three of the bishop's followers mentioned in the Domesday Book appear on the tapestry.
The reasons for the Odo commission theory include: However, scholarly analysis in the 20th century concluded it was probably commissioned by William's half-brother, Bishop Odo, who, after the Conquest, became Earl of Kent and, when William was absent in Normandy, regent of England. Indeed, in France, it is occasionally known as La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde ("The Tapestry of Queen Matilda").
The earliest known written reference to the tapestry is a 1476 inventory of Bayeux Cathedral, but its origins have been the subject of much speculation and controversy.įrench legend maintained the tapestry was commissioned and created by Queen Matilda, William the Conqueror's wife, and her ladies-in-waiting.
Only the figures and decoration are embroidered, on a background left plain, which shows the subject very clearly and was necessary to cover large areas. Tapestries adorned both churches and wealthy houses in Medieval Western Europe, though at 0.5 by 68.38 m (1 ft 8 in by 224 ft 4 in), the Bayeux Tapestry is exceptionally large. It can be seen as a rare example of secular Romanesque art. Nevertheless, it has always been referred to as a tapestry until recent years when the name "Bayeux Embroidery" has gained ground among certain art historians. The designs on the Bayeux Tapestry are embroidered rather than in a tapestry weave, so it does not meet narrower definitions of a tapestry. In 1729, the hanging was rediscovered by scholars at a time when it was being displayed annually in Bayeux Cathedral. It is likely that it was commissioned by Bishop Odo, William's maternal half-brother, and made in England – not Bayeux – in the 1070s. The cloth consists of 58 scenes, many with Latin tituli, embroidered on linen with coloured woollen yarns. Its exceptional length, the harmony and freshness of its colours, its exquisite workmanship, and the genius of its guiding spirit combine to make it endlessly fascinating. Its survival almost intact over nine centuries is little short of miraculous . The Bayeux tapestry is one of the supreme achievements of the Norman Romanesque . It tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans but is now widely accepted to have been made in England.Īccording to Sylvette Lemagnen, conservator of the tapestry, in her 2005 book La Tapisserie de Bayeux: It is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years after the battle. The Bayeux Tapestry ( UK: / b aɪ ˈ j ɜː, b eɪ-/, US: / ˈ b eɪ j uː, ˈ b aɪ-/ French: Tapisserie de Bayeux or La telle du conquest Latin: Tapete Baiocense) is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres (230 ft) long and 50 centimetres (20 in) tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William, Duke of Normandy challenging Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings. A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting Bishop Odo rallying Duke William's troops during the Battle of Hastings in 1066
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