The story of the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold II of England, was stitched onto a strip of cloth almost 70 metres long: the Bayeux Tapestry. Despite the name, it isn't woven like a true tapestry. It's an embroidery, with woollen thread sewn onto linen. Soldiers, horses and ships march across it scene after scene, like a medieval comic strip.
Scene 38: William's fleet carries horses across the English Channel.
Bayeux Museum, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Even Halley's Comet, which appeared in the sky in spring 1066, made it into the tapestry. A group of men point upwards, and the Latin beside them says they are marvelling at the star. People at the time saw comets as a sign that something big was about to happen.
Scene 32: Halley's Comet is at the top right, with the Latin ISTI MIRANT STELLA.
Photo: Myrabella, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Quiz
Which of the following statements is correct?
The tapestry tells the story of Hastings. Bannockburn was the battle of 1314 in which Robert the Bruce's Scots defeated the English.
