TheBayeux Tapestry[a] is anembroidered cloth nearly 70-metre (230-foot) long and 50-centimetre (20-inch) tall[1] that depicts the events leading up to theNorman Conquest of England in 1066, led byWilliam, Duke of Normandy challengingHarold II, King of England, and culminating in theBattle of Hastings. It is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years of the battle. Now widely accepted to have been made in England, perhaps as a gift for William, it tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans and for centuries has been preserved in Normandy.
According to Sylvette Lemagnen, conservator of the tapestry, in her 2005 bookLa Tapisserie de Bayeux:
The Bayeux tapestry is one of the supreme achievements of the NormanRomanesque .... 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.[2]
The cloth consists of 58 scenes,[note 1] many with Latintituli, embroidered on linen with coloured woollen yarns. It is likely that it was commissioned by BishopOdo of Bayeux, William's maternal half-brother, and made for him in England in the 1070s. In 1729, the hanging was rediscovered by scholars at a time when it was being displayed annually inBayeux Cathedral. The tapestry is now exhibited at the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux inBayeux,Normandy, France(49°16′28″N0°42′01″W / 49.2744°N 0.7003°W /49.2744; -0.7003).
The designs on the Bayeux Tapestry areembroidered rather than in atapestryweave, so it does not meet narrower definitions of a tapestry.[5] Nevertheless, it has always been referred to as a tapestry until recent years when the name "Bayeux Embroidery" has gained ground among certain art historians. It can be seen as a rare example of secularRomanesque art. Tapestries adorned both churches and wealthy houses in Medieval Western Europe, though at 0.5 by 68.38 m (1 ft 8 in by 224 ft 4 in), the Bayeux Tapestry is exceptionally large. The background is not embroidered, providing a large, clear field of cloth which allows the figures and decorative elements to stand out very clearly.
The earliest known written reference to the tapestry is a 1476 inventory ofBayeux Cathedral,[6] but its origins have been the subject of much speculation and controversy.
French legend maintained the tapestry was commissioned and created byQueen Matilda,William the Conqueror's wife, and herladies-in-waiting. Indeed, in France, it is occasionally known asLa Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde ("The Tapestry of Queen Matilda"). However, scholarly analysis in the 20th century concluded it was probably commissioned by William's half-brother, BishopOdo of Bayeux,[7] who, after the Conquest, also becameEarl of Kent and, when William was absent in Normandy,regent of England.
The reasons for the Odo commission theory include:
three of the bishop's followers mentioned in theDomesday Book appear on the tapestry;
it was found in Bayeux Cathedral, built by Odo;
it may have been commissioned at the same time as the cathedral's construction in the 1070s, possibly completed by 1077 in time for display on the cathedral's dedication.
Assuming Odo commissioned the tapestry, it was probably designed and constructed in England byAnglo-Saxon artists (Odo's main power base being by then inKent); the Latin text contains hints of Anglo-Saxon; other embroideries originate from England at this time; and the vegetable dyes can be found in cloth traditionally woven there.[8][9][10] Howard B. Clarke has proposed that the designer of the tapestry (i.e., the individual responsible for its overall narrative and political argument) wasScolland, the abbot ofSt Augustine's Abbey inCanterbury, because of his previous position as head of thescriptorium atMont-Saint-Michel (famed for its illumination), his travels toTrajan's Column, and his connections toWadard and Vital, two individuals identified in the tapestry.[11][12] Alternatively, Christine Grainge has argued that the designer may have beenLanfranc,Archbishop of Canterbury 1070–1089.[13] The actual physical work of stitching was most probably undertaken by women needleworkers. Anglo-Saxon needlework of the more detailed type known asOpus Anglicanum was famous across Europe. It was perhaps commissioned for display in the hall of Odo's palace in Bayeux, and then bequeathed to the cathedral he had built, following the precedent of the documented but lost hanging of the Anglo-Saxon warriorByrhtnoth, bequeathed by his widow toEly Abbey.[14]
Other theories exist.Carola Hicks has suggested the tapestry could possibly have been commissioned byEdith of Wessex, widow ofEdward the Confessor and sister of Harold.[15] Wolfgang Grape has challenged the consensus that the embroidery is Anglo-Saxon, distinguishing between Anglo-Saxon and other Northern European techniques;[16] Medieval material authorityElizabeth Coatsworth[17] contradicted this: "The attempt to distinguish Anglo-Saxon from other Northern European embroideries before 1100 on the grounds of technique cannot be upheld on the basis of present knowledge."[10] George Beech suggests the tapestry was executed at theAbbey of Saint-Florent de Saumur in the Loire Valley and says the detailed depiction of the Breton campaign argues for additional sources in France.[18] Andrew Bridgeford has suggested that the tapestry was actually of English design and encoded with secret messages meant to undermine Norman rule.[19]
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 theHuguenots in 1562; and the next certain reference is from 1724.[20] Antoine Lancelot sent a report to theAcadémie 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.[21] Despite further enquiries he discovered no more.
Montfaucon / Benoît drawing showing King Harold's death
The Benedictine scholarBernard 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 hisLes Monuments de la Monarchie française. The drawings were by Antoine Benoît, one of the ablest draughtsmen of that time.[21]
The tapestry was first briefly noted in English in 1746 byWilliam Stukeley, in hisPalaeographia Britannica.[22] The first detailed account in English was written bySmart Lethieullier, who was living in Paris in 1732–3, and was acquainted with Lancelot and de Montfaucon: it was not published, however, until 1767, as an appendix toAndrew Ducarel'sAnglo-Norman Antiquities.[21][23][24]
During theFrench Revolution, in 1792, the tapestry was confiscated as public property to be used for covering military wagons.[20] It was rescued from a wagon by a local lawyer who stored it in his house until the troubles were over, whereupon he sent it to the city administrators for safekeeping.[21] After theReign of Terror, the Fine Arts Commission, set up to safeguard national treasures in 1803, required it to be removed to Paris for display at theMusée Napoléon.[21] WhenNapoleon abandoned his planned invasion of Britain the tapestry's propaganda value was lost and it was returned to Bayeux where the council displayed it on a winding apparatus of two cylinders.[21] Despite scholars' concern that the tapestry was becoming damaged the council refused to return it to the cathedral.[21]
Stothard /Basire engravings: scenes showing the Norman troops crossing the Channel and landing in Sussex
In 1816, theSociety of Antiquaries of London commissioned its historical draughtsman,Charles Stothard, to visit Bayeux to make an accurate hand-colouredfacsimile of the tapestry. His drawings were subsequently engraved byJames Basire jr. and published by the Society in 1819–23.[25] Stothard's images are still of value as a record of the tapestry as it was before 19th-century restoration.
By 1842, the tapestry was displayed in a special-purpose room in the Bibliothèque Publique. It required special storage in 1870, with the threatened invasion of Normandy in theFranco-Prussian War, and again in 1939–1944 by theAhnenerbe during theGerman occupation of France and theNormandy landings. On 27 June 1944 theGestapo took the tapestry to theLouvre, and on 18 August, three days before theWehrmacht withdrew from Paris,Himmler sent a message (intercepted byBletchley Park) ordering it to be taken to "a place of safety", thought to be Berlin.[26] It was only on 22 August that theSS attempted to take possession of the tapestry, by which time the Louvre was again in French hands.[26] After theliberation of Paris, on 25 August, the tapestry was again put on public display in the Louvre, and in 1945 it was returned to Bayeux,[21] where it is exhibited at the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux.
The inventory listing of 1476 shows that the tapestry was being hung annually in Bayeux Cathedral for the week of theFeast of St John the Baptist; this was still the case in 1728, although by that time the purpose was merely to air the hanging, which was otherwise stored in a chest.[26] Clearly, the work was being well cared for. In the eighteenth century, the artistry was regarded as crude or even barbarous—red and yellow multi-coloured horses upset some critics. It was thought to be unfinished because the linen was not covered with embroidery.[26] However, its exhibition in the Louvre in 1797 caused a sensation, withLe Moniteur, which normally dealt with foreign affairs, reporting on it on its first two pages.[26] It inspired a popular musical,La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde. It was because the tapestry was regarded as an antiquity rather than a work of art that in 1804 it was returned to Bayeux, wherein 1823 one commentator, A. L. Léchaudé d'Anisy, reported that "there is a sort of purity in its primitive forms, especially considering the state of the arts in the eleventh century".[26]
The tapestry was becoming a tourist attraction, withRobert Southey complaining of the need to queue to see the work. In the 1843Hand-book for Travellers in France byJohn Murray III, a visit was included on "Recommended Route 26 (Caen to Cherbourg via Bayeux)", and this guidebook ledJohn Ruskin to go there; he would describe the tapestry as "the most interesting thing in its way conceivable".Charles Dickens, however, was not impressed: "It is certainly the work of amateurs; very feeble amateurs at the beginning and very heedless some of them too."[26]
During the Second World WarHeinrich Himmler coveted the work, regarding it as "important for our glorious and cultured Germanic history".[26]
In 2018French PresidentEmmanuel Macron announced that the Bayeux Tapestry would be loaned to Britain for public display.[27] It was expected to be exhibited at theBritish Museum in London in 2022, but strong objections were raised on conservation grounds.[citation needed] It would have been the first time in 950 years that the tapestry had left France, although evidence suggests that the tapestry was made in Canterbury.[28] As of April 2024, however, a date for the loan had not yet been finalised.
In common with other embroidered hangings of theearly medieval period, this piece is conventionally referred to as a "tapestry", although it is not a "true"tapestry in which the design iswoven into the cloth in tapestry weave; it is technically anembroidery, although it meets the traditional broader definition of "tapestry" as: "A textile fabric decorated with designs of ornament or pictorial subjects, painted, embroidered, or woven in colours, used for wall hangings,curtains, covers for seats, ..."[29]
The Bayeux tapestry is embroidered increwel (woolyarn) on atabby-wovenlinen ground 68.38 metres long and 0.5 metres wide (224.3 ft × 1.6 ft) and using two methods of stitching:outline or stem stitch for lettering and the outlines of figures, andcouching or laid work for filling in figures.[9][10] Nine linen panels, between fourteen and three metres in length, were sewn together after each was embroidered and the joins were disguised with subsequent embroidery.[26] At the first join (start ofscene 14) the borders do not line up properly but the technique was improved so that the later joins are practically invisible.[26] The design involved a broad central zone with narrow decorative borders top and bottom.[26] By inspecting the woollen threads behind the linen it is apparent all these aspects were embroidered together at a session and the awkward placing of thetituli is not due to them being added later.[26] Later generations have patched the hanging in numerous places and some of the embroidery (especially in thefinal scene) has been reworked.[26] The tapestry may well have maintained much of its original appearance—it now compares closely with a careful drawing made in 1730.[26]
Theend of the tapestry has been missing from time immemorial and the finaltitulus "Et fuga verterunt Angli" ("and the English left fleeing") is said to be "entirely spurious", added shortly before 1814 at a time of anti-English sentiment.[20]Musset speculates the hanging was originally about 1.5 metres longer.[20] In the last section still remaining, the embroidery has been almost completely restored, but this seems to have been done with at least some regard for the original stitching.[20] The stylised tree is quite unlike any other tree in the tapestry.[20] Thestart of the tapestry has also been restored but to a much lesser extent.[20]
Norton[note 2] has reviewed the various measurements of the length of the tapestry itself and of its nine individual linen panels. He has also attempted to estimate the size and architectural design of the 11th-century Bayeux Cathedral. He considers the tapestry would have fitted well if it had been hung along the south, west, and northarcades of thenave and that the scenes it depicts can be correlated with positions of the arcadebays in a way that would have been dramatically satisfying. He agrees with earlier speculation that a final panel is missing—one that shows William's coronation and which he thinks was some three metres long. Norton concludes that the tapestry was definitely designed to be hung in Bayeux Cathedral specifically; that it was designed to appeal to a Norman audience; and that it was probably designed for Bishop Odo so as to be displayed at the dedication of the cathedral in 1077 in the presence of William, Matilda, their sons, and Odo.[31]
The main yarn colours are terracotta or russet, blue-green, dull gold, olive green, and blue, with small amounts of dark blue or black and sage green. Later repairs are worked in light yellow, orange, and light greens.[9] Laid yarns are couched in place with yarn of the same or contrasting colour.
The tapestry's central zone contains most of the action, which sometimes overflows into the borders either for dramatic effect or because depictions would otherwise be very cramped (for example at Edward'sdeath scene). Events take place in a long series of scenes which are generally separated by highly stylised trees. However, the trees are not placed consistently and the greatest scene shift, between Harold's audience with Edward after his return to England and Edward'sburial scene, is not marked in any way at all.[20][note 1]
Thetituli are normally in the central zone but occasionally use the top border. The borders are otherwise mostly purely decorative and only sometimes does the decoration complement the action in the central zone. The decoration consists of birds, beasts, fish and scenes from fables, agriculture, and hunting. There are frequent oblique bands separating the vignettes. There are nude figures, some of corpses from battle, others of a ribald nature.[20] Aharrow, a newly invented implement, is depicted (scene 10) and this is the earliest known depiction. The picture ofHalley's Comet, which appears in the upper border (scene 32), is the first known picture of this comet.[20]
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.[20]
The entire Bayeux Tapestry. Individual images of each scene are atBayeux Tapestry tituli. (Scroll left or right.)
Harold Godwinson,Earl of Wessex and the most powerful noble in England, was Edward's brother-in-law. The Norman chroniclerWilliam of Poitiers[32] reported that Edward had previously determined that William would succeed him on the throne, and Harold had sworn to honour this, and yet later that Harold had claimed Edward, on his deathbed, had made him heir over William. However, other sources, such asEadmer dispute this claim.
TheTapestry of Creation orGirona Tapestry (actually needlework), 11th-century, 3.65 m × 4.70 m (12.0 ft × 15.4 ft)
Tapestry fragments have been found in Scandinavia dating from the ninth century and it is thought that Norman and Anglo-Saxon embroidery developed from this sort of work. Examples are to be found in thegrave goods of the Oseberg ship and theÖverhogdal tapestries.[20]
A monastic text fromEly, theLiber Eliensis, mentions a woven narrative wall-hanging commemorating the deeds ofByrhtnoth, killed in 991. Wall-hangings were common by the tenth century with English and Norman texts particularly commending the skill of Anglo-Saxon seamstresses. Mural paintings imitating draperies still exist in France and Italy and there are twelfth-century mentions of other wall-hangings in Normandy and France. A poem byBaldric of Dol might even describe the Bayeux Tapestry itself.[20] The Bayeux Tapestry was therefore not unique at the time it was created: rather it is remarkable for being the sole surviving example of medieval narrative needlework.[33]
Very few hangings from the 11th century survive, but theTapestry of Creation, or Girona Tapestry, is a large Romanesque panel of needlework, in the Museum ofGirona Cathedral, Catalonia, Spain. The hanging depicts a series of figures from theBook of Genesis, andpersonifications of the month. TheCloth of Saint Gereon, in Germany, is the largest of a group of fragments from hangings based on decorativeByzantine silks, including animals, that are probably the earliest European survivals.[34]
The tapestry begins with a panel of Edward the Confessor sending Harold to Normandy.(scene 1) Later Norman sources say that the mission was for Harold to pledge loyalty to William but the tapestry does not suggest any specific purpose.[26] By mischance, Harold arrives at the wrong location in France and is taken prisoner byGuy, Count of Ponthieu.(scene 7) After exchanges of messages borne by mounted messengers, Harold is released to William, who then invites Harold to accompany him on a campaign againstConan II, Duke of Brittany. On the way, just outside the monastery ofMont Saint-Michel, the army becomes mired in quicksand and Harold saves two Norman soldiers.(scene 17) William's army chases Conan fromDol de Bretagne toRennes, and Conan finally surrenders atDinan.(scene 20) William gives Harold arms and armour (possiblyknighting him) and Harold takes an oath onsaintlyrelics.(scene 23) Although the writing on the tapestry explicitly states an oath is taken there is no clue as to what is being promised.[26]
Harold leaves for home and meets again with the old king Edward, who appears to be remonstrating with him.(scene 25) Harold is in a somewhat submissive posture and seems to be in disgrace.[26] However, possibly deliberately, the king's intentions are not made clear.[26] The scene then shifts by about one year to when Edward has become mortally ill and the tapestry strongly suggests that, on his deathbed, he bequeaths the crown to Harold.[note 3][20] What is probably thecoronation ceremony[note 4] is attended byStigand, whose position as Archbishop of Canterbury was controversial.[20](scene 31) Stigand is performing a liturgical function, possibly not the crowning itself.[20] The tapestry labels the celebrant as "Stigant Archieps" (Stigand the archbishop) although by that time he had beenexcommunicated by thepapacy who considered his appointment unlawful.[26]
A star with a streaming tail, now known to beHalley's Comet, then appears.[note 5] At this point, the lower border of the tapestry shows a fleet of ghost-like ships thus hinting at a future invasion.[26](scene 33) The news of Harold's coronation is taken to Normandy, whereupon we are told that William is ordering a fleet of ships to be built although it is Bishop Odo shown issuing the instructions.(scene 35) The invaders reach England, and land unopposed. William orders his men to find food, and a meal is cooked.(scene 43) A house is burnt by two soldiers, which may indicate some ravaging of the local countryside on the part of the invaders, and underneath, on a smaller scale than the arsonists, a woman holds her boy's hand as she asks for humanity.(scene 47) News is brought to William.[note 6] The Normans build amotte and bailey at Hastings to defend their position. Messengers are sent between the two armies, and William makes a speech to prepare his army for battle.(scene 51)
TheBattle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 less than three weeks after theBattle of Stamford Bridge but the tapestry does not provide this context. The English fight on foot behind ashield wall, whilst the Normans are on horses.[note 7] Two fallen knights are named asLeofwine andGyrth, Harold's brothers, but both armies are shown fighting bravely.[26] Bishop Odo brandishes his baton or mace and rallies the Norman troops in battle.(scene 54)[note 8][26] To reassure his knights that he is still alive and well, William raises his helmet to show his face.[20] The battle becomes very bloody with troops being slaughtered and dismembered corpses littering the ground. King Harold is killed.(scene 57) This scene can be interpreted in different ways, as the name "Harold" appears above a number of knights, making it difficult to identify which character is Harold, since one character appears with an arrow shot in his head under the name "Harold" while another character is slain by a sword underneath the words "was slain" . The final remaining scene shows unarmoured English troops fleeing the battlefield. The last part of the tapestry is missing; however, it is thought that the story contained only one additional scene.[26]
Tituli are included in many scenes to point out names of people and places or to explain briefly the event being depicted.[20] The text is in Latin but at times the style of words and spelling shows an English influence.[20] A dark blue wool, almost black, is mostly used but towards the end of the tapestry other colours are used, sometimes for each word and other times for each letter.[20] The complete text and English translation are displayed beside images of each scene atBayeux Tapestry tituli.
Harold's death. Legend above:Harold rex interfectus est, "King Harold is killed"Detail of arrowUbi unus clericus et Ælfgyva
The depiction of events on the tapestry has raised several questions which remain unsettled.
The identification ofHarold II of England in the vignette depicting his death is disputed. Some recent historians disagree with the traditional view that Harold is the figure struck in the eye with an arrow, and that the arrow is a later 18th/19th century modification following a period of repair.[20] Benoît's engraving of 1729, andBernard de Montfaucon's engravings of the tapestry as it was in 1730, show a spear or lance in place of the arrow and no arrow fletchings. Further, needle holes in the linen suggest that something has been removed, or shortened, and fletchings added to form an arrow.[20] A figure is slain with a sword in the subsequent plate, and the phrase above the figure refers to Harold's death (interfectus est, "he is slain").
This would appear to be more consistent with the labelling used elsewhere in the work. It was common medievaliconography that aperjurer was to die with a weapon through the eye[citation needed]. Therefore, the tapestry might be said to emphasise William's rightful claim to the throne by depicting Harold as an oath breaker. Whether he actually died in this way remains a mystery and is much debated.[36]
There is a panel with what appears to be aclergyman touching or possibly striking a woman's face. No one knows the significance of this scene or the caption above it:ubi unus clericus et Ælfgyva ("where [orin which] a certain cleric and Ælfgyva"), where Ælfgyva is the Latinised spelling ofÆlfgifu, a popular Anglo-Saxon woman's name (literally "elf-gift").[26] The use of thegraphemeÆ shows familiarity with English spelling.[26] There are two naked male figures in the border below this figure; the one directly below the figure is in a pose mirroring that of the cleric, squatting and displaying hisgenitalia (a scene that was frequently censored in historical reproductions). However, similar naked figures appear elsewhere in the lower border where there seems to be no connection at all with the main action.[20]
Harold had a younger sister named Ælfgifu (her name is spelt Alveva in theDomesday Book of 1086) who was possibly promised to William by Harold or even betrothed to him, but she died c. 1066, prior to the invasion.[37]Ælfgifu was also the name of the mother ofSweyn Knutsson andHarold Harefoot, past kings of Denmark and England respectively, viaCnut the Great. It has been speculated that this scene, occurring after the meeting of Harold and William, is to remind the contemporary viewers of a scandal that occurred betweenÆlfgifu of Northampton andEmma of Normandy, Cnut's wives, that eventually led to the crowning of Edward the Confessor, child of Emma and her first husband,Æthelred the Unready.[19]
At least two panels of the tapestry are missing, perhaps even another 6.4 m (7.0 yd) in total. This missing area may have depicted William's coronation as King of England.[26] A poem byBaldric of Dol describes a tapestry on the walls of the personal apartments ofAdela of Normandy, which is very similar to the Bayeux depiction. He describes the closing scene as the coronation of William in London.[38]
The Bayeux Tapestry was probably commissioned by theHouse of Normandy and essentially depicts a Norman viewpoint. However, Harold is shown as brave, and his soldiers are not belittled. Throughout, William is described asdux ("duke"), whereas Harold, also calleddux up to his coronation, is subsequently calledrex ("king").[26] The fact that the narrative extensively covers Harold's activities in Normandy (in 1064) indicates that the intention was to show a strong relationship between that expedition and the Norman Conquest starting two years later. It is for this reason that the tapestry is generally seen by modern scholars as anapologia for the Norman Conquest.
The tapestry's narration seems to place stress on Harold's oath to William, although its rationale is not made clear.[20] Norman sources claim that the English succession was being pledged to William, but English sources give varied accounts.[20] Today it is thought that the Norman sources are to be preferred.[39] Both the tapestry and Norman sources[40] nameStigand, the excommunicated archbishop of Canterbury, as the man who crowned Harold, possibly to discredit Harold's kingship; one English source[41] suggests that he was crowned byEaldred, archbishop of York, and favoured by the papacy, making Harold's position as legitimate king more secure. Contemporary scholarship has not decided the matter, although it is generally thought that Ealdred performed the coronation.[42][43]
Although political propaganda or personal emphasis may have somewhat distorted the historical accuracy of the story, the Bayeux Tapestry constitutes a visual record of medieval arms, apparel, and other objects unlike any other artifact surviving from this period. There is no attempt at continuity between scenes, either in individuals' appearance or clothing. The knights carry shields, but show no system of hereditarycoats of arms—the beginnings of modern heraldic structure were in place, but would not become standard until the middle of the 12th century.[20] It has been noted that the warriors are depicted fighting with bare hands, while other sources indicate the general use of gloves in battle and hunt.
The American historianStephen D. White, in a study of the tapestry,[44] has "cautioned against reading it as an English or Norman story, showing how the animal fables visible in the borders may instead offer a commentary on the dangers of conflict and the futility of pursuing power".[45]
Start of the Bayeux Tapestry replica inReading Museum, Berkshire
A number of replicas of the Bayeux Tapestry have been created, in various media.
Through the collaboration ofWilliam Morris with textile manufacturerThomas Wardle, Wardle's wifeElizabeth, who was an accomplished seamstress, embarked on creating a reproduction in 1885.[26] She organised some 37 women in herLeek School of Art Embroidery to collaborate working from a full-scale water-colour facsimile drawing provided by theSouth Kensington Museum. The full-size replica was finished in 1886 and is now exhibited inReading Museum inReading, Berkshire, England.[46][47] The naked figure in the original tapestry (in the border below the Ælfgyva figure) is depicted wearing a brief garment because the drawing which was worked from was similarlybowdlerised.[26] The replica was digitised and made available online in 2020.[48]
Ray Dugan ofUniversity of Waterloo,Ontario, Canada, completed a stitched replica in 1996.[49] Since its completion, it has been displayed in various museums and galleries in Canada and the United States.[50]
In 2000, a Danish association, VikingegruppenLindholm Høje, began making a replica of the Bayeux Tapestry using the original sewing techniques.[51] The replica was completed in June 2014 and went on permanent exhibition atBørglum Abbey in May 2015.[52]
Sections of the 1066 Medieval Mosaic re-creation in New Zealand
An approximately half-scale mosaic version of the Bayeux Tapestry was formerly on display atGeraldine, New Zealand.[54] It was made up of 1.5 million 7 mm2 pieces of spring steel—off-cuts from patterning disks of knitting machines—and was created by Michael Linton over a period of twenty years from 1979. The work was in 32 sections, and included a hypothetical reconstruction of the missing final section leading up to William the Conqueror's coronation atWestminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066.[55]
Jason Welch, a woodcarver fromNorth Creake, Norfolk, England, created a replica of the tapestry between 2011 and 2014 in carved and painted wooden relief on 25 five-foot planks. He undertook the project to help cope with the grief of losing his 18-year-old son.[56]
Mia Hansson, fromSkanör, Sweden, living inWisbech,Isle of Ely,Cambridgeshire, started a reproduction on 13 July 2016.[57] As of May 2023[update] she had completed 40 metres, saying that she expected to finish in some 4 years. Hansson takes part of her replica out for talk and display events. In September 2020 she publishedMia's Bayeux Tapestry Colouring Book, with hand-drawn images from the tapestry.[58][59]
In January 2024, the Bayeux Museum acquired aVictorian replica of the Bayeux tapestry as part of the lateRolling Stones drummerCharlie Watts's estate auction, purchased for £16,000. The replica, one of three known surviving Victorian copies, was originally created as a panoramic photograph in the 19th century.[60]
A version of the tapestry made entirely inneedle lace was created as a table runner. It is over 30 feet long and four feet wide and it is stored in theSmithsonian archives.[61] The origins and creators of this large piece were unknown for many years, but new information connected the work to the company Melville & Ziffer.[62] The work was displayed at a Paris exhibition in 1906.[63]
Other modern artists have attempted to complete the work by creating panels depicting subsequent events up to William's coronation, though the actual content of the missing panels is unknown. In 1997, the embroidery artist Jan Messent completed a reconstruction showing William accepting the surrender of English nobles atBerkhamsted (Beorcham), Hertfordshire, and his coronation.[64][65][66] In early 2013, 416 residents ofAlderney in theChannel Islands finished a continuation including William's coronation and the building of theTower of London.[67]
Street art inBayeux,Normandy, imagining the tapestry being spray-painted by a Norman soldier
Because it resembles a moderncomic strip or moviestoryboard, is widely recognised, and is so distinctive in its artistic style, the Bayeux Tapestry has frequently been used or reimagined in a variety of different popular culture contexts. George Wingfield Digby wrote in 1957:
It was designed to tell a story to a largely illiterate public; it is like a strip cartoon, racy, emphatic, colourful, with a good deal of blood and thunder and some ribaldry.[68]
The design and embroidery of the tapestry form one of the narrative strands ofMarta Morazzoni's 1988 novellaThe Invention of Truth.
The tapestry is referred to inTony Kushner's playAngels in America. The apocryphal account of Queen Matilda's creation of the tapestry is used, perhaps in order to demonstrate that Louis, one of the main characters, holds himself to mythological standards.[76]
In 2022 the French documentaryMysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry was broadcast byBBC Four.[77] It was written by Jonas Rosales, directed by Alexis de Favitski and produced by Antoine Bamas.[78] The documentary covered investigations carried out on the tapestry by the Laboratoire d'Archéologie Moléculaire et Structurale (LAMS) at theFrench National Centre for Scientific Research, which used ahyperspectral camera, measuring 215 different colours, to analyse the pigments which produced the original colours for the dyes, extracted frommadder,weld andindigo.[77]
At the behest of series showrunnerRyan Condal, the opening credits of the second season of theGame of Thrones prequelHouse of the Dragon (2024) were redesigned with an animated sequence in embroidery that was inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry.[79]
^abThe exact number of scenes is not clearly defined; the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux states 58 scenes, although some interpretations regard the tapestry as being divided into 70 scenes.[3][4]
^Professor Christopher Norton is emeritus professor of History of Art at theUniversity of York in the Centre for Medieval Studies.[30]
^A comet was believed to be a bad omen at this time and Halley's comet would have first appeared in 1066 around 24 April, nearly four months after Harold's coronation.
^Possibly about Harold's victory in theBattle of Stamford Bridge, although the Tapestry does not specify this.
^Clerics were not supposed to shed blood, hence Odo has no sword. Rather than just praying for the Norman knights, however, which ought to have been his role, Odo seems militarily active.
^Caviness, Madeline H. (2001).Reframing Medieval Art: Difference, Margins, Boundaries. Medford, MA: Tufts University.;Koslin, Desirée (1990). "Turning Time in the Bayeux Embroidery".Textile & Text.13:28–29.;Bertrand, Simone (1966).La tapisserie de Bayeux. La Pierre-qui-Vire: Zodiaque. p. 23.et combien pauvre alors ce nom de broderie nous apparaît-il!
^Sylvette Lemagnen, Preface, p. 9;Musset, Lucien (1 November 2005) [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.ISBN978-1-84383-163-1.
^Saul, Nigel. "Bayeux Tapestry".A Companion to Medieval England. Stroud, UK: Tempus. pp. 32–33.ISBN0-7524-2969-8. But seeOED s.v. "tapestry": "A textile fabric decorated with designs of ornament or pictorial subjects, painted, embroidered, or woven in colours, used for wall hangings, curtains, covers for seats, ..."
^Fowke, Frank Rede.The Bayeux Tapestry – A History and Description, London: G. Bell & Sons, 1913.
^Sir Frank Stenton (ed) et al.,The Bayeux Tapestry. A comprehensive survey London: Phaidon, 1957 revised 1965.
^Beech, George:Was the Bayeux Tapestry Made in France?: The Case for St. Florent of Saumur. (The New Middle Ages), New York, Palgrave Macmillan 1995; reviewed in Robin Netherton and Gale R. Owen-Crocker, editors,Medieval Clothing and Textiles, Volume 2, Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK, and Rochester, New York, the Boydell Press, 2006,ISBN1-84383-203-8
^abBridgeford, Andrew,1066: The Hidden History in the Bayeux Tapestry, Walker & Company, 2005.ISBN1-84115-040-1
^abcdefghBertrand, Simone (1965) [1957]. "The History of the Tapestry". InStenton, Frank (ed.).The Bayeux Tapestry (revised ed.). London: Phaidon Press. pp. 88–97.
^For example, illustrations in the Bayeux Tapestry can be shown to have been copied from theOld English Hexateuch, formerly held in Canterbury, and Canterbury was Bishop Odo's English power-base.[citation needed]
^OED, "Tapestry", which goes on to mention "especially" those woven in a tapestry weave.
^Norton, Christopher (23 October 2019). "Viewing the Bayeux Tapestry, Now and Then".Journal of the British Archaeological Association.172 (1):52–89.doi:10.1080/00681288.2019.1642012.S2CID213198476.
^William of Poitiers:Gesta Willelmi ducis Normannorum et regis Anglorum,c. 1071.
^Wingfield Digby, George (1965). "Technique and Production". InStenton, Frank (ed.).The Bayeux Tapestry (2nd ed.). Phaidon Press. pp. 37–55 (37, 45–48).
^Foys, Martin (2009).Pulling the Arrow Out: The Legend of Harold's Death and the Bayeux Tapestry. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell and Brewer. pp. 158–75.ISBN978-1-84383-470-0.
^Mason, Emma (2004).The House of Godwine: the history of a dynasty. London: Hambledon and London.ISBN1852853891.
^Burt, Richard (July 2007). "Re-embroidering the Bayeux Tapestry in Film and Media: The Flip Side of History in Opening and End Title Sequences".Exemplaria.19 (2):327–350.doi:10.1179/175330707X212895.S2CID161901758.
^"SparkNote on Angels in America".SparkNotes. SparkNotes LLC. Retrieved30 October 2014.Louis's problem is exacerbated by his tendency towards abstraction and his unreasonably high standards for himself. In Scene Three, he tells Emily about La Reine Mathilde, who supposedly created the Bayeux Tapestry. Louis describes La Reine's unceasing devotion to William the Conqueror and laments his own comparative lack of devotion. But as critic Allen J. Frantzen has pointed out, this popular story about Mathilde and the tapestry is wrong—it was actually created in England decades after the conquest. Louis, then, is holding himself to a mythological standard of loyalty, and he curses himself based on a positively unreal example. This is part of a larger pattern of excessive guilt and harshness toward himself, which, paradoxically, prevents him from judging his own weaknesses accurately and trying to correct them. Because no one could possibly live up to Mathilde's example, Louis initially justifies his moral failure. Later, in Perestroika, he will arrive at a more genuine remorse and an honest understanding of what he has done.
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 NicolsonISBN0-297-78928-7
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 HouseISBN978-1-4000-6549-3
Bridgeford, Andrew (2005).1066 : the hidden history in the Bayeux Tapestry Walker & CompanyISBN978-0-8027-7742-3
Burt, Richard (2007). "Loose Threads: Weaving Around Women in the Bayeux Tapestry and Cinema", in Medieval Film, ed. Anke Bernau andBettina BildhauerManchester University Press
Burt, Richard (July 2007). "Re-embroidering the Bayeux Tapestry in Film and Media: The Flip Side of History in Opening and End Title Sequences".Exemplaria.19 (2):327–350.doi:10.1179/175330707X212895.S2CID161901758.
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, Miles Warren (1984). "Aelfgyva : The Mysterious Lady of the Bayeux Tapestry".Annales de Normandie.34 (2):127–145.doi:10.3406/annor.1984.5553.
Foys, Martin K., Overbey, Karen Eileen Overbey and Terkla, Dan (eds.) (2009)The Bayeux Tapestry: New Interpretations, Boydell and BrewerISBN978-1783271245.
Gibbs-Smith, C. H. (1973).The Bayeux Tapestry London; New York, Phaidon; Praeger
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.ISBN978-1-904623-37-3
Pastan, Elizabeth Carson, and Stephen White, with Kate Gilbert (2014).The Bayeux Tapestry and its Contexts: A Reassessment. Boydell PressISBN978-1-84383-941-5.
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 & HudsonISBN978-0-500-25122-5,0-394-54793-4 (1985 ed.). LC NK3049.
Wissolik, Richard David (1982). "Duke William's Messengers: An 'Insoluble, Reverse-Order' Scene of the Bayeux Tapestry".Medium Ævum.51 (1):102–107.doi:10.2307/43632127.JSTOR43632127.ProQuest1293416903.
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.
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