The Bayeux tapestry

About this book

The Bayeux Tapestry is a late eleventh-century embroidery, 68.5 metres/224 feet long, visualizing events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the subsequent Norman Conquest of England. In the past 300 years, since its rediscovery in Bayeux Cathedral, it has provided fertile ground for the musings, opinions, and investigations of antiquarians, scholars, novelists, journalists, and other interested parties. This volume reconstructs the often turbulent history of this remarkable work of art, and offers a critical analysis and annotated bibliography of the more than 1000 publications which have attempted to answer the many questions it has provoked. Discussions have focused on the origin of the Tapestry - workshop location, patronage, artistic sources, dating, and purpose. The narrative has been interpreted as Norman propaganda by some, as English propaganda by others.--Back cover.