Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

� The death of King Edward � Border details depict scenes of work.
of fealty that Harold, Earl of Wessex – later King Harold
II of England and William’s rival – was said to have sworn
to the duke at Bayeux.
The tapestry is unique in size and scope. Works
of art celebrating military victories were common
but virtually none remain now beyond references in
contemporary accounts.
The political and military events of the mid-1060s are
related in pictorial chronological narrative. The scenes
on the tapestry’s main section appear between two
narrower upper and lower borders depicting animal,
possibly fabulous, and everyday rural scenes. At moments
of tension in the main action, the central image overlaps
the upper border in a technique that implies energy and
movement, while the raised strands of wool create a lightand-shadow
effect suggestive of a cartoon technique.
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Bayeux Tapestry
Little is known of the tapestry’s origins, but the details
of its manufacture offer some clues. It is believed that a
cleric skilled in Latin and with a knowledge of illumination
techniques designed and oversaw production, ensuring
the remarkable consistency of style throughout.
The design may have been influenced by the mural
cloths of northern Europe – the only other equivalents
remaining are fragments from Scandinavia, where
the Normans originated. Another possible influence
was a similar narrative style used in Anglo-Saxon Bible
manuscripts. The tapestry was probably sewn in the south
of England. Furthermore there is distinct English influence
in its colours and dyes, and in its etymology.
Odo, bishop of Bayeux and William’s half-brother,
may have commissioned the work for the consecration
of Bayeux Cathedral in 1077. The church was the foremost
artistic patron in the medieval period, and appropriately
for a clerical commission and creation, the tapestry is
said to use religious allegory and imagery interwoven
with historical record – in this case, the conquest of Judah
by Babylon.
� The tapestry on display in Bayeux today.