A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting Bishop Odo rallying Duke William's army during the Battle of Hastings in 1066
The Bayeux Tapestry (UK: /baɪˈjɜː,beɪ-/, US: /ˈbeɪjuː,ˈbaɪ-/; French: Tapisserie de Bayeux[tapisʁidəbajø] or La telle du conquest; Latin: Tapete Baiocense) is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres (230 feet) long and 50 centimetres (20 inches) tall[1] that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William, Duke of Normandy challenging Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings. It is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years of the battle. Now widely accepted to have been made in England perhaps as a gift for William, it tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans and for centuries has been preserved in Normandy.
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.[2]
The cloth consists of 58 scenes,[note 1] many with Latin tituli, embroidered on linen with coloured woollen yarns. It is likely that it was commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William's maternal half-brother, and made for him in England 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 Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux in Bayeux, Normandy, France (49°16′28″N0°42′01″W / 49.2744°N 0.7003°W / 49.2744; -0.7003).
The designs on the Bayeux Tapestry are embroidered rather than in a tapestry weave, so it does not meet narrower definitions of a tapestry.[5] 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 m (1 ft 8 in by 224 ft 4 in), 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.
^Caviness, Madeline H. (2001). Reframing Medieval Art: Difference, Margins, Boundaries. Medford, MA: Tufts University.; Koslin, Desirée (1990). "Turning Time in the Bayeux Embroidery". Textile & Text. 13: 28–29.; Bertrand, Simone (1966). La tapisserie de Bayeux. La Pierre-qui-Vire: Zodiaque. p. 23. et combien pauvre alors ce nom de broderie nous apparaît-il!
^Sylvette Lemagnen, Preface, p. 9; Musset, Lucien (1 November 2005) [1989]. La Tapisserie de Bayeux: œuvre d'art et document historique [The Bayeux Tapestry] (annotated edition). Translated by Rex, Richard (First ed.). Woodbridge, United Kingdom: Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 272. ISBN 978-1-84383-163-1.
^"Explore the Bayeux Tapestry online". Bayeux Museum. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
^Freeman, Henry (21 March 2016). The Middle Ages: A History From Beginning to End. Hourly History. ISBN 978-1-5303-7624-7.
^Saul, Nigel. "Bayeux Tapestry". A Companion to Medieval England. Stroud, UK: Tempus. pp. 32–33. ISBN 0-7524-2969-8, but see OED "Tapestry": "A textile fabric decorated with designs of ornament or pictorial subjects, painted, embroidered, or woven in colours, used for wall hangings, curtains, covers for seats, ..." before mentioning "especially" those woven in a tapestry weave.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
The BayeuxTapestry (UK: /baɪˈjɜː, beɪ-/, US: /ˈbeɪjuː, ˈbaɪ-/; French: Tapisserie de Bayeux [tapisʁi də bajø] or La telle du conquest; Latin: Tapete Baiocense)...
The BayeuxTapestry tituli are Medieval Latin captions that are embroidered on the BayeuxTapestry and describe scenes portrayed on the tapestry. These...
in places like the centre of Bayeux, higher surface speeds are generated. In the centre of Bayeux near the BayeuxTapestry Museum, pH levels were measured...
defrauding the William's government. It is likely Odo commissioned the BayeuxTapestry a large tableau of the Norman Conquest, perhaps to present to his brother...
Authority and Interpretation of the BayeuxTapestry". In Gameson, Richard (ed.). The Study of the BayeuxTapestry. Boydell and Brewer. pp. 63–92. ISBN 0-8511-5664-9...
loosely called "tapestry", as with the famous BayeuxTapestry, which is in fact embroidered. From the Middle Ages on European tapestries could be very large...
Bayeux Cathedral, also known as Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayeux (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux), is a Roman Catholic church located in the town...
duke. The BayeuxTapestry has been claimed to show Harold's death by an arrow to the eye, but that may be a later reworking of the tapestry to conform...
Turold is one of the tituli on the Bayeuxtapestry. Which of two figure is being identified is uncertain, as is the identification of the namesake with...
The Mora is depicted on the BayeuxTapestry with a lion figurehead. The comet's appearance was depicted on the BayeuxTapestry, where it is connected with...
monastery, in about 1110 and continued it until his death in 1142. The BayeuxTapestry, an annotated pictorial representation of the Norman Conquest. It was...
continue on in a sequential manner. The 'BayeuxTapestry' (a misnomer as it is really an embroidery not a tapestry) tells the story of the Norman invasion...
Retrieved February 2, 2017 – via RMG.co.uk. Grape, Wolfgang (1994). The BayeuxTapestry: Monument to a Norman Triumph. Art and Design Series. Munich, DEU:...
reverse. It is one of the predominant weapons depicted on the BayeuxTapestry, a period tapestry depicting the events of the Norman Conquest of England in...
workshop where both painted vases. A scene from the BayeuxTapestry depicting Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, rallying Duke William's troops during the Battle of...
the Leek Embroidery Society and produced a full-scale replica of the BayeuxTapestry. Elizabeth Wardle was born to Hugh Wardle, a chemist and druggist,...
duke. The BayeuxTapestry has been claimed to show Harold's death by an arrow to the eye, but this may be a later reworking of the tapestry to conform...
"The Identity of the Designer of the BayeuxTapestry". Anglo-Norman Studies. 35. "Designer of the BayeuxTapestry identified". Medievalists.net. 30 October...
interest in the 900-year-old BayeuxTapestry. In June 1941, its staff oversaw the transport of the tapestry from its home in Bayeux Cathedral to an abbey at...
excavations of Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester Roman Town), a copy of the BayeuxTapestry, finds relating to Reading Abbey and an art collection. Reading Town...
than a small stiff pouch that only covers the first few inches. The BayeuxTapestry shows that most bowmen in medieval Europe used belt quivers. Back quivers...
Since the most prominent examples of this shield have appeared on the BayeuxTapestry, the kite shield has become closely associated with Norman warfare...
Peru are dated to the first century BCE. Stem stitch is used in the BayeuxTapestry, an embroidered cloth probably dating to the later 1070s, for lettering...
Bayeuxtapestry, standards are shown which appear to potentially be raven banners (although one is small and not given a motif). The Bayeuxtapestry was...
often regarded as the modern "discovery" of the BayeuxTapestry, which had been displayed annually in Bayeux Cathedral, perhaps for centuries, without attracting...
Global Information