The Bayeux Tapestry, truly a unique masterpiece, is in fact a woollen embroidery on a linen canvas. Over a length of almost 70 metres it recounts, in pictorial form, the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and graphically portrays the story of the battle itself. Ostensibly the narrative is told from the Norman viewpoint, but there elements in the details of the tapestry which support a more ambivalent interpretation.
Social and architectural historians as well as archaeologists have long regarded the hanging as an invaluable source of evidence. It portrays ships, cavalry and infantry soldiers, weaponry, clothing, castles, churches as well as a range of other buildings and structures. The principal characters involved in the conflict between England and Normandy are depicted, often at critical points in the story, such as the death of Edward the Confessor and King Harold's subsequent coronation. A wide range of other Saxon and Norman characters of various ranks are portrayed, including clerics, carpenters, huntsmen, sailors and peasants.
In this course we will examine the nature of the tapestry and discuss where, when, how and why was it made and who could have sponsored it. We will analyse the story told as recounted by the tapestry against current historical interpretations of the Norman takeover of England in 1066. We will also look at the later history of the tapestry, how it managed to survive virtually intact for almost a thousand years. In particular its fate during the French Revolution and how it was used for propaganda purposes both by Napoleon and Hitler.
The course will include a visit to the life-sized replica of the tapestry displayed in Reading Museum and a trip to Oxford Castle.