Bayeux Tapestry
News •
-
What is the Bayeux Tapestry?
The Bayeux Tapestry is not a true tapestry but rather an embroidered linen band from the Middle Ages. It measures approximately 224 feet long and 20 inches wide and depicts over 70 scenes with Latin inscriptions detailing the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The narrative focuses on the events leading up to and including the Battle of Hastings. This work is significant both as a piece of art and as a historical source for 11th-century events. While traditionally attributed to Queen Matilda, evidence suggests it may have been commissioned by Odo, bishop of Bayeux, and created by English craftspeople around 1092.
5 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Who created the Bayeux Tapestry and when was it made?
The creator of the Bayeux Tapestry is not definitively known, but it is believed to have been commissioned by Odo, bishop of Bayeux, William the Conqueror's half-brother. The tapestry, which depicts the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, was likely created by nuns from Barking Abbey in Canterbury, England, around 1092. Despite its name, the Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered linen hanging, not a woven tapestry. It measures 224 feet long and approximately 20 inches wide.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What story does the Bayeux Tapestry tell?
The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered linen band that narrates the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It depicts over 70 scenes, with Latin inscriptions, detailing the conflict between Harold Godwinson and William, duke of Normandy. The narrative begins with King Edward the Confessor's request for Harold to acknowledge William as heir, Harold's subsequent coronation, and William's challenge for the throne, culminating in the Battle of Hastings and the English forces' flight. The tapestry is a significant artistic work and a valuable historical source for 11th-century history.
4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How was the Bayeux Tapestry made and what materials were used?
The Bayeux Tapestry is not a true tapestry but an embroidered piece of linen. It was created using worsted wool threads in ten different colors. The needlework likely involved nuns from Barking Abbey in Canterbury, who would have stretched the linen on a frame and used stem stitch and couching to create the figures and lettering. While it was once believed to be the work of Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, evidence suggests it may have been commissioned by Odo, bishop of Bayeux. The tapestry measures approximately 224 feet long and 20 inches wide.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What important historical events are shown in the Bayeux Tapestry?
The Bayeux Tapestry, an embroidered linen band from the Middle Ages, vividly depicts the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It illustrates key events leading up to and including the pivotal Battle of Hastings. The narrative begins with King Edward the Confessor's decree regarding his cousin William, Duke of Normandy, as heir, and Harold Godwinson's subsequent coronation as king, which William challenged. The tapestry concludes with the English forces fleeing the Battle of Hastings, though it may have originally continued to William's coronation.
5 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why is the Bayeux Tapestry considered important for medieval history and art?
The Bayeux Tapestry is crucial for medieval history and art because it provides a detailed visual narrative of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, including the pivotal Battle of Hastings. Despite its name, it is an embroidered linen band, not a woven tapestry, measuring 224 feet long and made with wool thread in 10 colors.
This artwork is significant as it offers invaluable insights into 11th-century history, military equipment, tactics, and daily life. Its narrative style and detailed scenes make it a unique artistic achievement and a primary source for understanding this pivotal period in medieval history.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Bayeux Tapestry, band of embroidered linen from the Middle Ages depicting more than 70 scenes with Latin inscriptions (tituli) of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The tapestry is remarkable as a work of art and important as a source for 11th-century history.
Description
The Bayeux Tapestry, despite its name, is not really a tapestry. A tapestry is a woven decorative fabric, the design of which is built up in the course of weaving. The design of the Bayeux Tapestry is instead embroidered onto an already woven fabric using worsted wool thread of 10 colors. It measures 224 feet (68.3 meters) long and approximately 20 inches (50 centimeters) wide.
The narrative
The middle band of the tapestry depicts the pivotal Battle of Hastings and the events that led up to the conflict. The narrative begins in 1064, when Edward the Confessor, king of England, bids his brother-in-law Harold Godwinson to sail to Normandy. There Harold confirms Edwardâs recognition of his cousin William, duke of Normandy, as the heir to the English throne. After Edwardâs death in January 1066, however, Harold is crowned king, and William challenges him for the title.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
The tapestry ends with the flight of Haroldâs English forces from Hastings in October 1066. Originally, the story may have continued further, possibly to Williamâs coronation on Christmas Day in 1066, but the end of the strip has perished. Along the top and the bottom of the linen are decorative borders with figures and animals, representing episodes from the fables of Aesop and Phaedrus; scenes from husbandry and hunting; and, occasionally, scenes related to the main pictorial narrative.
History of the tapestry
The first reference of the Bayeux Tapestry is from 1476, when it was listed in the inventory of the cathedral in Bayeux, in northern France, where it was used once a year to decorate the nave. It was âdiscoveredâ there by the French antiquarian and scholar Bernard de Montfaucon, who published the earliest complete reproduction of it in 1730. Having twice narrowly escaped destruction during the French Revolution, the tapestry was exhibited in Paris at Napoleonâs wish in 1803â04 and thereafter was in civil custody at Bayeux, except in 1871 and from September 1939 to March 1945. During the Franco-German War and World War II, respectively, the piece was placed in secured storage to protect it from plunder or destruction. In 2026 the artwork went on a very rare loan to the British Museum in London while the Bayeux Museum, where the tapestry has been displayed since 1983, was closed for renovations. The sojourn marked the first time the tapestry left France in nearly a millennium.
Making the tapestry
Although the tapestry was once thought to have been the work of Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, and her ladies-in-waiting, there is nothing aside from her marriage to connect the work with her. The tapestry may have been commissioned by Williamâs half brother Odo, bishop of Bayeux; Odo is prominent in the later scenes, and three of the very few named figures on the tapestry are known to have been associated with him. This conjecture would date the work no later than about 1092, an approximate time now generally accepted.
The skillful needlework of the tapestry has affinities with other English pieces of the 11th century, and scholars believe that the creators may have been nuns from Barking Abbey in Canterbury. They likely stretched the fabric on a large wooden frame and embroidered by hand outlines and lettering using the stem stitch and couching for filling in the figures.
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
Legacy
The tapestry is of great interest as a work of art. It is also important evidence for the history of the Norman Conquest, especially for Haroldâs relation to William before 1066; its story of events seems straightforward and convincing, despite some obscurities. The decorative borders have value for the study of fables from the Middle Ages. The tapestryâs contribution to knowledge of everyday life about 1100 is considerable, as is its information on contemporary military equipment and tactics.