Medieval Europe + Byzantine
Course: Medieval Europe + Byzantine > Unit 9
Lesson 2: Romanesque art in England- The Art of Conquest in England and Normandy
- The English castle: dominating the landscape
- The Bayeux Tapestry
- The Bayeux Tapestry - Seven Ages of Britain - BBC One
- Bayeux Tapestry
- Durham Cathedral
- Durham Cathedral
- Peterborough Cathedral
- The Morgan Leaf from The Winchester Bible
Bayeux Tapestry
The title "Bayeux Tapestry" (1066-82) is a bit of a misnomer—the textile is embroidered wool on linen, and not actually a woven tapestry. The wool was dyed using the plants Woad, Madder, and Rocket. The linen canvas measures 20 inches in height by 230 feet in length (50 cm x 70 m), and supports the narrative embroidery that tells of the Norman invasion of England—though very much from the Norman perspective.
The tapestry depicts Duke William of Normandy's conquest of Harold Godwinson—England's new and ill-fated King. The conquest is portrayed as fully justified, and Harold is represented as an opportunist who broke his oaths to Edward the Confessor, former King of England, and to William himself. Although first known as William the "Bastard" (he was the illegitimate son of Robert the Magnificent and Herleva of Falaise), a name change accompanied his military success: he became known as William the “Conqueror." The Norman conquest is a key turning point in Western history, and the English language still reflects this dominance of French over Saxon culture.
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@0:15What relationship did Harold have with William before he was crowned? Why did he take an oath?(7 votes)
When Harold was shipwrecked in Normandy his distant cousin William treated him well, but made him swear that he would get the throne of England. Harold swore, meaning to go back on his word. Then William took the tablecloth of the 'table' Harold had his hand on and showed him he had sworn on the bones of the saints, making his oath binding.(7 votes)
- This is such a delight to watch! And I love the multi-colored trees and boats! Although I do have to wonder why they are multi-colored. I'm not totally familiar with the dyes - is it possible that they were expensive and the use of these colors is a show of wealth? Or is it a display of skill - that you can fix the dye and get it to last? Or is it simply that the colors make the tapestry so lovely?(8 votes)
The linen is actually very thin and the colors were plant based. It is most likely preservation of history.(3 votes)
Sorry for a dumb question, but well, can I find any topic about this war (or any ancient war) in KA?(6 votes)
No, the history section doesn't include a section with video's on the battle of Hastings (yet).(2 votes)
The text under the video says this piece was 130 feet long. How and why did they make it so long? I've never heard of anything else being even similar to this length before. Where would they even keep it?(3 votes)
The tapestry is actually 230 feet long (70 metres)! It has 8 sections that were probably created separately and then stitched together. Even then, the sections would have been almost 29 feet long. Frames would have been used to do the embroidery - see http://thomasguild.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-thomasteppich-project-embroidery.html for the recreation of a medieval frame with spools on either side to roll up the linen and provide a taut working surface.(6 votes)
What was the message behind the Bayeux Tapestry?(4 votes)
Approximate message: "King William was destined to conquer England and has done so! Long live the king!"
An interesting thing to note is that William was born outside of marriage. His right to rule was frequently challenged in his youth. I'm not sure if he was having ongoing problems with this, but the Tapestry might have been extra-important in order to show that he was fit to rule.(3 votes)
0:29why does william send a mesenger to france ?(3 votes)
@1:32On the actual Bayeux Tapestry, are the Norman men on the boats actually portrayed as barfing?(0 votes)- Of course not. Remember, the tapestry is a "recording" of historical victory, so such details would not be included. This slightly humiliating and comedic event is simply an addition of the fellows at Potion studios.(5 votes)
Why would william bother doing this art work by sentencing women to do it instead of him asking them to make more clothes,or was this to show off power?(2 votes)
this was cos clothes wouldnt be able to tell the details of his victory so much, and also, he probably already had a bunch of clothes. emperors in the past, such as the roman emperor Trajan, had great works of art to memorialize their victories, such as Trajan column, by doing this art work it shows that they are similar to the power shown by rulers before them(1 vote)
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