Synopses & Reviews
For more than 900 years the Bayeux Tapestry has preserved one of history's greatest dramas: the Norman Conquest of England, culminating in the death of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Historians have held for centuries that the majestic tapestry trumpets the glory of William the Conqueror and the victorious Normans. But is this true? In 1066, a brilliant piece of historical detective work, Andrew Bridgeford reveals a very different story that reinterprets and recasts the most decisive year in English history.
Reading the tapestry as if it were a written text, Bridgeford discovers a wealth of new information subversively and ingeniously encoded in the threads, which appears to undermine the Norman point of view while presenting a secret tale undetected for centuries-an account of the final years of Anglo-Saxon England quite different from the Norman version.
Bridgeford brings alive the turbulent 11th century in western Europe, a world of ambitious warrior bishops, court dwarfs, ruthless knights, and powerful women. 1066 offers readers a rare surprise-a book that reconsiders a long-accepted masterpiece, and sheds new light on a pivotal chapter of English history. Andrew Bridgeford is a lawyer and historian. He lives on the Isle of Jersey in the United Kingdom. For more than nine hundred years the Bayeux Tapestryone of the world's greatest historical documents and artistic achievementshas preserved the story of one of history's greatest dramas: the Norman Conquest of England, culminating in the death of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Historians have held for centuries that the majestic tapestryalmost 300 feet in lengthtrumpets the glory of William the Conqueror and the victorious Normans. But is this true? In 1066, Andrew Bridgeford reveals a very different story that reinterprets and recasts the most decisive year in English history.
Reading the tapestry as if it were a written text, examining each scene with fresh eyes, Bridgeford discovers a wealth of new information subversively and ingeniously encoded in the threads, which appears to undermine the Norman point of view while presenting a secret tale undetected for centuriesan account of the final years of Anglo-Saxon England quite different from the Norman version of events. In the midst of it all is a mysterious French noblemanCount Eustace II of Boulogne, descended from Charlemagnewhose own claim to the English throne rivaled Duke William's.
While building his case, Bridgeford brings to life the turbulent eleventh century in western Europe, a world of ambitious warrior bishops, court dwarfs, ruthless knights, and powerful women. 1066 offers readers a rare surprisea book that reconsiders a long-accepted masterpiece and chain of eventsand sheds new light on a pivotal chapter in English history. "A gripping yarn . . . An exciting account of the tapestry's busy drama and engaging realism."Daily Telegraph
"A highly readable and haunting book."Daily Mail
"Bridgeford marshals the battalions of his argument with analytical force, lucidity, and panache."Sunday Times
"The Bayeux Tapestry, in the French town of Bayeux, draws half a million visitors a year. For more than 900 years it has been keptand sometimes concealedin several places around the town. The story of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 is set out in this masterpiece, recounting the Battle of Hastings, culminating in a victory for William the Conqueror and the death of King Harold. Although barely half a metre wide, the tapestry is about 70 metres long, embroidered on a plain linen background in wools of red, yellow, gray, green, and blue. Here are men feasting on birds, drinking from ivory horns, hunting, going to church, and loading provisions onto a ship. Bridgeford posits 'the quest of [his] book is to unravel the millennial mysteries of the work, to investigate the true origin and meaning of it, to understand more about the characters who are named in it, and to gain a new insight into some of the darkest events of the Norman Conquest.' The result is a fascinating study."Booklist
"Definitely not the Norman version. The Battle of Hastings, in 1066, when the last Anglo Saxon king, Harold, was defeated by William the Conqueror, is one of the world's most commented-upon battles, partly because its effects (the fusion of French and Anglo-Saxon into English, for example) ramify to this dayand partly because it was illustrated by the nearcontemporary Bayeux Tapestry, a masterpiece of Medieval art. What is there new to add to the library of references? Bridgeford attempts to overturn at least two old verities about the battle. According to the author, 'close observation of the Bayeux Tapestry reveals that it is not a work of Norman propaganda that popular myth would have us believe, but a covert, subtle, and substantial record of the English version of events.' He makes a very strong case by comparing real Norman propaganda, which is codified in William of Poitier's The Deeds of Duke William (circa 1070), with the Bayeux's scenes. Scene by scene, the Bayeux tapestry deviates significantly in its sympathetic treatment of Harold from the simple-minded vilification to which he was subjected after his death at Hastings. Bridgeford goes to less used sources, such as Eadmar's The History of Recent Events in England (circa 1090), to understand the images. If he's right, then another supposed fact about the tapestrythat it was commissioned by William's half-brother Odo, the Bishop of Bayeuxseems unlikely. Bridgeford believes, instead, that the tapestry was commissioned by William's occasional ally Count Eustace of Boulogne as a peace offering to Odo, with whom Eustace was often in violent conflict. This is solid historical detective work, enlivened with extensive speculations about the tapestry's mysteries (Bridgeford, for instance, has a fascinating theory about why a dwarf named Turold holds a special place in the story). On sound empirical ground, Bridgeford's work will no doubt generate much heat and some light among students of English history."Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
For more than 900 years the Bayeux Tapestry has survived against overwhelming odds--in damp cathedrals and dusty carts, and even a narrow escape from Nazi SS leader Heinrich Himmler--to preserve the legend and lore of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Through its colorful characters, ambitious warrior bishops, court dwarfs, powerful women and ruthless knights, this embroidered masterpiece relates the story of the Battle of Hastings and the conquest of England by a foreign army--culminating in a victory for William the Conqueror and the death of King Harold. Told through the eyes of the victorious Normans, this is what historians have believed for centuries. But is this the whole story? 1066 dramatically reinterprets one of western Europe's most important events and gives readers a new perspective on this magnificent piece of hand-work. Romantic legend held that the Bayeux Tapestry was undertaken by William's proud wife, Mathilde, to celebrate conquering the English. But is the tapestry merely a work of Norman propaganda? Was it fashioned by Queen Mathilde and her handmaidens? Or was it embroidered by the conquered Anglo-Saxons in an attempt to preserve for the ages how it all really happened? In a first-rate piece of historical detective work, Andrew Bridgeford examines closely the narrative contained within the embroidered panels and discovers a wealth of new information. He shows how, unbeknownst to the Normans, the viewpoint of the defeated Anglo-Saxons was ingeniously encoded into the borders. Bridgeford follows the story told in the tapestry as it reveals characters long-lost to history, asking and answering provocative questions. The Bayeux Tapestry, however, contains anincredible secret story which has gone undetected for centuries; an account of the final years of Anglo-Saxon England quite apart from the Norman version of events. 1066 offers readers a rare surprise, a book that overturns the accepted scholarship on the tapestry and sheds new light on a pivotal chapter of English history.
Synopsis
For more than 900 years the Bayeux Tapestry has preserved one of history's greatest dramas: the Norman Conquest of England, culminating in the death of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Historians have held for centuries that the majestic tapestry trumpets the glory of William the Conqueror and the victorious Normans. But is this true? In 1066, a brilliant piece of historical detective work, Andrew Bridgeford reveals a very different story that reinterprets and recasts the most decisive year in English history.
Reading the tapestry as if it were a written text, Bridgeford discovers a wealth of new information subversively and ingeniously encoded in the threads, which appears to undermine the Norman point of view while presenting a secret tale undetected for centuries-an account of the final years of Anglo-Saxon England quite different from the Norman version.
Bridgeford brings alive the turbulent 11th century in western Europe, a world of ambitious warrior bishops, court dwarfs, ruthless knights, and powerful women. 1066 offers readers a rare surprise-a book that reconsiders a long-accepted masterpiece, and sheds new light on a pivotal chapter of English history.
About the Author
Andrew Bridgeford is a lawyer and historian. He lives on the Isle of Jersey in the United Kingdom.