1066: The Hidden History in the Bayeux Tapestry
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For more than 900 years the Bayeux Tapestry has preserved one of history's greatest dramas: the Norman Conquest of England, culminating in the death of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Historians have held for centuries that the majestic tapestry trumpets the glory of William the Conqueror and the victorious Normans. But is this true? In 1066, a brilliant piece of historical detective work, Andrew Bridgeford reveals a very different story that reinterprets and recasts the most decisive year in English history.Reading the tapestry as if it were a written text, Bridgeford discovers a wealth of new information subversively and ingeniously encoded in the threads, which appears to undermine the Norman point of view while presenting a secret tale undetected for centuries-an account of the final years of Anglo-Saxon England quite different from the Norman version.Bridgeford brings alive the turbulent 11th century in western Europe, a world of ambitious warrior bishops, court dwarfs, ruthless knights, and powerful women. 1066 offers readers a rare surprise-a book that reconsiders a long-accepted masterpiece, and sheds new light on a pivotal chapter of English history.Kirkus ReviewsDefinitely not the Norman version. The Battle of Hastings, in 1066, when the last Anglo Saxon king, Harold, was defeated by William the Conqueror, is one of the world's most commented-upon battles, partly because its effects (the fusion of French and Anglo-Saxon into English, for example) ramify to this day-and partly because it was illustrated by the near-contemporary Bayeux Tapestry, a masterpiece of Medieval art. What is there new to add to the library of references? Bridgeford attempts to overturn at least two old verities about the battle. According to the author, "close observation of the Bayeux Tapestry reveals that it is not a work of Norman propaganda that popular myth would have us believe, but a covert, subtle, and substantial record of the English version of events." He makes a very strong case by comparing real Norman propaganda, which is codified in William of Poitier's The Deeds of Duke William (circa 1070), with the Bayeux's scenes. Scene by scene, the Bayeux tapestry deviates significantly in its sympathetic treatment of Harold from the simple-minded vilification to which he was subjected after his death at Hastings. Bridgeford goes to less used sources, such as Eadmar's The History of Recent Events in England (circa 1090), to understand the images. If he's right, then another supposed fact about the tapestry-that it was commissioned by William's half-brother Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux-seems unlikely. Bridgeford believes, instead, that the tapestry was commissioned by William's occasional ally Count Eustace of Boulogne as a peace offering to Odo, with whom Eustace was often in violent conflict. This is solid historical detective work, enlivened with extensive speculationsabout the tapestry's mysteries (Bridgeford, for instance, has a fascinating theory about why a dwarf named Turold holds a special place in the story). On sound empirical ground, Bridgeford's work will no doubt generate much heat and some light among students of English history.
Map of Northern France and EnglandGenealogical chart : EnglandGenealogical chart : NormandyGenealogical chart : Charlemagne/Boulogne/JerusalemGenealogical chart : Ponthieu1In search of the Bayeux Tapestry12A tale of consequence : the impact of conquest113Sources194Stitches in time265The strange journey of Harold Godwinson486The fox and the crow667The English decision988Invasion1189The Battle of Hastings13610English art and embroidery15511A connection with Bishop Odo of Bayeux16212The Bayeux Tapestry and the Babylonian conquest of the Jews16613The tanner's grandsons17314The scion of Charlemagne18115Count Eustace and the death of King Harold19116Eustace and the attack on Dover20017The downfall of Bishop Odo20918Turold the dwarf22519The scandal of Aelfgyva24620Wadard and Vital27221Bayeux Cathedral and the mystery of survival29522The patronage of the Bayeux Tapestry304
