TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Travel France: Bayeux Tapestry, Cathedral, Norman-Saxon History

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Travel France: Bayeux Tapestry, Cathedral, Norman-Saxon History

Cecilia with William the Conqueror

Cathedral of Bayeux

Dear Readers,
Be patient with the following history. It will explain my excitement at what we saw today.

Before taking this trip to France, I happened to see a documentary about the history of England, which included information about William the Conqueror. The film explained that it was the marriage of the Saxon King Aethelred to the Norman Queen Emma that made possible the Norman claim to the Saxon throne. The Saxon King Edward appointed the Norman William his successor. However the Saxon Harold decided to take the crown for himself. William fought Harold to get what he believed was his right.

Gargoyle near center of the picture

The Norman invasion of England in 1066 was depicted in a long embroidered piece (approximately 68 meters) called the Bayeux Tapestry. The tapestry is over a thousand years old, and it has scenes that tell the story of this battle. This was used to tell the illiterate people the story of the Norman conquest.

Water wheel

Today we visited the Bayeux Tapestry in Bayeux, and I was fascinated at this story-telling in needlework on linen cloth. The piece has 56 panels with various scenes showing, for example,the cutting down of trees as part of the war-preparations of William. Woolen thread was used for the stitchery. And just imagine that this piece is over a thousand years old!

We were not allowed to take pictures of the tapestry, and rightfully so because the flash would destroy the cloth. My pictures are of the displays at the museum and one from Wikipedia.

In Bayeux, we also visited the Cathedral, which is a really nice church, huge, graceful, with good energy. If you look carefully, you can see a gargoyle in the third picture.

It was a gorgeous day today -- no rain at all, and everything brilliant and beautiful!

In fact, we also visited the Military sites in Bayeux and at the Normandy Beaches (World War II, D-Day) but I will cover that another day.

Thanks for following these short writeups about our current visit to France.

Read also
Dog in a Restaurant - Bistro des Artistes, Honfleur, France
Pilgrimage to Therese of Lisieux Sites

Tags: Bayeux, tapestry, needlework, history, Saxon, Norman, English, William, Conqueror, Harold

This is all for now,
Cecilia

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.