New bibliography about the Bayeux Tapestry represents an invaluable sourcebook…
Purists often harp on the fact that the Bayeux Tapestry is in fact not a tapestry but an embroidery. What they often forget is, that formally the tapestry is not even registered as such. Instead it is listed as a manuscript, which just happens to be embroidered.
Of course there is some sense in this. A library owns this artefact and since libraries do not own just “things” – they own manuscripts or printed matter – it had to be registered as such. Further the texts which may be found on the tapestry (which it will henceforth be called) are often used as the very first introduction to the Latin language (in Denmark in the 9th grade).
However to be quite precise it is of course a miraculously preserved embroidered wall-hanging from the Middle Ages depicting happenings leading up to the Norman Conquest of England 1066 as well as the actual battle. Apart from that, scholars – medievalists, philologists, art historians, and archaeologists – have disagreed heartily since the 18th century.
Even today central questions like
- Who was the patron?
- When was it made?
- Where was it made?
- Why was it made?
- Where was it destined to be hung?
remain unanswered. There are of course tentative conclusions, which seem to be able to garner at least some consensus. Odo, Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux (early 1030s – 1097) is generally believed to have been the patron. The tapestry is generally believed to have been designed at St. Augustine’s Abbey in Canterbury between 1070 – 1090. Perhaps it was destined to be hung at Dover castle before it was presented to the Cathedral in Bayeux. As to the ‘why’, proposals are so manifold that it eludes a short presentation here.
Naturally the tapestry has fed an enormous literature and hence a number of bibliographies. Recently, however, Shirley Ann Brown, has made an special offering of her life-long collection of bibliographic notes concerning the tapestry. In a recently published annotated bibliography she lists 1035 works from 1724 to 2015 (the last is “in print”). From monographs to lesser articles in newspapers, she has obviously been collecting since at least the mid 70s, when she began writing her dissertation on the dating and meaning of the Bayeux Tapestry (one wonders when she began transferring her cards to an electronic format!). The bibliography is of course not complete; for instance a search on google scholar for “Tapeçaria de Bayeaux” and limiting hits in Portuguese produced several items by authors, which could not be located in the author index. A search at google scholar for “Bayeux Tapestry” produced 6690 hits (some of which are of course doublets). Nevertheless, for any student or just generally interested medievalist – whether professional or lay – this bibliography is where to start. Not least because it is carefully annotated. It is a pity though that her partial comments and other scathing remarks probably attached to her original notes have been expurgated here. Might we dream of a second – electronic – edition with those appended? Shirley Ann Brown has been dedicating half of her professional life to tapestry-studies and those comments are probably invaluable in themselves.
One reason why these have not been appended, though, is the fact that the bibliography does not stand alone. It is accompanied by a hundred page long introduction to the tapestry including a physical description, a sketch of its history, a survey of its curators and finally an overview of Bayeux Tapestry Studies 1720 – 2013. Not least this overview is worth while a perusal for anyone who wishes to enter into the intricate scholarly debates about the who, when, where and why’s of this extremely precious witness to the history of the Normans and their life and times. Shirley Ann Brown has obviously chosen to present a general introduction to tapestry-studies rather than a contribution to the ongoing lively debates.
Highly recommended!
Karen Schousboe
The Bayeux Tapestry. Bayeux. Médiatheque Municipale: MS 1. A Sourcebook
By Shirley Ann Brown
Publications of the Journal of Medieval Latin Vol. 9
Brepols 2014
ISBN-10: 2503549179
ISBN-13: 978-2503549170