Battle of Hastings - Arrival of the Tapestry to the British Museum

 Arrival of the Tapestry to the British Museum

See https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly9r54e5r4o

It is amazing how a little knowledge can see through to errant reporting. 

No doubt the reporter was on hand to witness the arrival of a most unique object but I wonder where he got his facts?

Yes, it was produced within the lifetime of some of the participants of the battle but like all the other reports of the 11th Cent. it relied on Norman monks and clergy recording the battle for its information. 

The report says "58 scenes" because that is the accepted wisdom of the Establishment. However my research lumps together the last 7 scenes into 4 key moments (Start of morning battle, end of morning battle, start of afternoon battle and end of afternoon battle with the death of Harold II) . So where else has the accepted wisdom gone wrong? It looks as though I'm going have to investigate the history of the allocation of the scenes. I would have liked the report to state that the Tapestry consisted of nine panels stitched together to form a 70 metre long object.

The Bayeux Tapestry is actually fourth in the line of sources (1077). First, there was the Song of the Norman Conquest  attributed to Bishop Guy d'Amiens ( 1067). Second, was a revision  of William of Jumieges "Gesta Normannorum Ducum"( 1070). Thirdly, William of Poitiers' s "Gesta Guillelmi" (1071).

The portion of the Tapestry shown in the article from the BBC is from Scene 51 ( for ease of reference) and Scene 52 when the Norman knights meet the English Huscarls for the first time ( the third hour). And Scenes 51 and 52 illustrate the randomness of the "Scene" allocation. 

Scene 51a

Scene 51b

Scene 52

The BBC report shows a bit of Scene 51b and part of 52 and does not explain what they are showing. Also note that Scene 51 "runs into" Scene 52.

 As a bonus I can tell you who it is entering "stage right" in Scene 52. According to the monks of Battle Abbey writing in 1154 " ..., the vigorous Eustace, count of Boulogne, attacked them from the rear."

Anyway, if you are going to see the Tapestry during its stay in London, enjoy. 

P.S let me know how many black dots ( holes in the fabric) there are. 

All Bayeux Tapestry images are public domain and have been sourced from:-

 Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_Tapestry_tituli

Battle of Hastings - Non Historical Musing

Non Historical Musing 

I've been told that anything I write from a historical viewpoint can be reliably be ignored but what about things that are not historical but operate on a practical level? 

Take for instance William's landing in the Port of Hastings a few days after landing at Pevensey. I've not been able to work out from the official narrative exactly where William did land and of course there are those who fervently believe that William didn't land at Hastings at all. Let's take the sources at their word in that William came ashore at the Port of Hastings and that where the town centre is today was the Port of Hastings.

Figure 1 Hastings Shore to Upper Fort

 The above figure shows the elevation of the various routes from the Shore +20 m to the Upper Fort situated alongside the A2100. The routes are:-

A:        Base of Castle

B:        Old Town

C:        1. Viaduct    via Mount Pleasant

            2. Viaduct    via Elphinstone Lane

D:        Cornwallis Gardens

Route A  Proposed Fort location to roundabout A2100/A2100/B2159 ( Battle Road). Roundabout to Junction of Elphinstone road and the Ridge ( Hastings Cemetery). The Ridge to Old London Road. Old London Road to Priory Road. Priory Road to Castle Hill Road. junction of Castle Hill Road and Albert Road delivers you to within 20m above sea level (a.s.l) Total distance 9.8 km

Route B  Proposed Fort location to roundabout A2100/A2100/B2159 ( Battle Road).  Roundabout to Junction of Elphinstone road and the Ridge ( Hastings Cemetery). The Ridge to Old London Road. Old London Road to the Bourne delivers you to within 20m a.s.l Total distance 9.2 km

Route C1* Proposed Fort location to roundabout A2100/A2100/B2159 ( Battle Road).Roundabout to Junction of Elphinstone road and the Ridge ( Hastings Cemetery). The roundabout at the end of Elphinstone road and A2101 delivers you to within  20m a.s.l Total distance 7.4 km

Route C2 * Proposed Fort location to roundabout A2100/A2100/B2159 ( Battle Road).Roundabout to Junction of Elphinstone road and the Ridge ( Hastings Cemetery). Elphinstone Road.  The Ridge to Old London Road. Old London Road to Priory Road. Priory Road to Mount Pleasant Road. Mount Pleasant road to Elphinstone Road. The roundabout at the end of Elphinstone road and A2101 delivers you to within  20m a.s.l  Total distance 9.4 km

Route D  Proposed Fort location to roundabout A2100/A2100/B2159 ( Battle Road).  Battle Road to Bohemia Road. Bohemia Road to Cambridge Road. Cambridge Road to Cornwallis Gardens delivers you to within 20m a.s.l. Total distance 6.4 km

* The Same finishing point - Bottom of Alexandria Park

Methodology

Using Google Earth I noted the stated elevation at every 200 metres until I was within 20 metres in elevation of the shore. So, the tolerances for height on Google Earth was 50cm ( 18 inches).20 metres ( or approximately 65 ft) is approximately where the highest tide would have reached in 1066.

Argument 

The above methodology gave me both distance and gradient from the fort alongside the A2100 to 20 m a.s.l. As can be seen from the graph even though the route C2 has the steepest gradient it is not the shortest route. 

The shortest route belongs to route D which is where Hastings Priory was built in the last few years of the following century. So for me, it brings into question as to why the Priory was planted there on top of the inlet drying up. 

The "powers that be" insist that the landing took place on the other side of the inlet ( those who think William landed in the Port of Hastings) by the castle. Again from the above graph, route A is the longest route to the Upper Fort and immediately enforces a steep climb to gain the Ridge.