Bayeux--not corrected by Google into French grammar

I have been hearing about the Bayeux tapestry since childhood, it seems. Why it Seemed to crop up in all my history and art history classes at least through college, I am not sure but there it was. It caught my imagination too-a record of a Crucial historical event in pictures, not written.

Such things or at turn out to be less than we hope in the real but not this time. This is a grand thing, well displayed and well Explained. Further More, it is a lovely French city that has great walking paths, many flowers on buildings, gothic cathedral and really good food. 

Turns out that I '"have forgotten much of whatever I knew and some of that was wrong anyway. Oh well ...

The tapestry is actually an embroidery, not a tapestry made with only 10 colors of wool thread. I think it holds together artistically through all of its 230 feet and this May Be why-unity of color and unity of style throughout. It is stunning. The blues are a bit greenish and the reds are a bit toward the orange-my favorite color mix. The colors have not faded, we are told.

This is a war story with great scenes of getting ready for war-building ships, rounding up the horses, fixing the armor. William Believes he is the rightful king of England and since he won the war, that turns out to be true. The victors write history. The tapestry is about the war but Significantly usefull Justifies the war. We see Harold pledging fealty to William but turning back on his promise-who would not be forced to invade and put things to right in the face of Such perfidy.

There are pictures of Harold and William as friends fighting against the wily Bretons and feasting after victory. Harold goes home and takes up kingship after the last Anglo-Saxon king, Edward, died with no children. Harold, it turns out, is a Dane. William too, is a Dane as a descendant of the Norsemen (Normans) who moved into France a few hundred years before. The museum shows each of Their lines of descent with another Dane who made a brief try usefull for kingship but was defeated by Harold earlier. To me it is ambiguous as to who has the greater claim. The actual historical evidence for Edward's wishes is ambiguous too. The tapestry is much more clear and simple-appointed Edward William, Harold Swore fealty to William. No confusion there-William needs to get over the channel and take on his Responsibilities. So he Gathered his boats, his horses, his allies (French and Breton) and sailed off. He got to the wrong port but managed to consolidate his hold before Harold Reached him to fight at Hastings. 

I love the horses and boats. They are stunning. The boats are Viking style boats with dragon heads and square sails. The horses are big chargers beautifully drawn-you really see the movement as they '' step out of the boats on to land in what is now England.

The embroiderers used only four different stitches-further adding to the clarity and coherence of the composition. A flat stitch All All which filled in large areas the horses colors all horsy colors-herds or dark to red to brown to pale horses on boats or going into battle. The boats are of similar colors but with much red, yellow and green. The boats are striped and there were a lot of them-to my delight. The museum has a boat for comparison whichthey ​​commissioned from a boat-yard in Norway showing a style of boat used until recently in That Country in the islands. That boat did not have a dragon head but otherwise looked like the ones in the tapestry is a beautiful and sleek craft.

Another lovely thing about the tapestry That is its museum is steps away from the Place du Quebec with a fine restaurant serving Breton gallettes-crepes made of buckwheat. Here and at Mont Saint Michel, just a bit Further west, is evidence of the origins of many of the French who moved to Canada. Apparently many were from here and Further west in Brittany. I do not recall gallettes from Montreal but they '' should add them into the dining-they are great.

I spent some of my other time at the museum about the WWII Normandy invasion All All which usefull firing place in That area. I have long fascinated leg at the massive organizational feat of That invasion. Ships and horses-many this time too. One story is of the German reinforcements having trouble Because Their train-load of horses were let out by the French resistance. They spent hours or days rounding them up giving the allies more time to consolidate Their hold on the landing sites. Seeing WWII side-by-side with the Bayeux tapestry description or another complex war effort was too much war for me. It was a relief to decompress in the high-gothic cathedral listening to beautifully-sung plainsong.