Highlands Ranch High School - Mr. Sedivy



THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY VIII

Bayeux Tapestry, panel 43

HERE THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH HAVE FALLEN TOGETHER IN BATTLE


The Bretons begin to waver. Stallions, their bloody flanks flecked with foam, stumble as their riders
turn in retreat. Despite Harold's order to stand fast as a defensive bulwark,
English rustics of the fyrd, or militia, filling out his ranks feel the flush of victory and break out in pursuit.

Bayeux Tapestry, panel 44

HERE BISHOP ODO, HOLDING A MACE, URGES ON THE YOUNG MEN


Trapped on a hillock in the valley, the over-anxious Anglo-Saxon militiamen fight to the last man
against encircling invaders. Galloping past, Bishop Odo rallies the Norman cavalry with his swinging mace.
In the melee William's horse is thrice cut from under him.

Bayeux Tapestry, panel 45
HERE IS DUKE WILLIAM EUSTACE HERE THE FRENCH ARE FIGHTING

To quell rumor of his death, the duke doffs his helmet and cries, "Look at me well!
I am still alive and by the grace of God I shall yet prove victor!"
Eustace of Boulogne, carrying the papal banner symbolizing Rome's approval of the invasion, points out his commander.

Bayeux Tapestry, panel 46

AND THOSE WHO WERE WITH HAROLD HAVE FALLEN


As the long, bloody day draws to an end, the bone-weary, haggard Normans call upon
their tired steeds for a final charge, vowing to breach the English line. In the tapestry border, archers aim their arrows
over the wall of shields and death rains upon the Anglo-Saxons.

Bayeux Tapestry, panel 47

HERE KING HAROLD HAS BEEN KILLED


The shafts take their toll. The shield wall begins to crumble, exposing Harold to mortal danger.
Rushing in, a mounted Norman knight hews down the doomed monarch with one mighty blow from his broadsword.
Their stalwart leader dead, their army shattered, the English have little heart left for battle.

Bayeux Tapestry, panel 48. The end.

AND THE ENGLISH HAVE TURNED IN FLIGHT


"They... began to fly as swiftly as they could," wrote William of Poitiers.
Behind them, "The blood-stained battleground was covered with the flower of the youth and nobility of England."
The sun set on the field - and on Anglo-Saxon England.

(Scholars believe two missing panels at the end may have portrayed William on the throne of England.)

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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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