Entranced Under the Spell
of the Medieval Romances
the Church/Israel/Gomer,
as the Quintessential
Damsel in Distress, has
Swooned before her Secular
Worldly Lovers and Political
Champions, and Lusted after
the Power of their Sword.
"The Meeting on the Turret Stairs"
Painting by Frederic William Burton
- National Gallery of Ireland