What is the Bayeux Tapestry? Five facts about the famous artwork

The Bayeux Tapestry will go on display in London later this year, giving people the opportunity to see the huge embroidered masterpiece up close.

The Bayeux Tapestry is a nearly 70-metre-long embroidery which tells the story of the events leading up to the Norman invasion of Britain, which led to the famous Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The Bayeux Tapestry will go on display in London later this year, giving people the opportunity to see the huge embroidered masterpiece up close.

The tapestry is one of the most famous artworks from the Middle Ages and helps give historians rare clues about what life was like nearly 1,000 years ago.

The Bayeux Tapestry will go on display in London later this year, giving people the opportunity to see the huge embroidered masterpiece up close.

The Bayeux Tapestry is a nearly 70-metre-long embroidery which tells the story of the events leading up to the Norman invasion of Britain, which led to the famous Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The tapestry is one of the most famous artworks from the Middle Ages and helps give historians rare clues about what life was like nearly 1,000 years ago.

Did you know? The Bayeux Tapestry features 623 men, 3 women, 190 horses, 37 ships, 35 dogs, 506 birds and animals, 33 buildings and 37 trees or groups of trees.

Nobody knows exactly who was behind the Bayeux Tapestry, but many historians think William's half-brother, Bishop Odo of Bayeux, may have been involved.

Experts are also unsure exactly who stitched the Bayeux Tapestry, but it was likely made by a group of skilled artists and embroiderers rather than one person.

According to the British Museum, it's widely thought that English women could have been involved, as their needlework skills were admired across Europe at that time.

Some historians think it was likely created by nuns from Barking Abbey, one of the wealthiest and most important nunneries in medieval England.

Some historians think it was likely created by nuns from Barking Abbey, one of the wealthiest and most important nunneries in medieval England.

The artwork is usually displayed at The Bayeux Museum in the northern French region of Normandy, however the museum is undergoing renovations at the moment.

The artwork is usually displayed at The Bayeux Museum in the northern French region of Normandy, however the museum is undergoing renovations at the moment.

This is why it is being loaned to the British Museum in London.

The tapestry will go on display in the UK from 10 September 2026 until 11 July 2027, before it makes its journey back to France.

Las nie jest miejscem, w którym chciałbyś być w środku nocy

The forest isn't a place where you want to be in the dead of night. The Bayeux Tapestry was delivered to the British Museum in the dead of night.