Displaying items by tag: bayeux tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry is arguably the most famous piece of embroidery in history. Yet, when it was rediscovered 300 years ago, the final section appeared to be missing. Until now.

Nearly 1,000 years ago, as William the Conqueror sat on his newly-won English throne, a team of embroiderers laboured over a tapestry intended to immortalise his achievement.

The tapestry, chronicling the Norman conquest of England and that battle in 1066, is regarded as a marvel of medieval Europe. However, since it was "rediscovered" by scholars in the 18th Century, its original final scene has been missing.

Residents of Alderney, the northernmost of the British Channel islands, recently came together to complete the Bayeux tapestry, an embroidered cloth measuring 230 feet from the 1070s. The original tapestry is believed to have been commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, the half brother of Duke William II of Normandy, and was sewn by English needle-works in either Winchester or Canterbury over a ten year span.

The Bayeux Tapestry is comprised of 50 scenes depicting the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England at the Battle of Hastings, where Duke William II defeated King Harold II of England. However, the tapestry ends before the coronation of William in London in 1066, leading experts to believe that the embroidery had lost its final panels over the centuries.

Hundred of people from Alderney have contributed to the completion of the Bayeux tapestry. Designed by artist Pauline Black, the project was overseen by Kate Russell, an American who lives on the island. Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles even added a few stitches while on a visit to the Channel Islands.

The completed Bayeux tapestry will go on display at the Alderney Museum later this year.