Having recently watched the programme "The Seven Ages of Britain" presented by David Dimbleby I was interested in his report about the Bayeux Tapestry.
It is one of the greatest historical records of the Middle Ages in Britain and it is now in a specially built tourist centre in Bayeux in France. It is one of the best sources of information on early Norman dress, armour, castle-building, boat building, hunting and other aspects of daily life.
It tells the story of William the Conqueror's invasion of England through pictorial panels. It is, however, not in fact a tapestry but an embroidery. It uses coloured wool on 8 long strips of bleached linen which have been stitched together to form a continuous panel about 20 inches high and 230 feet long.
One of the most famous scenes in the Bayeux Tapestry purports to show the death of Harold at the Battle of Hastings and that he died from an arrow in the eye. Historians now believe that this may be one of his knights. Contemporary Norman accounts say only that Harold fell in battle, so we do not actually know if the "arrow in the eye" story is true.
Although the story is told from a Norman point of view, the style of the needlework indicates that the tapestry was actually made in England.
The tapestry was the victim of a well-meaning restoration attempt in the last century, which resulted in modern stitching filling in the gaps in the fabric. These may not be accurate. Despite this, the Bayeux Tapestry remains one of the true treasures of the Norman period in English history.
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