Highlands Ranch High School - Mr. Sedivy




THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY IV



Bayeux Tapestry, panel 19

HERE THE BODY OF KING EDWARD IS BEING CARRIED TO THE CHURCH OF ST. PETER THE APOSTLE


Completion of the abbey consumed the interest of the king in his last days. The Hand of God,
descending from a cloud, symbolizes the consecration of the church on Holy Innocents' Day - December 28, 1065.
Bearers carry Edward's enshrouded body to the abbey.


Bayeux Tapestry, panel 20

KING EDWARD IN BED ADDRESSES HIS LOYAL FRIENDS.
AND HERE HE IS DEAD.

HERE SITS HAROLD AS KING OF THE ENGLISH.
THEY HAVE GIVEN HAROLD THE ROYAL CROWN.

Before his death "the wise ruler entrusted the realm to a man of high rank, to Harold himself," reads the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
Harold listens to the king's last words at the foot of the bed. Breaking his oath to William, he accepts the crown;

Bayeux Tapestry, panel 21
ARCHBISHOP STIGAND THESE MEN WONDER AT THE STAR HAROLD

Archbishop Stigand proclaims him king. "Then over all England there was seen a sign in the skies such as had never
been seen before. Some said it was the star 'comet' which some call the star with hair," records the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. In the spring, Halley's comet blazed across Europe. A courtier hastens to tell Harold of the omen.


Bayeux Tapestry, panel 22
HERE AN ENGLISH SHIP HAS COME INTO DUKE WILLIAM'S LAND

HERE DUKE WILLIAM HAS ORDERED


Sinister, ghostly ships in the tapestry border hint at coming disaster.
Meanwhile, a messenger sails to inform William, probably at Rouen, that Harold has been crowned king.
Enraged at such perfidy, William resolves to invade England and take the throne.


Bayeux Tapestry, panel 23
HERE DUKE WILLIAM HAS ORDERED THE BUILDING OF SHIPS

Crash of giant oaks resounds as woodsmen fell trees for the fleet.
Carpenters shape planks while shipwrights with adz and hammer construct long, narrow ships. Using block and tackle,
men launch them at Dives. Arms and provisions accumulate. But for a month, an adverse wind blows from the north.


Bayeux Tapestry, panel 24

HERE THE SHIPS ARE BEING DRAGGED TO THE SEA


William, with superb leadership, so controlled his men that "the flocks and herds of the peasantry pastured unharmed,"
recorded a Norman. Then a westerly permits the duke to move his fleet to St. Valéry for a shorter voyage across the Channel.



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Mr. Sedivy's History Classes
| Colorado History | American Government | Advanced Placement Modern European History | Rise of Nation State England | World History |

World History: Dawn of Civilization to Napoleon - Units of Study
| Prehistory | Mesopotamia & Phoenicians | Ancient Egypt | Greece | Rome | Medieval History | Renaissance and Reformation | Exploration | National Monarchies |
| The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment | Colonial America and the American Revolution | The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era |

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