The Bayeux Tapestry

medieval history · embroidery · 1066 · storytelling

Massive embroidered cloth. The Bayeux Tapestry is almost 70 metres long (about as long as seven school buses parked end to end) and 50 centimetres tall, making it one of the biggest pieces of embroidery ever created.

Tells a conquest story. The tapestry shows all the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when William, Duke of Normandy from France, invaded England and defeated King Harold II.

Made with colorful thread. The tapestry was stitched with wool thread in eight different colors onto a linen cloth, and skilled embroiderers used different stitches to show details like shields, horses, and people.

Ancient picture book. Instead of words, the tapestry uses pictures to tell its story, making it like a giant comic strip from almost 1,000 years ago that shows what people thought was important about this battle.

Survived the centuries. The tapestry has been kept safe in Bayeux, a town in Normandy, France, for nearly a thousand years, and experts believe it was made in England as a gift for William soon after the battle.