Bayeux tapestry draws British crowds despite depicting defeat
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The Bayeux Tapestry, an 11th-century embroidery measuring 68 meters long, is currently on display at the British Museum in London on loan from the Bayeux Museum in Normandy, France.
The artwork survived fires, wars, and near-destruction during the French Revolution when it almost became canvas for military carts.
Nazis also studied the tapestry, believing it proved a supposed Aryan ancestry through the Normans’ Viking origins, and attempted to take it to Germany during World War II but were stopped by the French Resistance. The tapestry’s popularity grew in the 19th century as British antiquarians used drawings and photographs of it to explore national identity and medieval themes. A full-scale replica created by embroiderers in Staffordshire was censored by Victorian moralists who altered the original’s depictions of nudity.
Today, academic interest in the tapestry has increased dramatically, with the number of related publications growing by over 320 percent between 1988 and 2015 as scholars debate its origins, purpose, and the meaning behind its scenes. Historians continue to question who commissioned the tapestry and why. While traditionally attributed to Bishop Odo of Bayeux as Norman propaganda, some now believe it was created for the Abbey of St. Augustine in Canterbury.
The tapestry depicts the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066, showing the conflict between King Harold Godwinson and Duke William of Normandy for the English throne. Despite portraying a Norman victory and the English defeat, the British embrace the tapestry as a foundational story, viewing defeat as a catalyst for national development, much like they reframed the Dunkirk retreat during World War II.
