The Bayeux Tapestry: The Medieval Story of 1066 Told in Stitching
The Bayeux Tapestry: a medieval family, politics and succession story told through embroidery.
HISTORY
Laura Newheiser
9/11/20264 min read
What can the Bayeux Tapestry teach us about family history?
For genealogists, perhaps the most interesting lesson is that history is often found in unexpected places. When researching our ancestors, we naturally look for birth certificates, marriage records, census returns, wills and parish registers but history isn't just contained in official documents. Paintings, photographs, newspapers, maps, buildings, letters, diaries and even embroidered stories can all provide clues about the lives of ordinary people and the world in which they lived. The Bayeux Tapestry reminds us that behind every major historical event are individual people. Kings and queens may dominate history, but thousands of ordinary people were also affected by the Norman Conquest and somewhere among them were the ancestors of generations of people who came afterwards.
Perhaps, when you look at the Bayeux Tapestry, you're not just looking at the story of William the Conqueror, you're looking at the world in which your medieval ancestors lived.
When we think about the year 1066, most of us immediately think of the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror and the Norman invasion of England but how do we actually know so much about what happened?
One of the most remarkable surviving pieces of evidence is the Bayeux Tapestry an embroidered story that takes us back almost 1,000 years and shows the events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. At around 70 metres long, it is one of the most famous pieces of art in the world.
The Tapestry shows Edward sending Harold Godwinson, his powerful brother-in-law and Earl of Wessex, to Normandy. Harold's journey brings him into contact with William, Duke of Normandy. According to the Tapestry, Edward had indicated that William should succeed him as King of England. Harold subsequently returned to England, where Edward died in January 1066 after which Harold was crowned king. William was furious beliving that Harold had broken his promise and decided to take the English crown for himself.
Meanwhile, earlier in 1066, the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada had invaded northern England. Harold Godwinson had marched north and defeated him at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Then came the news that William had landed in Sussex and Harold had to march south again.
The Battle of Hastings
On 14 October 1066, the two armies met and the Bayeux Tapestry gives us a fascinating account of the battle where we get to see images such as Norman cavalry, Anglo-Saxon infantry, archers, Norman ships and medieval armour. The most famous image on the tapestry is the image depicting Harold appearing to be struck in the eye by an arrow. William's army had won and Harold was dead, the English army flees. And, rather abruptly, the Tapestry ends.
Why does the Bayeux Tapestry end so suddenly?
One of the great mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry is that the ending is missing, the surviving embroidery finishes with the English fleeing. We don't see William's coronation or see him ruling England.
Who made the Bayeux Tapestry?
Another mystery! For centuries, people associated the Tapestry with Matilda, the wife of William the Conqueror, and a romantic story developed that she and her ladies-in-waiting embroidered it. However there is no evidence that this is what happened and the people who actually created the embroidery remain unknown. Most historians believe it was probably commissioned by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who was William's half-brother and he is actually depicted several times in the Tapestry and may have been commissioned to decorate Bayeux Cathedral, which Odo had helped establish.
There is also evidence suggesting that the embroidery itself may have been produced in England, possibly by Anglo-Saxon embroiderers, so although we call it the Bayeux Tapestry, its creators may actually have been English.
It's not really a tapestry!
The Bayeux "Tapestry" is actually an embroidery. A tapestry is made by weaving the design into the fabric where as the Bayeux was created by stitching coloured wool onto linen.
The Tapestry isn't simply a collection of pretty medieval pictures it is packed with information, 58 scenes provide historians with valuable evidence about 11th-century clothing, weapons, ships, buildings, horses, farming and warfare.
The Tapestry tells William's side of the story
The Bayeux Tapestry isn't a completely neutral historical record as it tells the story from a Norman perspective, where William is presented as the rightful claimant to the English throne, while Harold is portrayed as having broken his oath. It is also helping to justify why William believed he had the right to become King of England.
The story depicted begins in 1064, two years before the Battle of Hastings, England was at that time ruled by Edward the Confessor, who had no surviving children. The question of who would succeed him would eventually lead to one of the most famous battles in English history.
William prepares to invade England
The Tapestry then shows William preparing a huge invasion fleet to cross the English Channel landing in Sussex. The Norman army established itself near Hastings, waiting for Harold's army to arrive.