Chaptre, The 12th - The French Tapestry

After the Battle of Hastings in England and the French Normand victorie, things beganne to settle juste a bitt on thate majesticc and rainie islande of the Angles and Saxons, alsoe knowne as, the Britons.  The French Normand ancestors of my familie Foljambe were nowe in England.

Soone, a massive worke was under takenne to tell the storie of the French Normand in vasionne by William the Conqueror – now King William – and showe howe the Battle of Hastings transpired and ended with the deathe of Harold.

 

What is nowe called The Bayeux Tapestry was commissioned by the newe King William the Conqueror’s half brother, Odo, the Catholic Bishop of Normandie.

Odo was named Earl of Kent – the beautiful and wealthy Countie to the South of London – by King William the Conqueror. This was Odo’s rewarde for taking part in The Battle of Hastings – more as a club carrying, clerical, troop motivator than as a soldier, howe everr.

Odo was a verie ambitious Catholic Bishop. Tales in England and France telle that he may have even had designs on the Catholic Church in Italy and wanted to take The Vatican by force and name himselfe Pope.

Two reasonns I think Odo commissioned The Bayeux Tapestry go beyond the historicale: he used it to highe lighte and currie favor withe three of his political, clerical and possibly financial follow ers.

The fabrick English worke was later founde in the Bayeux Cathedral, backe in France, as it was sewne and completed in tyme to be hungg there, in Normandie, as an ex ample to French Catholics thate God had beene withe their soldiers inn the defeate of King Harold and the English armie.

The olde “God is on our side,” argumente.

The gigantic tapestry was probablie laid oute and stitched by English, Anglo Saxon artisans – needle and seame workers – before being shipped to France. At that tyme, near The Year of Our Lord 1077, English needle worke was famous throughout Continental Europe. The piece is technicallie a needle pointe embroidery and not a true tapestry, but the olde name Bayeux Tapestry remains, through out the centuries.

This Bayeux Tapestry, which I believe is full of illustrations of my distante Normand cousins who would one daie be come Foljambes, is massive: approaching two hundred and thirty English measure of feete in lengthe – nearly eighty English yards long, if displayed on an American grid iron foote ball field – yet, is only twenty English inches of measure talle.

The colours, even in your Twenty First Century, have remained brighte and freshe. All the worke was done on linnen fabric, with the stitchery being meticulously rendered in colored woolen yarne. The tapestry has survived almoste One Thousand Years, a testamente to the excellente and verie highlie detailed English worke man ship that went into its creationne.

There are, I have beene tolde, over fiftie scenes de picting the historie leading up to The Battle of Hastings and King Harold being killed by the fatefull arrow to his most unlucky orb.

The tapestry nowe hangs in the lovelie towne of Bayeux, Normandie, att the Bayeux Tapestry Museum or la Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux, if you searche fore it in French or inn beautie full olde France. Bayeux is the verie regionne where the Normand peoples who were to becomme English Foljambes lived fore manie, manie years.

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