What is the Bayeux Tapestry?

The story behind the answer

Despite its name, it isn’t woven on a loom like true tapestries; it’s linen decorated with wool embroidery. Its stitched scenes form a continuous narrative of the events leading up to and including the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, complete with Latin captions, battle preparations, the Battle of Hastings, and vivid details of everyday life.

Probably made in the late 11th century—likely in England, perhaps at Canterbury—for Odo, bishop of Bayeux and William the Conqueror’s half-brother, it runs about 70 meters long. It famously depicts Halley’s Comet, ships, armor, and tactics, making it a crucial visual source for medieval culture and warfare. Long displayed annually in Bayeux Cathedral, it also functioned as powerful Norman propaganda, shaping how the conquest was remembered.