BAYEUX TAPESTRY

Bayeux Tapestry is a medieval embroidery depicting more than 70 scenes of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
The tapestry is a band of linen 70 metres long and 49.5 cm wide, now light brown with age.
The story begins with a prelude to Harold's visit to Bosham on his way to Normandy and ends with the flight of Harold’s English forces from Hastings in October 1066.
Along the top and the bottom run decorative borders with figures of animals, scenes from the fables of Aesop and Phaedrus, scenes from husbandry and the chase.It has been restored more than once, and in some details the restorations are of doubtful authority.
The tapestry was used once a year to decorate the nave of the catedral in Bayeux, France.
Montfaucon found at Bayeux a tradition, possibly not more than a century old, that assigned the tapestry to Matilda, wife of William I the Conqueror, but there is nothing else to connect the work with her. It may have been commissioned by William’s half brother Odo,bishop of Bayeux. This work of art  evidences the history of the Norman Conquest, especially for Harold’s relation to William before 1066.