The Bayeux Tapestry

Having read Carola Hicks' The Bayeux Tapestry: The Life Story of a Masterpiece, I was intrigued enough---hungry enough--to explore the topic further. The Hicks book offered some small, tantalizing colored plates that captured my interest, so I searched on Amazon for a book that could show me the tapestry in larger, more robust detail and as much of it as is possible in a printed text. I wanted a portable, but sturdy item appropriate for genuine study for this enigmatic work of art. I was most interested in a product that could give me a detailed look at the "Isti mirant(ur) stellam / The men marvel at the star" portion of the Tapestry--where the star is thought to be Halley's Comet, an omen. This is one of my favorite aspects.My search included the book by David M. Wilson featured on this page. I read the publisher's notes and the reviews, and then I decided to buy it. Talk about a great out-of box-experience---when the book arrived, I was actually surprised by its size, quality, and organization. The dust cover shows a ship with such compelling details that you can recognize the texture in the image; you literally want to reach out and feel the ship. This is just a fantastic teaser for what lies inside the covers of this treasure.The photography of this work proves to be its most dynamic, endearing feature, and the viewer can truly experience the beauty and majesty of the Tapestry in a highly personal way that other sources don't seem to match....including the Internet. In fact, the only thing better than this book maybe viewing the real tapestry itself! LOL However, the book is a lot cheaper than a trip to France, and one doesn't have to wait in line to get to the next panel / scene! With the images in your own hands, you can gaze for as long as you like; you can observe each figure and the various signals that move the story's direction along... almost like a medieval PowerPoint presentation. You can see areas of repair, areas of damage, areas where panels are joined, areas that remind you that this Tapestry was a product of human hands and spirit. Page 196 of this book even gives a rare glimpse at the back of one scene in the tapestry; the photograph was taken during the 1982-83 cleaning and remounting.The book explains its quality with its opening Note on Photography [quoted]: "The colour pictures of the Tapestry are reproduced with the special authorization of the Town of Bayeux. The scale of reproduction is approximately fifty-four percent of the original. The photographs were taken by natural light when the Tapestry was removed from its case. When on public display, it is viewed through glass which slightly changes the colour values." // An Amazon reviewer mentioned 58% for size, and another reviewer spoke of 55%, so I am thinking maybe there is a different earlier edition of this book? I cannot speak to that--but only to the product I have it hand. So, before selecting this product, you may wish to read other reviewers and learn of other possible choices if available.The book's content is easy to follow and packaged in a way conducive for serious study of The Bayeux Tapestry:Foreward by M. Jean Le Carpentier, Mayor of BayeuxPreface, David M. Wilson / The British Museum, March 1985Introduction: A Work of Art and An Historical DocumentMap of South-East England and North-West France in 1066.The Tapestry [a wonderful collection of vibrant colored images]Other sections: I. Inscriptions; II. The Commentary; III. The Story Told in the Tapestry; IV. Style, Art and Form; V. Buildings, Dress and Objects; Notes; Index.I am most satisfied with this book, and I am able to study my favored "comet scene" thoroughly in generous colored pages. An exciting feature appears on page 15: a Partial Family Tree of English and Norman Ruling Families; the names of those members who are represented in the Tapestry are typed in bold. Another feature I like in this book is the large, dark, clear font in the written passages, which is helpful to eyeglass wearers such as my self. It's easy to navigate to various sections --comparing / contrasting colored plates to commentary. Interestingly enough, it makes a fun companion to Hicks' book or to other scholarly books that delve deeper into the subject. I highly recommend this product for those who enjoy history, literature, and art as interests / hobbies, but also for those who teach British / European history, literature, and art. (The lessons for critical thinking and observation are nearly endless with the Tapestry!) This book would make a fine edition to any high school / college library or classroom. It makes a nice gift for the book lover in your family. It's a huge slice of quality for the price.**Note: This faithful product offers the Tapestry's nature in its unedited / uncensored form, which means the "nude" portions / characters that shocked the Victorian audiences are intact in this photographic collection. Certain parts of the Tapestry may not be appropriate for the eyes of very young children.

This book provides a comprehensive discussion of each bit of the Tapestry, with really good color photos. The reference material is in the back of the book, which requires a good bit of flipping back and forth, but it's worth it. There are two separate threads of reference - a discussion of what is being depicted by the embroidery, and a literal translation of the embroidered narrative on the Tapestry itself. Both were fascinating. This gave me my first real in-depth look at the Tapestry and I was sad to get to the end of the book. I'd been wanting this book for a long time and finally treated myself to it, and it was completely worth the price. If you're an embroiderer, or love history, or are just interested in the Bayeux Tapestry, you should own this book.

The book itself is wonderful. Fully deserving of five stars. I am however quite disappointed that there was no packaging in the oversized box with it, so all of the tossing around that happened up to delivery damaged the corners of the book. For having paid so much for it, there should have been SOMETHING to protect it during transport.

This book was much bigger than I was expecting for only $39. It's a huge coffee table book with glorious full page photos of every inch of the tapestry. My only complaint, is that I wished that a brief commentary was on each page telling me what I'm looking at, instead of having to flip to the end of the book. But they did provide a nice bookmark for flipping back and forth.

I have been there and done that! Actually seen the Bayeux Tapestry, in Bayeux, France! The book is sold in the museum there, but it was too big to haul home in a suitcase. Besides being sold in the museum, which gives it credibility, it is written by a knowledgable museum person (I am a former museum director). I also teach cultural anthropology and I love to find visual materials where my students can evaluate cultural themes of the past. The tapestry witnesses daily life in dwellings, clothing, food, weapons, symbols, transportation, technology, making a living, and of course art, etc. which is a good historical period piece where they can examine culture as created by those who actually lived it. Besides that, 1066 changed the world, which is a great story in itself. The photographs are so spectacular, it is almost like seeing the real thing.Professor Jolley

The classic work on the Bayeux Tapestry with complete and detailed photos of the entire piece. This was a great reference for me as I worked on stitching a replica of a tiny piece of the original. I could really see the stitch patterns. Narrative is also extensive and well researched.

This is a large format book that is mostly color pictures of the tapestry. The commentary is learned and provides a good review of the events around the Norman Conquest.

I just got back from seeing the real tapestry in Bayeux, Normandy, France. When entering the room where it is displayed, I was given earphones and an audio receiver. The audio guided me rather briskly past each panel with interesting, but brief, commentary. I was not allowed to dawdle. Considering the crowds, this method worked better than most of the other guided tours I took in France. The book has pictures of the complete tapestry, first in full color about 2/3 (my estimate) the size of the actual tapestry; then it goes goes through it again in smaller graytone with extensive narrative. I found the book a much better way to learn about the tapestry than viewing the read thing.

There is no gallery of high resolution images of the Bayeux tapestry available online (that I know of) so I bought this book. It consists of a set of very high resolution colour images of every panel of the entire tapestry with each panel of the tapestry covering two pages giving a image of each panel that spans about 40x60 cm in landscape format. The resolution is high enough that you can make out and count every single stitch and even see the needle holes of the famous and hotly disputed missing arrow in the panel depicting Harold Godwinson's death. These colour photographs make up the bulk of the book but there is a series of pages of text at the end explaining what is going on in the colour panels. Each text page contains a black and white image of the panel under discussion.

This is a superb book containing very large high resolution photos of the complete Bayeux "Tapestry" taken in natural light. This enables one to actually get a better view of the work than seeing it in Bayeux, where it is displayed in a low light behind glass to preserve it. Whether you are a history buff interested in a near contemporary depiction of a seminal event or an embroiderer this is is a stupendous reproduction where one can see every stitch and needle hole.There is also a good but rather outdated commentary - lots of interesting discoveries have been made about it since this was published - but I would recommend this for the size and quality of the reproductions.

I always wanted to see the Bayeux Tapestry but owing to ill health, that is no longer going to be possible. I was utterly delighted to receive this splendid volume displaying the full Tapestry which has been beautifully photographed in full colour and superbly laid out by Thames and Hudson Ltd. They produce some really fine books and this one is no exception. The Tapestry is an amazing piece of history. The book at the back, provides a lot of historic information, using small black and white mini photos corresponding to the large colour ones, so it is easy to read the info and flick back to the coloured section of linen, with it’s marvellous needlework and appreciate the information provided.

This is an outstanding way of seeing the Bayeux Tapestry. It is an incredibly valuable historical source. Bear in mind that many sources have great gaps in them (think of Tacitus, Polybius, or Suetonius). This is intact, an unconventional way of presenting a vitally important narrative, but decidedly effective. It was probably made by the English side, too. Contrary to the propaganda, the Saxons were more literate and more pious than the Normans and minted much better coins. Although it celebrates an English humiliation, it's a masterpiece of Saxon art.All right, whether or not you agree with a single word of what I have written up there, this book is marvellous. You have the entire length of the Bayeux Tapestry, beautifully presented. It's a work of art which does justice to one of the great works of art.

Stunning! Great scholarship, interesting introduction, notes, erudite background explications, historical facts and (possible) fictions…everything we have wanted to know…the photos of the embroidery are enchanting…we are looking at them in detail, and finding new and wonderful designs…we especially like the ”trees”…what a great volume! Bought as background for a history class in grade five, but what a surprise! A favourite now, for the entire family…we need to go see the real thing….soon…and where, oh where are the missing bits?….