Mystery of 15th-Century Bayeux Tapestry Solved

The Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

(Image: © LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images)

A medieval tapestry that tells the story of the Norman conquest of England over 230 feet (70 meters) of wool yarn and linen has just divulged one of its secrets. Though the origins of this magnificent work of textile, called the Bayeux Tapestry, are murky, researchers now think they know why the tapestry was made: to be displayed in the nave of the Bayeux Cathedral. 

The dimensions of the cloth mean it would have fit perfectly into the 11th-century nave of the Bayeux Cathedral in Normandy, France, the researchers reported Oct. 23 in the Journal of the British Archaeological Association. The narrative of the embroidery would have even fit around the spacings of the nave's columns and doorways. 

The first written record of the tapestry is in the Bayeux Cathedral's inventory from 1476, so the idea that the tapestry had been commissioned for the cathedral in the 11th century was always the simplest explanation, according to study author Christopher Norton, an art historian at the University of York in England. 

Read the rest of this article...