The Bayeux Tapestry : The Pivotal Frame
Frame "None" ( Scenes 53b to 56 on Wikipedia Tituli)
Let’s start by agreeing what the Bayeux Tapestry shows. My
source is David M Wilson’s book “The Bayeux Tapestry” although I will use the
Wiki references. The start of the frame
is shown underneath the black horse facing left in Scene 53b where there is
what looks like a drooping branch followed by a patch of raised ground with
spikes protruding. Between the hind legs of the said black horse there is a
fallen knight. This is followed by four horses in various stages of distress
before the ground is shown to rise. On top of the rise (Scene 54) are
unarmoured men with spear and shield. In the foreground there are two fighters,
the one in black looks to be better equipped than the others with axe and sword
while his compatriot just looks scared and is facing towards the rear of the
defended ridge. Above and slightly to the right of the scared spear holding
Englishman stands another man blowing what seems like a raspberry to a Norman
knight attacking the rear of the ridge. The next figure is a mounted knight
facing right followed by a knight facing left. There follows four mounted
knights before we meet Duke William with his helmet raised and Odo (or
Eustace?) who is doing the pointing (Scene 55 and 56).
I see the battle on the Tapestry as being time stamped with
frames and cameos. This frame being at None or three in the afternoon and
consisting of two cameos.
Previous interpretations
According to E.A Freeman, the first cameo is an out of place
depiction of the “Malfosse”. My response to that interpretation is to question
why there seems to be two Norman knights facing the “wrong way” as the Malfosse
incident is supposed to be Norman knights PURSUING the fleeing English troops. Additionally,
nowhere else on the Tapestry does it portray an event out of the time sequence.
So why here?
The second interpretation I’ve read about, again of the
first cameo, is that some troops had gained a hillock during the battle and
defended it successfully for a while, the spikes I refer to above being reeds
protruding from a stream. My problem with this interpretation is that these
troops ignored the plight of the Huscarls some hundreds of metres away so why
didn’t the Huscarls reposition themselves here or vice versa?
To me, both interpretations of the first cameo were made to
maintain the narrative that there was one nine- hour long battle for the throne
of England.
My interpretation
For me, this is the start of the main
engagement as it consists of the King, late arriving Huscarls and the rest of
the army on the English side. The first
cameo depicts Norman knights attacking English troops at one end of the ridge
(hence the two men at a lower level than the others) and not making a good job
of it. For me, the raised ground and spikes are “anti-horse traps” the troops had
spent most of the day constructing. The second cameo overlaps the first as it
starts with a black horse facing away from the fighting but finishes with
whomever is pointing out William. This represents the written reports of the
Norman knights routing and being rallied by William.
Conclusion
It is reasonable to suggest that the above frame depicts
what would be the real start of hostilities as both protagonists are present (
Harold II and William) but in doing so the battle only lasts 3 hours and
therefore is nothing special in terms of a feat of arms. By including the first
skirmish that occurred at around Tierce (09:00) and the death of Harold II at
Vespers (18:00) the whole battle has been made to look heroic.
Perhaps the Bayeux Tapestry has made too much of the first
skirmish because in doing so it has made historians try to align the written
reports with the “wrong” part of the Tapestry.
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