The Art and History of the Bayeux Tapestry – SLA10A01

(Created by Etheldred Nic Eoghainn)

Level of Content: Beginning. Students need not have completed any prior study of the topic; however, it is helpful if students are familiar with the highlights of the Norman conquest of England.

Estimated Length of Class: 1-2 hours, inclusive of lecture and questions/discussion.

Course Description: This class will familiarize students with the history of the Bayeux “tapestry”, its use as an historical record, and its basis in medieval art. Students will be introduced to models in triumphal art as well as models in secular illustrations. Students will also be led through a comparison of events as recorded on the piece and those recorded elsewhere, examining scene selection, emphasis, and interpretation.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this class, students should be able to:

1. Understand the purpose of the Bayeux Tapestry;

2. Recognize artistic models relevant to the work;

3. Understand the use of the Bayeux Tapestry as a piece of the historical record.

Suggested Teaching Resources:

Barlow, Frank. The English Church 1000-1066: A History of the Later Anglo-Saxon

Church. London: Longman, 1979.

. The Godwins: The Rise and Fall of a Noble Dynasty. London: Longman,

2002.

Bates, David R. “The Character and Career of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux (1049/50-1097).”

Speculum 50, no. 1 (January 1975): 1-20.

Bernstein, David J. The Mystery of the Bayeux Tapestry. Chicago: University of

Chicago Press, 1986.

Broderick, Herbert R. “Some Attitudes Toward the Frame in Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts

of the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries.” Artibus et Historiae 3, no. 5 (1982): 31-42.

Dodwell, C. R. “The Bayeux Tapestry and the French Secular Epic.” The Burlington

Magazine 108, no. 764 (November 1966): 549-560.

Douglas, David. “Edward the Confessor, Duke William of Normandy, and the English

Succession.” The English Historical Review 68, no. 269 (October 1953): 526-

545.

Grape, Wolfgang. The Bayeux Tapestry: An Eleventh-Century Pictorial Spectacle.

Translated by David Britt. New York: Prestel-Verlag, 1994.

Loomis, Roger Sherman. “The Origin and Date of the Bayeux Embroidery.” The Art

Bulletin 6, no. 1 (September 1923): 2-7.

Matthews, Linda K. “The Bayeux Tapestry: Art Meets History.” (working paper and lecture,

College of Arts and Letters, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS,

December 6, 2006).

McNulty, J. Bard. “The Lady Aelfgyva in the Bayeux Tapestry.” Speculum 55, no. 4

(October 1980): 659-668.

. The Narrative Art of the Bayeux Tapestry Master. New York: AMS

Press, 1989.

Oleson, T. J. “Edward the Confessor’s Promise of the Throne to Duke William of

Normandy.” The English Historical Review 72, no. 283 (April 1957): 221-228.

Stenton, Frank M., et al. The Bayeux Tapestry: A Comprehensive Survey. London:

Phaidon Press, 1957 (Second Edition, 1965).

 

Syllabus kindly created for RUGA by Etheldred Nic Eoghainn, 1/26/07.