YORK, ENGLAND—Art historian Christopher Norton of the University of York has suggested that the Bayeux Tapestry was commissioned within a few years of the Norman conquest of England in A.D. 1066 to hang in France’s Bayeux Cathedral, according to a Live Science report. Images on the artwork, which is thought to have been commissioned by Bishop Odo, a half-brother of William the Conqueror, and stitched by women in England, depict the exploits of the first Norman king of England and his victory at the Battle of Hastings. Norton examined documentary evidence, surviving architectural details of the church, published data on the tapestry’s measurements, and information on medieval cloth sizes. He says the physical and narrative structure of the 230-foot-long tapestry’s embroidered linen strips are perfectly adapted to the north, south, and west sides of the cathedral’s main, central section, allowing for the church’s choir screen, doorways, and architectural supports, and shrinkage and missing sections of the tapestry. The tapestry first appeared in the Bayeux Cathedral’s inventory in 1476. To read about a fortress built after the Norman invasion of England, go to "Inside the Anarchy."
