About this episode

This episode explores the political significance of the Bayeux Tapestry and its historical context in the early 19th century.

The story of why, and how, an arrow ended up in Harold's eye in the Bayeux Tapestry is tied to the politics of the early 19th century, to Napoleon's ambitions and Britain's national pride, and the work of two antiquaries, Anne and Charles Stothard, who travelled to northern France several times to make drawings of the great embroidery. In this episode from our series on Romantic History, originally released in 2022, Rosemary Hill talks to Roey Sweet about the emergence of the Bayeux Tapestry as an artefact of political importance in the early 1800s and the new breed of multi-disciplinary investigators, who, in the years after the French Revolution, studied everything from woollen threads to tombstones in their efforts to imagine the past. Listen to other episodes in this series: From Waterloo to the British Museum, with Neil MacGregor: Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/rhep4 Spotify: https://lrb.me/rhep4s LRB website: https://lrb.me/rhep4lrb Salisbury Cathedral, with Tom Stammers: Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/rhep1 Spotify: ⁠https://lrb.me/rhep1s LRB website: ⁠https://lrb.me/rhep1lrb Balmoral, with Colin Kidd: Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/rhep2 Spotify: https://lrb.me/rhep2s⁠…

People in this episode

Host: Rosemary Hill

Guest: Roey Sweet

Topics covered

• Romantic History
• Bayeux Tapestry
• 19th century politics
• historical investigation
• cultural artefacts

Keywords

• Bayeux Tapestry
• Harold's eye
• 19th century
• politics
• Napoleon
• historical investigation
• Anne Stothard
• Charles Stothard

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bayeux Tapestry, Napoleon, Britain

Books & works: Bayeux Tapestry

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