Bayeux Tapestry

“ And when we consider how delicate, slender, and frail is the fibre of a linen thread, and that the various elements of decay, always busy in the work of corrupting and destroying the works of man, have proved themselves powerful enough to waste away and crumble into ruin the proudest structures which he has ever attempted to rear, we are amazed that these slender filaments have been able to resist their action so long. The Bayeux tapestry has lasted nearly a thousand years. ”

“ The artist, very modestly mistrusting his own powers, has usually affixed an inscription, in Latin, to each subject, the more fully to explain his intention. The letters, like the figures, are stitched in worsted, and are about an inch in length.
That the Tapestry should from a period beyond all record have belonged to the church of Bayeux is nothing surprising. Odo, the uterine brother of William, who rendered the Conqueror such efficient assistance in the battle of Hastings, and in the subsequent government of the kingdom, was archbishop of that place. ”

“ A comparison of Master Wace with the Bayeux Tapestry will furnish us with an illustration in point. Wace, after alluding to the negotiations which took place before the armies closed at the decisive field of Hastings, says, “As the Duke said this, and would have said more, William Fitz Osbern rode up, his horse all covered{8} with iron; Sire, said he to his lord, we tarry too long, let us arm ourselves. Allons! Allons!” [10] Now, if we look at the Tapestry, we shall find that not a single horse is equipped in steel armour ”

“ His works are: 1. ‘Researches and Conjectures on the Bayeux Tapestry’ [Greenwich, 1836] , 12mo, Lond. 1838, 8vo. He contended that the tapestry was not executed till 1205, and his view was adopted by Dr. Lingard (J. C. Bruce, Bayeux Tapestry elucidated, pp. 11, 163) . Edouard Lambert published a reply to Corney under the title of ‘Réfutation des objections faites contre l'antiquité de la Tapisserie de Bayeux,’ Bayeux, 1841, 8vo. 2. ‘Curiosities of Literature by I. D'Israeli illustrated,’ Greenwich [1837] , 12mo. ”

“ Tapestry, that is to say needlework tapestry, which, like the Bayeux tapestry of Matilda, had been used solely for the decoration of altars, or the embellishment of other parts of sacred edifices on occasions of festival, or the performance of solemn rites, had been of much more general application amongst the luxurious inhabitants of the South, and was introduced into England as furniture hanging by Eleanor of Castile. ”

“ In England the craft has been a favourite employment for many centuries, and persons of all ranks have occupied their spare hours at needlework. Some embroidered fragments, found in 1826–1827 in the tomb of St Cuthbert at Durham, and now kept in the cathedral library, were worked, chiefly in gold thread, by order of Ælfflæda, queen of Edward the Elder, for Fridestan, bishop of Winchester, early in the 10th century. In the later part of the following century the “Bayeux tapestry” was produced—a work of unique importance (Plate I. fig. 7) . It is a band of linen, more than 230 ft. ”

“ As an instance of that peculiar accuracy which is observed by the designer of the Tapestry, even in seemingly unimportant particulars, and which makes the work so much more interesting as a faithful depiction of the various circumstances of the times, we find the Norman horses of this and other groups are represented as being larger than the Anglo-Saxon. The hair of the mane is also uncut, and falls on the neck ”

“ Not the least remarkable feature of the tapestry, in point of costume, lies in the armor, which, in some instances, is formed of interlaced rings; in others, of square compartments; and in others, of lozenges. Those who contend for the antiquity of [Page 242] Duke William's equestrian statue at Caen, may find a confirmation of their opinions in the shape of the saddles assigned to the figures of the Bayeux tapestry ”

“ The Bayeux Tapestry also remains to us as a lasting trophy of the skill and industry of Queen Matilda and the ladies of her court, and is not more interesting as a historical record than as a specimen of the needlework of the mediæval age. The introduction of knitting into this country is comparatively of modern date ”

“ TO redeem the monotony of plain surfaces has ever been the aim of all the arts, but especially that of the needle, which being the oldest expression of decorative intention, has, from the earliest time, been very dependent on its groundwork for its ultimate results. This is particularly the case in embroideries of the type of what is commonly known as Jacobean, where the ground fabric is extensively visible, as it is also in that wondrous achievement, the Bayeux tapestry worked in coarse wools upon homespun linen and therefore quite miscalled "tapestry." ”

“ The group is labelled, HIC EST DVX WILEL:—Here is Duke William. By these energetic means the Normans returned to the onset.{142}
The Tapestry shows us the fearful slaughter which took place on that hard-fought field. The border is filled with dead men and horses lying in every conceivable position; a head is not unfrequently deposited at some distance from the body to which it once belonged. We can scarcely look upon the drawing without being impressed with the idea that the designer of the Tapestry had been the witness of some fight. ”

“ Perhaps, however, we have acted rashly in having ventured even thus cursorily to touch upon the antiquity of the Tapestry. Miss Agnes Strickland, who, in her Lives of the Queens of England, shows how vigorously she can wield the pen, is rather indignant that any one who is not learned in cross-stitch, should venture to discuss the subject. Before we argue, she wants to know if we can sew. ”

“ Plate V. Harold enthroned [8] with Archbishop Stigand by his side.
Stigand wears an amice, a pall, a chasuble, gloves, boots, alb, stole and maniple. He is, however, bareheaded, which is an argument for an early date for the Tapestry as the mitre is rare in manuscripts till the 12th century. If the mitre had{22} been known to the designer of the Tapestry he would surely have given it to Stigand for so important an occasion. ”

“ Being so well adapted for working heraldry, from an early period till now, this stitch has been mostly used for the purpose; and the emblazoned orphreys, like the narrow hem on the Syon cope, are wrought in it.
The oldest, the most elaborate, the best known sample in the world, and what to us is more interesting still from being in reality not French but English needlework, is the so-called, but misnamed, Bayeux tapestry, a shred of which is in this collection, No. ”

“ The colours, owing probably to the restricted extent of them at the command of Matilda, are employed somewhat fancifully, and we have horses exhibited to us of hues which, could they be realized in living specimens in Hyde Park now-a-days, would attract the envy and admiration of all beholders. Notwithstanding the liberty thus taken, the harmony of the colouring is such, that persons may look at the Tapestry for some time without discovering that truth, in this particular, has been in any degree violated. ”

“ In English, tapestry may mean almost any decorative stuff, and so comes it that we speak of the wonderful hanging which gives name to this chapter as the tapestry of Bayeux (plates facing pages 242, 243 and 244) , when it is in reality an embroidery. But so much is it confused with true tapestry, and so poignantly does it interest the Anglo-Saxon that we will introduce it here, even while acknowledging its extraneous character. ”

“ The swift change from the death-bed of the saintly Edward to the triumph of his unscrupulous successor leaves behind it a feeling which must have been highly agreeable to Norman admirers of the Tapestry. In 34 (Plate VI.) is recorded an interesting event. The inscription reads: “ISTI MIRANT STELLA” (“They,” i.e. the English, “wonder at a star”) , and this unusual star is portrayed curiously in the border. The English are right to be afraid. The heavens themselves blaze forth their disapproval at the conduct of Harold. ”

“ The third was the Norman method of explaining what happened and is apparently the one accepted by the designer of the Tapestry.
Plate II. Harold’s Oath.
William of Normandy, sword in hand, sits on the left while Harold takes a solemn oath of fealty; each hand rests on an altar, supporting a box of relics. The cloths that cover the altars are of embroidery, though in the Tapestry they look like velvet. ”

“ It appears in the Saxon illustrations of Cædmon. But what is particularly worthy of our notice is, that a workman appears to be in the act of affixing it. By this, the designer of the Tapestry means to show that the church was but just completed when the interment of the Confessor took place. ”

“ This moment proves to be the turning point of the battle; the French fight with renewed vigour (73, 74, 75) , and beat their way up to Harold, who is killed by an arrow (76) (Plate XII.) . The English army is discouraged and flies (77, 78, 79) .{9}
Here the Tapestry ends, and it is not quite clear if it had been intended to pursue the subject further. According to Dr. Ducarel the tapestry, when hung, exactly filled the nave of the Cathedral; so that very likely no more was ever designed.
The borders that run above and below well repay study. ”

“ The thief was no other than the wife of Stothard the artist who went to Bayeux in 1830 in order to execute his well-known copy of the work in question. Mrs. Stothard profited by the courteous facilities granted to her husband for the purpose of his painting to cut with her scissors a piece about as big as a hand from one of the sides of the embroidered cloth. At the death of Mrs Stothard, some years back, the museum of South Kensington became possessed of the stolen piece, together with an account written by. Mr. ”

“ Within{13} two years he had completed his copy of the Tapestry, which is to be seen reproduced in Vol. VI. of the Vetusta Monumenta. Freeman, in Appendix A., Vol. III. (2nd edition) , devotes a long passage to the subject and states his belief in its being made in England, an opinion which has not been generally shared.{14}
Fig. 3. Harrowing (see p. 27) .
IV.—THE INSCRIPTIONS. THE Latin inscriptions above the embroidery run as follows (an English translation has been added, but no attempt has been made to amend or correct) :—
Fig. ”

“ And there was all manner of slighting in the weave, in the use of the comb which makes close the fabric, in the setting of the warp to make a less than usual number of threads to the inch. In fact, men tricked men as much in those days as in our own.
The fame of the city’s industry was in danger. It was the province of the guild of tapestry-makers to protect it against its own evils. Thus, in 1528, a few years after the weaving of the Raphael tapestries, the law was made that all tapestries should bear the Brussels mark and that of the weaver or the client. ”

“ In every line of weft or filling, the shuttle must be changed every time a change of color is required by the cartoon, or colored drawing of the design from which the weaver works. He sees the face of the tapestry, if at all, only in a mirror placed in front of the loom. Tapestry weaving requires a high degree of artistic and technical skill; hand-made tapestries are costly.
Machine-made tapestries are produced on a Jacquard loom, of wool, cotton, silk, or rayon, or in mixtures of these fibers. They vary enormously in appearance and durability. ”

“ Paul Baudry appeared at about this time striking a clear pure note of delicate decoration. The few panels that he drew for the Gobelins charm the eye with happy reminiscences of Lebrun, of Claude Audran, a potpourri of petals fallen from the roses of yesterday mixed with the spices of to-day.
But if the work of this talented artist illustrates anything, it is the change in the uses of tapestries. The modern ones are made to be framed, as flat as the wall against which they are secured. In a word, they take the place of frescoes. The pleasure of touching a mobile fabric is lost. ”

“ His designs broke from the limit of the Gobelins, and were woven at Beauvais with the care and skill required for proper interpretation of his land of mythology. Such flushed skies of light, such clean, soft trees waving against them and such human elegance and beauty grouped beneath, have seldom been reproduced in tapestry, and almost make one wonder if, after all, the weavers of the Eighteenth Century were not right in copying a finished painting rather than in interpreting a decorative cartoon. ”

“ But if the work is exacting, at least it is agreeable, almost lovable, and in delightful contrast to the labour of those who but tend machines driven by power. And if the art of tapestry weaving is almost a lost one to-day, at least the weavers can find in history much matter for pride. It is no mean ambition to follow the profession of conscientious Nicolas Bataille, of the able Pannemaker, of La Planche and Comans, of Tessier, Cozette, and a hundred others of family and fame.
Much preparation is necessary before the loom can be set going. First is the design, the cartoon. ”

“ In more modern times English tapestries woven after 1878 at the Merton works from designs by William Morris (see fig. 26) , as well as by Sir Edward Burne-Jones [11] and Mr Walter Crane, have great distinction in vigorous style reminiscent of virile medieval work. In mere technique of weaving with fine warp and weft they are outdone by the comparatively effeminate and delicate painting like fabrics now made at the Gobelins and Aubusson.
Towards the end of the 17th century as well as early in the 18th century some tapestry-weaving was carried on in Ireland. ”