The entrance to the Bayeux Tapestry Museum. No photos were allowed inside.
The Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of the Battle of Hastings between self-proclaimed King Harold and the Duke of Normandy, William, (later known as William the Conqueror) as well as the events leading up to the battle. The tapestry starts out with King Edward (also known as Edward the Confessor), who is childless, sending out Harold to fetch William and tell him that he is the heir to the throne. Harold obeys his king and sets out across the English Channel but is soon shipwrecked in a land that is not Normandy, his destination. Harold and his fleet are taken captive by the local ruler and negotiations for Harold’s ransom begin. William is informed of Harold’s misadventures and demands his release. William takes Harold to his palace in Normandy where is well received and is even invited by William to join him in battle against the Duke of Brittany. During this battle Harold saves two of William’s Norman men and is knighted for his courage. William then requires Harold to swear an oath of allegiance to him as the future king of England and Harold obeys. After this Harold returns to England to a dying King Edward.
After King Edward’s death Harold breaks his oath to William and declares himself the king of England. Initially the people rejoice but after the sighting of Haley’s comet they begin to worry that sea invasion is approaching. William receives the news that Harold has appointed himself king against the wishes of King Edward, so after conferring with his half-brother William decides to build a fleet to cross the Channel and invade England. He orders master shipbuilders and craftsmen to build a fleet of ships. Once the fleet is prepared the men leave Normandy with light hearts for England. They land in Pevensey, disembark and quickly build a fortified town. In scene 47 of the tapestry a house is being burned down by a Norman soldier as a woman and child flee. The woman and child represent the refugees that fled the pillaging, invading Normans.
The Battle of Hastings finally begins on October 14, 1066. It is vividly portrayed through the use of color and borders. During the early scenes of the battle Norman archers can be seen. Along the bottom border during the battle the dead can be seen, as more and more men lose their lives before the end of the battle. The Battle of Hastings ends with the death of King Harold, likely from an arrow.
Bayeux Cathedral where the tapestry was originally hung
The Bayeux Tapestry was commissioned after the war as a piece of Pro-Norman propaganda. The tapestry tells the story of the defeat of the Anglo king, Harold, and the victory of the Duke of Normandy, William, through pictures, so it can reach a broad audience including the common people, many of whom at the time of the battle could not read. It was hung in the nave of the Bayeux Cathedral until the French Revolution when Emperor Napoleon moved it to the Musée Napoleon (later called the Louvre) in Paris. It was later brought back to Bayeux where it remained until World War II. During World War II the Nazis took the tapestry and it was briefly lost after the war and assumed to be in German hands, but it was soon found intact in the basement of the Louvre.
The Bayeux Tapestry isn’t actually a tapestry, but actually a long work of embroidery. Colored wool thread was embroidered onto a linen cloth using four different stitches: the stem stitch, chain stitch, split stitch and Bayeux stitch.