It is arguably the most famous date in English history: 1066 — the year of the Battle of Hastings, marking the start of the Norman Conquest and pivotal in England’s development.<\/p>\n
The battle is told in incredible detail in the 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry.<\/p>\n
It will go on display for the first time in London from September 10, following a loan from the Bayeux Museum in Normandy, northwestern France.<\/p>\n
Here are some facts about the almost 1,000-year-old artwork that can be seen until July next year at the British Museum.<\/p>\n
– 1066 and all that –<\/p>\n
Embroidered in wool thread, the tapestry depicts how William the Conqueror defeated England’s King Harold in 1066, the last successful invasion and conquest of England by a foreign army.<\/p>\n
William’s victory ended Anglo-Saxon rule, and led to the Normans transforming England’s government, land ownership, military system and society, while Norman French strongly influenced the English language.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The result brought England closer to continental Europe and shaped its society for centuries, with the modern royal family able to trace its roots\u00a0back to William.<\/p>\n
The tapestry documents the conquest in words and images, but its origins are shrouded in mystery, although historians appear to agree it was apparently embroidered in England.<\/p>\n
“Most scholars today think the tapestry was made in England, probably in or around Canterbury,” the British museum says on its website.<\/p>\n
According to some historians, Bishop Odo of\u00a0Bayeux\u00a0— William’s half-brother — commissioned the work in 1077 to decorate the new cathedral in his hometown,\u00a0Bayeux.<\/p>\n
The artisans’ identities are lost to time, although the British Museum says scholars believe “it was made by English women, whose needlework skills were admired across Europe”.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0tapestry\u00a0is 68 metres (224 feet) long, 50 centimetres (20 inches) wide and weighs 350 kilogrammes (772 pounds).\u00a0<\/p>\n
– Arrow in the eye –<\/p>\n
William claimed he was named heir by England’s King Edward, a remote cousin, and the tapestry follows his journey across the Channel with hundreds of men in many ships to claim the crown.<\/p>\n
He confronts King Harold, who had been crowned following Edward’s death, at the Battle of Hastings in southern England in October 1066. Harold is killed and William is crowned on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n
The tapestry features 626 figures and 202 horses, as well as other animals including dogs and birds, according to the Bayeux Museum.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only six women are depicted on it — one is being possibly assaulted, one crying and one fleeing a burning house clutching a child.<\/p>\n
Some accounts say King Harold died after being struck in the eye by a French arrow — a scene apparently shown on the\u00a0tapestry\u00a0though the arrow may have been added later.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0tapestry\u00a0also captures an image of Halley’s comet.<\/p>\n
– London show –<\/p>\n
In an unprecedented display of French-British diplomacy, the\u00a0tapestry\u00a0goes on display at the British Museum from September 10 to July 11, 2027.<\/p>\n
It will be displayed flat for the first time, rather than hanging on a wall.<\/p>\n
Around 7.5 million people are expected to flock to the museum during the exhibition, up from the usual annual figures of around six million.<\/p>\n
So it could break the record of more than 1.6 million visitors for a single exhibition set in 1972 for an exhibition of ancient Egyptian king Tutankhamun.<\/p>\n
“It is a defining piece of our nation’s history and a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience,” the museum’s chairman of trustees George Osborne said.<\/p>\n
The first tickets from the exhibition’s opening to the end of December sold out on July 1, the day they went on sale.<\/p>\n
– Delicate cargo –<\/p>\n
An expert study in 2020 found around 24,200 stains and 10,000 holes.<\/p>\n
The work is sensitive to micro-vibrations, handling and humidity, and must not receive more than 50 lux, a very dim light.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0tapestry\u00a0has only left\u00a0Bayeux\u00a0twice, to be displayed at the Louvre in Paris: once in 1803, on Napoleon’s orders, and once in 1944, in tribute to the British and US troops who fought to free France from Nazi German occupation.<\/p>\n
The Bayeux Museum, its home since 1983, is closed for a 38-million-euro renovation due to end in 2027.<\/p>\n
The UK government is insuring the\u00a0tapestry\u00a0for an estimated \u00a3800 million while it is on loan.<\/p>\n
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