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The Norman Conquest 65 commissioned by Bishop Odo for his new cathedral at Bayeux in or about 1017 and as such can be regarded as a near-contemporary record inspired by one who was actually present at the Battle of Hastings. Told from the Norman point of view, and especially from Odo’s (the Conqueror’s half-brother), the visual narrative was designed for public display and depicts the defeated Harold in a dignified light, although its purpose (apart from celebrating one of the most impressive military achievements of the medieval world – a fact fully appreciated by contemporaries and a great source of myth-making afterwards) was to demonstrate the legitimacy of William the Conqueror’s claim to the throne of England to the now occupied peoples. In the build-up to the invasion, and even during the battle of Hastings itself, Bishop Odo’s role is depicted as being almost as prominent as that of the Conqueror, revealing the degree to which the enterprise had both Church and family support. But why was the tapestry made? Was it celebratory, possibly like those early cave drawings or Roman victory columns? Perhaps there was a strong element of this, although we know little about the arrangements made for its display in England or Normandy. Indeed, it would appear to have been made in England and displayed in various English towns. Can the tapestry therefore be regarded as a sort of visual epic poem? It is of course a work of art in its own right, but its content can be interpreted on a variety of different levels – one of which is entertainment (a potent medium for propaganda). Was it perhaps designed to legitimize the invasion and conquest on both sides of the Channel? The historian H. E. J. Cowdrey has pointed out that in the first portion of the tapestry the animals and fables depicted at the top and bottom of the work act as a symbolic counterpoint to the central storyline: they ‘serve to call into question the fair-seeming Harold of the main story. Things are not as they seem. There is a cryptic reminder that Harold’s fine appearance conceals an inner man who is flawed and false.’ This may have been significant in view of the persistence of Harold’s good reputation in England after his death, and the tapestry may have been designed subtly to undermine that image during the Norman occupation. The final segment of the tapestry provides us with a vivid depiction of medieval warfare and also indicates, chiefly in the lower margin, just how crucial the Norman archers were in a battle that was, after all, a close run thing. The Norman knight who butchers
66 Propaganda in the Middle Ages Harold’s body after he has fallen victim to an arrow is certainly not behaving in a chivalrous way. It would not be unreasonable, therefore, to speculate that the tapestry was indeed intended as a propaganda device by an occupying regime attempting to establish its legitimacy in a country whose co-operation was essential if the Normans were to govern successfully (as demonstrated by the Domesday Book). It was a means of raising the morale of a defeated but proud nation and to encourage loyalty in the new Anglo-Norman society. Although Harold is depicted as a usurper to William’s throne, he and his men are given due credit for their courage and military skill against an enemy whose cause was ‘just’ but whose behaviour was also open to self-recrimination. The tapestry was, in short, a means of winning over English hearts and minds and the affection with which it is still regarded in England today bears witness to its lasting success.
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Third edition Munitions of the mind
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For Professor Nicholas Pronay
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Copyright © Philip M. Taylor 1990,
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vi Contents Part Four Propaganda in
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Preface to the New Edition This boo
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2 Introduction bear false witness,
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4 Introduction The reason for this
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6 Introduction telling us ‘the tr
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8 Introduction when all these issue
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10 Introduction warfare through the
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12 Introduction as experienced by t
Page 23 and 24: 14 Introduction The difference, of
Page 25 and 26: 16 Introduction Over the expanse of
Page 28 and 29: Chapter 1 In the Beginning … We s
Page 30 and 31: In the Beginning … 21 writing kno
Page 32 and 33: In the Beginning … 23 By the firs
Page 34 and 35: Chapter 2 Ancient Greece In Greece,
Page 36 and 37: Ancient Greece 27 was indulging in
Page 38 and 39: Ancient Greece 29 Greeks) who were
Page 40 and 41: Ancient Greece 31 greater numbers t
Page 42 and 43: Ancient Greece 33 Philip was assass
Page 44 and 45: Chapter 3 The Glory that was Rome R
Page 46 and 47: The Glory that was Rome 37 refraini
Page 48 and 49: The Glory that was Rome 39 ‘the g
Page 50 and 51: The Glory that was Rome 41 Roman wa
Page 52 and 53: The Glory that was Rome 43 ‘may s
Page 54 and 55: The Glory that was Rome 45 secured,
Page 56 and 57: The Glory that was Rome 47 major co
Page 58: Part Two Propaganda in the Middle A
Page 61 and 62: 52 Propaganda in the Middle Ages he
Page 63 and 64: 54 Propaganda in the Middle Ages is
Page 65 and 66: 56 Propaganda in the Middle Ages Lo
Page 67 and 68: 58 Propaganda in the Middle Ages (7
Page 69 and 70: 60 Propaganda in the Middle Ages Ch
Page 71 and 72: Chapter 5 The Norman Conquest For t
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Page 77 and 78: 68 Propaganda in the Middle Ages fa
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Page 93 and 94: 84 Propaganda in the Middle Ages of
Page 96 and 97: Chapter 9 The Gutenberg Galaxy No h
Page 98 and 99: Chapter 10 Renaissance Warfare The
Page 100 and 101: Renaissance Warfare 91 When the Fre
Page 102 and 103: Renaissance Warfare 93 longer comma
Page 104 and 105: Renaissance Warfare 95 also saw the
Page 106 and 107: Chapter 11 The Reformation and the
Page 108 and 109: The Reformation and the War of Reli
Page 110 and 111: The Reformation and the War of Reli
Page 112 and 113: Tudor Propaganda 103 The wealth and
Page 114 and 115: Tudor Propaganda 105 whose industry
Page 116 and 117: Tudor Propaganda 107 caused his pol
Page 118 and 119: Chapter 13 The Thirty Years War (16
Page 120 and 121: The Thirty Years War 111 Catholics
Page 122 and 123: The Thirty Years War 113 men before
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The Thirty Years War 115 Attempts a
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Chapter 14 The English Civil War (1
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The English Civil War 119 who manag
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Chapter 15 Louis XIV (1661-1715) If
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Louis XIV 123 Mazarin attempted to
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Louis XIV 125 at people who were no
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Part Four Propaganda in the Age of
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130 Propaganda in the Age of Revolu
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Chapter 19 War and Public Opinion i
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Chapter 20 War and the Communicatio
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War and the Communications Revoluti
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The First World War 177 battle betw
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The First World War 179 published i
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The First World War 181 press who h
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The First World War 183 fought and
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The First World War 185 Raemakers,
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The First World War 187 The Creel C
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The First World War 189 from London
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The First World War 191 morale, wit
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The First World War 193 impact on t
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The First World War 195 The wartime
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The First World War 197 the destruc
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The Bolshevik Revolution and the Wa
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The Second World War 209 for the pr
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The Second World War 211 Christmas.
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The Second World War 213 effective.
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The Second World War 215 the Englis
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The Second World War 217 posters, s
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The Second World War 219 in tone an
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The Second World War 221 In a serie
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The Second World War 223 credibilit
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The Second World War 225 had it not
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The Second World War 227 invention
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The Second World War 229 also refle
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The Second World War 231 stray into
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The Second World War 233 criminals
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The Second World War 235 Germany wi
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The Second World War 237 the danger
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The Second World War 239 throughout
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The Second World War 241 subjected
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The Second World War 243 managed ev
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The Second World War 245 the realit
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The Second World War 247 were not a
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Chapter 24 Propaganda, Cold War and
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Propaganda, Cold War and the Televi
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The Gulf War of 1991 283 Part Six T
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The Gulf War of 1991 285 Chapter 25
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The Gulf War of 1991 287 Hopes that
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The Gulf War of 1991 289 watching a
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The Gulf War of 1991 291 happening,
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The Gulf War of 1991 293 pundits gu
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The Gulf War of 1991 295 system had
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The Gulf War of 1991 297 Radio tran
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Information-Age Conflict in the Pos
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The World after 11 September 2001 3
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Epilogue 321 on that theory, we exp
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Epilogue 323 practices as they oper
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Bibliographical Essay 325 Chapter 2
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Bibliographical Essay 327 Brundage
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Bibliographical Essay 329 Propagand
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Bibliographical Essay 331 Holmes’
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Index 333 atrocity propaganda, 3, 7
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Index 335 Cromwell, Oliver, 119-20,
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Index 337 Guibert of Nogent, 74 Gul
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Index 339 Macauley, Lord, 132 Maced
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Index 341 Press Association, 213 Pr
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Index 343 Tolbic, battle of, 55 Tor
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