Decoding the Bayeux Tapestry

Wright, Arthur Colin2019

Books

Find it!
Remove Decoding the Bayeux Tapestry from your current list Save Decoding the Bayeux Tapestry to your current list

Total copies: 1

Availability by location

Place reservation

Summary

The story of the Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings as shown in the Bayeux Tapestry is arguably the most widely-known in the entire panoply of English history, and over the last 200 years there have been hundreds of books portraying the Tapestry and seeking to analyse its meanings. Yet, there is one aspect of the embroidery that has been virtually ignored or dismissed as unimportant by historians - the details in the margins. Yet the fables shown in the margins are not just part of a decorative ribbon, neither are they discontinuous, but in fact follow-on in sequence. When this is understood, it becomes clear that they must relate in some way to the action shown on the body of the Tapestry. After careful examination, it has become clear that the purpose of these images is to amplify, elaborate or explain the main story. In this study, Arthur Wright reveals the significance of the images in the margins.