The Bayeux Tapestry – behind a cut to be kind to those with slow connections as there are pictures.
First of all – tapestry is a misnomer. This is actually a massive piece of embroidery, 230 feet long and about 2 feet wide, in brightly coloured wools on linen. Top and bottom are strips of decorative stitching with trees foliage flowers and tiny figures, some of which are human. the wide strip in the middle tells the story of how and why the throne of England was taken by Duke William of the Normans, William the Conqueror. It is thought that it was commissioned by his brother, Odo bishop of Bayeux, its completion to coincide with the dedication of the new cathedral there. Although it celebrated a Norman victory it was probably made in England. At that period the English embroiderers were renowned as the best in Europe and there was a trade in luxury goods embroidered in the south of England
As a piece of history it must be remembered that the tapestry was commissioned by the winners, so some of the details are in contention. William claimed that Edward, the king of England promised him the throne after his death, that Harold Godwinson promised to support him then took the throne for himself, so his invasion was merely recovering his rightful property. What the English felt about it is not known. No records survive
The Latin caption reads “Here Duke William with Harold goes hunting” Image from Wikimedia
But whether you accept Williams story or put it down to a bit of Viking free-booting the ‘tapestry’ is still an absolute treasure trove of detail about every day life. For instance, in the picture above we can see that the Normans ‘rode long’ with stirrups and if their feet are that close to the ground it’s likely their horses, all stallions, weren’t very tall. Their saddles had girths, breast bands, high cantles and pommels, not unlike Western saddles. The Normans were clean shaven with short hair. Harold, in common with most Saxons on the tapestry, wears a long moustache. They have v-necked long sleeved tunics over another garment, trousers cross-gartered below the knee tucked into socks worn with low shoes. William is wearing a one shouldered cloak and appears to be carrying a duck – but it may be a hawk.
In the top image “Here meat is cooked and served” Bottom image “Here the Bishop blesses the food and drink”
Image from National Archives.
Here is a more domestic scene with a wealth of detail about the production and service of a feast. I particularly like the individually spitted chicken and th page kneeling with the cloth over his arm. It’s interesting to note that the high ups have a circular tble but the soldiers who are recieving the chickens are dining off makeshift tables constructed from their shields. This suggests to me that Norman shields may have been quite flat. I like to think that the man in red is telling the one blowing the horn to shut up so the Bishop can say grace.
Click this link to see a superb animation, with suitable sound effects, of the last half of the tapestry. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Elin Gregory 
Stunning post, Elin. I love the animated tapestry. I particularly like the Istimirant Stella floating across the top of the screen. Marvellous!! Thank you for a very informative piece. 😘
I must agree, the bird looks like a duck. But most probably it is a hawk, lol.
In any case, it’s an amazing piece of art and history.
I love William hunting with his duck. There do seem to be a lot of ducks on the upper part of the tapestry too, although the birds at 3.25 minutes on the animation may be quarrelling dodos. Also, at around 3.00 minutes there appears to be a pair of llamas in the top row. 😉
I shouldn’t mock…
Speaking of actual tapestry, as opposed to embroidery, I don’t suppose you have any links regarding where the Burgundians imported their wool from? I’m hoping ‘Margaret of York’ may offer some help when I find time to read the book, but as always I’m researching in a rush.
England! There’s a good reason the Lord Chancellor sits on the Woolsack! 🙂 We had by far the best wool but the Burgundians had the best dyers.
That’ll teach me to be specific with my questions. Shal email you the details, if that’s okay.
Feel free.
Brain-storming email sent.
Thank you!
You’re definitely upping my intellectual level with your posts. Thank God it was kept safe because historians (like you) can tell us so much about the time just by studying it. I’d have missed the bit about the high-ups and their circular table. The animation is very well done, although I thought the tree-cutters were playing golf (ahem – told you I needed some intellectual stimulation)
I had the good fortune to see the tapestry in person in 1987. I came home with a miniature replica in a fold-out book, and used it as a frieze in my college dorm room (which didn’t do it any good at all).
Did you know that there’s only one instance on the whole tapestry of a Saxon hitting a Norman rather than the other way around? When I was in the SCA, a merchant sold T-shirts featuring that instance (the Saxon’s clocking the Norman over the head with an axe) and the words (in the tapestry style of course) “Not Enough Saxon Violence”.
I used to hate history in school. But between reading historical novels and admiring pieces like this, history becomes alive and real.
I have never made tapestry, but I have done large embroidery projects. The sheer massiveness of this piece is just incredible to me, even before I notice anything else about it. I am over from the A to Z Challenge #819 and I am so glad I got a chance to stop by. I will be back again!
I love how we can learn so much of our history from the artwork. Not just the story of how William the Conqueror took the throne but also every day life of that time. This is an amazing piece of work. Thanks for stopping by my blog yesterday. I look forward to reading more of your posts.
How cool! It’s really astonishing to see the artwork and architecture done so many years ago…they were far more patient than we are today!
Great post – I love a slice of history, and that tapestry is fantastic.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the tapestry twice, once on a school trip back in the early 80s and then again on a family holiday. A very impressive piece considering its age.