Was the Bayeux Tapestry Made in France?

This book presents the hypothesis that the Bayeux tapestry, long believed to have been made in England, came from the Loire valley in France, from the abbey of St. Florent of Saumur. This is based on a number of different kinds of evidence, the most important of which is signs of a St. Florent/Breton influence in the portrayal of the Breton campaign in the tapestry, about a tenth of the whole.

'Beech...argues that the genius and craft behind the tapestry were most likely French...he suggests the tapestry may have subsequently left Blois and reached Bayeux in the middle of he 15th century as a gift passed between a succession of aristocrats.' - Steve Farrar, The Times Higher Educational Supplement

'Beech is to be commended for his courage, his fresh perspectives, and the solid investigation offered here.' - Prof. Dr. Albrecht Classen, Mediaevistik

Auteur
GEORGE BEECH was formerly Professor of Medieval History at Western Michigan University, USA, where he taught since 1960. In his scholarly research and publications, Beech has concentrated on eleventh-century France (Aquitane) and its relations with England, Italy, Muslim Spain, and the crusader Middle East. He is currently completing a biography of the first troubadour poet, Duke William IX of Aquitane. Beech has also specialized in the study of early eleventh-century pre-epic Latin literature and the history of eleventh-century Muslim Saragossa. He was a co-founder, and is still a co-editor, of the journal Medieval Prosopography.

Contenu
Introduction The Textile Workshop at Saint-Florent in the Eleventh Century The Relationship between William the Conqueror and Abbot William of Saint-Florent Saint-Florent and the Commissioning of the Tapestry The Bayeux Tapestry and Romanesque Art from Western France The Breton Campaign in the Tapestry and Abbot William of Saint- Florent The Saint-Florent Hypothesis and Baudri of Bourgueil's Poem to the Countess Adele Conclusion