Decoding the Bayeux Tapestry

I love history books which are written in an engaging style and which open up new ideas about past events. That's exactly what I got in this new tome, Decoding The Bayeux Tapestry by Arthur C Wright. I grew up in Sussex, not far from Hastings, and was taught the official version of the 1066 story at school. That teaching was challenged 2 1/2 years ago when I visited the Bayeux Tapestry in its purpose built museum. I hadn't previously known (or hadn't remembered) that William had been invited to take the English crown for example, or that Harold had visited Normandy soon before the Conquest. While viewing the tapestry, I certainly noticed the friezes of birds and animals above and below the main feature. Other than being amused by their antics, I hadn't given them much thought and the museum audioguide focused on the main story too. Arthur Wright however has taken a closer look at these margins and presents a very convincing case for their relevance and indeed their political colouring of the central narrative.

I hadn't realised, but several of the margin creatures are paired and these pairings match those in Aesop's Fables. These morality tales would have been widely known and the images immediately understood by medieval people, so their inclusion adds a kind of Greek Chorus layer of meaning to the narrative. Other margin animals are displaying emotions such as, say, fear or pride. Wright follows along the whole length of the existing tapestry matching these marginal messages to the central panels and, in doing so, uncovers a far more nuanced and politically devious tale than the one which is traditionally told. In the light of current political shenanigans, Wright's ideas have a strong ring of truth about them!

Wright's language was occasionally too scholarly for me and even my Kindle dictionary failed to explain all his vocabulary. He did also lose me in his more technical battle descriptions, however his enthusiasm for his subject is wonderful to share in. I was reminded of Irving Finkel's The Ark Before Noah and would recommend Decoding The Bayeux Tapestry to readers who liked the style of that book (and vice versa). In fact I got so caught up in Wright's ideas that, having told my partner he really needed to read this book too, I then proceeded to read out so much of it to him that now there's probably not much point him picking it up! If only all history books could inspire me like this.