{"title":"Bayeux Illuminated","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"comet","title":"Bayeaux Illuminated Comet","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eFrame not included.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAccording to the Bayeux Tapestry, immediately after the coronation ceremony, Halley’s Comet is witnessed tracing through the sky in the Comet scene. This was the first time that Halley’s Comet was ever depicted in visual art. In ancient and medieval society, sightings of comets were understood as ill omens, often signalling a forthcoming famine, plague, war or the death of a king. On the left of the scene, a group of figures gazes up at the shooting star, pointing with a mixture of awe and terror. The inscription above reads ‘Isti Mirant Stella’, meaning ‘They marvelled at the star’. Harold can be seen sitting on his throne on the right of the scene, as one of his courtiers nervously informs him of the omen, or indeed of the Norman invasion itself. Below, in the borders of the work are a series of ghostly ships, a premonition of an impending Norman invasion. For William, the sighting of Halley’s Comet provided the divine justification that he needed to support his right to take the English throne from Harold.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Art-Kingdom store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64154539655498,"sku":null,"price":2950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1093\/4609\/5434\/files\/MiaHanssonComet_0.jpg?v=1793356798"},{"product_id":"coronation","title":"Bayeaux Illuminated Coronation","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"page\" title=\"Page 8\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"layoutArea\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"column\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eFrame not included.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFollowing the oath that he swore in Bayeux, Normandy, Harold returns to England where he is at the aging King \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdward’s bedside as he passes away. It is thought that Edward’s final action was to bequeath the English crown \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eto Harold, who willingly accepted, and was coronated the very next day on 6th January 1066. Coronation depicts this moment, as Harold sits on his throne wearing the royal crown and holding an orb and a sceptre, symbols of Christian rule and royal authority.The new King’s loyal subjects offer him praise from the edges of the scene. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBeside King Harold stands Archbishop Stigand, the Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury who is believed \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eto have officiated the ceremony. Aside from the fact that Harold had broken his sworn oath to William by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eaccepting the English crown, William and the Normans claimed that the Archbishop’s presence invalidated Harold’s coronation as King of England, as Stigand had been excommunicated by the papacy who refused to recognise his legitimacy. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Art-Kingdom store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64154539753802,"sku":null,"price":2950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1093\/4609\/5434\/files\/MiaHanssonCoronation_0.jpg?v=1793356798"},{"product_id":"hastings","title":"Bayeaux Illuminated Hastings","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eFrame not included.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAt the Battle of Hastings on 14th October 1066, William’s cavalry, identifiable on horseback, clash with Harold’s Anglo-Saxon infantrymen on foot. The contrast between these two styles of fighting is employed as a symbolic form of propaganda: the Normans are shown as powerful, agile and versatile as they rush the English defences, which have begun to break apart, allowing a breach in their defence. Throughout the rest of the Tapestry, the borders either side of the scenes are a symbolic space containing narrative and moralistic motifs. In this scene, however, the borders function more literally, filling with the overflowing corpses from the battle.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Art-Kingdom store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64154539819338,"sku":null,"price":2950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1093\/4609\/5434\/files\/MiaHanssonHastings_0_7453045d-e09e-40c8-90ec-cc529000c34e.jpg?v=1793356800"},{"product_id":"oath","title":"Bayeaux Illuminated Oath","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eFrame not included.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOath depicts the moment that Harold Godwinson, then Earl of Wessex and an English nobleman, swore a sacred oath to support William, Duke of Normandy’s claim to the English throne. Harold is seen in the centre, making his binding promise as he rests his hands upon two holy relics. This was considered an unbreakable oath in medieval law. William sits upon his throne overlooking Harold from a position of power. Holding a sword or a staff in his hand, he compels Harold to swear his fealty. The Latin inscription above the scene reads ‘Harold sacramentum fecit hic Harold Willelmo duci’ (‘Here Harold swore an oath to Duke William’). This moment in the Tapestry marks a dramatic turning point in the narrative, as Harold will later break his oath.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Art-Kingdom store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64154539917642,"sku":null,"price":2950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1093\/4609\/5434\/files\/MiaHanssonOath_0.jpg?v=1793356801"},{"product_id":"william","title":"Bayeaux Illuminated William","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eFrame not included.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs news of Harold’s betrayal is carried across the sea to Normandy, William begins building a large fleet of invasion ships before he sets sail for the southern coast of England. William depicts his army’s passage across the Channel in their Viking-inspired ships. The formidable English fleet that guarded the coast failed to intercept William’s army, who waited for the winds to change and set sail under the cover of darkness. The scene’s Latin inscription, ‘Et venit ad Pevenesae’ translates to ‘and he came to Pevensey’, a village in East Sussex, England, and tells of how William’s armada landed on English soil on 28th September 1066. They marched east along the coast, where, to defend their position, they set about building a fortification at Hastings, the first Norman-style castle to be built in England.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Art-Kingdom store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64154539983178,"sku":null,"price":2950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1093\/4609\/5434\/files\/MiaHanssonWilliam_0.jpg?v=1793356802"}],"url":"https:\/\/artkingdom.com\/collections\/bayeux-illuminated.oembed","provider":"Art Kingdom","version":"1.0","type":"link"}