Program Information

To commemorate its victory on the battlefield at Hastings in 1066, the Norman aristocracy used a wonderful work of propaganda art, the Bayeux Tapestry.

A Moment in Time is a brief, exciting and compelling journey into the past. Created to excite and enlighten the public about the past, its relevance to the present and its impact on the future, A Moment In Time is a captivating historical narrative that is currently broadcast worldwide.

Transcript

Lead: To commemorate its victory on the battlefield at Hastings in 1066, the Norman aristocracy used a wonderful work of propaganda art, the Bayeux Tapestry.

Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: The generations that followed the Norman invasion were not easy ones for England's new rulers. Despite connections of blood between King William the Conqueror and the old Saxon royal house most native Englishmen and all of the supplanted Saxon aristocracy considered William and his house to be usurpers, illegitimate pretenders to the throne. The Normans resorted to harsh tactics to bring the Saxons into line, ruthlessly suppressing land claims and planting armed garrisons all around the country.

They also engaged in more subtle ways of pressing their advantage. Chronicles were carefully re-written so as to plead their case, Saxon writings were outlawed, troubadours sang of the new King's honesty and golden character, and in France work began on what became known as the Bayeux Tapestry. Probably commissioned by Odo, William's half brother, Bishop of Bayeux. It is not actually a tapestry, which would have been woven on a loom, but an elaborate piece of embroidery, a series of eight linen panels sewn together and stitched in eight colors with woolen thread using the crewel technique.

Ironically, the cloth document was probably stitched by Anglo-Saxon embroiderers, since they were the best around. It is 230 feet long and chronicles the invasion from a partisan Norman perspective. Saxon King Harold Godwine is portrayed as having broken his oath of loyalty to William. Harold is justly defeated, killed in battle and thusly makes way for the rightful king William to assume the throne of England. The Bayeux Tapestry is the only surviving wall hanging depicting a contemporary event. It is seen each year by thousands who flock to see this beautiful, intricate, but politically correct piece of Norman propaganda.

At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

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