Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry is a treasure that is in Bayeux, France that tells the story of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. During the private Normandy tours that A Paris Travel can arrange, clients can visit the Tapestry during the day of touring.

Bayeux Tapestry Vital Statistics

• What: The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth measuring 1.6 feet by 224.3 feet. The writing on the Tapestry is in Latin. Since a true tapestry has the design woven into the cloth, the Bayeux Tapestry is, in fact, an embroidery.
• Why:  The Tapestry recounts the events of William the Conqueror’s Norman Conquest of 1066 and it is believed that it was commissioned by William’s half brother, Bishop Odo who also built the Bayeux Cathedral. This would explain why the Tapestry recounts the events from a Norman viewpoint.
• Where: The Bayeux Tapestry is located in a museum called the Musée de la Tapisserie in the town of Bayeux. This town is in Normandy, France.
• When: The earliest records referring to the Tapestry are in 1476.
• Who: The Bayeux tapestry tells the story of the Norman conquest of England. The enemies in the Tapestry are the Anglo-Saxon English, led by Harold Godwinson, recently crowned as King of England, and the Normans, led by William the Conqueror.
• How: It is believed that it was made by skilled seamstresses in Britain though some argue that it was made in France. The Bayeux tapestry is embroidered in wool yarn on a linen using two methods of stitching: 1. outline or stem stitch for the Latin lettering and the outlines of figures and 2. couching or laid work for filling in figures. The linen is assembled in panels and has been patched in numerous places. The colors of the yarn in the Bayeux Tapestry are terracotta or russet, blue-green, dull gold, olive green, and blue.  There are small amounts of dark blue or black and sage green. Repairs are worked into it in light yellow, orange, and light greens. Laid yarns are couched in place with yarn of the same or contrasting colour.

Click here to see a You Tube depiction of the Bayeux Tapestry.

Click here to read descriptions of each panel of the Bayeux Tapestry on a website describing a replica of the Tapestry called Britain’s Bayeux Tapestry.

Source: Wikipedia “Bayeux Tapestry”