What is “the Bayeux Tapestry” made of?

The story behind the answer

Despite its name, it isn’t a woven textile at all. The images are stitched with dyed wool thread onto a linen ground using techniques like stem stitch and laid-and-couched work. That’s why the figures, borders, and Latin captions sit on top of the fabric rather than being part of its weave or painted surface.

Created in the late 11th century, the nearly 70-meter-long work narrates the events leading to the Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings (1066). Probably commissioned by William the Conqueror’s half-brother, Bishop Odo, and likely made in England, it’s a rare window into medieval life—depicting ships, armor, feasting, and even Halley’s Comet. Its sequential scenes make it an early precursor to visual storytelling traditions like comics.