Bayeux Tapestry facts for kids
The Bayeux Tapestry is a 0.5-by-68.38-metre (1.6 by 224.3 ft) long embroidered cloth – not an actual tapestry – which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England as well as the events of the invasion itself. The tapestry is annotated in Latin. It is exhibited in a special museum in Bayeux, Normandy called Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux.
The tapestry tells the story of the Norman conquest of England. The two combatants are the Anglo-Saxon English, led by Harold Godwinson, recently crowned as King of England, and the Normans, led by William the Conqueror.
The tapestry is regarded as one of the greatest examples of Anglo-Saxon art, because, though ordered by a Norman, it was made by English (Anglo-Saxon) artisans. It is also extremely important as a historical document.
In common with other embroidered hangings of the early medieval period, this piece is conventionally referred to as a "tapestry", although it is not a true tapestry in which the design is woven into the cloth; it is in fact an embroidery.
The Bayeux tapestry is embroidered in wool yarn on a tabby-woven linen ground using two methods of stitching: outline or stem stitch for lettering and the outlines of figures, and couching or laid work for filling in figures. The linen is assembled in panels and has been patched in numerous places.
The main yarn colours are terracotta or russet, blue-green, dull gold, olive green, and blue, with small amounts of dark blue or black and sage green.
Images for kids
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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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Bishop Odo of Bayeux
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Montfaucon / Benoît drawing showing King Harold's death
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Stothard / Basire engravings: scenes showing the Norman troops crossing the Channel and landing in Sussex
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The messengers with Guy I, Count of Ponthieu, with a portrayal of medieval agriculture in the border
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Detail of Halley's Comet
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Detail of arrow
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Ubi unus clericus et Ælfgyva
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Coronation of Harold, seemingly by Stigand
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Start of the Bayeux Tapestry replica in Reading Museum
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Sections of the 1066 Medieval Mosaic re-creation in New Zealand
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Street art in Bayeux referring to the Tapestry
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See also
In Spanish: Tapiz de Bayeux para niños
