A 932 Year Old Comic Strip (The Bayeux Tapestry)

Bonsoir mes amis!
Now for a recap of yesterday (Friday) afternoon!  After our puffy omelets at Mont St. Michel, we hopped back into our rented Volkswagen to drive to the town of Bayeux to visit its famous tapestry.  Dad was once again behind the wheel braving the French roads and roundabouts, and swearing each time the car "stalled" (every time we stopped at a light, the engine would automatically shut off, but would turn back on once shifted into gear again.  Tellement bizarre).

Voila une carte to get your bearings!  We stayed in Caen, drove southwest to Mon St. Michel, then drove north east again Bayeux, which is directly south of the D-Day landing beaches. 

 Entrance to the Bayeux Tapestry Musee

This is only half of the tapestry!  The entire "comic strip" is 230 ft long.  However, this massive cloth is technically not a tapestry, because its designs are not woven into the cloth itself (different from  the Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries at the Musee de Cluny.  Click here for that blog post).  The designs are beautifully embroidered onto the linen with wool yarn.  The embroidery tells the story of William, Duke of Normandy (who later became known as William the Conqueror) and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.  Edward the Confessor (King of England) was in failing health, and had no heir.  He had to choose between his brother-in-law Harold, Earl of Wessex and his cousin, William, Duke of Normandy.  Edward decided to make William his heir and sent Harold to give him the news.  Harold had a hell of a time getting there (he landed in a unfriendly area of France, was captured and held for ransom before William came to his rescue).  William had Harold swear on relics that he would not seek the English crown for himself.  Harold then returned to England to tell the dying King Edward that he had delivered the message.  The King died soon afterward.  The picture below depicts the funeral procession going to Westminster Abbey. 

Please note the exquisite "hand of God" descending from the sky below the top frieze.

 However, Harold was sneaky and had himself crowned King of England, complete with Crown , Orb, and Scepter.  The Coronation is depicted here.  William learns of Harold's treachery, and decides to sail to England, invade and fight for his crown.

October 14, 1066

The Battle of Hastings! The Norman invaders led by William fight against Harold's Saxon forces.

The different colored horses give a sense of depth to the Bayeux Tapestries.  There are decapitated bodies decorating the bottom of the frieze.

William fought in the the battle, and Harold was killed by an arrow in the eye.  William, Duke of Normandy (also known as William the Bastard) was now King of England and called William the Conquer.  The Bayeux Tapestry was made in 1070 a few years after the Battle of Hastings to educate the illiterate masses about the battle.  Some believe it was embroidered by Queen Matilda (Wife of William)  and her ladies in waiting.  However, it is more likely that Bishop Odo (half-brother of William and Bishop of Normandy) commissioned it to hang in the Bayeux Cathedral where it was discovered in 1729.  The Bayeux Tapestry was truly stunning because of its size, vibrant colors and detailed stitching.  The audio guide was included with the price of admission and was fascinating and very informative.  I wanted to listen to it again! 

We head back to Paris tomorrow.  Mom, Dad and Greg are catching a plane back to Pennsylvania and I'll head back to my host family's apartment to get some work done.  Stay tuned for posts about the D- Day beaches and the Battle of Normandy!

Bisous,

Allison