Jim,
Thanks for a fascinating post on the Bayeaux Tapestry. Do you mean that the
imagery follows after the imagery of the illuminated manuscripts?
pat sloane
> > The Bayeaux Tapestry is actually an embroidery, originallly attributed to
the
> > wife of William of Normandy, now thought to have been made by nuns. I
don' t
> > know the basis for the attribution to nuns, but the art historical
material on
> > this piece may lead in the direction you want.
>
> What may be surprising about the Bayeux tapestry is that its design
> has been related not to nuns but to monks, specifically monks of
> Canterbury and to illuminated manuscripts in their library. As to
> who the embroiderers were, there is very little evidence, but it is
> likely to have been a fairly large workshop, if not more than one.
> It was embroidered on eight separate strips of linen, which were sewn
> together after they had been embroidered. The patron of the work was
> in all likelihood Odo, who was not only bishop of Bayeux but after
> the conquest earl of Kent. The commission can probably be considered
> essentially secular, despite Odo's episcopal status. Not only was it
> probably intended to decorate a hall rather than a church, but Odo
> does not seem to have thought of himself primarily as a churchman.
> He was made bishop at age 13, I believe, and was rather notorious for
> his concubines and bastards; in the work itself, besides being
> involved in various feasting scenes, he is pictured in armour on a
> warhorse in the thick of battle, his only concession to his episcopal
> status apparently being his decision to carry a club into battle
> rather than a sword, so that he could not be accused of shedding
> blood. He eventually ran afoul of his half-brother, William the
> Conqueror, who had him incarcerated for several years.
> Cheers,
> Jim
>
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