Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry is a centuries-old embroidered wall hanging that is housed in Bayeux, Normandy, France. Its images depict the Norman conquest of England and provide insight into events that took place. Some of what is on the tapestry is not recorded anywhere else. The work was displayed at the Cathedral of Bayeux every year for the Feast Day of the Relics in July beginning in at least the fifteenth century.

The piece is both a historical document and a work of art. Despite its name, it is not a true tapestry, because the images were not woven into the cloth. Instead, the craftspeople embroidered the images into the linen fabric using woolen yarn colored with vegetable dyes. The Bayeux Tapestry has nine panels, each about 20 inches tall and of varied widths. The full tapestry, at about 224 feet long, is the longest work of embroidery in the world.

Background

Britain faced numerous threats in 1066 C.E. When Edward the Confessor died without an heir, the brother of his wife claimed the throne. Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, was wealthy and powerful. The earl was faced with a challenge for the throne from William, Duke of Normandy—the illegitimate son of Edward's father-in-law—and from the king of Norway, Harald Hardrada. The Norwegians invaded, but Harold triumphed in September of 1066. He fared poorly at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, however, where he was defeated and killed. William gained the throne and was from then on known as William the Conqueror.

William had a younger half brother, Odo, whom he named Bishop of Bayeux in 1049 when Odo was probably about fourteen years old. Odo helped William during the Norman invasion of England. William rewarded Odo by creating a new earldom, Kent, along the coastline and naming his half brother Earl of Kent. The strategic location of Odo's power base was intended to protect Britain from attack by sea. Odo quickly became extremely wealthy—largely because he seized lands and wealth—and was widely despised. The first major revolt under the Normans took place in Odo's holdings in 1067.

Odo is believed to have commissioned the Bayeux Tapestry after William's military success at Hastings. Odo appears in scenes on the tapestry counseling William and riding into battle. The commission was probably made during the 1070s. The tapestry may have been embroidered in Kent, England, but its origins are unclear. It first appears in a 1476 inventory of holdings in the Bayeux Cathedral treasury.

Each panel consists of a central band, about 13 inches high, and top and bottom borders of about 2.75 inches. The embroidered linen panels were mounted on a backing cloth, which was used to hang the tapestry in the Bayeux Cathedral. During the late eighteenth century, embroiderers added numbers for the scenes to the backing cloth, and a lining was added in 1724. Further work took place after 1860: yarn tinted with synthetic dyes was used to repair embroidery, patches were added in 518 places, and the fabric was reinforced through darning in 120 places.

Overview

Much of what British citizens know about the Norman invasion comes from the Bayeux Tapestry. As one example, Harold's death at Hastings is included on the tapestry, but the inscription makes it difficult to determine which warrior depicted is Harold—it could be the man with an arrow through his eye, or another being slain by a swordsman. No accounts describe his death, yet many British people believe he was killed by an arrow through the eye. Harold's death and the retreat of his troops is the final scene, but historians believe a missing piece showing King William's coronation was once the concluding scene.

Events depicted on the tapestry include Harold's trip to Normandy, where he was shipwrecked and rescued by William of Normandy; Harold's oath of loyalty to William; his return to England; and his coronation after King Edward's death. The work also presents William's preparations for conquest, journey across the English Channel, and the Battle of Hastings. The main historical accounts of these events were written by two monks—William of Jumièges and Orderic Vitalis—and William of Poitiers, a knight of the Duke of Normandy who later became a chaplain. Other records of the time include writings by other monks for The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which is more of a calendar of life. While the tapestry account is for the most part in agreement with the written histories, the images provide information about architecture, navigation, weapons, and daily life at the time.

Because it was apparently commissioned by Odo, historians question the accuracy of some of what is displayed. From the Norman perspective, Harold was dishonest, having sworn to help William gain the crown before taking it himself. Harold's alleged promise is only mentioned in one historical account, written by a Norman ten years after the conquest. Some panels of the tapestry show the king listening intently to his half brother, and Odo himself is shown triumphantly riding into battle. It is possible Odo's influence and courage were far less than shown. Odo and William, as the victors, had a much different perspective of the invasion than ordinary people and English nobility would have had.

The tapestry probably remained at Bayeux Cathedral on display for about seven centuries. It was threatened during the French Revolution, when it was almost put to utilitarian use as a tarpaulin to protect ammunition. In 1818, an English draughtsman catalogued the work, down to a complete inventory of every pinhole. A restoration of the tapestry then began, and it was completed in 1842. Later in the nineteenth century, English enthusiasts made a replica to enable England to have its own copy of the historical account.

The panels were displayed under glass until 1870, when the Franco-Prussian War threatened it, and it was hidden during World War II when the Nazis invaded France to keep it out of German hands.

Clues to the creation of the tapestry panels have been found over the years. The back of the work shows both neat and orderly stitching and haphazard threading, indicating multiple people worked on each section. A scientific study that began in 1982 found that three vegetable dyes were used to make the original ten shades of yarn. Madder created the reds, dyer's rocket made yellow, and indigo dye was used for blues and greens. The embroiderers used stem stitch for inscriptions (which are in Latin) and lined patterns, the couching stitch to fill in areas, the chain stitch, and split stitch.

Bibliography

Bridgeford, Andrew. 1066: The Hidden History in the Bayeux Tapestry. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2004.

"Britain's Bayeux Tapestry at Reading Museum." Reading Borough Council, www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2016.

Chapple, Ben. "Bayeux Tapestry: The Islanders Who Finished the Final Scenes." BBC, 1 July 2014, www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-28018096. Accessed 17 Oct. 2016.

Clermont-Ferrand, Meredith. Anglo-Saxon Propaganda in the Bayeux Tapestry. E. Mellen Press, 2004.

"An Embroidery." Bayeux Museum, www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/une‗uvre‗textile‗en.html. Accessed 17 Oct. 2016.

"A Historical Document." Bayeux Museum, www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/un‗document‗historique‗en.html. Accessed 17 Oct. 2016.

"History of the Masterpiece (11th – 21st Century)." Bayeux Museum, www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/l‗histoire‗de‗l‗uvre‗en.html. Accessed 17 Oct. 2016.

Lewis, Michael J. The Real World of the Bayeux Tapestry. History Press, 2008.

MacLeod, Dave. "The Bayeux Tapestry: Unpicking the Past." BBC, 17 Feb. 2011, www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/bayeux‗tapestry‗gallery.shtml. Accessed 17 Oct. 2016.

"Normans." BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2016.

"Odo Bishop of Bayeaux Was the Tyrannical Earl of Kent." BBC, 3 June 2010, news.bbc.co.uk/local/kent/hi/people‗and‗places/history/newsid‗8720000/8720806.stm. Accessed 17 Oct. 2016.