For the primary time in almost a millennium, the Bayeux Tapestry will return to England due to a historic mortgage settlement between the UK and France. The enduring tapestry depicting the Norman invasion of England and the Battle of Hastings shall be loaned to the British Museum within the autumn of 2026. In alternate, the British Museum will mortgage a few of the best treasures in its assortment, together with items from the Sutton Hoo ship burial and the Lewis Chessmen, to museums in Normandy.
Woven in round 1077, 11 years after the William, Duke of Normandy, conquered England, the embroidered linen is 224 toes lengthy and a couple of’4″ excessive and is believed to have been produced in or round Canterbury. It was commissioned by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, brother of William, so it moved to Normandy as quickly because it was accomplished.
The multi-colored wool thread embroidery is a novel depiction of twelfth century France and England captured in 58 scenes with 626 folks, 202 horses and 93 penises. (Duke William’s horse has the most important one.) Scene 57 exhibits King Harold Godwinson’s dying from an arrow within the eye, labelled by the stitched inscription above the scene as “Hic Harold rex interfectus est,” that means “Right here King Harold is killed.”
That is the second try to rearrange a homecoming for the tapestry. In 2018, France and the UK introduced that it might be loaned for a 2022 exhibition, however that plan was scrapped when a three-year examine of the Bayeux Tapestry discovered that it was just too fragile to maneuver earlier than a complete program of restoration and restore addressed the tens of hundreds of factors of weak point, together with 30 unstabilized tears.
The conservation is now full and the Bayeux Tapestry is secure sufficient to cross the Channel as soon as extra. It is going to be on the British Museum for a 12 months whereas the Bayeaux Museum is closed for renovations.
Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the British Museum, stated: ‘The Bayeux Tapestry is without doubt one of the most essential and distinctive cultural artefacts on the planet, which illustrates the deep ties between Britain and France and has fascinated folks throughout geographies and generations. It’s arduous to overstate the importance of this extraordinary alternative of displaying it on the British Museum and we’re profoundly grateful to everybody concerned. This would be the first time the Bayeux Tapestry has been within the UK because it was made, nearly 1,000 years in the past. We’re additionally delighted to ship treasures from the British Museum representing all 4 nations of the UK – together with Sutton Hoo treasures and the Lewis chess items – to France in return.
