Bayeux Tapestry, Battle of Hastings, Viking Age, Mediaeval Art, Embroidery, Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror, Harold Godwinson
Abstract
Title: Visual Manifestations of the Pious King Edward and the Few Women on the Bayeux TapestryThis article suggests that the appearances of Edward the Confessor on the Bayeux Tapestry underline Duke William’s entitlement to the English throne and the weakness of Harold Godwinson’s claims. It is argued that King Edward might be depicted six times rather than five. A mediaeval king had two bodies, one natural and the other with divine right to rule by God’s grace. In the first five representations of Edward we witness the gradual decay and peaceful death of his natural body in sharp contrast to Harold Godwinson’s violent death later on the battlefield, and in the sixth, Duke William sits half hidden by a man closely resembling Edward. This might be Edward’s spiritual political body sustaining William’s divine right to the English throne. – The gender balance for individuals depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry is 99 % men and 1 % women. Of the total of six women the three in the main register are high status persons who appear near important buildings, depicted as mistress (probably), wife or mother. Three other women appear in erotic scenes in the margins, but their lack of clothes and attributes makes it difficult to determine their identity.
