castle author: The Metropolitan Museum of Art source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/12961/the-hunters-return-to-the-castle/ format: machine-readable-alternate updated: 1970-01-01 --- # The Hunters Return to the Castle _Authored by The Metropolitan Museum of Art_ ## Image File [![The Hunters Return to the Castle](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/12961.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/12961.jpg) ## Image Caption "The Hunters Return to the Castle" is one of seven tapestries in the "Unicorn Tapestries" group. These allegorical tapestries depict the hunting of a unicorn, a mythological animal common to European folklore. "The Hunters Return to the Castle" is a scene in two parts: it shows the [death](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Death/) of the unicorn in the upper left corner, and the unicorn’s body, draped over the back of a horse, being presented to the lord and lady of the castle in the foreground. By the Middle Ages, the unicorn had acquired religious connotations, and was occasionally used as an allegorical symbol for Christ. The holly tree and thorny oak branches depicted in this tapestry are perhaps hinting at the Passion of Christ and the Crown of Thorns. The tapestries originally belonged the Le Rochefoucald family of France, and the earliest record of them confirms that they were hanging in the [Paris](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/paris/) home of François VI de La Rochefoucauld (1613 - 1680 CE) by 1680 CE. The tapestries are thought to have been woven in Brussels between 1495 – 1505 CE, although they were designed in Paris, France. The Unicorn Tapestries are now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and are housed in the Met Cloisters. ## Cite This Work ### APA Art, T. M. M. o. (2020, October 21). The Hunters Return to the Castle. *World History Encyclopedia*. ### Chicago Art, The Metropolitan Museum of. "The Hunters Return to the Castle." *World History Encyclopedia*, October 21, 2020. . ### MLA Art, The Metropolitan Museum of. "The Hunters Return to the Castle." *World History Encyclopedia*, 21 Oct 2020, . ## License & Copyright © [Metropolitan Museum of Art](http://metmuseum.org/), NY. As part of the [Met's Open Access policy](https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/policies-and-documents/open-access), the Metropolitan Museum of Art has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this dataset. [Original image](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467641) by [**The Metropolitan Museum of Art**](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467641). Submitted by [Hillary Smith](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/hillarysmith/ "User Page: Hillary Smith"), published on 21 October 2020. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Copyright](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright). You cannot use, copy, distribute, or modify this item without explicit permission from the author. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.