Carpet from the cathedral in Bayeux. Bayeux Tapestry Notre Dame Cathedral

Bayeux (French Bayeux) is a city in Normandy (northwest France), in the department of Calvados. Bayeux is located in the fertile Or River valley, 12 km from the English Channel.
In ancient times Bayeux was the center of the Gaulish tribe of the Bayocasses, and in Roman times was called "Augustodorum" and, as the remains of an aqueduct, a gymnasium and other signs of civilization show, achieved a certain degree of prosperity.
In the 3rd century, this area belonged to the so-called “Saxon Coast” (lat. Litus Saxonicum, modern department of the Loire-Atlantique), then to the territory of Little Saxony (lat. Otlingua Saxonia, modern department of Calvados), where Charlemagne evicted the Saxons he had conquered. The descendants of these settlers were called “Bessen Saxons” for a long time. Bayeux was the main city of the Bessin region. In the 4th century a bishopric was founded in the city, and in the 9th century another Saxon element, also of Germanic origin, was added. The Norman Rollon (from 912 Christian Duke of Normandy) took Bayeux from Count Berengard, who was killed during the Viking assault on the city, and whose beautiful daughter became the wife of the winner. Thus, Bayeux became the main center of Norman power in Upper Normandy and retained Scandinavian customs longer than other cities.
The main attraction of the city is the cathedral, the construction of which began in 1105 and was completed in 1497. The city also houses a museum in which the famous “Bayeux carpet” is exhibited, a monument of early medieval art, which is an embroidered canvas 50 cm high and 70 ,3 m long, depicting the most important events from the history of the conquest of England by William of Normandy. In France, the tapestry is known as Queen Matilda's Carpet, as it was long believed that the painting was embroidered by the hands of William the Conqueror's wife, Queen Matilda. However, there is now a second theory that the customer of the carpet was Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, one of William's closest associates and maternal half-brother, in which case the tapestry's makers were probably English weavers, since the bishop's main land holdings were in Kent. This is indirectly confirmed by the fact that some Latin names on the carpet are derived from Anglo-Saxon ones, and the plant dyes used to create the carpet were widespread in England. There is an assumption that the authors of the carpet from Bayeux were the monks of the monastery of St. Augustine in Canterbury.

The main plot of the tapestry is the Battle of Hastings (English: Battle of Hastings, October 14, 1066) between the Anglo-Saxon army of King Harold Godwinson and the troops of the Norman Duke William:
“We fought fiercely for most of the day, with neither side yielding. Convinced of this, Wilhelm gave the signal for an imaginary flight from the battlefield. As a result of this trick, the battle ranks of the Angles were upset, trying to exterminate the randomly retreating enemy, and thus their own death was accelerated; for the Normans, turning sharply, attacked the separated enemies, and put them to flight. So, deceived by cunning, they accepted a glorious death, avenging their homeland. But still, they avenged themselves with interest, and, stubbornly resisting, left piles of dead from their pursuers. Having taken possession of the hill, they threw the Normans into the hollow when they, engulfed in flames [of battle], stubbornly climbed to the heights, and destroyed every single one, easily shooting arrows at those approaching from below and rolling stones onto them.”
Chronicler William of Poitevin about the battle of the Normans and Anglo-Saxons.

The earliest written evidence of a carpet is contained in the inventory of the property of Bayeux Cathedral, dated 1476. The carpet was discovered at the end of the 17th century in Bayeux, where it was traditionally exhibited once a year in the local cathedral. The first reproductions of the carpet were published in the 1730s. Bernard de Montfaucon. During the French Revolution, some Republicans from Bayeux wanted to make a carpet out of carpet for a cart with military ammunition, but one of the lawyers, who understood the value of the carpet, saved it by providing another fabric. In 1803, Napoleon took the carpet to Paris to promote the planned French invasion of England. However, when the invasion plan failed, the carpet was returned to Bayeux. There it was kept rolled up until it was captured by representatives of the German Ahnenerbe. The carpet spent most of the Second World War in the dungeons of the Louvre.

The carpet is currently on display in a special museum in Bayeux, and in order to avoid deterioration of the condition of this work of art, it is placed under glass, and special low lighting is maintained in the room.

The carpet is embroidered on linen with woolen threads in four colors: purple, blue, green and black. When embroidering, the chain stitch technique, the stem stitch technique, as well as a simple “set” were used.

Events unfold in chronological order and are presented in successive scenes: the sending of Harold by King Edward the Confessor to Normandy; his capture by the men of Guy, Count of Ponthieu, and release by Duke William; Harold's oath to William and his participation in the siege of Dinan; death of Edward the Confessor and coronation of Harold; the appearance of a comet, foreshadowing misfortune, over Harold's palace; William's preparations for invasion and the route of his fleet across the English Channel; and finally the Battle of Hastings and the death of Harold. Part of the carpet, about 6.4 m long, has not survived. It probably depicted events after the Battle of Hastings, including the coronation of William the Conqueror.

The authors of the carpet reflected the Norman point of view on the events of 1066, for example, the coronation of Harold is carried out by the excommunicated Stigand, although most likely, according to the testimony of Florence of Worcester, the anointing was carried out by Archbishop Eldred, who was ordained in full accordance with church canons. Moreover, according to the legend depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, an arrow hit the king's right eye. According to another version, Harold was hacked to death by Norman knights. The Chronicle of the Roman de Rou reports that King Harold was wounded by an arrow in the eye, but pulled out the arrow and continued to fight until he fell to the blows of the Norman knights. Even earlier, the king's brothers Girt and Leofwin died. Left without leaders, the Anglo-Saxon army fled, although the king's squad continued to fight around the body of their overlord to the last.
Wilhelm's victory was complete. Several thousand Anglo-Saxons were left lying on the battlefield. William later gave the hacked body of King Harold to his mother for burial.

Memorial plaque at the site of King Harold's death:

The Battle of Hastings is one of the few battles that radically changed the course of history. The victory opened up England for William. After a short resistance, London submitted, and the surviving Anglo-Saxon aristocracy recognized William's rights to the English throne.
On December 25, 1066, William was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey. As a result of the Norman Conquest, the ancient Anglo-Saxon state was destroyed, which was replaced by a centralized feudal monarchy with strong royal power, based on the European knightly culture and the vassal-fief system. A new impetus was given to the development of the country, which allowed England to quickly become one of the strongest powers in Europe.
On the site of the Battle of Hastings, the Battle Monastery was founded, and the altar of the main church of the monastery was located right on the site of the death of King Harold. Later, the small town of Battle grew up around the monastery.

Hastings Battlefield. View from the Norman positions:

The Bayeux carpet is a huge linen fabric embroidered with woolen threads in 8 colors. Its width reaches 53 cm and its length is 68.38 meters. For the sake of objectivity, it should be noted that this masterpiece of the early Middle Ages is not a tapestry carpet. This is embroidery with multi-colored threads. It belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Stored in the city hall of Bayeux (France - Normandy). This masterpiece was created in the 11th century.

Background

In the 9th and 10th centuries, inhabitants of the northern coastal regions of France were regularly attacked by Vikings. They not only robbed, but also settled in the plundered territories near the sea. This is how the Duchy of Normandy appeared at the mouth of the Seine River. The French king assigned this territory to the Viking leader Rollon as a fief.

The Normans mastered horse riding and became a formidable force not only at sea, but also on land. In the 11th century they began to lay claim to the English throne. This all resulted in a military campaign by William, a descendant of Rollo, to England in 1066. The Normans landed on the English coast and at the Battle of Hastings inflicted a crushing defeat on the Anglo-Saxons, led by King Harold. After this, Norman rule was established in England, and William received the addition of Conqueror to his name.

Fragments of a carpet from Bayeux

Images on the Bayeux carpet

The Bayeux carpet precisely reflects the above-described historical events. Moreover, the scenes are embroidered in chronological order. The main fabric is made of 9 fabrics ranging from 3 to 14 meters in length. The joints are disguised with embroidery. The boundaries between the first and second panels do not coincide somewhat, but then the technique was improved, and subsequent joints are almost invisible.

Embroidered on the canvas are 626 human figures, 202 horse figures, 55 dogs, 505 other various animals, 41 ships, 37 houses and 49 trees. The embroidery begins with the departure of the heir to the throne, Harold, to Normandy. Then other historical events are depicted, including the coronation of Harold, the appearance of a comet in the sky indicating future misfortunes, and the invasion of William's fleet into England. The Battle of Hastings and the death of King Harold are also depicted. The last part of the tapestry (presumably more than 6 meters in length) has not survived. It was most likely embroidered with the coronation of William the Conqueror.

Thanks to embroidery, historians have gained an idea of ​​the armor and weapons of warriors of that distant time. Thus, most of William’s warriors are horsemen, dressed in chain mail and helmets with navels. Other armor is quilted armor like a padded robe, embroidered with multi-colored fabric triangles.

The Anglo-Saxons on foot chop off the heads of horses with long-handled axes and throw spears at the horsemen. Some riders dismount from their saddles to take part in hand-to-hand combat. The warriors' chain mail is long and has slits on the sides. Some chain mail has a special slot for a sword sheath. Only the hilt is visible from the slot, and the scabbard itself is hidden under chain mail. This is how swords were worn in the 11th century. However, later knights began to hang daggers and swords on top of their armor.

Horsemen and infantrymen have the same teardrop-shaped shields. For a long time, shields of this shape were called Norman. But they were used not only by Europeans, but also by Muslims. But the painting on them was different, and the lower part of the shield was not pointed but blunt. Warriors ate on such shields in that distant time. They mounted them on trestles and laid out food supplies.

29 warriors with bows are embroidered on the canvas. But only 6 of them are depicted on the main field. The rest are on the border. This indicates the lower status of archers compared to horsemen. But there is only one horse archer. He is depicted behind the galloping Normans pursuing the Anglo-Saxons.

As for the horses, no protective armor is depicted on them. Therefore, we can assume that the animals suffered greatly from enemy arrows. However, medieval knights never used arrows and bows in battles. They used the bow only for hunting. But eastern warriors always fired from horses, but this military tactic did not become widespread in Europe.

From all that has been said, it is clear that the Bayeux carpet represents a unique find for historians. It tells not only about historical events, but also gives a complete picture of the uniform of Western European soldiers. This is a long chain mail, a conical helmet with a nosepiece, and a drop-shaped shield. Also a long straight sword designed specifically for slashing, a broad-bladed ax and a spear.

An 11th-century Norman horseman, reproduced from paintings

The history of the creation and discovery of the Bayeux carpet

The first mention of the unique painting dates back to 1476. At this time, an inventory was taking place at the Bayeux Cathedral, and the canvas was included in the list of property. Then they forgot about the unique tapestry until the end of the 17th century, when church ministers began to display it every year in the cathedral for public viewing. In the 30s of the 18th century, the first reproductions of the carpet were published.

In 1803, by order of Napoleon Bonaparte, the tapestry was brought to Paris. The Emperor planned a war with England and used various methods of propaganda for this purpose. However, later the canvas returned to its native cathedral. During Hitler's Germany, the tapestry was taken over by the Society for the Study of Ancient German History (Ahnenerbe). The unique masterpiece was taken to Paris and placed in the bins of the Louvre. After the fall of the Hitler regime, it was again moved to where it was taken from. Currently, the canvas is in a special museum and is protected by glass from external damage.

Who created this unique masterpiece? What was the great master called? For a long time it was believed that the embroidery was done on the personal orders of Queen Matilda (wife of William the Conqueror). The court weavers did this. Apparently they were excellent craftswomen if they could create such a thing.

However, later a different version appeared. Bishop Odo was named as the initiator and customer. This venerable gentleman in all respects was the brother of William the Conqueror. It was under him that in 1077 the construction of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bayeux was completed. According to the bishop's idea, the canvas was supposed to serve as a decoration for church walls and delight the eyes of parishioners. In this case, unique embroidery was done by English weavers. There is also an opinion that the carpet was made by monks from the monastery of St. Augustine. Today it is St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury.

The Bayeux Carpet is one of the greatest achievements of Norman art. This masterpiece has been perfectly preserved for 1000 years, which can be considered a real miracle. Perfect harmony, freshness of colors, exquisite craftsmanship and the historical idea itself make viewing embroidery an extremely fascinating experience..

In the morning we headed to the place that I really wanted to see, but about which I knew almost nothing - to the carpet museum, located in the small town of Bayeux.

A little history of the city. Bayeux emerged as a Roman camp to defend against German attacks in the 1st century. BC. under the name Augustodurum. Although fortifications between the sea and the Or River existed earlier, no evidence of the existence of a Celtic city has been found. In the Gallo-Roman era it was an important center on the road between present-day Lisieux and Valognes at the ford of the Or, which crosses the city from south to north. Since the settlement was located on the territory of the Gallic tribe of Bayokassi (as Pliny called them), in the 4th century. it is already referred to as Bayocassium.

At first, a settlement of artisans and traders developed on the western bank of the river. Nearby was Mount Faunus, where the Celtic Druids still held their ritual ceremonies. This mountain was also associated with the first martyrs of the new religion - Christianity. All this, apparently, contributed to the subsequent transformation of the settlement into a religious center. Towards the end of the Roman Empire it became an episcopal center, one of the oldest.

The city of Roman times had a clear rectangular layout, which was preserved in the medieval city, which for a long time did not go beyond the walls: artisans lived in the north, nobles lived in the southwest, and the church’s possessions lived in the southeast. Moreover, church properties are becoming more and more important and extensive, and the Norman castle that once existed disappears completely (the current De Gaulle Square).

The Bishopric of Bayeux is one of the oldest in Normandy. The first bishops came from the Gallo-Roman nobility, close to the kings. Episcopal power increased after the fall of the Roman Empire. After its formation in the 10th century. Duchy bishops were from the Norman ducal family. Under William the Conqueror, religious power in the city flourished. Not far from Bayeux was Caen, which in the time of William was the main city of the duchy. The Duke appoints Odon, his half-brother, as bishop. It was under him that the construction of the current cathedral began. And it was Odon who placed the famous carpet in this cathedral for centuries.

During the war for the throne between the sons of William, Bayeux suffered severe destruction and experienced decline. In the 13th century it, as part of Normandy, comes under the rule of the French king. But the religious power of the clergy remained very strong in the city, because, owning enormous wealth, they were able to buy benefits from the king. Only after the Hundred Years' War did a strong secular government appear in the city, which resists the religious one. Religious wars weakened the church, split the inhabitants and thereby again slowed down the development of the city. Episcopal power strengthened in the 17th century, when the city expanded beyond the city walls, which ran approximately along the border of the Roman camp. A number of monasteries of different orders appeared around the center. The revolution put an end to religious authority in the city.

Bayeux is located 12 km from the beaches where the Allies landed in June 1944. During Operation Overlord, the city was the first to be liberated and therefore escaped destruction. The first French government in the liberated territory settled here. To prepare for the operation to liberate Caen, the Allies even built a bypass road (now the district boulevard) to prevent the vibration of heavy equipment from destroying the ancient city and its cathedral. On the ring road there is currently a cemetery for those killed during the liberation of Normandy and a museum dedicated to it.

Since Bayeux was an episcopal center for a long time, it is necessary to talk about the main cathedral of the city. Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayeux Built from the 11th to the 15th centuries, it was the main cathedral of the bishopric that existed here from the 4th to the 19th centuries. The construction was started by Bishop Hugo of Evry, but the cathedral was completed and consecrated under Odon. Odon participated in the conquest of England, received significant financial resources and was then able to quickly complete construction. The temple was consecrated in the presence of William and Matilda. But it has already been used, because on the carpet of Queen Matilda, Harold takes the oath of allegiance on the relics of this cathedral.

Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayeux

A clergy quarter was formed around the cathedral: the clergy's houses (XIV-XVIII centuries), the bishop's palace, the chapter's library, and the canon's house.

The oldest parts of the cathedral are the crypt (with decorative elements from the 11th century and paintings from the 15th century) and the bases of the towers of the western facade. Only the crypt survived the war of succession for the sons of William the Conqueror, when the cathedral burned down almost completely. Then the cathedral burned again at the end of the 12th century. For almost a century and a half, the crypt was walled up. When they decided to rebuild the cathedral, the Romanesque style had already given way to the Gothic. Therefore, they began to rebuild it in a new style. So the cathedral turned out to be one of the first buildings of this style. This was perhaps the first example of the construction of a high central nave in architecture, which made it possible to better illuminate the temple.

Crypt of the cathedral

From the outside, the cathedral is a building that can almost entirely be dated back to the 13th century. The Romanesque towers were built with Gothic pointed tops.

Western portal of the cathedral from outside

The western façade has three portals. The sculptures were lost during the religious wars. The tympanum of the left portal is dedicated to the passion of Christ, the right - to the final judgment. During the Hundred Years' War, the northern tower served as a lookout tower.

The western portal of the cathedral from the inside; 13th century stained glass

The most unusual is the southern facade. The tympanum of the canon's portal depicts scenes from the life of the English saint Thomas Becket. This saint was popular in France in the 13th century. Accounts of his life were translated and read. He visited Bayeux during his exile from England. This is how scenes from his life ended up in a French cathedral. There is also a sculpture preserved there, not broken by vandals, and inscriptions on the wall dedicated to the deceased sister of one of the bishops.

The north portal did not exist before. It was only broken through in the 19th century. On this side of the cathedral is adjacent to the chapter library, where documents and books were copied and stored. From the same side, the reverse side of the towers of the western portal is clearly visible.

The high central tower, characteristic of Norman-style buildings, began to be built only in the 14th century. It took a long time to build, was destroyed by fires, changed by “restorations”, and was completed only in the 19th century in the neo-Gothic style.

The interior of the cathedral has preserved several interesting places. The lower part of the cathedral is Romanesque. The decor contains elements of the Norman style. In the southern part you can see on bas-reliefs, including the so-called lovers from Bayeux, and a repetition of Harold’s oath from the carpet. On the ceiling of the choir, the first bishops are depicted in medallions.

Lovers from Bayeux

On the wall near the southern portal (canon) are the Annunciation, the Trinity, the Crucifixion and scenes from the life of St. Nicholas - all from the 13th century, and the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket (19th century).

Trinity - above and Annunciation - below (XIII century)

From the life of St. Nicholas (XIII century) - below, The Murder of Thomas Becket (XIX century) - above

At the northern wall there is a treasury (entrance only with a group), where a carpet was kept for centuries, and now there are objects from the 12th-13th centuries (the chasuble of St. Regnobert, a casket of Arabic work, a cabinet with medieval paintings). Near the entrance there is a stained glass window from the 13th century (another one is on the western portal, where the organ is). Behind the north tower there is a passage to the chapter hall (with a group only), where the labyrinth has been preserved. The chapels on this side are connected to the library, the bishop's palace.

If you leave the cathedral through the western portal, turn left and walk along the street along the southern facade and further, crossing the Or, you will come to the former seminary William the Conqueror Center. The Bayeux Tapestry or Queen Matilda's carpet is there today. There are signs all over the city to the Carpet Museum. The museum occupies 2 floors. The top one is the history of the creation of the carpet, and below, in the semi-darkness, under glass there is this miracle, about which below. At the entrance they provide audio guides in 14 languages, incl. in Russian. The tour along the carpet takes approximately 1 hour. The maximum cost of a visit now is 9 euros, students and schoolchildren over 10 years old - 4 euros.

Or River

Some call this object a "carpet", some a "tapestry", but in reality it is embroidery. I can’t wrap my head around some details: how was it possible to preserve this tapestry carpet for almost 1000 years, how many people embroidered it (and its length is amazing), why did this miracle end up on the UNESCO World Heritage List only in 2007?

The carpet (we will call it that because it is called tapisserie) was embroidered immediately after the Battle of Hastings. There are two supposed customers (since at all times such work was carried out to order): Duchess-Queen Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, and Bishop Odon, his half-brother. The second version seems more realistic to many for many reasons. Bishop Odon was himself a participant in the Battle of Hastings. After the conquest he took possession of lands in Kent, and the style of embroidery which has long been studied is south-east Anglo-Saxon. The carpet depicts three close bishops. He stood at the head of the Bishopric of Bayeux for a long time (from 1049 to 1097), and on his order they began to build the Cathedral of Our Lady. The carpet depicts a scene of an oath on relics from Bayeux Cathedral. The carpet was kept for many centuries in the Cathedral of Our Lady of this town, from where it was taken out “for public viewing” once a year in July on the occasion of the Feast of Relics (i.e., it was a story in pictures about the conquest of England by William for illiterate parishioners).

Bishop Odon participates in the Battle of Hastings

Now I will present the figures related to embroidery. The carpet is embroidered on linen, threads of 8 colors are used. Width - about 50 cm, length - about 70 m. The carpet includes 58 scenes. It is believed that over almost 1000 years, 2 scenes have been lost (possibly William's entry into London, his coronation in Westminster, the construction of the Tower). The carpet depicts in full detail the events that took place from 1064 to 1066. More than 600 people, 200 horses, 50 dogs, 30 buildings, 40 ships were embroidered, the total number of subjects is more than 1500. After studying the embroidery, we came to the conclusion that the carpet was made by two (!) embroiderers in 2 years. At the top there is a brief summary of embroidered events in Latin. The embroidery shows tools, hairstyles, clothes of the 11th century, real events (the appearance of Halley's comet), mythological creatures from stories known at that time (fables, ancient myths). The historical events depicted on the carpet were told by contemporaries (Guillaume of Poitiers and Guillaume of Jumièges); a century later they were supplemented by two more authors, i.e. The embroidery is documented to be correct.

Halley's Comet was visible during Harold's coronation

Whoever and wherever the carpet was embroidered, it was made to prove the legitimacy of William's conquest of England. It is a story about the triumph of good over evil, because Harold first swore an oath of allegiance to William as his overlord, and then broke it, for which he was punished by dying during the Battle of Hastings.

A few words about the characters on the carpet and the events that happened before those embroidered on it. I talked about Wilhelm in the previous part. Edward the Confessor was the son of one of the Norman duchesses (his mother Emma was the sister of William's grandfather). After the murder of her first Anglo-Saxon husband, she married his murderer, the Dane Cnut. After which Edward hid for many years with relatives in Normandy. Harold was the brother-in-law of the English king Edward the Confessor (who was married to his sister), and came from a wealthy Anglo-Saxon family in Wessex. Thus, William was the heir by blood of the English king. Harold was supported by the Anglo-Saxon nobility, who elected him king after the death of Edward.

Edward the Confessor

The story begins in 1064, when Harold goes to William to convey Edward the Confessor's desire to make him heir to the English throne. There is a version that he was going to Normandy to ransom his brother, who had been taken hostage. During a storm, he ends up in a different place than he planned. He is taken prisoner. William ransoms Harold from captivity. He lives in Normandy, participates in William’s campaigns in Brittany. This is followed by a scene of the vassal oath on the relics of the cathedral at Bayeux.

Harold takes his oath on the relics of Notre Dame Cathedral

Then Harold returns to England. Two years later, the childless Edward dies. Harold is crowned. Wilhelm becomes aware of events in England. He equips a fleet and sails to England to receive his inheritance. Since in those days, perjury was a serious sin, it was supported by the Pope, and many European mercenaries joined the army.

During the Battle of Hastings, William was presumed killed. He opens his visor to show that he is alive

What follows is the story of the Battle of Hastings, when Harold is killed. For a long time it was believed that he died from an arrow that hit his right eye. But there is a version that his brother died from an arrow, and Harold was killed with a sword. All this, like in a comic book, is told on the carpet. And this comic can be looked at endlessly without getting boring.

Harold killed by an arrow

The first written mention of a carpet dates back to the 15th century. During the religious wars it was hidden. Scientists became interested in the carpet only in the 17th century. Until the 18th century, it was kept in the treasury of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Bayeux. During the revolution, when churches were closed, the carpet was almost cut into pieces for packaging exported valuables. Fortunately, lawyer Lambert-Leforestier intervened. Napoleon then took the carpet to Paris, where it became a means of promoting his idea of ​​a second conquest of the British Isles. The carpet was then exhibited to the public in the Louvre. When the conquest did not happen, the carpet was returned. In the 19th century a copy is made from it for England. During World War II, the carpet is kept in one of the castles, where German scientists study it. Then he is transported to the Louvre for an exhibition of primitive art, from where they plan to take him to Germany, but do not have time. The carpet returned to Bayeux in 1945, where it remains to this day.

In the city you can also see the art museum of Baron Gerard (in part of the former bishop's palace, the rest is occupied by the city hall); nearby on the square The Liberty Tree, planted during the revolution, grows; the British War Cemetery, the Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum and the memorial dedicated to journalists killed since 1944 (on the Circular Boulevard). The oldest churches are dedicated to the first bishops: St. Exuperia (in the east of the city, bishops were buried here), St. Vigor, St. Patrick. The city has preserved half-timbered houses from the 14th to 16th centuries and mansions from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Liberty Tree

The art of bobbin lace making and porcelain production developed in Bayeux.

Every year on the first weekend in July, a medieval festival is held in the town.

The Bayeux Tapestry is a woven carpet about 70 meters long. kept in the museum of the French city of Bayeux. The subjects of the tapestry are entirely dedicated to the Norman conquest of England, and it was created with the aim of glorifying the great victory of the Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror. The images on the tapestry transport the viewer in the midst of historical events of 1066.

The Bayeux Tapestry was commissioned by Bishop Odo to coincide with the construction of the city's cathedral in the 1070s and was completed in 1077. His embroideries are made with wool thread on a linen base. On many scenes of the carpet there are inscriptions that indicate to the names of the participants or the location of the event . Almost all the inscriptions are embroidered with dark blue, almost black wool. Some French names are written in archaic form ( "Rednes" ) or in anglicized form (“ Bagias "). The word sometimes used to refer to Normans is "Franci »

For historians, the Bayeux Tapestry is an indispensable source of information. on the history of medieval European weapons , the tapestry is priceless because it depicts hundreds of figures of Norman and English warriors with all the details of their equipment and weapons from the time of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND 1066A - a military invasion of England by the army of the Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror, which led to the establishment of the Norman dynasty on the English throne and changes in the political and socio-economic structure of the Kingdom of England.

At the end of the 10th century, England was subjected to massive raids by Scandinavian Vikings. King Anglo-Saxons Aethelred II, Wanting to secure support for himself in the fight against the Vikings, in 1002 he married Emma, ​​the sister of the Norman Duke Richard II, but without receiving help from him, Ethelred II in 1013 was forced to flee with his family to Normandy. The sons of Ethelred II and Emma spent almost 30 years in exile at the court of the Norman Duke.

By 1016, all of England was conquered by the Vikings, and Canute the Great became king, uniting England, Denmark and Norway under his rule.

Only in 1042 to the eldest son Æthelred II , brought up in Normandy, Edward the Confessor managed to regain the throne of England.

1064 In the Royal Palace of Westminster, King Edward the Confessor of England talks with his brother-in-law Harold, Earl of Wessex

According to Norman sources, international positions Earl of Wessex Harold Godwinson (Harold II ) in 1064/1065 sharply weakened due to an extremely unsuccessful trip to Normandy. Having gone to the Norman Duke William to ransom his brother Wulfnoth from the hostages, Harold was shipwrecked and captured by Guy I, Count of Ponthieu.

HIC WILLELM DEDIT ARMA HAROLDO = Here William gives (gives) weapons to Harold

After his release at the request of William of Normandy, Harold spent some time in Normandy at the Duke's court, and William gave Harold weapon, knighting him .

UBI HAROLD SACRAMENTUM FECIT WILLELMO DUCI = Where is Harold gives (DASI ) oath to Duke William

The Bayeux Tapestry and other Norman sources record that Harold swore an oath of allegiance to William of Normandy on sacred relics, and promised to support William's claim to the English throne after the death of King Edward the Confessor. The story about this trip and Harold's oath on the holy relics was recorded by all medieval chroniclers (Guillaume of Jumièges, William of Malmesbury, Simeon of Durham, Roger of Hoveden, Matthew of Paris, etc.).

HIC HAROLD DUX REVERSUS EST AD ANGLICAM TERRAM = Here Earl Harold returns to English lands

Harold's violation of this oath after the death of Edward the Confessor in 1066 became the main pretext for organizing the invasion of England by William of Normandy and largely provided William with the support of the Pope and European knighthood.

ET VENIT AD EDWARDU[M] REGEM = and comes to King Edward

On the night of On January 5, 1066, the English king Edward the Confessor died. leaving no direct heirs. The Bayeux Tapestry shows a scene of King Edward's funeral procession and his shrouded body lying on a piece of patterned Byzantine silk with a repeating design panthers and griffins.

The last representative of the Anglo-Saxon royal dynasty is a great-nephew Edward the Confessor A Edgar Etheling was young (he was about 15 years old) and did not enjoy the support of the Anglo-Saxon nobility.

Here King Edward is in bed talking to his loyal followers. Here he dies in the presence of a priest

Was proclaimed king Earl of Wessex Harold Godwinson , who was the de facto ruler of England in the last years of his reign Edward the Confessor. According to English sources, Edward declared him his heir before his death.

The chronicler Orderic Vitalis wrote about Harold II what's his " distinguished by his large size and strength of body, his polished manners, his firmness of mind and mastery of words, always ready with a witty answer and many excellent qualities "

Here they give the royal CROWN (CORONA) to Harold (...and an ax, ax, as a symbol of power)

However, he also claimed the right to the English throne. Duke William of Normandy, distantly related to Emma, ​​mother of Edward the Confessor .

Caption: HIC RE SIDET HAROLD REX ANGLORUM = Here sits Harold, King of England

A bad omen.

The comet was considered a harbinger of misfortune, disease and all kinds of disasters.
In 1682, Halley calculated the frequency of the comet's return to Earth in 75-76 years. It was this comet in 1066 that was depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry.

Caption: ISTI MIRANT STELLA. People see the appearance of Halley's Comet and think it is a bad omen and are horrified

News of the comet is brought to Harold's palace. Under the image of the king in the lower register of the tapestry, a ghostly figure appears the fleet is a hint of the coming invasion of William's Normans.

News of Edward's death and Harold's coronation crosses the English Channel and reaches William, Duke of Normandy.

William is furious, he lays claim to the throne of England and considers Harold a usurper. William decides to invade England and orders the construction of a fleet of warships. On Wilhelm's left hand sits his step-brother Brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux . William's men prepare to invade England. Lumberjacks cut down trees and make planks from them that are used to build ships.

To summer 1066 William gathered an army of about 4-7 thousand soldiers, And began building ships to cross the English Channel.

Caption: Duke William orders the construction of ships

Duke William of Normandy was able to get support Pope Alexander II (1061-1073), who sent him the “banner of St. Petra." This support allowed William to attract into his army not only Norman vassals, but also knights from all over continental Europe (Brittany, Flanders, Lorraine, Picardy, Mena, Aquitaine, etc.).

Inscription: HIC TRAHUNT NAVES AD MARE = ​​Here ships are dragged to the sea

At the same time, he was preparing for a military campaign against England. Norwegian King Harald the Severe, with whom the younger brother entered into an alliance Earl of Wessex Harold Tosti , outlawed in 1065 and engaged in piracy off the southern and eastern coasts of England.

In September 1066, the Norwegian army Harald the Severe landed in northern England, defeated the combined forces at the Battle of Fulford (September 20) Anglo-Saxon earls Edwin and Morcar and occupied York. Having learned about this, Harold, who was in the south of England, expecting William's invasion from Normandy, marched with an army to the north and in the bloody battle of Stamford Bridge (September 25) defeated the Norwegians. The Norwegian king Harald the Harsh and Harold's brother Tosti died in the battle.

Harold's Anglo-Saxon Army , probably, was the largest army in Western Europe. Ground Force Core constituted the king's personal guard - housecarls (from Old Scand. húskarlar, where hús is a house, karl is a personally free person) and Earls (Old English eorl - person) - the title of the highest aristocracy of Anglo-Saxon Britain in the 11th century, which arose under the influence of the Danish conquest of England. By the middle of the 11th century there were about 3000 royal housecarls, the squad of a large earl consisted of 400-500 warriors. Harold's army consisted of units military service nobility - tens ( Anglo-Saxon : þeg(e)n (TEGUN from the 8th century); English . thegn; lat . tainus), and the national militia of the peasants of Anglo-Saxon Britain - fird (Anglo-Saxon: fird ; from 694) - which is an army convened by the king from free landowners, on the principle of putting one soldier into the militia from each guides (English hide, Anglo-Saxon: hϊd or hiwisc) - units of cultivated land of one family of a free peasant. The fyrd warriors were well armed with swords and shields.

Having waited for favorable weather, William's troops landed in England on September 28-29, 1066.

William sits down to a feast with his aristocrats, and Bishop Odo says a prayer before eating

Harold, with an army of about 7 thousand people, made a forced march to the south, towards William's Norman troops near Hastings.

On the day of the Battle of Hastings, in the morning October 14, 1066 , William is depicted dressed in armor, receiving a blessing before battle.

His Norman cavalry gallops towards Harold's English foot soldiers. Caption: Here the warriors left Hastings and came to battle against King Harold

At the head of the cavalry detachment is Wilhelm on a black horse.

Duke William asks Vital, one of Odo's vassals, if he sees Harold's army.

events in the English camp. A warrior from an observation post informs King Harold of the approach of Duke William's Norman army

Wilhelm, holding a mace, makes a speech to inspire his soldiers. Duke William tells his soldiers to prepare courageously and wisely for battle against the English army.

The Norman cavalry charges and the Battle of Hastings begins on October 14, 1066.

The air is filled with flying arrows and spears. The English infantry is protected from them by a wall of shields. The Normans attack from both sides. The lower register of the tapestry is filled with dead and wounded soldiers.

Warriors chop each other with battle axes and hit each other with spears. Harold's brothers, Leofwin and Girth, die fighting. Caption: Here fell Leofwin and Gyrth, brothers of King Harold.

The battle is in full swing. Warriors and horses fall to the ground. The lower register of the tapestry is dotted with defeated soldiers and animals. Caption: Here the British and French fall simultaneously in battle.

Bishop Odo appears on a black horse in the thick of battle and, waving his club, inspires the Norman soldiers.

Odo uses a club rather than a sword, since bishops are not supposed to shed blood. Inscription: Here Bishop Odo, holding a staff, encourages the young men.

After falling from his horse, Wilhelm takes off his helmet, to reveal your face. By doing this, he shows his troops that he is still alive and inspires them to continue fighting. Caption: Duke William is here.

Next to him, Count Eustachius of Boulogne carries a banner, which the Pope sent to William to show his support for William's invasion of England.

The Normans appear to be winning the ongoing battle. Many soldiers are killed; one of the warriors, whose shield is riddled with stuck arrows, is depicted as if with a severed head. Caption: Here the French fight and kill those who were with Harold.

One of the tapestry's most famous scenes: death of King Harold. At the same time, it seems that Harold is depicted twice. First, Harold removes the arrow from his eye, and then he is struck with a sword by a Norman knight as he falls.

HIC HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST = Here King Harold is killed

When King Harold is killed, the battle is lost by the English. The victorious Normans pursue the remaining English on the battlefield. The final scene of the tapestry has been lost. It may have shown William's coronation as King of England. This would correspond to the scene at the very beginning of the tapestry, showing King Edward enthroned just two years earlier.

ET FUGA VERTERUNT ANGLI = and the English flee

At the battle of Hastigs William's Ormandian army was victorious, Harold and his brothers died in battle.

Sources do not allow us to unambiguously reconstruct the course of the battle, but, apparently, the presence of in the Norman army cavalry, which was transported by ship across the English Channel. In Anglo-Saxon Britain almost cavalry and archers were not used , as well as a fortress as a means of controlling and protecting the territory.

Immediately after the Battle of Hastings, some of the secular and spiritual Anglo-Saxon magnates in London proclaimed Edgar Etheling king, but when William’s Norman army approached, they capitulated, and at the end of November, beginning of December, they swore an oath to him as the legitimate ruler of England. On December 25, 1066, the Archbishop of York, Ealdred, crowned William in the Cathedral of Westminster Abbey.

Sporadic revolts against the power of William the Conqueror continued until 1071. The largest was the uprising in Northern England in the summer of 1069. He was supported by a fleet sent by King Svein (Sven) II of Denmark (1047-1074 or 1076), who also laid claim to the English crown based on his relationship with Canute the Great.

However William and his army in the winter of 1069-1070 made a campaign to the north and defeated the rebels and devastated large areas in Yorkshire, Northumberland and County Durham. Edgar Etheling, who took part in the uprising, fled to Scotland, and in 1074 surrendered to William, performing a ceremony of concluding a vassal agreement, and recognizing him as the legitimate ruler of England brought him homage.

A symbolic consolidation of William's power over England was the land census, as a result of which the Domesday Book was compiled, as well as the oath of all free land holders to him - the “Salisbury Oath of 1086”.

The Norman conquest of England led to a rapid and dramatic change in the composition of England's secular elite. Due to the confiscation of the lands of the Anglo-Saxons who fought against William the Conqueror at Hastings and participated in the last uprisings.

Wilhelm concentrated vast possessions in his hands, which he actively distributed to his associates. However, they, as a rule, received land in different parts of the country, so in England, unlike in France, extensive territorial baronies did not develop.

By the 1080s. Landowners of Anglo-Saxon origin appear to have held less than 10% of the arable land. The ethnic composition of the higher clergy also changed: in the years 1070-1175, only immigrants from the continent or their descendants were appointed to English episcopal sees.

An important consequence of the Norman conquest of England was the loss of the official status of Old English by the end of the reign of William the Conqueror.

At the same time, the Norman conquerors preserved the system of central and local government and legal proceedings that had developed in the Anglo-Saxon era, which was advanced for the early Middle Ages. The codes of law and other legal acts of the Anglo-Saxon kings, which played an important role in the formation of the “Common Law” system in the second half of the 12th century, were not formally repealed. The consequences of the Norman conquest of England from the point of view of formalizing the seigneurial dependence of the peasantry remain a debatable issue.

Among the numerous historical monuments of antiquity, this is one of the most famous, the most “speaking”, since there are inscriptions on it. However, he is also one of the most mysterious. We are talking about the world-famous “Bayeux Tapestry,” and it so happened that here, on the pages of VO, I have not been able to talk about it for a long time. I didn’t have any original materials on this topic, so I decided to use an article in the Ukrainian magazine “Science and Technology,” which today is also distributed in retail and by subscription in Russia. To date, this is the most detailed study of this topic, based on the study of many foreign sources.

“Here he is, William!” - a dramatic moment in the battle when rumors spread among the combatants that their leader had been killed.

I first learned about the “tapestry” from the Soviet-era “Children’s Encyclopedia,” in which for some reason it was called ... “The Bayonne Carpet.” Later I learned that ham is made in Bayonne, but the city of Bayeux is the storage place for this legendary tapestry, which is why it was named that way. Over time, my interest in the “carpet” only grew stronger, I managed to get a lot of interesting (and unknown here in Russia) information on it, well, in the end it resulted in this very article...

Location of the city of Bayeux in France.

There are not many battles in the world that radically changed an entire country. In fact, in the western part of the world there is probably only one of these - the Battle of Hastings. However, how do we know about it? What evidence is there that it really happened, that it was not an invention of idle chroniclers or a myth? One of the most valuable evidence is the famous “Bayesque Carpet”, on which “by the hands of Queen Matilda and her ladies-in-waiting” - this is how they usually write about it in our domestic history books - depicts the Norman conquest of England, and the Battle of Hastings itself. But the celebrated masterpiece raises as many questions as it answers.

Welcome to Bayeux! – a sign on the platform of the local station.

Works of Monarchs and Monks

The earliest information about the Battle of Hastings comes neither from the English nor from the Normans. They were recorded in another part of northern France. In those days, modern France was a patchwork of separate seigneurial estates. The king's power was strong only in his domain; for the rest of the lands he was only a nominal ruler. Normandy also enjoyed great independence. It was formed in 911, after King Charles the Simple (or Rustic, which sounds more correct, and most importantly more dignified), despairing of seeing an end to the Viking raids, ceded the lands near Rouen to the Viking leader Rollo (or Rollon). Duke William was Rollo's great-great-great-grandson.

By 1066, the Normans had extended their power to the territory from the Cherbourg Peninsula to the mouth of the Som River. By this time, the Normans were real French - they spoke French, adhered to French traditions and religion. But they retained a sense of their isolation and remembered their origins. For their part, the French neighbors of the Normans were afraid of the strengthening of this duchy, and did not mix with the northern newcomers. Well, they didn’t have the right relationship for this, that’s all! To the north and east of Normandy lay the lands of such “non-Normans” as the possession of Count Guy of Poitou and his relative Count Eustace II of Bologne. In the 1050s they both were hostile to Normandy and supported Duke William in his invasion of 1066 only because they pursued their own goals. It is therefore especially noteworthy that the earliest record of information about the Battle of Hastings was made by the French (and not the Norman!) Bishop Guy of Amiens, uncle of Count Guy of Poitou and cousin of Count Eustace of Bologne.

Bishop Guy's work is a detailed poem in Latin, and it is called "The Song of the Battle of Hastings." Although its existence had been known for a long time, it was discovered only in 1826, when the archivists of the King of Hanover accidentally stumbled upon two copies of the 12th century “Song”. in the Bristol Royal Library. The "canticle" can be dated to 1067, and at the latest to the period before 1074-1075, when Bishop Guy died. It presents a French, and not a Norman, point of view on the events of 1066. Moreover, unlike Norman sources, the author of the “Song” makes the hero of the Battle of Hastings not William the Conqueror (whom it would be more correct to call Guillaume), but the Count Eustace II of Bologna.

One of the houses on the street in Bayeux. Time seems to have stopped here!

Then the English monk Edmer of Canterbury Abbey wrote "History of Recent Events in England" between 1095 and 1123." And it turned out that his characterization of the Norman conquest completely contradicts the Norman version of this event, although it was underestimated by historians who were carried away by other sources. In the 12th century. There were authors who continued the Edmer tradition and expressed sympathy for the conquered English, although they justified the victory of the Normans, which led to the growth of spiritual values ​​in the country. Among these authors are such Englishmen as: John of Worcherter, William of Molmesbury, and the Normans: Oderic Vitalis in the first half of the 12th century. and in the second half, Jersey-born poet Weiss.

A dam on a river flowing through the city.

In written sources from the Normans, Duke William receives much more attention. One such source is the biography of William the Conqueror, written in the 1070s. one of its priests - William of Peuters. His work, The Acts of Duke William, survived in an incomplete version, printed in the 16th century, and the only known manuscript was burned in a fire in 1731. This is the most detailed description of the events of interest to us, the author of which was well informed about them. And as such, The Acts of Duke William are invaluable, but not without bias. William of Peuters is a patriot of Normandy. At every opportunity he praises his duke and curses the evil usurper Harold. The purpose of the work is to justify the Norman invasion after its completion. Without a doubt, he embellished the truth and even at times simply deliberately lied in order to make this conquest seem fair and legal.

The water mill is still in operation!

Another Norman, Oderic Vitalis, also produced a detailed and interesting account of the Norman conquest. Moreover, it was based on those written in the 12th century. works of different authors. Oderic himself was born in 1075 near Shrewsberg in the family of an Englishwoman and a Norman, and at the age of 10 he was sent by his parents to a Norman monastery. Here he spent his entire life as a monk, engaged in research and literary work, and between 1115 and 1141. created a history of the Normans, known as the Ecclesiastical History. A perfectly preserved author's copy of this work is in the National Library in Paris. Torn between England, where he spent his childhood, and Normandy, where he lived his entire adult life, Oderic, although he justifies the conquest of 1066, which led to religious reform, does not turn a blind eye to the cruelty of the newcomers. In his work, he even makes William the Conqueror call himself a “cruel murderer,” and on his deathbed in 1087 he puts into his mouth a completely uncharacteristic confession: “I treated the locals with unjustified cruelty, humiliating rich and poor, unjustly depriving them of their own lands; I caused the death of many thousands through famine and war, especially in Yorkshire."

View of the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral in Bayeux.

These written sources are the basis for historical research. In them we see a fascinating, instructive and mysterious story. But when we close these books and approach the Bayeux Tapestry, it is as if we emerge from a dark cave into a world flooded with light and full of vibrant colors. The figures on the tapestry are not just funny 11th-century characters embroidered on linen. They seem to us to be real people, although sometimes they are embroidered in a strange, almost grotesque manner. However, even just looking at the “tapestry”, after some time you begin to understand that this tapestry hides more than it shows, and that even today it is full of secrets that are still waiting for their researcher.

Notre Dame Cathedral from one of the streets.

Travel through time and space

How did it happen that a fragile work of art survived much more durable things and survived to this day? This in itself is an outstanding event worthy of at least a separate story, if not a separate historical study. The first evidence of the existence of a tapestry dates back to the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. Between 1099 and 1102 The French poet Baudry, abbot of the Bourgel monastery, composed a poem for Countess Adele of Bloy, daughter of William the Conqueror. The poem describes in detail the magnificent tapestry in her bedchamber. According to Baudry, the tapestry is embroidered with gold, silver and silk, and depicts her father's conquest of England. The poet describes the tapestry in detail, scene by scene. But this could not be the Bayeux Tapestry. The tapestry described by Baudry is much smaller, created in a different manner and embroidered with more expensive threads. Perhaps this Adele tapestry is a miniature copy of the Bayeux tapestry, and it actually decorated the countess’s bedchamber, but was then lost. However, most scholars believe that the Adele tapestry is nothing more than an imaginary model of the Bayeux tapestry, which the author saw somewhere in the period before 1102. As proof, they cite his words:
“On this canvas there are ships, a leader, the names of the leaders, if, of course, it ever existed. If you could believe in its existence, you would see in it the truth of history."

The reflection of the Bayeux Tapestry in the mirror of the poet’s imagination is the only mention of its existence in written sources until the 15th century. The first reliable mention of the Bayeux Tapestry dates back to 1476. Its exact location also dates back to the same time. The 1476 inventory of Bayeux Cathedral contains data according to which the cathedral was in possession of “a very long and narrow linen cloth, on which are embroidered figures and commentaries on scenes of the Norman conquest.” Documents show that every summer the embroidery was hung around the nave of the cathedral for several days during religious holidays.

View of the cathedral at dusk.

We will probably never know how this fragile masterpiece from the 1070s was built. came to us through the centuries. For a long period after 1476 there is no information about the tapestry. It could easily have perished in the crucible of the religious wars of the 16th century, since in 1562 the Bayeux Cathedral was destroyed by the Huguenots. They destroyed books in the cathedral and many other items named in the inventory of 1476. Among these things was a gift from William the Conqueror - a gilded crown and at least one very valuable unnamed tapestry. The monks knew about the upcoming attack and managed to transfer the most valuable treasures under the protection of local authorities. Perhaps the Bayeux Tapestry was well hidden or the robbers simply overlooked it; but he managed to avoid death.

One of the stained glass windows of the cathedral.

Turbulent times gave way to peaceful ones, and the tradition of hanging the tapestry during the holidays was revived again. To replace the flowing clothes and pointed hats of the 14th century. tight trousers and wigs arrived, but the people of Bayeux still looked with admiration at the tapestry depicting the victory of the Normans. Only in the 18th century. Scientists paid attention to it, and from that moment on, the history of the Bayeux Tapestry is known in great detail, although the very chain of events that led to the “discovery” of the tapestry is only in general terms.

The story of the “discovery” begins with Nicolas-Joseph Focolt, ruler of Normandy from 1689 to 1694. He was a very educated man, and after his death in 1721, the papers that belonged to him were transferred to the library of Paris. Among them were found stylized drawings of the first part of the Bayeux Tapestry. Antique dealers in Paris were intrigued by these mysterious drawings. Their author is unknown, but perhaps it was Focolta's daughter, famous for her artistic talents. In 1724, researcher Anthony Lancelot (1675 - 1740) drew the attention of the Royal Academy to these drawings. In an academic journal he reproduced Focolt's essay; That. For the first time, an image of the Bayeux Tapestry appeared in print, but no one yet knew what it really was. Lancelot knew that the drawings depicted an outstanding work of art, but he had no idea what it was. He could not determine what it was: a bas-relief, a sculptural composition on the choir of a church or tomb, a fresco, a mosaic, or a tapestry. He only determined that Focolt's work described only part of a larger work, and concluded that “it must have a continuation,” although the researcher could not imagine how long it could be. The truth about the origin of these drawings was discovered by the Benedictine historian Bernard de Montfaucon (1655 - 1741). He was familiar with Lancelot's work and set himself the task of finding the mysterious masterpiece. In October 1728, Montfaucon met with the abbot of the Abbey of St. Vigor in Bayeux. The abbot was a local resident and said that the drawings depicted ancient embroidery, which on certain days was hung in Bayes Cathedral. So their secret was revealed, and the tapestry became the property of all mankind.

We do not know whether Montfaucon saw the tapestry with his own eyes, although it is difficult to imagine that he, having devoted so much effort to searching for it, missed such an opportunity. In 1729 he published Focolt's drawings in the first volume of Monuments of French Monasteries. He then asked Anthony Benoit, one of the best draftsmen of the time, to copy the remaining episodes of the tapestry without any changes. In 1732, Benoit's drawings appeared in the second volume of Montfaucon's Monuments. Thus, all the episodes depicted on the tapestry were published. These first images of the tapestry are very important: they indicate the state of the tapestry in the first half of the 18th century. By that time, the final episodes of the embroidery had already been lost, so Benoit’s drawings end on the same fragment, which we can still see today. His comments state that local tradition attributes the creation of the tapestry to William the Conqueror's wife, Queen Matilda. This is where, therefore, the widespread myth of the “Queen Matilda Tapestry” originated.

Queen Matilda.

Immediately after these publications, a series of scientists from England reached out to the tapestry. One of the first among them was the antiquarian Andrew Ducarel (1713 - 1785), who saw the tapestry in 1752. Getting to it turned out to be a difficult task. Ducarel heard about Bayeux embroidery and wanted to see it, but when he arrived in Bayeux, the priests of the cathedral completely denied its existence. Perhaps they simply did not want to unroll the tapestry for a random traveler. But Dukarel was not going to give up so easily. He said that the tapestry depicted the conquest of England by William the Conqueror and added that it was hung in their cathedral every year. This information restored the priests' memory. The scientist's persistence was rewarded: he was taken to a small chapel in the southern part of the cathedral, which was dedicated to the memory of Thomas Becket. It was here, in an oak box, that the rolled Bayesian Tapestry was kept. Ducarel became one of the first Englishmen to see the tapestry after the 11th century. He later wrote about the deep satisfaction he felt upon seeing this "incredibly valuable" creation; although he lamented his “barbaric embroidery technique.” However, the whereabouts of the tapestry remained a mystery to most scholars, and the great philosopher David Hume further confused the situation when he wrote that “this interesting and original monument has recently been discovered at Rouen.” But gradually the fame of the Bayeux Tapestry spread to both sides of the English Channel. True, he had difficult times ahead. It had survived the Dark Ages in excellent condition, but was now on the verge of the most serious test in its history.

Souvenir T-shirt with tapestry symbols.

The storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 destroyed the monarchy and ushered in the atrocities of the French Revolution. The old world of religion and aristocracy was now completely rejected by the revolutionaries. In 1792, the revolutionary government of France decreed that everything connected with the history of royal power should be destroyed. In a fit of iconoclasm, buildings were destroyed, sculptures were destroyed, and priceless stained glass windows of French cathedrals were shattered. In the Paris fire of 1793, 347 volumes and 39 boxes of historical documents burned. Soon the wave of destruction reached Bayeux.

In 1792, another batch of local citizens went to war in defense of the French Revolution. In their haste, they forgot the canvas that covered the cart with the equipment. And someone advised using the embroidery of Queen Matilda, which was kept in the cathedral, for this purpose! The local administration gave its consent, and a crowd of soldiers entered the cathedral, seized the tapestry and covered the cart with it. The local police commissioner, lawyer Lambert Leonard-Leforester, found out about this at the very last moment. Knowing the enormous historical and artistic value of the tapestry, he immediately ordered its return to its place. Then, showing true fearlessness, he rushed to the tapestry cart and personally exhorted the crowd of soldiers until they agreed to return the tapestry in exchange for the tarpaulin. However, some revolutionaries continued to entertain the idea of ​​destroying the tapestry, and in 1794 they tried to cut it into pieces to decorate a festive raft in honor of the “Goddess of Reason.” But by this time it was already in the hands of the local art commission, and it managed to protect the tapestry from destruction.

During the era of the First Empire, the fate of the tapestry was happier. At that time, no one doubted that the Bayesian Tapestry was the embroidery of the wife of a victorious conqueror, who wanted to glorify the achievements of her husband. Therefore, it is not surprising that Napoleon Bonaparte saw in it a means of promoting a repetition of the same conquest. In 1803, the then First Consul was planning an invasion of England and, to fuel enthusiasm, ordered the exhibition of the “Queen Matilda Tapestry” in the Louvre (then called the Napoleon Museum). For centuries, the tapestry was in Bayeux, and the townspeople bitterly parted with a masterpiece that they might never see again. But local authorities could not disobey the order, and the tapestry was sent to Paris.

Paris Louvre, where the tapestry was exhibited several times.

The exhibition in Paris was a huge success, the tapestry became a popular subject of discussion in secular salons. There was even a play written in which Queen Matilda worked hard on a tapestry, and a fictional character named Raymond dreamed of becoming a heroic soldier so that he too could be embroidered on the tapestry. It is not known whether Napoleon saw this play, but it is claimed that he spent several hours standing meditatively in front of the tapestry. Like William the Conqueror, he carefully prepared for the invasion of England. Napoleon's fleet of 2,000 ships was located between Brest and Antwerp, and his “grand army” of 150-200 thousand soldiers set up camp in Bologne. The historical parallel became even more obvious when a comet streaked across the skies of northern France and southern England, as the Bayeux Tapestry clearly shows Halley's Comet, spotted in April 1066. This fact did not go unnoticed, and many considered it another omen of defeat England. But, despite all the signs, Napoleon failed to repeat the success of the Norman Duke. His plans did not come true, and in 1804 the tapestry returned to Bayeux. This time he found himself in the hands of secular rather than ecclesiastical authorities. He was never exhibited again at Bayes Cathedral.

When peace was established between England and France in 1815, the Bayeux Tapestry ceased to serve as a propaganda tool and was returned to the world of science and art. Only at this time did people begin to realize how close the destruction of the masterpiece was, and began to think about where it should be stored. Many were concerned about the way the tapestry was constantly folded and unrolled. This alone caused him harm, but the authorities were in no hurry to solve this problem. To preserve the tapestry, the London Society of Antiquaries sent Charles Stozard, an outstanding draftsman, to copy it. For two years, from 1816 to 1818, Stozard worked on this project. His drawings, along with earlier images, are very important for assessing the then state of the tapestry. But Stozard was not only an artist. He wrote one of the best commentaries on the tapestry. Moreover, he tried to restore the lost episodes on paper. Later his work helped restore the tapestry. Stozard clearly understood the need for this work. “A few years will pass,” he wrote, “and it will no longer be possible to complete this matter.”

But, unfortunately, the final stage of work on the tapestry demonstrated the weakness of human nature. For a long time, being alone with the masterpiece, Stozard succumbed to temptation and cut off a piece of the upper border (2.5x3 cm) as a keepsake. In December 1816, he secretly brought the souvenir to England, and five years later he died tragically - he fell from the scaffolding of Bere Ferrers Church in Devon. Stozard's heirs donated a fragment of embroidery to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, where it was exhibited as "part of the Bayesian tapestry." In 1871, the museum decided to return the “lost” piece to its true place. It was delivered to Bayeux, but by that time the tapestry had already been restored. The decision was made to leave the fragment in the same glass box in which it arrived from England and place it next to the restored border. Everything would be fine, but not a day passed without someone asking the curator about this fragment and the English commentary on it. As a result, the curator ran out of patience, and the piece of tapestry was removed from the exhibition hall.

There is a well-known story that says that Stozard’s wife and her “weak feminine nature” are to blame for the theft of a fragment of the tapestry. But today no one doubts that Stozard himself was the thief. And he was not the last who wanted to take with him at least a piece of the ancient tapestry. One of his followers was Thomas Diblin, who visited the tapestry in 1818. In his book of travel notes, he writes as a matter of course that, having difficulty gaining access to the tapestry, he cut off several strips. The fate of these scraps is unknown. As for the tapestry itself, in 1842 it was moved to a new building and finally placed under the protection of glass.

The fame of the Bayeux Tapestry continued to grow, thanks in large part to printed reproductions that appeared in the second half of the 19th century. But this was not enough for a certain Elizabeth Wardle. She was the wife of a wealthy silk merchant and decided that England deserved something more tangible and lasting than photographs. In the mid-1880s. Mrs. Wardle gathered a group of like-minded women of 35 people and began to create an exact copy of the Bayeux Tapestry. So, 800 years later, the plot of Bayesian embroidery was repeated again. It took the Victorian ladies two years to complete their work. The result was great and very accurate, similar to the original. However, the prim British ladies couldn't bring themselves to convey some of the details. When it came to the depiction of male genitalia (clearly embroidered on the tapestry), authenticity gave way to modesty. In their copy, Victorian needlewomen decided to deprive one naked character of his manhood, and prudently dressed the other in underpants. But now, on the contrary, what they modestly decided to cover up involuntarily attracts special attention. The copy was completed in 1886 and went on a triumphant exhibition tour of England, then the USA and Germany. In 1895 this copy was donated to the town of Reading. To this day, the British version of the Bayesian tapestry is in the museum of this English town.

Franco-Prussian War 1870 – 1871 like the First World War, it left no traces on the Bayeux Tapestry. But during World War II, the tapestry experienced one of the greatest adventures in its history. On September 1, 1939, as German troops invaded Poland, plunging Europe into the darkness of war for five and a half years, the tapestry was carefully removed from the exhibition stand, rolled up, sprayed with insecticide and hidden in a concrete shelter in the foundations of the episcopal palace in Bayeux. Here the tapestry was stored for a whole year, during which it was only occasionally checked and again sprinkled with insecticides. In June 1940, France fell. And almost immediately the tapestry came to the attention of the occupation authorities. Between September 1940 and June 1941, the tapestry was exhibited to German audiences at least 12 times. Like Napoleon, the Nazis hoped to repeat the success of William the Conqueror. Like Napoleon, they saw the tapestry as a propaganda tool, and like Napoleon, they postponed the invasion in 1940. Churchill's Britain was better prepared for war than Harold's. Britain won the war in the air and, although it continued to be bombed, Hitler directed his main forces against the Soviet Union.

However, German interest in the Bayeux Tapestry was not satisfied. The Ahnenerbe (ancestral heritage), the research and educational department of the German SS, became interested in the tapestry. The purpose of this organization is to find “scientific” evidence of the superiority of the Aryan race. The Ahnenerbe attracted an impressive number of German historians and scientists who readily abandoned genuine scientific careers in favor of Nazi ideology. This organization is notorious for its inhumane medical experiments in concentration camps, but it was also involved in archeology and history. Even in the most difficult times of the war, the SS spent enormous amounts of money on the study of German history and archeology, the occult, and the search for works of art of Aryan origin. The tapestry attracted her attention because it depicted the military valor of the Nordic peoples - the Normans, descendants of the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons, descendants of the Angles and Saxons. Therefore, the “intellectuals” from the SS developed an ambitious project to study the Bayesian tapestry, within the framework of which they intended to photograph and redraw it in its entirety, and then publish the resulting materials. The French authorities were forced to obey them.

There are probably Elastolin figurines of Norman horsemen in almost every local souvenir shop.

For the purpose of study, in June 1941, the tapestry was transported to the Juan Mondoyer Abbey. The research team was led by Dr. Herbert Jankuhn, a professor of archeology from Kiel and an active member of the Ahnenerbe. Jankuhn lectured on the Bayesian Tapestry to Hitler's "circle of friends" on April 14, 1941, and at the congress of the German Academy in Stettin in August 1943. After the war, he continued his scientific career and published frequently in Medieval History. Many students and scholars read and quoted his works without realizing his dubious past. Over time, Jankuhn became emeritus professor at Göttingen. He died in 1990 and his son donated his works on the Bayesian Tapestry to the museum, where they form an important part of its archive to this day.

Meanwhile, on the advice of the French authorities, the Germans agreed to transport the tapestry to the art storage facility at the Château de Sureches for safety reasons. This was a reasonable decision, since the Chateau, a large 18th-century palace, was located far from the theater of war. The mayor of Bayeux, Sr. Daudeman, made every effort to find suitable transport to transport the masterpiece. But, unfortunately, he only managed to get a very unreliable and even dangerous truck with a gas generator engine with a power of only 10 hp, which ran on coal. The masterpiece, 12 bags of coal, was loaded into it, and on the morning of August 19, 1941, the incredible journey of the famous tapestry began.

Technique of embroidering images on tapestry.

At first everything was fine. The driver and two companions stopped for lunch in the town of Fleurs, but when they were about to set off again, the engine did not start. After 20 minutes, the driver finally started the car, and they jumped in, but then the engine sputtered on the first climb, and they had to get out of the truck and push it up the hill. Then the car sped downhill, and they ran after it. They had to repeat this exercise many times until they had covered more than 100 miles separating Bayeux from Surchet. Having reached their destination, the exhausted heroes did not have time to rest or eat. Once they unloaded the tapestry, the car headed back to Bayeux, where they had to be there before 10 pm due to a strict curfew. Although the truck became lighter, it still did not go uphill. By 9 pm they had only reached Alencion, a town halfway in Bayeux. The Germans were evacuating the coastal areas, and it was crowded with refugees. There were no rooms in hotels, and no food in restaurants and cafes. Finally, the concierge of the city administration took pity on them and let them into the attic, which also served as a cell for speculators. For food he found eggs and cheese. Only the next day, four and a half hours later, did all three return to Bayeux, but immediately went to the mayor and reported that the tapestry had safely crossed occupied Normandy and was in storage. There he remained for another three years.

On June 6, 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy, and it seemed that the events of 1066 were reflected in the mirror of history exactly the opposite: now a huge fleet with soldiers on board crossed the English Channel, but in the opposite direction and with the goal of liberation, not conquest. Despite fierce battles, the Allies had difficulty regaining a bridgehead for the offensive. Surchet was located 100 miles from the coast, but still the German authorities, with the consent of the French Minister of Education, decided to transport the tapestry to Paris. It is believed that Heinrich Himmler himself was behind this decision. Of all the priceless works of art stored in the Chateau de Sureches, he chose only a tapestry. And on June 27, 1944, the tapestry was transported to the basements of the Louvre.

The Sherman tank is a monument to the liberation of Bayeux.

Ironically, long before the tapestry arrived in Paris, Bayeux was released. On June 7, 1944, the day after the landings, the allies of the British 56th Infantry Division took the city. Bayeux was the first city in France to be liberated from the Nazis, and unlike many others, its historic buildings were not damaged by the war. In a British war cemetery there is a Latin inscription stating that those who were conquered by William the Conqueror returned to liberate the Conqueror's homeland. If the tapestry had remained in Bayeux, it would have been released much earlier.

By August 1944, the Allies approached the outskirts of Paris. Eisenhower, the commander in chief of the Allied forces, intended to move past Paris and invade Germany, but the leader of the French Liberation, General de Gaulle, feared that Paris would fall into Communist hands, and insisted on the rapid liberation of the capital. Battles began in the outskirts. An order was received from Hitler if the capital of France was abandoned, it would be wiped off the face of the earth. To achieve this, the main buildings and bridges of Paris were mined, and high-power torpedoes were hidden in the metro tunnels. General Choltitz, who commanded the Paris garrison, came from an old Prussian military family and could not possibly violate the order. However, by that time he realized that Hitler was crazy, that Germany was losing the war, and was stalling for time in every possible way. It was under these circumstances that on Monday, August 21, 1944, two SS men suddenly entered his office at the Maurice Hotel. The general decided that it was behind him, but he was mistaken. The SS said that they had orders from Hitler to take the tapestry to Berlin. It is possible that it was intended, along with other Nordic relics, to be placed in a quasi-religious shrine of the SS elite.

British War Cemetery.

From the balcony the general showed them the Louvre, in the basement of which the tapestry was kept. The famous palace was already in the hands of French resistance fighters, and machine guns were firing in the street. The SS men thought for a moment, and one of them said that the French authorities had most likely already taken away the tapestry, and there was no point in storming the museum. After thinking for a while, they decided to return empty-handed.

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