The Bayeux
Tapestry tells the story of William of Normandy's invasion of England
and of it's King Harold, and the Battle of Hastings in 1066 as well as
the events immediately following. It begins with Harold and Edward the
Confessor and ends with Harold and William. The Tapestry is a journey,
just as a film is a journey, with players, backgrounds, action, love,
hate, desire and above all, a blockbuster ending. It is also, as most
historians agree, incomplete. The Tapestry most ikely had another section
which has been lost in time. The section that is believed to be missing
could have contained the glorious ending of William The Conqueror's
coronation, December 25th, 1066. But like so many early moving pictures
of the late 19th century, these frames also, have been lost. The Bayeux
Tapestry is not a true tapestry. A true tapestry is woven however this
"tapestry", is in fact a sewn embroidery. The true Bayeux
Tapestry is kept in Bayeux, Normandy and was given the description
in 1476 of "a very long and narrow hanging
on which are embroidered figures and inscriptions comprising a representation
of the conquest of England". It is believed that in 1070
the half-brother of William of England, Bishop Odo, may have been the
one to order the embroidery to be made. The Tapestry was likely embroidered
in Kent, England.
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