Bayeux Tapestry
An embroidered cloth made in the 11th century depicting the Norman Conquest of England and events leading to the Battle of Hastings.
Battle of Hastings: The 1066 battle in which William, duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold II of England. The cloth’s central military episode culminates in Harold’s defeat.
Embroidery: The craft of decorating fabric by stitching designs with needle and thread. Despite its common name, the Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered textile.
Odo of Bayeux: The bishop of Bayeux and half-brother of William the Conqueror, who took part in the conquest of England. A traditional theory identifies him as the cloth’s commissioner, though this is not settled.
Domesday Book: The survey of landholding and resources in England commissioned by William I and completed in 1086. Like the tapestry, it records the new Norman order, but through administrative inventory.
Authorship of the Bayeux Tapestry: The unresolved question of who designed and stitched the Bayeux Tapestry. No surviving record names its designers or embroiderers.
Death of Harold Godwinson: The death of England’s King Harold II during the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The tapestry depicts Harold’s fall, though the precise manner of his death remains debated.
Bayeux Tapestry Latin inscriptions: Brief Latin captions embroidered above or beside scenes in the Bayeux Tapestry. The captions identify figures and actions while leaving much of the story to images.
Bayeux: A town in Normandy, France, that gives the Bayeux Tapestry its name and long association. The cloth was displayed in Bayeux Cathedral for centuries.
Normanization of England: The transformation of English government, landholding, language, and culture following the Norman Conquest. The events pictured mark the beginning of these far-reaching changes.
Dating of the Bayeux Tapestry: The scholarly study of when the Bayeux Tapestry was designed and made. Its precise production date is unknown, though it is generally assigned to the 11th century.