Engelsk stiløvelse

Der er 58 billeder i alt, syet på et stykke lærred, som er 70 meter langt. Dette enorme stykke håndarbejde blev fremstillet i det 11. århundrede. Fortællingerne gør det klart for alle, at Vilhelm Erobreren var i sin gode ret til at invadere England og knuse den engelske hær i slaget ved Hastings i 1066. Han var nemlig blevet snydt af den engelske Kong Harald, som havde lovet at gøre Vilhelm til konge af England men havde sat kronen på sit eget hoved i stedet for.
Der sker en masse på disse billeder: krigsskibe bliver bygget og lastet med våben, heste, soldater og masser af god fransk vin, så normannerne er rustet til turen over Kanalen. Der bliver spist og drukket ved enorme fester, og der bliver kæmpet, så sårede mennesker og dyr hvirvles rundt i luften, og de døde ligger spredt på slagmarken.
Serien slutter meget brat: Vilhelms mænd dræber Harald og erobrer England, sendebud drager af sted – og her slutter tapetet. Der er ingen egentlig afslutning, hvor man for eksempel ser Vilhelm blive kronet. Man ved ikke, om det aldrig er blevet gjort helt færdigt, eller om den sidste del er blevet slidt af i årenes løb.
Slaget ved Hastings er en historisk milepæl, fordi det aldrig siden er lykkedes nogen at erobre England. Napoleon og Hitler gjorde deres bedste, men det mislykkedes. Det er for øvrigt utroligt, at Bayeux-tapetet stadig eksisterer, for de fleste byer omkring ”the allied landing beaches” blev næsten jævnet med jorden under slaget om Normandiet efter invasionen i 1944.
Bayeux var imidlertid den første by, der blev befriet af de allierede tropper. Man undgik derfor voldsomme kampe og de sædvanlige ødelæggelser, og Bayeux-tapetet blev bevaret for eftertiden.


There are 58 pictures in all, sewed on a piece of linen which is 70 metres long. This enormous piece of needlework was made in the 11th century. The storytellers make it obvious that William the Conqueror was in his quite right to invade England and crush the English army in the battle of Hastings in 1066. He was cheated by the English King Harald who had promised to make William king of England, but he put the crown on his own head instead.
A lot is taking place on these pictures: battleships are built and loaded with weapons, horses, soldiers and lots of good French wine so the Normans are equipped for the voyage over the Channel. There were eating and drinking at enormous parties and there were fought so the wounded persons and animals are whirling round up in the air, and the dead were lying on the battlefield.
The series ends very suddenly: William’s men kill Harald and conquer England, the messenger sets out – and here the wallpaper ends. There is not an exactly ending where you for example see William getting crowned. You don’t know if it never was finished entirely, or if the last part is been worn over the years.
The battle of Hastings is an historical landmark because nobody succeeded in conquering England since. Napoleon and Hitler did their best, but it failed. It is by the way incredibly that the Bayeux-wallpaper still exists because the most of the towns around “the allied landing beaches” were almost razed to the ground during the battle of Normandy after the invasion in 1944.
Bayeux was however the first town which was liberated by the allied troops. That is why you avoided violent battles and the usual destructions and the Bayeux-wallpaper was preserved in posterity.


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