# The Bayeux Tapestry, Unrolled · พรมผนังบาเยอ คลี่ทั้งผืน

The Bayeux Tapestry end to end: all 58 scenes with their Latin, the stitches, Halley's Comet, where it has been from Canterbury to the British Museum, and who came to see it.

English: https://nanobotco.github.io/bayeux-tapestry/
Thai: https://nanobotco.github.io/bayeux-tapestry/th/

Length: 68.58 m (sum of the nine linen pieces: 13.7, 13.9, 8.19, 7.725, 5.52, 7.125, 7.19, 2.8, 2.43 m). Height about 50 cm.

## The 58 scenes

- Scene 1: EDWARD REX — King Edward the Confessor on his throne. The name EDWARD was stitched in by later restorers.
- Scene 2: UBI HAROLD DUX ANGLORUM ET SUI MILITES EQUITANT AD BOSHAM — Harold, an English earl, rides with his men to Bosham, a hawk on his wrist and hounds running ahead.
- Scene 3: ECCLESIA — They stop to pray at Bosham church.
- Scene 4: HIC HAROLD MARE NAVIGAVIT — A feast upstairs, then Harold wades out to his ship and sails.
- Scene 5: ET VELIS VENTO PLENIS VENIT IN TERRA WIDONIS COMITIS — Sails full of wind, he comes to the land of Count Guy of Ponthieu.
- Scene 6: HAROLD — Harold steps ashore.
- Scene 7: HIC APPREHENDIT WIDO HAROLDUM — Guy seizes Harold.
- Scene 8: ET DUXIT EUM AD BELREM ET IBI EUM TENUIT — And takes him to Beaurain and holds him there.
- Scene 9: UBI HAROLD ET WIDO PARABOLANT — Harold and Guy talk.
- Scene 10: UBI NUNTII WILLELMI DUCIS VENERUNT AD WIDONEM · TUROLD — Duke William's messengers reach Guy. The small man holding the horses has his name stitched beside him: Turold.
- Scene 11: NUNTII WILLELMI — William's messengers ride hard.
- Scene 12: HIC VENIT NUNTIUS AD WILGELMUM DUCEM — A messenger comes to Duke William.
- Scene 13: HIC WIDO ADDUXIT HAROLDUM AD WILGELMUM NORMANNORUM DUCEM — Guy hands Harold over to William, Duke of the Normans.
- Scene 14: HIC DUX WILGELMUS CUM HAROLDO VENIT AD PALATIUM SUUM — William brings Harold to his palace.
- Scene 15: UBI UNUS CLERICUS ET ÆLFGYVA — A priest and a woman named Ælfgyva. The sentence has no verb, and nobody knows what this scene is about.
- Scene 16: HIC WILLELMUS DUX ET EXERCITUS EIUS VENERUNT AD MONTEM MICHAELIS — William and his army reach Mont-Saint-Michel.
- Scene 17: ET HIC TRANSIERUNT FLUMEN COSNONIS · HIC HAROLD DUX TRAHEBAT EOS DE ARENA — They cross the River Couesnon, and Harold pulls men out of the quicksand.
- Scene 18: ET VENERUNT AD DOL ET CONAN FUGA VERTIT · REDNES — They reach Dol. Duke Conan of Brittany escapes down a rope. Then Rennes.
- Scene 19: HIC MILITES WILLELMI DUCIS PUGNANT CONTRA DINANTES — William's knights attack Dinan and set it alight.
- Scene 20: ET CUNAN CLAVES PORREXIT — Conan hands over the keys of the town on the tip of a lance.
- Scene 21: HIC WILLELMUS DEDIT ARMA HAROLDO — William gives Harold arms: he makes him his knight.
- Scene 22: HIE WILLELMUS VENIT BAGIAS — William comes to Bayeux. HIE is a slip of the needle for HIC, 'here'.
- Scene 23: UBI HAROLD SACRAMENTUM FECIT WILLELMO DUCI — Harold swears an oath to William, his hands on two boxes of saints' relics.
- Scene 24: HIC HAROLD DUX REVERSUS EST AD ANGLICAM TERRAM — Harold sails home to England.
- Scene 25: ET VENIT AD EDWARDUM REGEM — And comes before King Edward, head bowed.
- Scene 26: HIC PORTATUR CORPUS EADWARDI REGIS AD ECCLESIAM SANCTI PETRI APOSTOLI — King Edward's body is carried to the church of St Peter, Westminster Abbey. A man fixes the weathercock on the roof.
- Scene 27: HIC EADWARDUS REX IN LECTO ALLOQUITUR FIDELES — Edward, in bed, speaks to his faithful men. The story runs backwards here: the funeral came first.
- Scene 28: ET HIC DEFUNCTUS EST — And here he dies: 5 January 1066.
- Scene 29: HIC DEDERUNT HAROLDO CORONAM REGIS — They give Harold the king's crown.
- Scene 30: HIC RESIDET HAROLD REX ANGLORUM — Here sits Harold, King of the English.
- Scene 31: STIGANT ARCHIEPISCOPUS — Archbishop Stigand.
- Scene 32: ISTI MIRANT STELLAM — These men marvel at the star: Halley's Comet, spring 1066.
- Scene 33: HAROLD — Harold hears the news. In the border below him, ghostly ships.
- Scene 34: HIC NAVIS ANGLICA VENIT IN TERRAM WILLELMI DUCIS — An English ship comes to William's land.
- Scene 35: HIC WILLELMUS DUX IUSSIT NAVES AEDIFICARE — William orders ships built. Trees come down, planks are shaped.
- Scene 36: HIC TRAHUNT NAVES AD MARE — They drag the ships to the sea.
- Scene 37: ISTI PORTANT ARMAS AD NAVES ET HIC TRAHUNT CARRUM CUM VINO ET ARMIS — Men carry mail shirts, swords and helmets to the ships, and pull a cart of wine and weapons.
- Scene 38: HIC WILLELMUS DUX IN MAGNO NAVIGIO MARE TRANSIVIT ET VENIT AD PEVENESAE — William crosses the sea in a great ship and lands at Pevensey. The horses come in the boats too.
- Scene 39: HIC EXEUNT CABALLI DE NAVIBUS — The horses step off the ships.
- Scene 40: ET HIC MILITES FESTINAVERUNT HESTINGA UT CIBUM RAPERENTUR — Knights hurry to Hastings to seize food.
- Scene 41: HIC EST WADARD — This is Wadard, one of Bishop Odo's men.
- Scene 42: HIC COQUITUR CARO ET HIC MINISTRAVERUNT MINISTRI — Meat is cooked, and servants serve it.
- Scene 43: HIC FECERUNT PRANDIUM · ET HIC EPISCOPUS CIBUM ET POTUM BENEDICIT — They feast, and the bishop blesses the food and drink.
- Scene 44: ODO EPISCOPUS · WILLELMUS · ROTBERT — Bishop Odo, William, Robert: the duke between his two half-brothers.
- Scene 45: ISTE IUSSIT UT FODERETUR CASTELLUM AT HESTENGA CEASTRA — He orders a castle mound dug at Hastings camp. CEASTRA is an English word, one clue the makers were English.
- Scene 46: HIC NUNTIATUM EST WILLELMO DE HAROLDO — William gets news of Harold.
- Scene 47: HIC DOMUS INCENDITUR — A house is set on fire. A woman leads a child out.
- Scene 48: HIC MILITES EXIERUNT DE HESTENGA ET VENERUNT AD PROELIUM CONTRA HAROLDUM REGEM — The knights leave Hastings and ride to battle against King Harold.
- Scene 49: HIC WILLELMUS DUX INTERROGAT VITALEM SI VIDISSET HAROLDI EXERCITUM — William asks Vital if he has seen Harold's army.
- Scene 50: ISTE NUNTIAT HAROLDUM REGEM DE EXERCITU WILLELMI DUCIS — A scout tells King Harold about William's army.
- Scene 51: HIC WILLELMUS DUX ALLOQUITUR SUIS MILITIBUS UT PREPARARENT SE VIRILITER ET SAPIENTER AD PROELIUM CONTRA ANGLORUM EXERCITUM — William tells his knights to get ready, bravely and wisely, for battle with the English army. 14 October 1066.
- Scene 52: HIC CECIDERUNT LEWINE ET GYRÐ FRATRES HAROLDI REGIS — Leofwine and Gyrth, King Harold's brothers, fall.
- Scene 53: HIC CECIDERUNT SIMUL ANGLI ET FRANCI IN PROELIO — English and French fall together in the battle. Horses tumble at a ditch.
- Scene 54: HIC ODO EPISCOPUS BACULUM TENENS CONFORTAT PUEROS — Bishop Odo, holding a club, rallies the young men.
- Scene 55: HIC EST WILLELMUS DUX — Here is Duke William. He lifts his helmet to show his men he is alive.
- Scene 56: EUSTATIUS · HIC FRANCI PUGNANT ET CECIDERUNT QUI ERANT CUM HAROLDO — Eustace of Boulogne. The French fight on and Harold's men fall. In the lower border, looters strip the dead.
- Scene 57: HIC HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST — King Harold is killed. Is he the man with the arrow by his eye, or the man cut down by a rider? Historians still argue; perhaps both.
- Scene 58: ET FUGA VERTERUNT ANGLI — And the English turn and run. These words were stitched in shortly before 1814; the first ending is lost.

## Where it has been

- c. 1070s · Canterbury: Made in England, most likely at Canterbury, probably for Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William's half-brother. The place comes from the style and the spelling; nobody wrote it down.
- 14 Jul 1077? · Bayeux: Bayeux Cathedral is consecrated. The tapestry may have hung there for the first time that day. No record says so.
- 1476 · Bayeux: First written record. The cathedral's inventory lists a very long, narrow hanging, embroidered with the conquest, hung around the nave for the Feast of Relics and the week after. The rest of the year it lay in a chest.
- 1562 · Bayeux: Huguenots sack the cathedral. The clergy had already hidden the tapestry.
- 1728–1730 · Bayeux: Bernard de Montfaucon tracks it down. Antoine Benoît draws it in the cathedral, and Paris sees it in print for the first time.
- 1792 · Bayeux: The Revolution. Soldiers leaving Bayeux want it as a cover for a wagon. A local lawyer, Léonard Lambert-Leforestier, stops them and keeps it safe.
- 1794 · Bayeux: Nearly cut into strips to trim a float for a town festival. The district arts commission takes it into the nation's care.
- Dec 1803 – Feb 1804 · Paris · Louvre: Napoleon has it shown in the Apollo Gallery of the Louvre, then called the Musée Napoléon, while he plans to invade England.
- 1804 · Bayeux: Back to Bayeux. (One source says 1805.)
- 1812–1842 · Bayeux: Kept in the town hall, wound on two rollers. A keeper cranked it past visitors scene by scene, which wore out the start.
- 1816–1818 · Bayeux: Charles Stothard draws every scene for the Society of Antiquaries of London. A small piece of it leaves with him.
- 1842 · Bayeux: First permanent display, under glass, in the town's public library.
- 1870–1871 · Bayeux: Hidden during the Franco-Prussian War.
- 1872 · Bayeux: Stothard's piece comes back from the South Kensington Museum in London. That autumn Edward Dossetter photographs the whole length on more than 180 glass plates.
- Apr 1913 · Bayeux: Its own museum opens, in the Hôtel du Doyen, the old deanery beside the cathedral.
- Sep 1939 · Bayeux: Rolled up and put in a concrete shelter under the deanery.
- Jun 1941 · Bayeux: Researchers from the SS Ahnenerbe study and copy it. Karl Schlabow cuts small samples of the linen. Germany gave two of them back to Bayeux on 14 January 2026.
- Aug 1941 – Jun 1944 · Château de Sourches: Stored at the Château de Sourches in the Sarthe, with the treasures of France's national museums.
- 26 Jun 1944 · Paris · Louvre: Three weeks after D-Day, the Germans send it to the Louvre.
- Aug 1944 · Paris · Louvre: Himmler orders it moved somewhere safe. SS men come for it on 21 or 22 August, find the Louvre in Resistance hands, and leave without it.
- 10 Nov – 15 Dec 1944 · Paris · Louvre: Shown at the Louvre after the Liberation, hung on a 70-metre rail.
- Mar 1945 · Bayeux: Home to Bayeux. Back on show at the deanery that October; a new display opens on 6 June 1948.
- 1953, 1966 · Bayeux: London asks to borrow it, for the coronation and then for the 900th anniversary of Hastings. Both requests fail; it stays in Bayeux.
- Mar 1983 · Bayeux: Moves to the Centre Guillaume-le-Conquérant, a former seminary on rue de Nesmond, into a horseshoe-shaped gallery.
- 2018–2021 · Bayeux: President Macron offers Britain a loan. A survey counts 24,204 stains, 9,646 holes and 30 tears, and the plan waits.
- Sep 2025 · Bayeux: The museum closes for rebuilding. On 19 September the tapestry comes down for the first time since 1983: 7 hours 15 minutes, more than 90 people.
- 9–10 Jul 2026 · London · British Museum: To London by lorry through the Channel Tunnel, folded on a padded screen inside a crate on springs, with a police escort from Folkestone. About 11 hours; it arrives at 2:50 a.m.
- 10 Sep 2026 – 11 Jul 2027 · London · British Museum: On show at the British Museum, Room 30, lying flat under glass. France reported two broken threads after the trip.
- Oct 2027 · Bayeux: Due back in Bayeux, in a new museum in the old seminary, for William's thousandth birthday.

## Who came to see it

- King Charles III (King of the United Kingdom), British Museum, 2 Sep 2026: Walked the whole length with the curators and showed President Macron his favourite scene, the Norman cart of wine. In his speech he joked it might have been called the Canterbury Embroidery. Source: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/09/03/we-are-united-king-charles-iii-and-president-macron-attend-private-preview-of-londons-bayeux-tapestry-exhibition
- Queen Camilla (Queen), British Museum, 2 Sep 2026: On the same private tour. Source: https://www.everydayexceptional.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2026-09-03/the-king-and-queen-joined-by-the-president-of-france-and-mrs-macron
- Emmanuel Macron (President of France), British Museum, 2 Sep 2026: Opened the exhibition. He noted Britain first asked in 1931, so a loan agreed in eight years was quick by comparison. Source: https://www.franceinfo.fr/culture/emmanuel-macron-inaugure-l-exposition-de-la-tapisserie-de-bayeux-installee-a-londres-pour-un-an_8174294.html
- Brigitte Macron (Wife of the French president), British Museum, 2 Sep 2026: On the tour. Source: https://www.everydayexceptional.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2026-09-03/the-king-and-queen-joined-by-the-president-of-france-and-mrs-macron
- Andy Burnham (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), British Museum, 2 Sep 2026: Thanked Macron for a 70-metre reminder of Britain's biggest defeat. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/story-of-the-bayeux-tapestry-to-be-brought-to-communities-across-the-country-as-prime-minister-joins-the-king-and-queen-and-president-macron-at-exhibi
- Marie-France van Heel (Wife of the prime minister), British Museum, 2 Sep 2026: On the tour. Source: https://www.everydayexceptional.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2026-09-03/the-king-and-queen-joined-by-the-president-of-france-and-mrs-macron
- George Osborne · Nicholas Cullinan (British Museum chair and director), British Museum, 2 Sep 2026: Led the tour. Source: https://www.everydayexceptional.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2026-09-03/the-king-and-queen-joined-by-the-president-of-france-and-mrs-macron
- Catherine Pégard (French culture minister), British Museum, 17 Jul 2026: Watched it unrolled after the crossing and said it had arrived in excellent condition. Source: https://kuwaittimes.com/article/46674/world/europe/british-museum-shows-bayeux-tapestry-unfurled-after-titanic-efforts/
- Antoine Benoît (Draughtsman), Bayeux Cathedral, c. 1729: Drew it for Montfaucon's book, the first full picture of it in print. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_Tapestry
- Léonard Lambert-Leforestier (Bayeux lawyer), Bayeux, 1792: Stopped soldiers using it as a wagon cover. Source: https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/over-the-centuries/from-the-cathedral-to-the-louvre/
- Napoleon Bonaparte · Vivant Denon (First Consul · director of the Louvre), Louvre, 1803–1804: Denon put it on show and wrote that the First Consul looked at it with great interest. Source: https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/over-the-centuries/from-the-cathedral-to-the-louvre/
- Charles and Anna Eliza Stothard (Draughtsman · writer), Bayeux, 1816–1818: He drew every scene for the Society of Antiquaries. Years later she was accused of taking a piece, and cleared in The Times. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Eliza_Bray
- Thomas Frognall Dibdin (Book collector, writer), Bayeux town hall, 1818: Watched the keeper unroll it, and wrote of the worn first scenes and faded colours. Source: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/11898/pg11898.html
- Edward Dossetter (Photographer), Bayeux, 1872: Photographed it end to end for London's Science and Art Department. Source: https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/caring-for-our-collections/photographing-bayeux
- Elizabeth and Thomas Wardle (Embroiderer · silk dyer), Bayeux, 1885: After seeing it, she and about 35 members of the Leek Embroidery Society and others stitched a full-size copy, finished in 1886 and now in Reading. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Wardle
- Herbert Jankuhn · Karl Schlabow · Herbert Jeschke (SS Ahnenerbe researchers), Bayeux, June 1941: Studied, measured and copied it. Schlabow took samples of the linen. Source: https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/2025/why-the-nazis-stole-a-fragment-of-the-bayeux-tapestry/
- Jacques Jaujard (Director of France's national museums), Louvre, 1944: Photographed looking it over in wartime. Source: https://www.mmwf.org/post/the-bayeux-tapestry-journey

## Counted

- 58 scenes
- 623–626 people (two counts)
- 202 horses and mules
- 55 dogs
- 41 ships and boats
- 37 buildings
- 49 trees
- 9 pieces of linen
- 10 colours of wool
- 2,226 letters and signs in the captions

## Sources

- Bayeux Museum: from the cathedral to the Louvre: https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/over-the-centuries/from-the-cathedral-to-the-louvre/
- Bayeux Museum: during the Second World War: https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/over-the-centuries/during-the-second-world-war/
- Bayeux Museum: a new museum by 2027: https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/over-the-centuries/a-new-museum-by-2027/
- Bayeux Museum press kit, 2024: https://bayeuxmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2024_PressKit-Bayeux-Tapestry.pdf
- Wikipedia: Bayeux Tapestry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_Tapestry
- Wikipédia: Tapisserie de Bayeux: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapisserie_de_Bayeux
- Wikipedia: Bayeux Tapestry tituli (the Latin captions): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_Tapestry_tituli
- V&A: photographing Bayeux, 1872: https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/caring-for-our-collections/photographing-bayeux
- V&A: the Stothard fragment: https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/caring-for-our-collections/stitch-time-va-and-bayeux-tapestry-2
- The Art Newspaper: how Britain tried to borrow it, 2018: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2018/02/28/how-britain-triedand-failedto-borrow-the-bayeux-tapestry-twice-before
- Museums Association: loan on hold, 2021: https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2021/04/bayeux-tapestry-loan-on-hold-due-to-poor-condition/
- France 24: it leaves the museum, 19 Sep 2025: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250919-bayeux-tapestry-leaves-museum-for-first-time-since-1983-before-uk-loan
- French Ministry of Culture: a historic loan: https://www.culture.gouv.fr/dossiers/tapisserie-de-bayeux-un-pret-historique
- The Art Newspaper: arrival in London, 10 Jul 2026: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/07/10/bayeux-tapestry-arrives-at-the-british-museum-after-secret-english-channel-crossing
- Naharnet: two broken threads, Sep 2026: https://naharnet.com/stories/en/322282-two-broken-threads-on-bayeux-tapestry-but-no-major-alteration-french-minister-says
- The Local: Germany returns fragments, Jan 2026: https://www.thelocal.fr/20260116/germany-returns-to-france-fragments-of-the-bayeux-tapestry-taken-in-1941
- Trinity College Dublin: why the Nazis took a fragment: https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/2025/why-the-nazis-stole-a-fragment-of-the-bayeux-tapestry/
- GOV.UK: the Prime Minister at the exhibition, 2 Sep 2026: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/story-of-the-bayeux-tapestry-to-be-brought-to-communities-across-the-country-as-prime-minister-joins-the-king-and-queen-and-president-macron-at-exhibi
- The Art Newspaper: the private preview, 3 Sep 2026: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/09/03/we-are-united-king-charles-iii-and-president-macron-attend-private-preview-of-londons-bayeux-tapestry-exhibition
- Atlas Obscura: the Reading copy: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/reading-museum-bayeux-tapestry
- Wikipedia: Elizabeth Wardle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Wardle
- Wikimedia Commons: the 2017 scene photographs: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Bayeux_Tapestry_scenes
- JPL Small-Body Database: 1P/Halley: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=1P
- Natural Earth (coastline): https://www.naturalearthdata.com/

## Licence

Text CC BY 4.0, NaNoBotCo. Code MIT. The 2017 scene photographs (Université de Caen Normandie, CNRS, ENSICAEN) are public domain; other pictures keep their own licences, listed on the page.