The Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most significant surviving objects in European history. This book celebrates its unique loan to the British Museum and will be the essential volume about the Tapestry for generations to come. The Bayeux Tapestry is a unique historical artwork almost 70 metres long, which tells the story of the events leading to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 by William, Duke of Normandy. Its account of the eleventh century in England and France is like no other, revealing details from civil and military architecture to armour, seafaring and everyday life. Featuring a full-colour reproduction of the Tapestry, this beautiful new book allows the reader to follow the narrative visually, while texts from international experts unpick the importance of the work in understanding this pivotal point in European history. The latest research into the Tapestry is presented across five chapters that explore its patronage, design and production, its status as an iconic work of art, and its depictions of daily life. Focused profiles woven throughout introduce key figures from the world of the Tapestry, offering moments of personal connection within the sweeping story. Including a fold-out jacket to reveal a key scene, this publication marks the historic moment of the loan of the Tapestry to the British Museum, the first time it has been displayed outside of France in almost 1,000 years.

Editors Sue Brunning is Curator: Early Medieval European Collection at the British Museum. Lloyd de Beer is Curator: European Modern Collection at the British Museum. Michael Lewis is Curator of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition and Head of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum. Naomi Speakman is Curator: Late Medieval Europe Collection at the British Museum. With Millie Horton-Insch is Project Curator of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum. Contributors David Bates is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of East Anglia. Pierre Bauduin is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Caen, Normandy, and member of the Centre Michel de Boüard, CRAHAM. Martin Bostal is Interim Director of the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux and Associate Researcher at the Centre Michel de Boüard, CRAHAM, University of Caen, Normandy. Luc Bourgeois is Professor of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Caen, Normandy, and member of the Centre Michel de Boüard, CRAHAM. Richard Gameson is Professor of the History of the Book at Durham University. Cécile Lagane is Senior Lecturer in Medieval Archaeology at the University of Caen, Normandy, and member of the Centre Michel de Boüard, CRAHAM. Tom Licence is Professor of Medieval History and Literature at the University of East Anglia. Alexandra Makin is a Third Century Fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University. Gale R. Owen-Crocker is Professor Emerita of the University of Manchester. Elizabeth Carson Pastan is Professor of Art History at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. Clémentine Paquier-Berthelot Head of Exhibitions, Digital and Documentary Programming at the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux. Pauline Stafford is Professor Emerita at the University of Liverpool. Elisabeth van Houts FBA is Emeritus Honorary Professor of European Medieval History at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Contents Preface(s) Director's foreword Cast of characters - Millie Horton-Insch Introduction - Sue Brunning and Michael Lewis The Bayeux Tapestry, scene by scene Chapter 1: Historical context - David Bates Profile: Edward the Confessor - Tom Licence Profile: Harold Godwinson - Tom Licence Profile: William of Normandy - Pierre Bauduin Chapter 2: Patronage and display - Elizabeth Pastan Profile: Queen Edith - Pauline Stafford All information is provisional and subject to change Chapter 3: Design and production - Alexandra Lester-Makin and Gale R. Owen-Crocker Profile: Ælfgva/Emma - Elisabeth van Houts Chapter 4: Artistic context - Richard Gameson Odo, Bishop of Bayeux - David Bates Chapter 5: Everyday life - Martin Bostal and Luc Bourgeois Profile: Minor characters Michael Lewis Epilogue: The 'afterlife' of the Bayeux Tapestry - Lloyd de Beer, Clémentine Paquier-Berthelot and Naomi Speakman Notes, Select bibliography Acknowledgements, Credits, Index