The Bayeux Tapestry: an audio-described walk

Introduction

This is an independent audio description of the Bayeux Tapestry. It is not produced by any museum, and you can listen at home or as you walk along the embroidery itself.

The Bayeux Tapestry is a single long band of linen, almost seventy metres long and about half a metre high, about as long as six double-decker buses parked end to end. It is not woven but embroidered, in coloured wools: brick red, warm yellow, buff and cream, two or three greens, and a deep blue that is almost black. The linen behind the figures is left bare, an unbleached off-white.

It reads from left to right, like a strip cartoon. A broad band across the middle holds the story. Above and below it run two narrow borders, divided by short slanting bars into little compartments, each holding a bird, a beast, or a tiny scene. Along the top edge of the story runs a line of Latin in capital letters, telling you what is going on. In this guide each caption is read first in Latin, then in English. There are no frames between scenes: buildings, trees and ships do the work of dividing one moment from the next.

In each part of this guide you will hear first what you would see, and then what is happening.

Scene 1: King Edward and Harold

What you would see. At the very start, on the left, stands a building like a small palace: tall towers with pointed roofs, a round arch for a door, and walls patterned like stonework. To its right, beneath a roof that curves over him like a canopy, sits a large bearded man wearing a crown. He sits on a cushioned throne and holds a long sceptre slanting across his body. Above his head the Latin reads EDWARD REX, King Edward. Two men stand before him. The king leans forward and reaches out to touch the hand of the nearer one, who wears a short tunic and leggings. Past a second slim tower, the story turns to the right: two men ride out side by side on horseback, one raising his finger as if pointing the way. In the borders, pairs of lions and birds face one another between the slanting bars; below, two blue-black dogs square up to each other.

What is happening. The old king is Edward the Confessor, ruler of England, who had no children. The man he speaks to is almost certainly Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, the most powerful man in the kingdom. The tapestry does not tell us what Edward says. Norman writers claimed he was sending Harold to Normandy to confirm Duke William as his heir; English writers tell it differently. That silence is the first of the tapestry's mysteries. As Harold rides away, the caption begins: UBI HAROLD DUX ANGLORUM ET SUI MILITES EQUITANT AD BOSHAM, where Harold, duke of the English, and his men ride to Bosham.

Scene 2: The ride to Bosham

What you would see. A man rides a dark green horse with a red bridle, moving to the right. He holds a hawk on his raised fist, close to his face. Running ahead of the horse is a pack of five hounds with collars, long-legged and leaping, all heading the same way. In front of them grows a strange stylised tree, its trunk and branches twisted and woven together like plaited rope, ending in leafy curls. Beyond the tree two men in short tunics walk forward towards a building with a cross on its roof. In the lower border, two winged creatures with long tails spread their wings.

What is happening. Harold and his followers ride with hawk and hounds to Bosham, on the Sussex coast, where his family held land. Carrying a hawk was a mark of rank: wherever Harold goes in these opening scenes, the hawk goes with him.

Scene 3: Prayer and a feast

What you would see. On the left stands a church with a tiled roof, rounded arches along its side, and a cross on the top. The Latin above it is a single word: ECCLESIA, church. To the right, a room is raised high on three round arches, with a sloping roof of red and green tiles above it. Inside, five men sit side by side at a long table. One tips back a long curved drinking horn; another lifts a bowl to his lips; the others talk across the table. At the right-hand end a man stands at the top of a steep staircase, turning back to the diners and pointing out to the right with his whole arm, while another man climbs the steps below him.

What is happening. Harold prays at Bosham church before his journey, then feasts with his companions in an upper hall. The man on the stairs is calling them away: the ships are ready and the tide will not wait. This is the first of two great feasts in the tapestry; the second comes much later, on the Norman side, on the eve of the battle.

Scene 4: Into the sea

What you would see. Men walk out into the water, barefoot, their tunics hitched up and their legs bare to the thigh. Wavy lines of embroidery stand for the sea around their ankles. One man carries a hound under his arm; another carries Harold's hawk. They climb into a long open boat whose hull is striped in bands of red, buff and green, with oars poking out over the side. A man in the boat pushes off with a long pole. Further right, a large ship sets sail: a wide green and red sail fills with wind, the prow is carved into the head of a fierce beast, and a row of round shields lines its side. The Latin runs along the top: HIC HAROLD MARE NAVIGAVIT ET VELIS VENTO PLENIS VENIT IN TERRA WIDONIS COMITIS.

What is happening. Here Harold sails the sea, the caption says, and with sails full of wind he comes to the land of Count Guy. Harold crosses the Channel, but the wind takes him not to Normandy but to Ponthieu, a little to the north, ruled by Count Guy. The phrase about full sails is unusually poetic for these brisk captions, and it echoes a line from Virgil's Aeneid.

Scene 5: The crossing

What you would see. Two ships under sail, crowded with men, ride over the waves. In the nearer ship a man sits at the stern steering with a large oar, pointing ahead with his free hand. Above, a small figure clings to the top of the mast, one hand shading his eyes as he looks out. At the front of the ship a man leans over the bow holding an anchor, ready to drop it. The hulls are striped in red, buff and green, and their prows rise into carved animal heads. Below in the border, a procession of animals walks to the right: deer with branching antlers, goats, a horse, a small dog.

What is happening. The lookout watches for land, and the anchor is made ready as the coast comes into view. The ships are about to land in Count Guy's territory, which was not where Harold meant to go.

Scene 6: Landing

What you would see. Harold stands in the bow of his ship, wearing a short cloak and pointing ahead. Beside the boat a barefoot man wades ashore, his tunic belted, pulling the anchor rope taut behind him towards the land. At the right edge, a new figure strides in from the other side, his hand at his belt. Above, the Latin reads HAROLD, and then the start of the next line: HIC APPREHENDIT, here he seizes.

What is happening. Harold has landed on the coast of Ponthieu. The men waiting on the shore belong to Count Guy, and in the next scene they arrest him, a reminder that a nobleman washed up on a foreign shore could be held for ransom.

Scene 7: Harold is seized

What you would see. On the shore, men grab hold of the barefoot sailors as they come out of the water. To the right a man rides a pale brown horse, sitting upright with a sword at his side and pointing ahead with an outstretched arm. Behind him comes a troop of riders carrying long spears and tall shields shaped like kites, rounded at the top and pointed at the bottom, some painted with wheels and crosses. Their horses are green, red and buff. In the lower border, little men with clubs drive hounds after a goat and a bull.

What is happening. The caption reads HIC APPREHENDIT WIDO HAROLDUM, here Guy seizes Harold. The pointing rider is Count Guy of Ponthieu, and his armed men take Harold prisoner on the beach.

Scene 8: Taken to Beaurain

What you would see. A party of riders moves to the right past a tree with curling branches, hounds running beside them. Among them rides Harold, still with his hawk on his fist. They come to a group of men standing close together, some with swords at their belts and moustaches, watching. The caption runs AD BELREM ET IBI EUM TENUIT.

What is happening. Guy leads Harold to Beaurain, his castle, and holds him there. Even as a captive Harold keeps his hawk: he is treated as a nobleman held for ransom, not as a common prisoner.

Scene 9: Harold and Guy talk

What you would see. Guy sits on a carved seat, holding a tall sword upright and pointing across at Harold with his other hand. Harold stands before him, his own sword pointing down. Behind a pillar, a small man peers out as if listening in. Beyond a tree with tangled, knotted branches, two men arrive: one points, and the other, holding a long axe, wears a cloak and leggings patterned in diamonds. In the lower border, a whole farming year unfolds: a man drives a plough pulled by a mule, another scatters seed from a bag, a horse drags a harrow, and a boy slings stones at birds.

What is happening. The Latin reads: UBI HAROLD ET WIDO PARABOLANT, where Harold and Guy talk. We are not told what they say, perhaps the price of Harold's freedom. The ploughing in the border is one of the tapestry's rare pictures of ordinary work, and the harrow here is one of the earliest pictures of one anywhere.

Scene 10: Turold and the messengers

What you would see. Two messengers with spears stand before Guy. Beside them, a very small man with a beard holds the reins of two horses; above his head a label reads TUROLD. Further right stands a building like a domed pavilion, and beyond it a rider gallops away. In the upper border, small naked figures throw up their arms.

What is happening. The Latin reads: UBI NUNTII WILLELMI DUCIS VENERUNT AD WIDONEM, where Duke William's messengers come to Guy. The little man holding the horses is named, which is very rare for so minor a figure. He may be one of Bishop Odo's men: a Turold appears among Odo's tenants in Domesday Book, though no one can be sure it is the same man.

Scene 11: The gallop to William

What you would see. Two riders gallop flat out to the right, their hair streaming back, their kite-shaped shields painted with beasts. Ahead of them, a man has climbed into a tall tree and shades his eyes, looking out. In the lower border, a bear lumbers along, and a man blows a horn as he leads hounds on a leash.

What is happening. The Latin reads: NUNTII WILLELMI, William's messengers, race back to Normandy. The watchman in the tree has seen them coming.

Scene 12: William hears the news

What you would see. A messenger stands before a man seated on a throne, who holds a sword upright: this is William. The messenger bends towards him, pointing back the way he came. Behind William rises his palace, a building of patterned stonework with towers and an arched gate. Then a column of riders comes in from the right, led by a man who points ahead; among them Harold rides once more with his hawk.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC VENIT NUNTIUS AD WILGELMUM DUCEM, here the messenger comes to Duke William, with William spelled WILGELM. Then HIC WIDO ADDUXIT HAROLDUM AD WILGELMUM NORMANNORUM DUCEM: Guy hands Harold over to William, Duke of the Normans.

Scene 13: Guy brings Harold

What you would see. More riders: Harold on a dark blue horse with his hawk, a man in a red cloak on a pale horse turning to point, and armed men behind with kite shields and spears. In the upper border walk two camels, with humps and long necks, and a pair of birds.

What is happening. The meeting between Harold and William is close. The camels are a surprise: they show how far the embroiderers' picture-books reached, into creatures they could only have known from drawings.

Scene 14: At William's palace

What you would see. Riders arrive, one with a hawk on his fist, and a man stands by a tall chequered tower pointing them in. Inside a long hall with a row of round arches, William sits on a seat while Harold stands before him, both hands raised as he talks. Guards with spears and tall shields stand behind. In the lower border, a naked man crouches.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC DUX WILGELM CUM HAROLDO VENIT AD PALATIUM SUUM, here Duke William comes with Harold to his palace. Harold is now William's guest, and perhaps tells him his news.

Scene 15: The mystery of Ælfgyva

What you would see. A woman in a long robe and hood stands in a doorway framed by two pillars, each topped with the head of a beast with its tongue out. A man in a short tunic, a priest, reaches through the doorway and touches her face, or perhaps strikes it. Below in the border squats a naked man, mirroring the priest's pose. Beyond a tall tower, riders set off to the right with lances and long round shields.

What is happening. The caption begins UBI UNUS CLERICUS ET ÆLFGYVA, where a priest and Ælfgyva, and stops without a verb. Nobody knows who she is or what happened. It may refer to a scandal everyone at the time knew about and no one wrote down. The riders are William's army setting off on campaign, with Harold beside him.

Scene 16: Mont-Saint-Michel

What you would see. A column of riders moves to the right, some in mail, some in plain tunics, one man with a lance on his shoulder in a tunic patterned with small triangles. Ahead, above their heads, a church sits on top of a rounded mound: the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel on its rock. Under the mound the ground turns to rippling lines of sand and water. At the far right, men on foot hold their shields over their heads as they wade.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC WILLEM DUX ET EXERCITUS EIUS VENERUNT AD MONTEM MICHAELIS: here Duke William and his army came to the Mount of Michael. The campaign is against Conan, Duke of Brittany, and the army is crossing the bay at low tide.

Scene 17: Harold in the quicksand

What you would see. A horse has pitched forward, its rider tumbling over its head into wavy lines of sand. A tall man strides through the sand carrying one soldier on his back, a shield slung behind, while he hauls another along by the hand. Beyond, four riders gallop to the right, lances raised, towards a castle on a mound reached by a ramp. In the lower border lie long, snaking shapes and a fallen man.

What is happening. The Latin continues: ET HIC TRANSIERUNT FLUMEN COSNONIS, and here they crossed the river Couesnon, the border between Normandy and Brittany. Above the rescuer: HIC HAROLD DUX TRAHEBAT EOS DE ARENA, here Duke Harold dragged them out of the sand. It is Harold the hero, strong and brave, in a story told by his enemies. The riders head on to Dol.

Scene 18: Conan escapes from Dol

What you would see. At the castle on the left, a man slides down a rope from the wall to the ground. Norman knights ride hard to the right, now all in mail coats drawn as small rings, with conical helmets with nose guards. In the middle a second castle rises on a hill drawn as overlapping scales, with a ramp up its side, and two animals in a hollow beneath it. More knights charge on beyond it.

What is happening. The Latin continues: ET VENERUNT AD DOL ET CONAN FUGA VERTIT, and they came to Dol and Conan turned in flight. The man on the rope is Conan, climbing out the back. The castle on the scaly hill is labelled REDNES, Rennes. Then the caption begins again: HIC MILITES WILLELMI DUCIS PUGNANT, here the knights of Duke William fight.

Scene 19: The siege of Dinan

What you would see. A wooden tower on top of a mound, with a fence of stakes round its top, and a bridge running up to it. Knights on the left thrust lances up at the defenders, who throw spears back from behind the fence. At the foot of the mound, two men in mail hold flaming torches to the wood.

What is happening. The caption continues CONTRA DINANTES, against the men of Dinan. This is a motte and bailey castle, the kind of castle the Normans would soon build all over England, and it is being burned.

Scene 20: The keys of Dinan

What you would see. Two knights on horseback, one on a red horse and one on a green, face to the left. They carry kite-shaped shields painted with stars and rings. A long lance reaches across from the castle side, and from its tip hangs a bunch of keys. The knight in front reaches his own lance out to take them.

What is happening. The Latin continues: ET CUNAN CLAVES PORREXIT, and Conan passed out the keys. He hands over the town on the point of a lance, a surrender at arm's length.

Scene 21: William gives arms to Harold

What you would see. Two men in mail stand face to face. One sets a helmet on the other's head, or adjusts his mail with one hand, while the second holds a lance with a small banner. Then riders in mail set off to the right.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC WILLELM DEDIT HAROLDO ARMA, here William gave arms to Harold. To be given arms by a lord was to become his man. Whatever Harold intended, the Norman story is that he had now been bound to William.

Scene 22: At Bayeux

What you would see. A rider reaches a building with a domed tower, standing on a mound drawn in bands of colour, with a ramp leading up to it. Under the arch of the mound hangs a strange object, like a lamp or a pair of birds on a stand. To the right William sits on a throne, a sword upright in one hand, pointing with the other. Two men stand behind him, one with his hand to his mouth.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIE WILLELM VENIT BAGIAS, here William came to Bayeux. Note the spelling HIE for HIC, a slip by the designer or the embroiderer. Bayeux was Bishop Odo's city, and its cathedral is very likely where the tapestry was first hung. Some Norman chroniclers set the oath at other places; the tapestry puts it here.

Scene 23: The oath

What you would see. Harold stands between two holy shrines, his arms stretched out, a hand resting on each. On the left the shrine is a box on carrying poles, on the right one on a draped table. William on his throne points to him. Two men watch, one pointing, one with a hand on his chest. Then a ship with a striped hull and a great square sail, men aboard looking back.

What is happening. The Latin reads: UBI HAROLD SACRAMENTUM FECIT WILLELMO DUCI, where Harold made an oath to Duke William. The shrines hold relics of saints, which made the oath binding before God. The tapestry never says what he swore. Norman writers said it was to support William's claim to the English throne, and this is the moment everything later turns on. Then HIC HAROLD DUX, and the ship carries him home.

Scene 24: Harold comes home

What you would see. The ship lands by a tall building whose windows are full of faces, and a man leans from a balcony shading his eyes. Two riders, one on a dark horse, ride on. A watchman stands on a thin tower. Then a man bows, head down and hands open, as he comes forward.

What is happening. The Latin reads: REVERSUS EST AD ANGLICAM TERRAM ET VENIT AD EDWARDUM REGEM: he returned to English land and came to King Edward. The bowing man is Harold, and his posture does not look like a man bringing good news.

Scene 25: Edward on his throne, and the new abbey

What you would see. An old king with a long white beard and a crown sits on a cushioned throne beneath a canopy hung with curtains, a staff in one hand, pointing with the other at a man who stands before him. To the right rises a great church with towers, round arches and a long roof. A man climbs on the roof at one end, fixing a weathercock to the top. Above the church, a hand reaches down out of the sky.

What is happening. The caption ends REGEM: Harold has come to King Edward, now old and frail, and tells him what has happened. The church is Westminster Abbey, Edward's great building, finished just in time for his burial. The hand is the hand of God, blessing it.

Scene 26: Edward's funeral

What you would see. Eight men carry a bier on poles, a long box covered in a patterned cloth, with a cross at each end. Under it walk two small figures, each ringing a pair of handbells. Behind come churchmen in a crowd, some holding open books. To the right, a two-storey building: upstairs, a king lies in bed among people; downstairs, a body lies stretched out.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC PORTATUR CORPUS EADWARDI REGIS AD ECCLESIAM SANCTI PETRI APOSTOLI: here the body of King Edward is carried to the church of Saint Peter the Apostle, which is Westminster. Edward died on 5 January 1066 and was buried the next day. Note the order: we see the funeral first, and only then, to the right, the death. The designer has run time backwards, so that the death sits right next to Harold's crowning.

Scene 27: Edward's last words and death

What you would see. Upstairs, under a curtained roof, Edward sits up in bed, crowned, held from behind by an attendant. A man reaches out and touches his hand. A woman sits at the foot of the bed with her face in her hands, weeping, and a priest stands behind. Downstairs, Edward lies dead, and a man bends over his body, wrapping it in a shroud, while a priest stands at his head.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC EADWARDUS REX IN LECTO ALLOQUITUR FIDELES, here King Edward in bed speaks to his faithful men. Then ET HIC DEFUNCTUS EST, and here he died. The weeping woman is probably his wife, Queen Edith, Harold's sister. The man touching his hand may be Harold himself. English sources say Edward named Harold as his heir here, on his deathbed. The tapestry shows the touch, but leaves out what was said.

Scene 29: The crown is offered

What you would see. Two men stand on the right. One holds out a crown, and the other points back towards the dead king's house. Then Harold, in a long cloak, stands holding a battle axe, looking back at them.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC DEDERUNT HAROLDO CORONAM REGIS, here they gave the king's crown to Harold. The axe is an English weapon, and he will carry one at Hastings.

Scene 30: Harold is king

What you would see. Harold sits on a throne, crowned, an orb with a cross in one hand and a sceptre in the other. A building with towers stands over him. To his left two men offer him a sword. To his right, a churchman in rich robes stands with one hand raised, palm out.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC RESIDET HAROLD REX ANGLORUM, here sits Harold, King of the English. The churchman is STIGANT ARCHIEPISCOPUS, Archbishop Stigand of Canterbury. Stigand's appointment was disputed by the Pope, and Norman writers liked to say that he had crowned Harold, which made the coronation look doubtful. English sources say it was the Archbishop of York. The tapestry lets you draw your own conclusion.

Scene 31: The people look up

What you would see. Groups of men stand outside buildings, crowded together, all looking up and to the right. Some point upwards. Others hold up their hands in alarm.

What is happening. The Latin reads: ISTI MIRANTUR STELLAM, these men marvel at the star. They have just seen what is coming next.

Scene 32: The star

What you would see. High in the top band, beside the word STELLA, is a star drawn as a round red body with a ring of rays, and a long tail of streamers flowing out behind it. Below, a tall tower stands at the edge of the water.

What is happening. This is Halley's Comet, which appeared in April 1066. People took a comet as a sign that a king would fall. It is the oldest known picture of Halley's Comet that can be dated with certainty. A messenger hurries towards Harold.

Scene 33: Harold hears the news, and the ghost ships

What you would see. Harold sits on his throne beneath an arch, leaning towards a man who has come to speak in his ear. Harold looks uneasy. In the lower border, just under his feet, float empty ships, drawn faintly with no one aboard. To the right a tree, and beyond it a ship with a sail heads across the water.

What is happening. The caption simply says HAROLD. The empty ships in the border are often read as a warning of the invasion fleet to come: the border here speaks of what is in Harold's mind.

Scene 34: The English ship reaches Normandy

What you would see. An English ship with two men aboard sails into land. A man in a short tunic leads a rope from the ship ashore, and a tree stands between him and a tower. Beyond the tower, a seated man, William, turns to speak to a figure beside him.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC NAVIS ANGLICA VENIT IN TERRAM WILLELMI DUCIS, here an English ship came to the land of Duke William. The news has crossed the Channel: Harold is king. Then the caption runs on, HIC WILLELM DUX JUSSIT NAVES AEDIFICARE, here Duke William ordered ships to be built.

Scene 35: Building the fleet

What you would see. William sits on the left, beside a tower, and turns to a man holding an axe. Then a wood of tall, thin trees with curling tops. Men chop them down with axes. One man shapes a plank with an adze, a long board laid on trestles. On the right, two ships stand on the shore half-built. In the upper one men trim the edge with axes. In the lower one two men bend over the hull, one boring holes with a drill.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC WILLELM DUX JUSSIT NAVES AEDIFICARE, here Duke William ordered ships to be built. It is the most detailed picture of shipbuilding to survive from the period, and every step is there: felling, splitting, shaping, assembling the hull.

Scene 36: Dragging the ships to the sea, and carrying arms

What you would see. Finished ships with striped hulls and beast-head prows lie stacked on the left. Men haul on ropes tied to a post to pull them down to the water. Then a building of round arches with a scaled roof. Beyond it a line of men carries equipment to the right. Two men between them carry a mail coat hung on a pole, like a heavy shirt with sleeves. Others carry swords, helmets, and bundles of spears on their shoulders.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC TRAHUNT NAVES AD MARE, here they drag the ships to the sea. Then the caption begins ISTI, these men. A mail coat was so heavy it took two men to carry one on a pole.

Scene 37: The cart of wine and arms, and the fleet sets out

What you would see. Two men pull a four-wheeled cart loaded with a great barrel, with a rack of spears and helmets standing up behind it. Another man carries a wineskin on his shoulder. Then a group of riders sets off to the right. Beyond them, the first ships of the fleet sail out, their sails full, crowded with men and their round shields. Small boats follow above.

What is happening. The Latin reads: ISTI PORTANT ARMAS AD NAVES ET HIC TRAHUNT CARRUM CUM VINO ET ARMIS: these men carry arms to the ships, and here they drag a cart with wine and arms. The wine got equal billing with the weapons. Then HIC WILLELM DUX IN MAGNO NAVIGIO MARE TRANSIVIT, here Duke William in a great ship crossed the sea.

Scene 38: The crossing

What you would see. A long procession of ships sails to the right across rippling water. They have tall masts and wide, billowing sails striped in red, green and yellow. Their high curved prows end in dragon and beast heads. They are packed with men and with horses, whose heads look out over the sides. One ship flies a cross on its masthead, with a lantern, and a man at the stern steers with a long oar. Towards the end, a sailor at the bow holds a long anchor pole ready.

What is happening. The Latin reads: TRANSIVIT ET VENIT AD PEVENESAE: he crossed and came to Pevensey. The fleet sailed overnight on 27 to 28 September 1066 and landed on the Sussex coast. The ship with the cross at its masthead is William's own, the Mora, a gift from his wife Matilda.

Scene 39: The horses come ashore

What you would see. Men lower the mast of a beached ship. A horse steps out of a hull onto the shore, led by a man by its bridle. Empty ships lie stacked, hulls on the sand. Then two knights in mail gallop off to the right, with lances and kite-shaped shields.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC EXEUNT CABALLI DE NAVIBUS, here the horses come out of the ships. ET HIC MILITES FESTINAVERUNT HESTINGA, and here the knights have hurried to Hastings.

Scene 40: Seizing food

What you would see. A knight in mail rides to the right, sword raised. A man on foot swings an axe at a small sheep or pig, while another man holds it. An ox lies on the ground, as if it has been felled. Two plain houses stand above. One man carries a sheep across his shoulders, and another carries a pig.

What is happening. The Latin reads: UT CIBUM RAPERENTUR, to seize food. The army is foraging, which means helping itself from the farms of Sussex. Then HIC, here.

Scene 41: Wadard, and the cooking

What you would see. A knight in mail sits on a horse, a lance in his hand. A man leads a packhorse with a load on its back, an axe on his shoulder. Beyond a house, a man stands at a big pot hanging over a fire from a wooden frame. Above it, small pieces of meat or birds are being grilled on spits.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC EST WADARD, here is Wadard. He is named in Domesday Book as a tenant of Bishop Odo, which is why he earns a name here: Odo's people are given credit throughout. Then HIC COQUITUR CARO, here the meat is being cooked.

Scene 42: The servants serve, and the meal

What you would see. A man takes food from an oven, a stove with a fire beneath it, and lays it on a dish. Another passes small birds on skewers. Under a canopy, men hand the cooked food across. On the right, men sit along a curved table spread with bowls, dishes and food, and one blows a horn.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC MINISTRAVERUNT MINISTRI, here the servants have served. Then HIC FECERUNT PRANDIUM, here they have their meal. In the scene to come the feast is blessed by Bishop Odo, and its layout echoes paintings of the Last Supper.

Scene 43: The bishop blesses the feast

What you would see. Men sit at a curved table spread with bowls, dishes and fish. In the middle, a man with a beard holds a bowl up in both hands and blesses it. A servant kneels in front of the table, bringing a dish. At the end, a man blows a horn. To the right, beneath a roof on pillars, a man sits and gestures.

What is happening. The Latin continues: ET HIC EPISCOPUS CIBUM ET POTUM BENEDICIT, and here the bishop blesses the food and drink. The bishop is Odo, William's half-brother. The arrangement, with a holy man at the centre of a curved table and the dish raised, is borrowed from pictures of the Last Supper.

Scene 44: William's council

What you would see. Under a scaled roof, three men sit side by side. William is in the middle, holding a sword upright. On his left sits a man who points with a finger. To the right a man stands holding a banner and points out to a group of labourers, who carry shovels and picks on their shoulders.

What is happening. The Latin reads: ODO EPISCOPUS, WILLELM, ROTBERT: Bishop Odo, William, Robert. Odo and Robert, Count of Mortain, were William's half-brothers. Then ISTE JUSSIT UT FODERETUR CASTELLUM AT HESTENGA, this man ordered that a castle should be dug at Hastings. Note the English word AT in the middle of the Latin, a slip that suggests the designer thought in English.

Scene 45: Digging the castle at Hastings

What you would see. Men dig with shovels and spades, and two of them seem to be hitting each other with their tools. A man in a long cloak oversees them, holding a banner. Behind them rises a mound, built in coloured layers, with a wooden fort on top: the word CEASTRA is written above it. On the right, William sits on a chair before a building, as a messenger arrives.

What is happening. They are building a motte, an earth mound with a wooden tower. CEASTRA is an English word for a fortified place. Then HIC NUNTIATUM EST WILLELMO, here William was told.

Scene 46: News of Harold

What you would see. A close look at William, sitting with a banner in his hand, decorated with a cross. A man in a long red cloak and a green tunic hurries towards him, raising one arm to point back the way he came.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC NUNTIATUM EST WILLELMO DE HAROLDO, here William was told about Harold. Harold has beaten a Norwegian invasion at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire, and is marching south.

Scene 47: A house is burned, and the knights leave Hastings

What you would see. Two men set fire to a house with flaming torches; flames rise from its roof. A woman leads a small boy out by the hand. Then a man in mail with a banner stands by a castle. A groom brings William a dark horse, its saddle ready, and the riders move off past a row of trees.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC DOMUS INCENDITUR, here a house is burned. It is one of the few moments in the whole tapestry where a woman and child appear in the war, as its victims. Then HIC MILITES EXIERUNT DE HESTENGA ET VENERUNT AD PRELIUM CONTRA HAROLDUM REGEM: here the knights have left Hastings and come to the battle against King Harold.

Scene 48: The ride to battle

What you would see. A long troop of knights rides to the right on horses of red, blue, brown and yellow. They wear mail and conical helmets, and they carry lances and kite-shaped shields. The ground beneath them rises.

What is happening. The caption runs AD PRELIUM CONTRA HAROLDUM REGEM, to the battle against King Harold. Then HIC WILLELM DUX INTERROGAT, here Duke William asks.

Scene 49: William questions Vital

What you would see. William rides a dark horse with a red shield, his club raised, and turns back to speak to a rider behind him. Ahead of him, more knights ride up a slope over rolling ground drawn with curls. They carry lances and banners.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC WILLELM DUX INTERROGAT VITAL SI VIDISSET HAROLDI EXERCITUM: here Duke William asks Vital if he has seen Harold's army. Vital, like Wadard, appears in Domesday Book as one of Odo's tenants.

Scene 50: The scouts, and William speaks to his knights

What you would see. On a hill among trees, a man stands looking out, shading his eyes. Another man in mail runs off to the right. A knight on a dark horse points ahead. Then William rides with his club held up, turning back to speak, and a long line of knights gallops on. Their horses stretch out, legs extended, lances lowered.

What is happening. The Latin reads: ISTE NUNTIAT HAROLDUM REGEM DE EXERCITU WILLELMI DUCIS: this man tells King Harold about Duke William's army. The scouts have seen each other. Then HIC WILLELM DUX ALLOQUITUR SUIS MILITIBUS UT PREPARARENT SE VIRILITER ET SAPIENTER AD PRELIUM CONTRA ANGLORUM EXERCITUM: here Duke William speaks to his knights, that they prepare themselves manfully and wisely for battle against the army of the English. It is 14 October 1066, on a ridge near what is now the town of Battle.

Scene 51: The battle begins

What you would see. Norman knights gallop to the right, lances raised overarm like spears. Ahead of them on foot run archers, small figures with short bows, one in mail and the others in tunics. Then the knights meet the English. The English stand packed tightly together on foot, a wall of tall shields, painted and overlapping. They thrust spears out and swing axes. One English soldier in a short tunic, without mail, stands among them. Bodies begin to fill the lower border: dead men in mail, shields and fallen weapons.

What is happening. The caption runs on, ET SAPIENTER AD PRELIUM CONTRA ANGLORUM EXERCITUM, wisely to battle against the army of the English. This is the English shield wall, holding the top of the ridge. Mounted knights against men on foot: the whole battle is in this one picture. Then the caption begins HIC CECIDERUNT LEWINE, here fell Leofwine.

Scene 52: Harold's brothers fall

What you would see. A thick melee of riders and men on foot. An English soldier swings a great two-handed axe at a horse's head. Knights stab down with lances. Men fall. The lower border is now packed with the dead, and with men stripping mail coats from the bodies.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC CECIDERUNT LEWINE ET GYRTH FRATRES HAROLDI REGIS: here fell Leofwine and Gyrth, brothers of King Harold. Then HIC CECIDERUNT SIMUL ANGLI, here the English fell together.

Scene 53: English and French fall together

What you would see. Horses somersault, legs in the air, throwing their riders headfirst. They have ridden onto a small hill, drawn with a wavy outline, and some are tumbling into a ditch at its foot. On top of the hill, English soldiers without armour stand and fight back with spears and clubs. A tree with curling branches stands to the right.

What is happening. The Latin continues: ET FRANCI IN PRELIO, and the French in the battle: English and French fell at the same moment. The little hill may be the hillock where a group of English held out, and the ditch a trap for horses. Then HIC ODO, here is Odo.

Scene 54: Bishop Odo rallies the young men

What you would see. Riders wheel round in a crowd. Among them rides Odo, in a coat of scales rather than rings, holding up a club. A rider turns back. In the lower border, small archers in a row draw their bows.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC ODO EPISCOPUS BACULUM TENENS CONFORTAT PUEROS: here Bishop Odo, holding a club, gives strength to the young men. A rumour had spread that William was dead, and part of his army was turning back. A churchman was not supposed to shed blood, so Odo carries a club, not a sword. The young men are the young knights of the army.

Scene 55: William shows his face

What you would see. A knight on a horse pushes back his helmet with one hand to show his face, and turns to the riders behind him. Beside him rides a man holding a banner, pointing towards him. Then the knights charge on to the right. The whole lower border is now a line of archers, little figures one behind another, all drawing their bows.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC EST WILLELMUS DUX, here is Duke William. He lifts his helmet so that his men can see he is alive. The banner-bearer is labelled EUSTATIUS, Eustace, Count of Boulogne. Then HIC FRANCI PUGNANT, here the French fight. The archers in the border are about to change the battle.

Scene 56: Those who were with Harold fall

What you would see. English soldiers on foot, shields bristling with arrows, are cut down by riders. A knight on a dark horse with a shield painted with a beast slashes down at a man in a short tunic, who has lost his helmet and lowers his arms. In the lower border, more archers shoot and more dead fall, and men pull mail coats from the bodies.

What is happening. The Latin continues: ET CECIDERUNT QUI ERANT CUM HAROLDO, and those who were with Harold fell. These are Harold's own household men, the last to stand around him. Then HIC, here.

Scene 57: The death of Harold

What you would see. Under the words HAROLD REX, a soldier stands with an arrow in his helmet near his eye, gripping its shaft. A little to the right, under the words INTERFECTUS EST, a man in mail falls to the ground beneath a horse, as a rider strikes him down with a sword across his thigh. His axe drops from his hand. In the lower border, men strip the dead of their mail and gather up swords.

What is happening. The Latin reads: HIC HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST, here King Harold was killed. Which man is Harold? The famous story says the arrow in the eye. But the arrow was worked over in later repairs, and old drawings of the tapestry show it differently. Many historians now think both figures are Harold: struck by the arrow, then cut down by the knight. The tapestry, once again, lets you look and decide.

Scene 58: The English turn and run

What you would see. Norman knights ride to the right, swords and lances raised, chasing men on foot. Beyond a tree with a burst of leaves at its top, the English run away. Some are on foot and look back over their shoulders, and some ride bareback. The lower border is full of the dead, stripped of their armour. Then the cloth comes to a ragged end.

What is happening. The Latin continues: ET FUGA VERTERUNT ANGLI, and the English have turned in flight. Here the Bayeux Tapestry stops. Its real ending is lost. The last stretch was heavily restored in the nineteenth century, and some of what you see here, including parts of these words, is restoration. Many people think the lost end showed William crowned king on Christmas Day 1066, in Westminster Abbey, where the story of Edward began.

Closing

You have walked the full length of the Bayeux Tapestry: about seventy metres of embroidered linen, made within a generation of the battle it shows. It is told by the winners, but it never quite calls Harold a villain, and it keeps its own secrets: the woman called Ælfgyva, the words of the oath, the man with the arrow.

This audio description was written and produced independently, and it is free. It is not made by or connected with the British Museum or the Bayeux Museum.