Highlands Ranch High School - Mr. Sedivy
Highlands Ranch, Colorado

The Entire Bayeux Tapestry - Part VI

Fowl sizzling on spits, pork boiling in a pot, the aroma of fresh bread baked in an outdoor oven: William and his followers eat well on English viands. A cook passes the food to indoor servants who array it on shields and serve their masters. Bishop Odo of Bayeux, half-brother to the Conqueror, says grace.

A servant stands by to refill wine bowls. After the meal, the Norman lord holds a council of war with Odo and another half-brother, Robert of Mortain. A soldier, holding a spear, orders fortifications built at Hastings. First rule of Norman occupation: build a castle to defend the territory. Workmen shovel dirt and stones for a mound to support the wooden keep;

Another workman digs a ditch, or moat. A seated William hears a messenger tell of Harold hastening southward.William orders homes burned, knowing Harold's compassion for the people.

With the news that the Anglo-Saxons draw near, the duke dons full battle armor; a squire brings his Spanish charger -
a present from King Alfonso of Aragon. An anxious night gives way to a chill dawn as the army moves out.

Uttering prayers for victory, veteran Norman knights mount their sturdy war horses and ride to destiny at sunrise on an immortal day: October 14, 1066. Leading his army with mace in hand, William meets the knight Vital, who brings news of the enemy's position.

The English - also about 7,000 strong - occupy the hill of Senlac near Hastings. From Telham Hill, hardened Norman knights blanch at the sight across the valley: thousands of spear points bristle behind a phalanx of wooden shields. The Normans thread marshy land and climb a brambly slope.