Battle of Hastings - The Narrative I Derive From the Bayeux Tapestry - Final Summary

 The Narrative I Derive From the Bayeux Tapestry -

 Final Summary

Summation 

Over the past three posts I have tried to convey my idea of what the Bayeux Tapestry is trying to say about the fateful day. I have tried to show that the scenes from 51 onwards can be grouped into four time stamped events - Initial contact, success at wiping out the Huscarls, initial contact with the main body and the subsequent victory on the field of battle. 

I have brought in rarely corroborating evidence from other early reports because I needed to let my audience know that my ideas were not just flights of fancy but based on things that are out there. 

There's a few things to point out. Scene 50 which contains just three people King Harold and the two "scouts" must be either a fanciful idea on the part of the Norman clergy or recorded by the English clergy accompanying Harold to the battle. No matter what, the three of them were not around at the end of the battle to question! I honestly did have a problem with the ground portrayed in Scenes 48 and 49 as that certainly did not match reality. It wasn't until Kathleen Tyson, in the first edition of her book, suggested that William was at the manor belonging to Fecamp Abbey that the terrain matched reality. Finally, no matter how I try to locate the the first encounter away from the centre of Battle , I get drawn back to the location by other sources and local place names. 

One other thing to add. You might be asking yourself the question " if I know the location of the battle why hasn't there been anything in the Press? Well, the owners of the land where the main body drew up is owned by the Forestry Commission and no metal detecting is allowed by the general public on their property. End of. Although they promised action in 2018, I think Covid intervened and the archaeologist moved on or retired and the whole thing has been forgotten. Never to see the light of day again.  The farmland adjacent to  Ashes Wood where the Normans formed up and charged the English line as per Scene 53/54 is owned by someone. No response to either a letter or email. So, I'm left with a "Schrodinger battle site" Nobody can prove it isn't and I can't prove it is

I do hope you've enjoyed what I've committed to the blog. As I have authoritative translations of the other three 11th cent. sources  - William of Jumeiges ( Oxford Medieval Texts) , William of Poitiers ( Oxford Medieval Texts) and Kathleen Tyson's translation of the "Song of the Norman Conquest" by Guy d'Amiens I hope to pluck out relevant sentences that reinforce what is shown  on the Bayeux Tapestry. That is if I'm allowed to by the copyright owners. I also have translations of 12th cent, reports bar Roger of Worcester. Henry of Huntingdon and William of Malmesbury tomes are translations that were done in the 19th cent and thus are copyright free ( I hope)  Of the four other sources, two are Oxford Medieval Texts ( The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis and The Chronicle of Battle Abbey) and one is Wace's Roman de Rou ( translated by Glyn Burgess) and the final source is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles translated and edited by Micheal Swanton. 

Keep your fingers crossed for me...

Regards