Normandy - Bayeux Tapestry

We were the last in the door this evening to see the famous Bayeux tapestry, a 224-foot long and 20-inch wide embroidered story of how Duke William of Normandy became William the Conqueror of England. Commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William's half brother, the tapestry was completed nearly a thousand years ago. I had viewed pictures of the tapestry, even watched a narrated video walking an audience through the 58 panels. But it in no way compared to the actual tapestry. (But a second best is the museum's online version.)

In person, I could see every stitch and the dimensionality of this unique work. Started in 1066 or 1067, the figures are cartoonish and there is no depth perception or proportionality. Instead, buildings are reduced to the size of humans, water is several wavy lines and trees have an abstract Dr. Seuss quality. None of that diminishes the delight of this historic work.

To see the tapestry, you are issued an audio device that cannot be rewound. All you can do is turn the volume up and down. Then you step into the darkened "Harold Room" containing the tapestry and start walking. Each section, which was numbered in the tapestry backing in approximately 1800, is narrated by a British gentleman with a cheeky take on the action. He is not so cheeky as to mention the ribald sections of the tapestry which appear on the borders, such as the squatting naked man with prominent genitals or the aroused naked man lunging at a naked woman. (See separate article all about this.) If my Michelin guide is correct, and the stitchers were Saxons who had just been conquered, the ribaldry might have been a subtle dig at the new Norman king.

The main story points are this: King Edward of England has no immediate heirs and is getting old and decrepit. He tells his brother-in-law Harold to go to Normandy and tell his nephew, William, Duke of Normandy, that the crown will transfer to William. Harold dutifully departs across the English Channel. Eventually (after a kidnapping), he finds his way to William and swears on a stack of relics that William will be king of England after Edward passes. BUT, he goes back to England and when Edward shortly dies, he reneges on his promise and crowns himself King of England. William gets wind of this, is understandably incensed, and after several months of boat building and weapons construction (spears, crossbows, shields, mail, etc.) and the blessing of the pope, he and his soldiers sail to England. On October 14, 1066 they proceed to slaughter the English at Hastings, and Harold, legend says, takes an arrow to the eye. Now William becomes William the Conquerer, King of England, until his death in 1087. It is not until 1944, eight centuries later, in a reverse move, that the English invade Normandy. But that's another post. Note: All pictures are from the museum itself; visitors were not allowed to take photos.