The Bayeux Tapestry

by David M. Wilson, Jean Le Carpentier

A new edition of a classic the complete Bayeux Tapestry in color with an introduction, description, and commentary by a leading authority on the period In a museum in the small town of Bayeux in Normandy, specially devised to hold this single object, is a strip of linen nearly one thousand years old. It is 230 feet long and about 20 inches high. On it, embroidered in brightly colored wool, are figures of men, animals, buildings, and ships. In a series of vivid scenes, with a running explanatory text in Latin, it relates the invasion of England by William of Normandy and his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Nothing remotely like the Bayeux Tapestry exists anywhere in the world, yet comparatively few people have been to Bayeux to see it and appreciate how totally absorbing it is. This book, first published in 1985, reproduces the Tapestry in full color and makes it accessible as never before. The story told in the Tapestry has all the ingredients of an epic poem, and a cast of characters that includes King Edward the Confessor; his liegeman, Duke Harold; and William, Duke of Normandy. When Edward dies, Harold succeeds him as king. William, who has a better dynastic claim, invades England, and at the Battle of Hastings Harold is defeated and killed. Here the Tapestry breaks off, but it probably originally concluded with William's coronationthe beginning of a sequence of monarchs that has continued virtually unbroken until today, and of the English nation as we know it. The Tapestry is reproduced in full color over 146 pages, with captions on a fold-out page for easy reference. A second reproduction of the Tapestry in black and white has a detailed accompanying commentary. Sir David Wilson, former Director of the British Museum, provides an up-to-date summary of the historical evidence, explaining each episode and covering related topics such as the costumes, armor, ships, buildings, and customs. One of the primary sources for the history of the period, the Tapestry is a social document of incalculable value. It is the sole survivor of an art form that may once have been widespread, the wall-hanging commemorating the deeds of a great man.

Genres: History, Art, Nonfiction, France, Medieval, Academic, Reference

234 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Sir David Mackenzie Wilson is an English archaeologist, art historian, and museum curator, specialising in Anglo-Saxon art and the Viking Age. He lives on the Isle of Man.

Wilson was the director of the British Museum from 1977 to 1992, and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1985 he was Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge.

Reviews

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a masterpiece! This large folio display of the Bayeux Tapestry published by TASCHEN is just wonderful, so fabulous. This is one of those quality books that are a joy to hold, to smell, to pull out of the bookcase and flick through occasionally. The quality of the image of the tapestry itself is very good indeed and encourages a very rigorous examination of individual scenes.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a huge book with color plates so large that you can see pretty much every detail of the stitches on the tapestry. I've never seen the real thing (it's on my list of places to visit) but this is almost better than second-best. I would say that this book is a must-have for 1066 enthusiasts, and a nice piece for those of us whose interest is more casual. I'll definitely be keeping this one.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful reproduction of the original embroidery. Very clear look at stitchwork, expression and the drama of the story.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunningly detailed photographs of the Bayeux Tapestry with explanations and annotations.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful, large-format, facsimile reproduction of the Bayeux Tapestry. It includes a frame by frame commentary explaining the action and historical context of the cartoon-like embroideries, as well as drawing attention to details of significance that the casual observer might otherwise overlook. There are highly informative chapters covering the probable date, origin and subsequent history of the tapestry, as well as the architecture, material culture, ships, arms and armour it illustrates. My only criticism is that the author omits a discussion of the stitching techniques used in the embroidery, the dyes used to colour the wools and any evidence for individual semstresses in its production. This apart, it is an excellent and beautifully printed source of information about the Bayeux Tapestry and very useful reading in advance of the forthcoming British Museum exhibition, when the tapestry will return to England for the first time in almost a thousand years.

[Kevin Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an enthusiast and researcher on the Battle of Hastings it was a wonderful source document that I could revisit time and time again. It helped me formulate a theory that the scenes of the Battle were taken at 3 hourly intervals. The plates however do not respect the frames but rather the traditional view of the Battle. For instance, one frame starts on plate 57 under the word "HIC" and does not finish until plate 63. These plates are all concerned with the first encounter ( Normans V Huscarls) and I time it at Tierce (09:00).

[Liam Malone]

This book is the first of 3 I am reading about the Tapestry, my favorite medieval artefact. It is a folio so the images are spectacularly showing details. The text is good and gives us thoughts about how formulaic are the men, battle scenes, horses, and buildings. He feels they buildings were not actually seen by the original designer so they are stitched from both memory and imagination.

[Lulu]

depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William, Duke of Normandy. It is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years of the battle. widely accepted to have been made in England perhaps as a gift for William, it tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The entire tapestry is explained in this very thorough volume which includes large color plate pictures, smaller black and white pictures with explanations, the story of events the depicted, and translations of all the Latin.
A beautiful and very thorough book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous photo-reproductions of the BT. Best I found. The text was quite helpful as well. It was hard to return this to the library.

[Susan Liston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty cool. Life sized close-up photos with detailed explanation.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent photographs -- the next best thing to being there.

[Jbussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ENTIRE 100% Tapestry (embroidery) in COLOR! &**AND** & IN F U L L ~ S I Z E!! I don't care if the book is 40 years old. The entire thing! Whoo!

[Tink · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books was gorgeous. My family loved seeing the Bayeux Tapestry on vacation, but it was just too much to take in. I loved the detailed photography and descriptions.

[R. G. Nairam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course, the glory of this book is the 73 color plates at approximately 54% of the embroidery's real size. It's worth having on that alone.

Wilson does a fairly good job on addressing broadly the historical context, the uniqueness of the form, and the importance of the clothing and objects displayed in the tapestry. He has a running commentary on a second section of smaller, black and white plates, that discuss important features on each of the plates and the story presented. The sections following: "The Story Told in the Tapestry," "Style, Art and Form," and "Buildings, Dress and Objects" could be considered smaller essays on the tapestry and frequently refer to the plates. This made me wish I had two copies of the book, because of all the heavy page-flipping involved if I wanted to see what he was talking about in the different plates. The introduction gives a brief overview of the history of the tapestry--one that is sometimes quite harrowing to the historian!

His various sections sometimes repeat themselves (especially as relates to the story of the conquest) so I began to skim in some places, already being quite familiar with that side. There's a fold-out short description of the plates, so you can have that on hand as you go through the photos. There's also a translation of the Latin in the back.

All together the supplemental material made me want to go back to those glorious plates and study them more scrupulously again and again. It's such a beautiful, fascinating source.

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent as a resource for Art History & for those interested in needlepoint or sewing. Fantastic photography detailing this extraordinary piece of art as well as for an explanation of history... "Gytha's sister-in-law Estrith was the daughter of Sven Forkbeard, the father of Knut the Great." (Wilson,14) Amusing names!!!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent pictoral/factual explanation of the Tapestry. The best detail of any photographs that I have seen of the Tapestry. You can actually pick out individual stitches and repairs. Quite wonderful.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is superb for the quality of the pictures alone.

[Jamie Collins]

Beautiful coffee table book with large, close-up photographs of the entire tapestry.

[Allison6876 · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARTH 3009 paper

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I confess, I didn't read most of the words, but I loved all the pictures! Maybe next go around I will read more words.