Bayeux Tapestry (c1080). The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres long and 50 centimetres tall. It depicts the events leading up to and including the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Key characters include William, Duke of Normandy, who is shown planning and leading the invasion; Harold Godwinson, who becomes King of England after Edward the Confessor’s death but is later defeated by William at the Battle of Hastings; and Edward the Confessor, the previous king whose death leads to a succession crisis. The scenes show Harold swearing an oath to William, later breaking it by claiming the English throne, and the eventual battle where Harold is killed. The Tapestry is a visual narrative of political rivalry, betrayal, and the military conquest that changed England’s history. The tapestry is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years after the battle. It tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans, but is now agreed to have been made in England. 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. The cloth consists of some seventy scenes, many with Latin tituli, embroidered on linen with coloured woollen yarns. It is likely that it was commissioned by Bishop Odo, William's half-brother, and made in England, not Bayeux, in the 1070s. 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 Musee de la Tapisserie de Bayeux in Bayeux, Normandy, France The designs on the Bayeux Tapestry are embroidered rather than woven, so that it is not technically a tapestry. 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 secular Romanesque art. Tapestries adorned both churches and wealthy houses in Medieval Western Europe, though at 0.5 by 68.38 metres the Bayeux Tapestry is exceptionally large. Only the figures and decoration are embroidered, on a background left plain, which shows the subject very clearly and was necessary to cover large areas. The earliest known written reference to the tapestry is a 1476 inventory of Bayeux Cathedral, but its origins have been the subject of much speculation and controversy. French legend maintained the tapestry was commissioned and created by Queen Matilda, William the Conqueror's wife, and her ladies-in-waiting. Indeed, in France, it is occasionally known as La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde. However, scholarly analysis in the 20th century concluded it was probably commissioned by William's half-brother, Bishop Odo, who, after the Conquest, became Earl of Kent and, when William was absent in Normandy, regent of England.
more...