In a museum in the small town of Bayeux in Normandy, specially
devised to hold this single object, is a strip of linen nearly one
thousand years old. It is 230 feet long and about 20 inches high.
On it, embroidered in brightly colored wool, are figures of men,
animals, buildings, and ships. In a series of vivid scenes, with a
running explanatory text in Latin, it relates the invasion of
England by William of Normandy and his victory at the Battle of
Hastings in 1066. Nothing remotely like the Bayeux Tapestry exists
anywhere in the world, yet comparatively few people have been to
Bayeux to see it and appreciate how totally absorbing it is. This
book, first published in 1985, reproduces the Tapestry in full
color and makes it accessible as never before. The story told in
the Tapestry has all the ingredients of an epic poem, and a cast of
characters that includes King Edward the Confessor; his liegeman,
Duke Harold; and William, Duke of Normandy. When Edward dies,
Harold succeeds him as king. William, who has a better dynastic
claim, invades England, and at the Battle of Hastings Harold is
defeated and killed. Here the Tapestry breaks off, but it probably
originally concluded with William's coronation--the beginning of a
sequence of monarchs that has continued virtually unbroken until
today, and of the English nation as we know it. The Tapestry is
reproduced in full color over 146 pages, with captions on a
fold-out page for easy reference. A second reproduction of the
Tapestry in black and white has a detailed accompanying commentary.
Sir David Wilson, former Director of the British Museum, provides
an up-to-date summary of the historical evidence, explaining each
episode and coveringrelated topics such as the costumes, armor,
ships, buildings, and customs. One of the primary sources for the
history of the period, the Tapestry is a social document of
incalculable value. It is the sole survivor of an art form that may
once have been widespread, the wall-hanging commemorating the deeds
of a great man.
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