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Results for Bayeux Tapestry:

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Bayeux Tapestry

CATEGORY: artifact
DEFINITION: A medieval embroidery depicting the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, which is considered a remarkable work of art and important as a source for 11th-century history. It consists of a roll of unbleached linen worked in colored worsted with illustrations and is about 70 m long and 50 cm deep. The work was probably commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, a half-brother of William the Conquerer, and took about two years to complete. It was likely finished no later than 1092. The tapestry depicts the events leading up to the invasion of England by William Duke of Normandy and the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, when the English King Harold was defeated and killed. Though not proven, the tapestry appears to have been designed and embroidered in England. The themes are enacted much like that of a feudal drama or chanson de geste. The technical detail and iconography of the Bayeux Tapestry are of great importance. For instance, the 33 buildings depicted offer a look at the contemporary churches, castles, towers and motte and bailey castles. The battle scenes give details on the infantry and cavalry formations, Norman armor and weapons, and the clothing and hairstyles of the time. The invasion fleet is 'Viking double enders' (clinker-built long boats, propelled by oars and a single mast). The tapestry was discovered" in the nave of Bayeux Cathedral in France by French antiquarian and scholar Bernard de Montfaucon who published the earliest complete reproduction of it in 1730. It narrowly escaped destruction during the French Revolution was exhibited in Paris at Napoleon's wish in 1803-04 and thereafter kept in the Bayeux public library."

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comet

CATEGORY: term
DEFINITION: A celestial body moving around the Sun in an elliptical orbit and often seen as a starlike nucleus with a train of light or 'tail' following it. Comets were often mentioned in ancient records, as in the Bayeux Tapestry. Their occurrences can be calculated by astronomers, as can eclipses, and ancient reports can thus be exactly dated, a useful check on the recorded chronology.

Otranto mosaic

CATEGORY: artifact
DEFINITION: A Romanesque cathedral in Apulia, southeastern Italy, with a mosaic pavement covering the nave and aisles. Laid between 1163-1166, it was designed by a priest named Pantaleon and shows certain similarities to the Bayeux tapestry. The central theme is the history of the universe. Similar mosaics existed at other Apulian Romanesque cathedrals, but this splendid work is the only one to have survived.