1066 & 1944 - Invasion Tapestries

Invasions across the English Channel embroidered for posterity. Top:1066  Below:1944

The Overlord textile tale of D-day, that I noted in my 21.8.14 entry, was commissioned by Lord Dulverton, designed by Sandra Lawrence and executed by artists from the Royal School of Needlework from the 34, full sized paintings Lawrence had completed after extensive consultation with historians and surviving combatants. Lord Dulverton said that he was inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry, he thought the subterfuge, treachery, planning and scope of the D-day invasion equaled William the Conqueror's invasion to secure his right to the throne.
Does he imagine that in 900 or so years time humanity will need this creation to remember the D-day story just as the Bayeux Tapestry is the most informative link we have to the Norman invasion of Saxon England 900yrs ago?

Both events are chronicled in embroidery but are called Tapestries!?
Both events are turning points in English/French History.
Both involve crossing the English channel to reclaim land.
Both had the advantage of their foe being mostly busy else where. (Poor Harold had to divert his army to the north to beat of those pesky vikings then hot foot it down south after William had time to unload his boats, give his men and horses a few days of good meals and to put up some temporary fortification. The Nazi's had most of their fire power on the eastern front and the British intelligence had leaked false information through suspected double agents confirming Hitler's opinion that the invasion would be at Calais).

The differences of the events are substantial without even needing to compare weapons, resources, communications and strategies. William was claiming his inheritance after Harold had broken his oath of support and accepted the Saxon baron's nomination of King after Edward the Confessor (builder of Westminster Abbey) died childless. The D-day invasion was to put an invading, foreign force back in its place and rescue Europe from the violence of fascism.

Image from: http://balliolarchivist.wordpress.com 
In the Domesday Book

Norman rule changed the language of Britannia from Anglo-Saxon to Norman French, introduced the feudal system and demanded taxes in a systematic way rather than snatch and grab tactics, for the first time. William managed this by having scribes go to every village etc in the country and list information about their property to decide how much tax they should pay. The lists were collated into a volume called the Domesday book. I think we all agree that this tax initiative was well named.

The taxes funded William's building programme of Abbeys and Castle Fortresses. He imported his favourite white stone from Caen (eg. the White Tower at the Tower of London). The Saxons had their lands redistributed to William's Norman

The White Tower - from visit in 10.13
William's London Fortress

barons who were then responsible, under feudal law, to build castles and protect the land from uprisings against Norman rule. When William was crowned in Westminster Abbey the Saxons present were cheering and yelling support.  When the Norman soldiers heard this, not understanding the language, they thought it was an uprising and started burning down the houses in London. The poorer Saxons appreciated the stability that feudalism provided. It made the country stronger and every day life safer until it was abused by people centuries later that forgot the responsibilities feudalism demanded of the nobles.









A Nine Hundred Year old tale spun in woolen thread:

Long ago, a pious man made a political marriage but had made a vow of chastity. This union was unfruitful. The Queen was a distant cousin, as both were descendant from a past King. Her brother was a wealthy Earl and son of the most ambitious man in England.

Edward the Confessor asks his brother in law, Harold, a favour.

One day in 1064 the sick King Edward called upon his faithful Earl and set him a distasteful task. "Go thee Harold into the land of my Norman cousin, William, only son of Robert I and tell him that it is my wish that he be my heir." Harold did as he was bid with an unquiet heart, he may have been troubling over whose right the throne was. The King's favoured cousin was related to a closer degree but through a woman, a bastard and a Norman. Surely a direct male line of legitimate Saxon blood would be better for the country.

Harold is captured by Count Guy upon landing on the Normandy beach.

Messengers race to deliver William's message to Guy. The bottom border shows agriculture of the times and the season

Harold and his attachment beached on the Normandy coast only to be attacked and captured by a local Lord. On hearing this news, William, Duke of Normandy, sent a command for Harold be delivered to him unharmed. This done William asked Harold's purpose. After hearing the news William was distracted by an annoying revolt within his Duchy. He requested Harold's assistance and was impressed with the skill and bravery of his fighting. When all in William's world was put straight again, after messy beheadings and the counting of the ransom and recompense was complete, Harold was honoured.
The cunning William had considered Harold's claim to his relation's legacy and took from Harold an oath made upon the relics of a martyred saint to stand by their cousin's wishes and support William's claim to the throne, when the time came.

Harold  fights along side William as he deals with revolting Duke Conan (Notice his escape down the rope)

Harold swears fealty to William and is set free to return to England

The time came and a rumour spread that Edward's last confession was "Into Harold's hands I commit my Kingdom'. Perhaps he lost his piety near the end, perhaps he trusted that Harold would act on his oath and protect the throne until the chosen one arrived to claim it, perhaps he had changed his mind. The Witen (English council of royal advisers) choose the third interpretation. They didn't want those mustached Normans changing the balance of power they controlled.

Odo(in blue with a tonsure) William(in red) and Robert, his other half brother, plan their attack once they land in Sussex. The troops prepare their weapons and build a wooden castle.  Right - a scout tells William that Harold and his army have turned south.  Far right: The Norman's burn a Saxon manor, a woman and child escape -  possibly Edith Swan neck

Harold was crowned the day Edward was buried and vexation pored upon him. Edward had a brother who had died in mysterious circumstances after a pact had been made between him and a rival Danish King. This 'Harald Hardrada claimed that he was this brother's heir and so became Edwards heir also. Harold's brother Tostig Godwin seems to have fuelled this ambition and probably thought that once the vikings subdued Harold's supporters, he could claim the throne.  Tostig, Hardrada and his viking fiends landed on the northern coast and sacked a few villages and won the battle of Fulford, near York, against a couple of northern Earls to get their hand in for a royal battle.

Harold and his men had been preparing defences in the south, predicting the arrival of the bastard cousin. With news of the Norway threat he marched to the top of the land in a four day sprint. With the element of surprise he engaged in battle at Stamford Bridge. Harold's army killed Hardrada's and his brother's claim off. Legend has it that when asked what land he would offer Hardrada as a peace settlement he replied - "About six feet of ground or a as much as he needs for he is taller than most men."

Bloodied and bruised Harold was denied rest as reports came that with good weather over the channel had come the Norman troops with their mailed horses, metal helms, shaved heads and curly mustaches. The English King, popular with his subjects and respected by his peers, turned his men south for a 386km march towards the next invasion.

4th figure from the left is William lifting his helm - the battle continues.

On a sloping field at Hastings, cleared by the Normans ready for battle, Harold arrived. Early morning fog lay over the land and hid the feet of the soldiers as they advance upon one another. These floating bodies screamed their battle cries and reached far to hack down their first opponents.

Although exhausted, hungry and using inferior weaponry, Harold's men fought valiantly. Four times longer than a normal battle the fighting ground on. Those fighting for their land never wavered but some on the other side began to feel retreat was the wisest option. The Bastard stood tall and lifted his helm to show that he lived and fought on. His men rallied and finally overcame the dwindling Saxon forces.

2nd upright figure from the right shows Harold's eye wound.  the border records the brutality of the fighting.

Harold was shot in the eye then hacked down dead. His head rolled and was stamped to pieces. A wily Count saved William's life as a Saxon feigning death let him draw near before leaping to attempt revenge for his master's death. The Bastard became the Conqueror and was soon crowned in his cousin's newly built Westminster Abbey. He built another on the field of battle and had the high altar placed upon the spot his worthy foe had fallen.

William I came and tamed the Anglo Saxon Isle - 1066.

Outside the Museum - the rain has stopped!

Today the illustration of this story is on permanent display in the little town of Bayeux, between Caen and the Normandy coast. The story is complex with jumps in tense and with coded illustrations whose key is lost in the mists of time. The 50cm wide, 68.38m long Medieval cartoon strip is wrapped around a horseshoe wall and lit up from inside a protective glass front. The true brilliance of the display design is that each visitor is given a non-pausable auditory guide. The description and explanations on this guide are clear and interesting, the sections of the tapestry are numbered above and the guide refers to these. The very clever thing about this is that it keeps everybody moving at a steady pace without having to resort to a travelator.

Wet and bedraggled - queuing for the exhibit

A Bayeux Café - where no English was spoken.
Thank you Madames Stott, Craig, Tolhurst, Holland and Monsieur Dos Santos.
Willow's skill provided a superb lunch. My crepe of Normandy sausage cheese and fresh, crisp apple was a local specialty -weird but it worked.

The day we went was very wet and we found it hard to find the Museum from where we parked.  There were just enough signs to make you feel as if you were in the right town. I popped into a very friendly florist who was able to point us in the right direction when we floundered. The queue for tickets and waiting for the audio guides(many languages) were long but it was all worth while.  Everyone in our little group - including the faux museumphobes were impressed.

In the floors above the display are artifacts from the time and explanations of the making and preserving of the tapestry. There was a film of the Tapestry(there weren't any copies for sale) and some D-day displays.

 Those steps suggest that this waterway was used for transport at some stage - perhaps before the bridge was built.

Water used for power .  Granny enjoying the sounds of busy water and all the unusual angles in the stone buildings.

The white stone of the region so prized by William that he had barges full transported across the Channel.
Right: Odo's Cathedral that the Bayeux Tapestry fits perfectly.  The Norman style in England was obviously too rushed to achieve the beautiful lacy feel of this masonry.  

Alert: Historical Content following.
A brief overview of the creation of the Bayeux Tapestry:
Historians are having a great 'discussion' about its purpose. Some say it was all propaganda to put the Saxon's in their place, others say it was an attempt of giving a fair account to explain William's aggression and to honour Harold's bravery. Others say that William was devout (perhaps this explains Edwards choice) and wanted it done as a moral tale to show that things go badly when a sacred oath is broken, no matter how great a person you are. Imagine little Normans being told "Do you promise?  Remember what happened to Harold Godwin"  or " Now don't do a Harold"

The Battle of Hastings rages - Odo, on the blue horse wields a club as Bishops were not meant to draw blood.

Some say it was designed and paid for by Bishop Odo. He was William's half brother. Their mum, Herleva, had married the Count of Falaise after William's dad (Robert I of Normandy) died. Rob I had requested this before he left on pilgrimage. He also had his barons swear fealty to 7yr old William as his rightful heir before he left - he never returned.  Odo appears as a heroic fighting Bishop. This would explain why he appears so often in it and why it lived in Bayeux, the center of Odo's Bishop seat.
Nearly everyone agrees that the style, colours and materials of the Bayeux Tapestry are from Canterbury, South East England.  Other works from the same place and time are comparable. Odo's English land was Dover Castle and the properties around it, this borders Canterbury so the idea of Odo popping over to the Canterbury Abbey and chatting to the Abbess is possible, even likely.

La Reine Mathilde travaillant a la Telle du Conquest, Alfred Guillard 1849
Image from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304418198000293

Some say it was commissioned and designed by Matilda of Flanders (William's wife). There is a famous painting completed well after everyone in the story was dead. It shows Matilda over seeing her ladies in waiting as they make the piece.

The Three Ediths.
1. Some say it was Harold's common law wife - in the Danish style, Edith Swan-neck (sometimes called Eddeva the Fair). She was a wealthy land owner in Cambridge. A suburb is still named after her here. Harold was a younger son of the very ambitious Godwin family. His Earldom was East Anglia so she was a neighbour. This Cambridge Edith, perhaps his first love, mother of six of his kids, traveled to the Hastings battle field and identified his headless, mangled body. Her massive landholdings were confiscated by the Normans. She may have escaped across the Fens to Ely where a brief Saxon resistance held out against the Normans after the 1066 battle. It is a romantic notion to think of Edith swan neck organising the tapestry but considering she lost her wealth and that there is no record of her at her Canterbury properties after October 1066, it seems unlikely.

2. Around the time of Harold's coronation, he married another Edith(Welsh - to control land in an unsettled and rebellious area) for political reasons. This was union was Church sanctioned and because his union with Edith Swan neck was considered pagan it wasn't counted. It is highly unlikely that this Edit would have organised teh tapestry as her previous husband was Harold's Welsh enemy and she was possibly coerced by her family into the marriage to bring a peace settlement. After the 1066 battle her brothers whisked her to safety and she isn't heard of again. There is some argument about whether she bore twin sons to Harold or not in the month after the Battle of Hastings. Others say that Harold never consummated his marriage with Edith of Wales - he was certainly busy in the few months of his reign. They argue that Edith swan neck was mother to little Harold and Ulf.  There is no tapestry around to clear up these kind of personal details.

3. Harold's big sister Edith was King Edward's Queen (who had taken an oath of celibacy before the marriage and maintained it). She died rich and peaceful on her estates at 75yrs old yet no one suggests she ordered the Tapestry of her brother's story. She was probably happy to live out her life in obscurity and safety.

Still others argue that it may have been Count Eustace of Boulogne. He is one of the few proven companions of William in the Tapestry. One chronicler(William of Poitiers) suggested that he lost heart nearing the end of the very long battle and was considering a retreat. It has been suggested that this is why William the Bastard lifted his helm to show that he was still alive and determined to carry on. Eustace rallied and saved William by cutting down a Saxon who had been feigning death and leaped to kill William at battle's end.
Although Eustace was granted large holdings for his loyalty, he wanted more.  There was no love lost between him and Odo, they kidnapped and ransomed each other's friends and relatives in turn, so Eustace tried to take Odo's stronghold and land around Dover Castle. He lost, got kicked out of England to his Normandy properties and had his English lands confiscated by William -how dare he attack the King's brother. William eventually forgave  him and gave most of his previous English properties back. Some scholars suggest that as part of the 'making up' process that is recorded, Eustace had the tapestry made in a gesture of humility by showing Odo's strength and wisdom and the bravery of the dead Saxon King to restore his relationship with the conquered folk of the green isle. He had the money, the guile; I think I like this version the best. The fact that Odo kept it on display in his Cathedral in Bayeux makes more sense if it was a gift to him rather than something he gifted to William where surely it would have stayed in England.

Eventually the tapestry was packed away to be forgotten for centuries. In 1730 French scholars started to take an interest.  Their drawings of it resulted in many visits from England to Bayeux but the Monks liked to deny access when it suited them. A lawyer and other Bayeux citizens discovered it being used as a tarpaulin over a military wagon during the revolution but they rescued it. During WWII it was admired by the Nazies but left safe at the Louvre until after the war when it was returned to Bayeux which just happened to be the first French town liberated by the D-day forces.

Cover art of Edith from Morgan Lewellyn's
novel "The winds of Hastings'
Not having read the book, I'm not sure which Edith
she has written about, or in fact if she has mixed the
Welsh (given her name) with the Swan.

The Poem, retells the legend that Harold's body could not be identified on the battle field for burial.  They needed to clear the field of corpses before disease took flight but the local Abbott didn't want his monks to accidentally tip the dead King's body in the mass grace. Edith Swan neck was sent for and spent a whole day looking at corpses, wading through dismembered bodies and cawing ravens, rooks and jackdaws scavenging from broken men before she found her beloved's body. She identified it from her intimate association with it as there was no head attached.

Is this Tapestry such a legend because humans are just so seduced by story.  I think that is why I love History so much because of all the different personalities, their loves, ambitions and dreams. As I waited for Willow to post a parcel to a friend I stared out of the PO window playing the 'who are they game' to pass the time and suddenly wondered if there would be a place for story in heaven. With no bad guys, conflicts or problems our thirst for the under dog to succeed, the unlucky to survive and find joy, the strong to become humble and save those around with integrity may cease to exist.  And yet all who were inspired to note down God's ideals - Moses' History and Laws, Isaiah's prophecy, Job's melancholy and faith, all used poetic forms, ciphers and story to share so that more than just their generation and culture could see God.  Jesus himself used story as the medium to teach kindness and honesty.  He taught people to think and make relevant decisions instead of continuing to follow the surface of what God's word shared and seek minute instruction. I hope that stories will still play a big role in our eternal communication.

It worries me that so many of the stories over recent decades are escapist and repeat a limited series of constructs, the most common being 'happiness through possession or elevation over peers'. Story is a safe place to explore and prepare mentally for the awkward and the ugly. Do you think many kids are missing out on developing interpersonal skills and intrapersonal intelligence by not challenging their view of the world in the cocoon of a cinema or Ebook? Bring back the Lady of Shallot, The Highwayman, Macbeth, stories that test our assumptions and beliefs of how we would behave in unusual circumstance. They are no scarier than the horror spread through the Bible that are sanitised today with cute cartoons and heavy editing. How do the young develop empathy without 'experiencing' another's skin through story first?

Reading Now:
Two books by Australian author Kate Morton:

Good Holiday reads. Strong characters that wrap around each other in unexpected ways. A little fanciful.

1. The House at Riverton  -  Pan Books 2006

2. The Forgotten Garden  -  2008