• Henley DFAS

The Bayeux Tapestry

Thursday 18th March 2021 Online at 10.30am and 2.30pm
Fenella Bazin

Although the images of the Bayeux Tapestry are so familiar, the stories behind the work are much less known. The account of the Battle of Hastings is only a small part of this extraordinary work.

(Please click on the blue print above to continue reading)

The events that led up to the Norman invasion of 1066 have many threads, encompassing not only Anglo-Saxon England and Normandy. When and where was it made?  Why is it called a tapestry when it is really an embroidery?

Who commissioned and made this spectacular embroidery? Why did Duke William think he was the rightful heir to the English throne? Who else had claims? What happened to Harold's widow Edith? And how and why were Norwegian and Scottish kings involved? These are just some of the questions that we will examine in this fascinating story.

 

Since 2003 Dr Fenella Bazin has enthused audiences through her lectures on Ocean Cruise ships. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and, as a mature student, for her doctorate at the University of Liverpool. For over 40 years she organised the University's Continuing Education programme on the Isle of Man, was Director of Postgraduate Studies at the University's Centre for Manx Studies, trained Blue Badge tourist guides, and for 25 years was a member of the Manx Heritage Foundation.  She has been widely published in many academic journals and reference books in Britain, Ireland and North America.  In recognition of her work, she was awarded the Silver Medal of the Gustav Adolfs Akademi of Sweden.