What is the Bayeux Tapestry?
Q: What is the Bayeux Tapestry?
A: The Bayeux Tapestry is a 0.5-by-68.38-metre (1.6 by 224.3 ft) long embroidered cloth which depicts the events leading up to and during the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
Q: Where can it be seen?
A: The tapestry is exhibited in a special museum in Bayeux, Normandy called Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux.
Q: Who were the two combatants depicted in the tapestry?
A: The two combatants depicted in the tapestry are the Anglo-Saxon English, led by Harold Godwinson, and the Normans, led by William the Conqueror.
Q: Why is it considered an important example of Anglo-Saxon art?
A: It is considered an important example of Anglo-Saxon art because, though ordered by a Norman, it was made by English (Anglo-Saxon) artisans.
Q: Is it a true tapestry or an embroidery?
A: It is not a true tapestry where design is woven into cloth but rather an embroidery with wool yarn on a tabby-woven linen ground using two methods of stitching - outline or stem stitch for lettering and outlines of figures and couching or laid work for filling in figures.
Q: What colours are used on the tapestry?
A: The main yarn colours used on the tapestry are terracotta or russet, blue-green, dull gold, olive green, and blue with small amounts of dark blue or black and sage green.
