Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Bayeux Tapestry
Inscribed 2007
What is it
An 11th-century embroidery stitched in wool, linen, hemp
and cotton on linen cloth that depicts pictorially and in
narrative detail the political background and military
events of the start of the Norman Conquest of England
in 1066, together with everyday scenes of ordinary life.
Why was it inscribed
The Bayeux Tapestry is a unique artefact of its period,
both as a historical document and record, and also as
a work of art in its own right.
Where is it
Médiathèque Municipale de Bayeux, Bayeux, France
The Norman Conquest was one of the most significant
events in British and European medieval history and
the tapestry narrates its early stages in the political and
personal events leading up to the military campaign and
Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Its images depict, scene by scene and in lively detail,
the events between 1064 and 1066 that led up to William,
Duke of Normandy’s disputed claim to and taking of the
English throne. The story is told arguably from a Norman
perspective and includes information that appears in
no other contemporary source: for example, an oath
80 Bayeux Tapestry
A detail from the tapestry shows what is believed
to be King Harold, struck in the eye by an arrow. �