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Description of  The Bayeux Tapestry and Its Contexts: A Reassessment

Aspects of the Bayeux Tapestry (in fact an embroidered hanging) have always remained mysterious, despite much scholarly investigation, not least its design and patron. Here, in the first full-length interdisciplinary approach to the subject, the authors (an art historian and a historian) consider these and other issues. Rejecting the prevalent view that it was commissioned by Odo, the bishop of Bayeux and half-brother of William the Conqueror, or by some other comparable patron, they bring new evidence to bear on the question of its relationship to the abbey of St Augustine's, Canterbury. From the study of art-historical, archeological, literary, historical and documentary materials, they conclude that the monks of St Augustine's designed the hanging for display in their abbey church to tell their own story of how England was invaded and conquered in 1066. Elizabeth Carson Pastan is a Professor of Art History at Emory University Stephen D. White is Asa G. Candler Professor of Medieval History (emeritus), Emory University, and an Honorary Professor of Mediaeval History at the University of St Andrews. Table of Contents Introduction The Material Context of the Bayeux Embroidery: Manufacture, Display, and Literary References Is the Bayeux Embroidery a Record of Events? Imagined Patronage The Prosopography of the Bayeux Embroidery and the Community of St Augustine's, Canterbury Locating Harold's Oath and Tracing His Itinerary Bishop Odo at the Banquet The Fables in the Borders Representing Architecture Legal Ceremonies and the Question of Legitimacy The Fall of the English Quid faciat . Scollandus? The Abbey Church of St Augustine's, c. 1073-1100 Conclusion Select Bibliography