Books with title The Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most extraordinary artefacts to survive from the eleventh century. A fragile web of woollen thread on linen, its brilliant colours undimmed after nearly a thousand years, this masterpiece is unique as a complete example of an art form beloved of the aristocracy in the Romanesque era - the `historiated' or narrative embroidery. The momentous story it tells is that of one of the turning-points in English and European history, the struggle for the succession to the English throne which culminated in the Battle of Hastings in the fateful year of 1066. The version told is that of the Normans who commissioned it - of Harold's perjury and its dreadful price, death and defeat in battle. Yet the sympathies of the English hands that designed and created it are equally evident. And the Tapestry itself is so close to the events it describes, and portrays them in such vivid detail, as to make it in its own right a historical source of the first order, not only for the political crisis of 1064-66 but also for the social history of eleventh-century life.This book presents a full-colour reproduction of the entire Tapestry, with a detailed commentary alongside each episode, equipping the reader to follow the story blow by blow and this marvellous work of art step by step. In addition, a preliminary study sets the Tapestry in its artistic, cultural and historical context. The late Lucien Musset, Emeritus Professor of the University of Caen, studied the Tapestry of nearby Bayeux for nearly fifty years. This erudite but highly readable survey distils a lifetime's scholarship into a wise and impeccably researched synthesis which enables the modern reader to appreciate what the Tapestry meant in the context of its time, at the start of the last millennium.

This marvellous book, now available again at a remarkably low price, presents the entire Bayeux Tapestry in large colour plates. This is followed by an illustrated commentary that explains the scenes in full along with technical information on the tapestry's composition and restoration where appropriate. Final chapters discuss the content of the Tapestry, its style and the everyday objects and activities that it depicts. The introduction discusses the Tapestry's inestimable value as a historical document.

The Bayeux Tapestry is a fine 11th century masterpiece which has proved of exceptional documentary value towards our current knowledge of the period. When discovering the tapestry for the first time, visitors simply marvel at the great diversity of characters, clothes, buildings, ships and other features it portrays, literally losing themselves in what could be considered as the world's very first comic strip, dating from the Middle Ages.Comic strips have, of course, moved on with their balloons, onomatopoeia and a number of specific terms used in this 8th art, such as: foreground, angle shot, framing, dialogues... very much the same words as those used in cinema. Gilles Pivard and Arthur Shelton are delighted to present a compilation of this great fresco in a somewhat more contemporary comic strip style.However, to ensure that the work's authenticity remains intact, neither its illustrations nor its historical contents have been altered.The authors' aim is to offer a clear and comprehensive interpretation of this epic adventure for the largest possible readership. They sincerely hope that this book will incite readers to further explore the fascinating story of William the Conqueror, the history of the Bayeux Tapestry... or history in general.