Was the Bayeux Tapestry Made in France?

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • George Beech

   Pages 1-7

3. The Textile Workshop at Saint-Florent in the Eleventh Century

   • George Beech

   Pages 9-17

4. The Relationship Between William the Conqueror and Abbot William of Saint-Florent of Saumur

   • George Beech

   Pages 19-31

5. Saint-Florent of Saumur and the Commissioning of the Bayeux Tapestry

   • George Beech

   Pages 33-36

6. The Bayeux Tapestry and Romanesque Art in Western France

   • George Beech

   Pages 37-60

7. The Breton Campaign in the Tapestry and Abbot William of Saint-Florent of Saumur

   • George Beech

   Pages 61-88

8. The Saint-Florent Hypothesis and Baudri of Bourgueil’s Poem to Countess Adèle

   • George Beech

   Pages 89-90

9. Conclusion

   • George Beech

   Pages 91-102

10. Back Matter

    Pages 103-142

    PDF

This book presents the hypothesis that the Bayeux tapestry, long believed to have been made in England, came from the Loire valley in France, from the abbey of St. Florent of Saumur. This is based on a number of different kinds of evidence, the most important of which is signs of a St. Florent/Breton influence in the portrayal of the Breton campaign in the tapestry, about a tenth of the whole.

• André Breton
• body
• corpus
• England
• event
• France
• Middle Ages
• poem
• romanesque art
• textiles

'Beech...argues that the genius and craft behind the tapestry were most likely French...he suggests the tapestry may have subsequently left Blois and reached Bayeux in the middle of he 15th century as a gift passed between a succession of aristocrats.' - Steve Farrar, The Times Higher Educational Supplement

'Beech is to be commended for his courage, his fresh perspectives, and the solid investigation offered here.' - Prof. Dr. Albrecht Classen, Mediaevistik

GEORGE BEECH was formerly Professor of Medieval History at Western Michigan University, USA, where he taught since 1960. In his scholarly research and publications, Beech has concentrated on eleventh-century France (Aquitane) and its relations with England, Italy, Muslim Spain, and the crusader Middle East. He is currently completing a biography of the first troubadour poet, Duke William IX of Aquitane. Beech has also specialized in the study of early eleventh-century pre-epic Latin literature and the history of eleventh-century Muslim Saragossa. He was a co-founder, and is still a co-editor, of the journal Medieval Prosopography.

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