FAMOUS AS one of the most extraordinary artefacts to survive from the eleventh century, the Bayeux Tapestry is an extremely fragile work of art measuring almost 70 metres long. The harmony and brightness of its colours and the richness of its workmanship make it an object of great fascination. And the events of 1064 to 1066 surrounding the contested accession to the English throne are so vividly portrayed that we can almost watch the artists’ minds at work as they created it. In addition to the historical narrative, it provides an irreplaceable picture of eleventh-century life.

This erudite and highly readable study presents the Tapestry in such a way that the reader can discover it frame by frame. Every episode is illustrated in colour and accompanied by a detailed commentary, which at the same time places the scene in the context of the Tapestry as a whole.

The late LUCIEN MUSSET was Emeritus Professor of the University of Caen and studied the Tapestry for nearly fifty years.