Reviving the Rich Legacy of the Bayeux Tapestry

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STEVE INSKEEP, host:

Now we'll go to a historic site. It's the town of Bayeux, France, and it's close to the D-Day invasion beaches of Normandy. Bayeux is also known for another invasion, that of William, Duke of Normandy, who invaded England in 1066. His exploits are depicted in the famous Bayeux tapestry. Eleanor Beardsley sent us this postcard from the town of Bayeux.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY reporting:

The 900-year-old 230-foot Bayeux tapestry takes up an entire wall in its own museum in the town of Bayeux. Accompanied by a soundtrack, the detailed, colorfully embroidered cloth depicts scene by scene the story behind the invasion of England by William the Conqueror.

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BEARDSLEY: He defeated the forces of King Herald II at the Battle of Hastings, then took the throne of England and changed the course of English history.

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BEARDSLEY: The Bayeux tapestry, stitched by monks to commemorate the battle, could be considered the world's first war propaganda, says tapestry expert Chantal James.

Ms. CHANTAL JAMES: (Through Translator) At that time people couldn't read or write, and the theory is that this tapestry was made so that people could see the history. And it tried to justify why William, who was only a duke of Normandy, became king of England.

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BEARDSLEY: James runs Broderie Bayeux, an embroidery shop right around the corner from the tapestry and just next to the Bayeux Cathedral. She holds workshops to teach the art form behind the Bayeux tapestry, especially its characteristic stitch.

Ms. JAMES: (Through Translator) I want to keep this 11th century technique going. It's called the Bayeux stitch. It looks complicated, but it's really one of the easiest stitches. They're big stitches, three and four centimeters apart, which permit you to make big scenes, not tiny little ones. And so you can have a reproduction of the Bayeux tapestry in your home.

BEARDSLEY: James says 15 years ago, the art form was dying out, but there has been a renaissance in the last few years. She sells embroidery kits that reproduce scenes from the tapestry using the heavy linen and specially dyed wools of the day.

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BEARDSLEY: Her clients are history buffs and craft lovers and James exports her kits all over the world. But it's the English, she says, who are the biggest fans of the history and the art.

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BEARDSLEY: The streets of Bayeux are full of English voices and James says even though the embroidery is a record of an English defeat, the visitors from across the channel seem to have taken the tapestry and the town to their hearts.

Ms. JAMES: (Through Translator) I'm Norman and that's why I love this tapestry. It's part of the history of Normandy, but it's a history that we share with the English. The English love the tapestry, too, and we are linked because of it. The Bayeux tapestry is a story between the Normans and the English.

BEARDSLEY: But James says the English don't miss a chance to remind her that, despite attempts since, William of Normandy was the last foreigner to successfully invade English soil.

For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley.

INSKEEP: You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News.

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