THE BAYEUX
TAPESTRY
By Costa Virtanen
The Bayeux Tapestry
Background to the tapestry.
Who made the tapestry? When? Why?
he Bayeux Tapestry was one of the most of important illustrated pieces of
work in history; there was a romantic story behind the tapestry that the
wife of King William the Conquer, that she and the help of her ladies made
it in the honour of her husband. However this wasn’t the truth. The
historical event was sketched and designed by the Normans or victors.
After the design was completed it was sent off to England to make the
creation come to life. The sewing was hand crafted by the talented nuns of
England. Using stitching techniques typical of the era. The work commenced two years
after the battle. There where eight different coloured wools used to make the tapestry,
they where, dark blue, blue-green, grey-blue, light green, dark green, tan, buff and
yellow.
The Bayeux Tapestry was started in 1068 and finished in 1077. The mysterious
tapestry was unveiled at the dedication of Odo’s cathedral July 14th 1077. Over the
years this piece of artwork has been viewed by millions of people worldwide. However
some people believe parts of the tapestries meaning is still to be interpreted.
They made the tapestry to show the story of the last successful invasion of England and
the personification of William the Conquer and the Normans. There are many different
interpretations of the Bayeux tapestry; many people believe that it is biased because the
Normans as victors depicted them selves as superiors, which doesn’t show the full story.
According to the tapestry, King Harold committed perjury, which then shows him dying
later on in the event with an arrow through his eye, or was it him falling to the ground
with a sword through his intestines. Many people have different views of this theory.
The Bayeux
Tapestry
The tapestry is lit at a
low illuminated light
to keep the material
and wool preserved.
It is currently in the
Bayeux Museum,
Normandy.
What kind of evidence is the tapestry?
In what ways is the tapestry primary evidence?
In what ways is the tapestry secondary evidence?
The Bayeux Tapestry is primary evidence because we can physically see it and touch it.
It also shows us what coloured wools they used, what resources they had, how they
stitched it and most importantly it was a defining moment of history. You can see that
the nuns who worked on it put a lot of effort into the tapestry. It took them ten years of
construction.
The Bayeux Tapestry
A photo of the Bayeux Tapestry,
this photo has been retouched to
enhance the colour of the wool.
This shows how rich and colourful
the wool was when it was actually
made.
How ever the Bayeux Tapestry is also secondary evidence because the Normans wrote
the information. This was two years after the war, hence this gave their version of the
events that took place. No one knows what the correct version of the death as to how
King Harold died. Underneath the Latin text that tells the viewers that King Harold has
died, originally people thought he died from committing perjury which shows him with
an arrow through his eye. This lead people to think that he committed perjury, this was
his punishment. As it transpired people started to believe that a Norman skewered his
intestines rather than being shot by an arrow. However there is no conclusive answer to
this mystery.
First possible cause of death.
Explain the theory and outline the evidence that supports the theory.
King Harold swore on the bones of a holy saint promising to always be faithful to
William the Conquer. It soon became about him crowing himself king behind Williams
back. This did not please William knowing that King Harold betrayed him. This then
caused the Battle of Hastings. William wasn’t going to give up the thorn of England that
easily, he wanted a war… In one part of the tapestry it shows the death of King Harold,
Harold is seen with an arrow through his eye. People believed that this was the cause of
his death. It was later soon to believe that this was his punishment of committing
perjury. This was the first possible cause of King Harold’s death.
Second possible cause of death.
Explain the theory and outline the evidence that supports the theory.
Theories changed and later on started to believe that this wasn’t King Harold who died.
The man with an arrow through his eye looked like he was still alive. It was believed
that he didn’t look like he was dyeing. People started to notice another person next to
King Harold. The conspiracies transpired to believe that he died with a sword stabbed
right through his intestines. More and more people believed that it was actually King
Harold. According to the Normans they wanted to really state that he was dead, hence
this got rid of any theories that King Harold survived and he may of ran off and
attempting to put one of his people in power. The Normans wanted him dead, this now a
second possible cause of death.
Conclusion
How do you think King Harold died?
The Bayeux Tapestry portrays Harold as dying by a sword in his stomach. Supporting
this theory is that he has an axe and does not have anything to represent that he is a
Norman. It states that he is a Saxon; you can notice as well that his armour is more
extravagant and colourful than any other warrior around him. This suggests that this
man who is King. The purpose of this tapestry was whether you could read or not was to
show that the Normans had a right to invade. It was propaganda. It makes the viewer
face the fact that Harold had no chance of living. This would have encouraged the Saxons
to accept Norman rule – the purpose of the tapestry. It could have been Harold having
an arrow through his eye but it doesn’t show him dead, it could lead to many theories
about a potential rebellion with Harold as a leader if the Saxons had a reasonable hope
that he was alive. However, the Normans wanted the Saxons to face the fact that King
Harold was dead and William was king. The Normans were the victors. They wrote the
history.
By Costa Virtanen 8A
Bibliography:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Clare, J.D. 1997 the Middle Ages, Nelson
HTTP://WWW.MIDDLE-AGES.ORG.UK/BAYEUX-TAPESTRY.HTM
MANY THANKS TO MS BILLET!
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