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But this is not the complete story…
According to scholars there must be a piece of tapestry missing (of at least seven or eight metres), which is quite demoralizing because that part may have answered many questions related to the Tapestry. The historical facts are that, after his triumph at Hastings, William marched to London, where some English lords submitted to him. On Christmas day William was crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey. However, the Saxons continuously rebelled against the invaders, even after William’s death.
We can compare the surviving piece, depicting the Norman’s triumph over the English, and the missing one, perhaps dealing with William’s coronation and consolidation of England; and this comparison suggests that someone may have removed it intentionally, probably someone French.
The Tapestry in the Modern Age
During the French Revolution the Tapestry was at risk of being destroyed. Some people from Bayeux, fighting for the Republic, used it as a cloth to cover an ammunition wagon, but fortunately a lawyer who understood its value replaced it with another cloth. Later Napoleon wanted to use the Tapestry as inspiration for his attack on his lifelong enemy England. When this plan was aborted, the Tapestry was given back to the people of Bayeux.
Other details and anecdotes
The Tapestry provides much information about early Norman clothes, weapons, castle-building, boat-building, hunting and other aspects of the medieval everyday life.
Above and below the different sequences of the story we find “the marginalia”, that is, additional information that shows the season of the year, the looting of war spoils, and many other symbols and pictures.
A full-size replica of the Bayeux Tapestry is displayed in the Museum of Reading, in England. The Victorians demanded that the one naked figure in the original tapestry was represented with a garment covering his genitals. From 2000 some members of the Danish Viking group Lindholm Hoje have been elaborating an accurate replica of the Bayeux Tapestry, using the original sewing technique, and thread naturally dyed with plants.
Scott McCloud in his work Understanding Comics, mentions the Bayeux Tapestry as one of the first examples of narrative art. (By the way, I recommend this book to all comic fans).
Have a look at this animated Bayeux Tapestry, the story seems to be full of life.
Electronic sources
All these electronic sources were consulted on 20th October 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_tapestry
http://hastings1066.com/history.shtml
http://www.britainexpress.com/History/bayeux-tapestry.htm
http://www.cinemacrawler.com/index.php?Operation=CustomerReviews&ItemId=B00004R9A4&ReviewPage=15
http://www.youtube.com/v/bDaB-NNyM8o
