
Scene in the Bayeux Tapestry showing Odo rallying Duke William's troops during the Battle of Hastings. Latin tituli above: HIC ODO EP[ISCOPU]S BACULU[M] TENENS CONFORTAT PUEROS ("Here Bishop Odo, holding a club, gives strength to the boys"). Duke William is also shown wielding a club during the battle in another scene
The Bayeux Tapestry is a rare and unique historical record from the late 11th Century that provides many details behind the Norman warrior William I of England (1027-1087) (aka: William the Conqueror) and his conquest of England by way of his victory at the 1066 Battle of Hastings and many of the events leading up to it. In fact it is the sole source of history the Norman peoples in this time period.
The story begins with the rivalry of Harold Godwinsom, Earl of Wessex (c1022-1066) and William II, Duke of Normandy (1037-1087) for the throne of England and ends with the victory at the Battle of Hastings. The primary creator is believed to be Odo of Bayeux (c1030-1097), Bishop of Bayeux, a half brother of Duke William.
The Tapestry[]

Detail of stem stitching and laid work from the Tapestry.
Bayeux Tapestry is more really of a massive embroidery project instead of a true tapestry, created with coloured woollen threads on a broad ribon of linen. Based on a linen measuring 230 feet long by 20 inches tall. It depicts 58 historical scenes in the form of a series of cartoons with descriptions written in Latin.
The upper and lower borders of the Tapestry are inscribed with figures of birds and beasts, themes from fables and, occasionally, sly comments on the main narrative.[1]
The Tapestry is the only large-scale example of needlework surviving from the early Middle Ages. Generations of scholars have very carefully scrutinised its intricate details.
Buildings and trees help frame individual episodes, which include scenes of banqueting, ships at sea, cavalry fighting at Hastings, royal and ducal palaces, churches, domestic buildings and various incidents of everyday life. Some 1500 figures of men and women, horses, miscellaneous birds and beasts, ships and buildings, appear in the Tapestry. Scenes from Aesop's fables and other images scattered throughout the borders reflect themes appropriate to the action in the main panels.[2]
According to Sylvette Lemagnen, conservator of the tapestry, in her 2005 book La Tapisserie de Bayeux:
The Bayeux tapestry is one of the supreme achievements of the Norman Romanesque .... Its survival almost intact over nine centuries is little short of miraculous ... Its exceptional length, the harmony and freshness of its colours, its exquisite workmanship, and the genius of its guiding spirit combine to make it endlessly fascinating.[3]
Recorded History[]
The first reference to the tapestry is from 1476 when it was listed in an inventory of the treasures of Bayeux Cathedral. It survived the sack of Bayeux by the Huguenots in 1562; and the next certain reference is from 1724. Antoine Lancelot sent a report to the Académie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres concerning a sketch he had received about a work concerning William the Conqueror. He had no idea where or what the original was, although he suggested it could have been a tapestry. Despite further enquiries he discovered no more.
The Benedictine scholar Bernard de Montfaucon made more successful investigations and found that the sketch was of a small portion of a tapestry preserved at Bayeux Cathedral. In 1729 and 1730 he published drawings and a detailed description of the complete work in the first two volumes of his Les Monuments de la Monarchie française. The drawings were by Antoine Benoît, one of the ablest draughtsmen of that time. In 1729, the hanging was rediscovered by scholars at a time when it was being displayed annually in Bayeux Cathedral. The tapestry is now exhibited at the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux in Bayeux, Normandy, France.
In 1724 a linen backing cloth was sewn on comparatively crudely and, in around the year 1800, large ink numerals were written on the backing which broadly enumerate each scene and which are still commonly used for reference.
View the Complete Scroll[]
Scroll (left or right) to view the entire Bayeux Tapestry here :
Tapestry Creation[]
The messengers with Guy de Ponthieu (c1035-1100), with a portrayal of medieval agriculture in the border

Detail of Halley's Comet

This project took many, many people, both men and women probably over 10-20 years to create. However the uniform nature of the story telling and artwork indicate the whole project was directed by a master creator. Definitely produced by the Norman Aristocracy as it displays and celebrates the conquest from a Norman perspective.
While not proven, it is widely believed that, Odo of Bayeux (c1030-1097), half-brother of Duke William and Bishop of Bayeax, oversaw this production. Even though it had a decidedly Norman perspective, it was produced in England, but certainly completed within a few years of the actual events. Probably coinciding with the completion of the Cathedral of Bayeux in 1077. [4]
It is believed to have been produced in England at St. Augustine's abbey at Canterbury. Odo held extensive estates in Kent and had close links with the clerics at St Augustine's.
The Story[]
The story begins when Edward the Confessor of England (bef1005-1066), sends Harold on a mission across the English Channel but the sea crossing ends when Harold is captured by Guy de Ponthieu (c1035-1100). Duke William of Normandy pays the ransom, rescuing Harold. Together they start a campaign in the Breton Marches. Together, English and Norman troops attack Breton castles at Rennes, Nantes and Dol.
An important scene after these battles depicts William rewarding Harold with a suit of armor and that Harold swears on holy relics that William will succeed Edward the Confessor as King of England when he dies. But when Harold returns to England and Edward dies (January of 1066), Harold breaks his oath and quickly seizes the throne for himself.
William responds by gathering a fleet and his army and crosses over the England where defeats Harold at the Battle of Hastings (14 Oct 1066) who is apparently killed by an arrow through his eye, as described in the Tapestry.
Principle Characters[]
- William I of England (1027-1087) - "The Conqueror"
- Edward the Confessor of England (bef1005-1066) - King of England, died in early 1066.
- Guy de Ponthieu (c1035-1100)
- Harold II of Wessex (c1022-1066) - King of England, killed at Hastings
- Odo of Bayeux (c1030-1097) - Bishop of Bayeux, probable creator of the Tapestry.
See Also[]
References[]
- ^ The Normans, a History of Conquest by Trevor Rowley, pp 69-71
- ^ The Normans, a History of Conquest by Trevor Rowley, pp 69-70
- ^ Sylvette Lemagnen, Preface, p. 9; [1989]. La Tapisserie de Bayeux: œuvre d'art et document historique [The Bayeux Tapestry] (annotated edition). Translated by Rex, Richard (First ed.). Woodbridge, United Kingdom: Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 272
- ^ The Normans, a History of Conquest by Trevor Rowley, pp 71
Further reading[]
- Backhouse, Janet; Turner, D. H.; Webster, Leslie, eds (1984). The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Art, 966–1066. London: British Museum Publications. ISBN 0-7141-0532-5.
- Bates, David; Barral i Altet, Xavier (2019). La Tapisserie de Bayeux. Paris: Citadelles & Mazenod.
- Bernstein, David J. (1986). "The Mystery of Bayeux Tapestry" Weidenfeld and Nicolson ISBN 0-297-78928-7
- Bloch, Howard (2006). A Needle in the Right Hand of God: The Norman Conquest of 1066 and the Making and Meaning of the Bayeux Tapestry. Random House ISBN 978-1-4000-6549-3
- Bridgeford, Andrew (2005). 1066 : the hidden history in the Bayeux Tapestry Walker & Company ISBN 978-0-8027-7742-3
- Brown, Shirley Ann (1988). The Bayeux Tapestry: History and Bibliography. Woodbridge: Boydell. ISBN 978-0-85115-509-8. https://archive.org/details/bayeuxtapestryhi0000brow.
- Burt, Richard (2007). "Loose Threads: Weaving Around Women in the Bayeux Tapestry and Cinema", in Medieval Film, ed. Anke Bernau and Bettina Bildhauer Manchester University Press
- Burt, Richard (Summer 2007). "Re-embroidering the Bayeux Tapestry in Film and Media: the Flip Side of History in Opening and End Title Sequences," special issue of Exemplaria on "Movie Medievalism," 19.2., 327–50, co-edited by Richard Burt.
- Burt, Richard (2009). "Border Skirmishes: Weaving Around the Bayeux Tapestry and Cinema in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and El Cid." In Medieval Film. Ed. Anke Bernau and Bettina Bildhauer (Manchester: Manchester UP), pp. 158–18.
- Burt, Richard (2008). Medieval and Early Modern Film and Media (New York and London: Palgrave Macmillan), xiv; 279 pp. Paperback edition, 2010.
- Campbell, M. W (1984). "Aelfgyva : The Mysterious Lady of the Bayeux Tapestry" Annales de Normandie, V. 34, n. 2, pp. 127–45.
- Foys, Martin K. (2003). Bayeux Tapestry Digital Edition. Individual licence ed; CD-ROM. On-line version, 2013
- Foys, Martin K., Overbey, Karen Eileen Overbey and Terkla, Dan (eds.) (2009) The Bayeux Tapestry: New Interpretations, Boydell and Brewer ISBN 978-1783271245.
- Gibbs-Smith, C. H. (1973). The Bayeux Tapestry London; New York, Phaidon; Praeger
- Hicks, Carola (2006). The Bayeux Tapestry: The Life Story of a Masterpiece. London: Chatto & Windus. ISBN 978-0-7011-7463-7.
- Jones, Chas (2005). "The Yorkshire Preface to the Bayeux Tapestry" The Events of September 1066 – Depicted In a Community Tapestry, Writers Print Shop, first edition. ISBN 978-1-904623-37-3
- Pastan, Elizabeth Carson, and Stephen White, with Kate Gilbert (2014). The Bayeux Tapestry and its Contexts: A Reassessment. Boydell Press ISBN 978-1-84383-941-5.
- Rud, Mogens (1992). "The Bayeux Tapestry and the Battle of Hastings 1066", Christian Eilers Publishers, Copenhagen; contains full colour photographs and explanatory text
- Werckmeister, Otto Karl (1976). "The Political Ideology of the Bayeux Tapestry." Studi Medievali, 3rd Series 17, no. 2: 535–95.
- Wilson, David McKenzie (ed.) (2004). The Bayeux Tapestry: the Complete Tapestry in Color, Rev. ed. New York: Thames & Hudson ISBN 978-0-500-25122-5 (1985 ed.). LC NK3049.
- Wissolik, Richard David (1982). "Duke William's Messengers: An Insoluble, Reverse-Order Scene of the Bayeux Tapestry." Medium Ævum. L, 102–07.
- Wissolik, Richard David (March 1979). "The Monk Eadmer as Historian of the Norman Succession: Korner and Freeman Examined." American Benedictine Review, pp. 32–42.
- Wissolik, Richard David. "The Saxon Statement: Code in the Bayeux Tapestry." Annuale Mediævale. 19 (September 1979), 69–97.
- Wissolik, Richard David (1989). The Bayeux Tapestry. A Critical Annotated Bibliography with Cross References and Summary Outlines of Scholarship, 1729–1988, Greensburg: Eadmer Press.
External links[]
Media related to Bayeux Tapestry at Wikimedia Commons
- Bayeux Tapestry – Bayeux Museum
- High quality panoramic image of Bayeux Tapestry (Bibliotheca Augustana)
- A Guide to the Bayeux Tapestry – Latin-English translation
- The Bayeux Tapestry – collection of videos, articles and bibliography
"Bayeux Tapestry, The". Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 555–556. With 16 images