In this painting by Pre-Raphaelite painter Edmund Leighton, a man kneels to be knighted by a crowned woman. I think the submitter, bostonpup, described the appeal of this one better than I ever could:
This picture has always symbolized to me the highest, most romantic form of male submission. Here, a warrior kneels before his Queen and offers his fealty and devotion, which she accepts by symbolically striking him upon the shoulders with her sword. [Kinky!!] While I also love the aesthetic and evocative nature of CFNM, the loose, regal gown the Queen wears versus the weight and functionality of the knight’s chain mail create a reverse contrast that to me still magnifies the submission of the male. The knight is both submissive and intensely vulnerable to the edge of the sword - but at the same time there is nothing passive, weak, or contemptible about him. His submission is active and his exposure is deliberately offered. [I do get that there’s a substantiated argument that the entire concept of chivalry is chauvinistic and perpetuates patriarchy, but I believe as a viewer I am free to see this image outside of the actual historical context and instead place it in my own.]
-Eileen

