Throw Down The Gauntlet Meaning

(idiomatic) To issue a challenge.

Example:   1730 We might as well dispute with Dimock on a Coronation Day, as argue with these Writers. They strut, vapour, throw down the Gauntlet, and defy us to take it up Caleb d' Anvers [Nicholas Amhurst], The Craftsman vol. 7, p. 91.