The Bayeux Tapestry is coming back to Britain after an absence of over 900 years. I first reported this in January 2021 but there have been delays centred around the condition of the tapestry. Anyway it has recently been announced that the loan will take place in exchange for some British treasures such as objects from the Sutton Hoo hoard and the Lewis Chessmen next year. This marks part of a landmark loan agreement between Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron reinforcing the current goodwill between our two countries. It promises to be the British Museum blockbuster for a generation

The driving force behind this loan is the closure of the Bayeux museum for two years for a major refurbishment. The closure will be from September 1st which is good news for us as we are visiting Bayeux and Normandy next month. We last visited that city and the museum in June 2022. 

The Bayeux Tapestry is a piece of embroidered cloth some seventy metres long and contains fifty eight separate scenes. It depicts the story around the invasion of Britain by Duke William of Normandy in 1066. The story starts with the English king, Edward the Confessor allegedly promising his throne to William. Then Harold Godwinson visits William and amongst his adventures swears his allegiance to the Norman Duke. When Edward dies Harold assumes the throne and is crowned the last Saxon king of England. An enraged William prepares a fleet, sails the channel and routs the Saxon forces at Hastings. The last six feet of the tapestry is missing but we can assume it shows William reinforcing his victory by being crowned King – William the Conqueror. 

The story is all propaganda of course, not unlike the Shakespearean historys that reinforced the Tudor military usurping of the crown some four hundred years later at Bosworth Field. The tapestry was commissioned by Bishop Odo, William’s cousin, to justify the Norman invasion and subsequent land grab on a colossal scale. 

The tapestry is one of the great survivors of art of the Romanesque period. Sylvette Lemagnen, conservator of the tapestry, wrote in her 2005 book La Tapisserie de Bayeux that the work’s survival over nine centuries was “little short of miraculous”. “Its exceptional length, the harmony and freshness of its colours, its exquisite workmanship, and the genius of its guiding spirit combine to make it endlessly fascinating,” she said.

Those who follow this website will recognise my interest in this story as this is possibly my favourite piece of medieval Romanesque art. The Bayeux Tapestry. The French are getting a good deal as well with the Sutton Hoo hoard of Saxon royal armoury and jewellery in exchange.