Bayeux Tapestry

There aren't any written accounts written shortly after the Duke of Normandy's invasion of England and his victory over Harold Godwinson. There is however one pictorial account of the event. That is the famous Bayeux Tapestry. Through pictures, the tapestry tells of events prior to the invasion, preparation for the invasion, events that happened after William landed, the battle at Hastings and the aftermath of the battle. Part of the tapestry is missing. No one knows what happened to the missing part. For that matter, no knows who commissioned the tapestry or what its purpose was barring being a record of the events that took place. The tapestry is clearly meant to inform people who were illiterate of the events that took place. This was a common practice during that time as the overwhelming majority of people were illiterate. Through the pictures on the tapestry, a person could figure out just what happened as well as the reasons for the invasion.

For me personally, I was surprised by a couple things on the tapestry. For starters, I had no idea how big the tapestry is. The remaining bits are over 90 feet long! Pictures in history books don't convey the size of the tapestry. Another thing that is interesting about the tapestry is that it shows Harold Godwinson in a good light. King Edward the Confessor sent Harold over to Normandy to inform William that he was making him his successor since he didn't have any children. While visiting with William, Harold joined William in fighting against the Duke of Brittany. At one point, the tapestry shows Harold saving a Norman soldier. Later, during the battle of Hastings, Harold is shown fighting valiantly. The tapestry portrays Harold as a good man who violated sacred oaths of allegiance he made to William which ultimately cost him his life.

The tapestry is stored in temperature and light controlled cases to help preserve it while also enabling it to be displayed so people can see its magnificence. It is a stunning work and a great credit to whoever made it. The museum offers use of automated audio guides which tell of the scenes in the tapestry as the viewer walks along. Lastly, the museum offers a movie in different languages that further explains scenes in the tapestry and explanations for those scenes. When you leave the museum, you are left with a very good understanding of a fascinating record of a monumental event in history.

After seeing the Bayeux Tapestry, Harvey and I walked around Bayeux a bit. Harvey decided to try a French hotdog while I enjoyed an ice cream. Afterwards, we saw the outside of the Bayeux Cathedral and a wall commemorating French men who may have been resisters who were sent by the Germans to concentration camps where they died.

Finally, we walked back to the parking lot to board our bus. We did stop to admire a small dam that was built to power a mill in Bayeux. The mill had been converted into a decent looking restaurant. When it was time, we boarded our Globus bus and headed to another sight I'd been greatly looking forward to seeing: the Abbey of Mont St. Michel.