Bayeux

Bayeux was the capital of the territory granted to the Vikings in return for ceasing their raids up the Seine which were getting closer and closer to Paris. The Northmen (whence Norman) agreed and settled the area. 1100 years ago Bayeux was a Scandinavian city whose common language was old Norse.

They had made similar deals in Great Britain, and king Edward the Confessor named his cousin, William Longsword, duke of Normandy (also known as William the bastard due to some irregularities surrounding his birth) as his successor on the throne of England. He even sent one of his most popular Saxon knights, Harold, Earl of Wessex, to let William know of his decision. Needless to say, when Edward died in January of 1066 and Harold accepted the crown, William was miffed.

Even though they had by now learned French, they were still Vikings at heart, and a miffed Viking is not a pretty sight. William built a fleet and loaded horses and knights into it. In September, while Harold was off at Stamford, on the banks of the Derwent, fighting off a more serious invasion attempt by the giant Viking chief Harald Hardrada allied with Harold's renegade brother Tostig, William sailed across to England and established himself in the town of Hastings.

Harold arrived around October 14th with his battle-weary army. On October 15th William prevailed at the Battle of Hastings, and became William the Conqueror, King of England.

The Normans were now the lords of England, and the Anglo-Saxons were in for a bad couple of centuries. Remember how I said that the Normans had learned French? Well the English language to this day reflects the class structure of those times:

The Saxons raised these animals.	Their Norman overlords ate them.
Cow	Beef (boeuf)
Swine	Pork (porc)
Calf	Veal (veau)
Sheep	Mutton (mouton)
Fowl	Poultry (poulet)

William's brother, Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux, had a tapestry made to decorate his cathedral. It was probably embroidered in an English monastery or convent, but it has become popularly known as Queen Mathilda's tapestry after William's wife who stayed home and minded the duchy while William was off conquering England. It is now on display in the museum in Bayeux. There is a wonderful interpretive exhibit to prepare you to appreciate the tapestry. Odo's cathedral is still there also, making Bayeux a prime tourist destination.

First, let's take a look at a few snapshots of the tapestry (well, actually it's an embroidery.) These were taken with no flash, in a room where dim lighting is used to preserve this priceless relic. The exposure was 1/10 second handheld. I love the image stabilization feature of my camera! Through the magic of digital photography I am able to remove some of the yellowing of the background linen and to restore the vivacity of the colors. Although compared to the faded tapestries we viewed elsewhere, this one was still quite bright.

		William and Harold, still friends, are riding to Bayeux. Each has a hawk. They are crossing the river by Mont St. Michel. The shields are held high to keep them dry.
		They attack Conan, duke of Brittany at Dol. Conan slides down a rope and flees. They defeat Conan at Dinan. Conan offers the keys to the city.
		Harold swears on holy relics to support William for the throne. This is presented to justify the Norman invasion of England. Harold ascends the throne.
		William and his horses and men cross the channel. The French influence: cooks and minstrels come with them.
		The battle of Hastings. Harold is killed and his men flee. Note the corpse being stripped of its armor in the lower border.

Here are two sites that go into depth on the whole Bayeux tapestry:

http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com/ (high-technology site)
http://www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk/ (based on a copy of the tapestry in England)

Now for the cathedral:

		The cathedral is a harmonious blend of Romanesque and gothic styles. It's as if they were done with the nave when somebody ran in waving a picture of what they were doing in Rouen! Norman gothic, like English gothic often has a lantern tower over the crossing.
		The nave is tall, and well lit. The arches of the nave are rounded, Romanesque style with carvings inspired by their Viking ancestry.
		The pulpit was obviously added at a much later date. This little carving, high on the side of the nave, represents fidelity. The lady who runs the gift shop pointed it out to me.
		While the clerestory windows are clear and let in the light, many of the lower windows are beautiful stained glass. The crypt, like the nave, is Romanesque. The paintings here are well preserved.

	The city is dominated by the presence of the tapestry. Medieval figures such as this juggler are used all over town.
	There is much more to the city of Bayeux than the tapestry and the cathedral. This is the tree of liberty, planted in 1789.

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