Year 8 recreate the Bayeux Tapestry
It could be described as one of the world’s first comic strips. The 70-metre-long Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered retelling of the Norman invasion of 1066. And now our Year 8 History students have recreated it.
If we want a reminder about the importance of humanity, kindness and compassion, there’s no better place than the early Middle Ages, a time of bullying knights, low life expectancy, illiteracy, poverty and war. During this time – 1066 to be exact – the Normans, a marauding race of people who had been Vikings before they settled in northern France, invaded England. It was one of the most decisive battles in British history and culminated in Duke William seizing the crown after killing his Anglo-Saxon rival, Harold Godwinson, at the Battle of Hastings… who died after being hit in the eye by an arrow!
Soon afterwards, anonymous craftspeople started embroidering an amazing artwork. The Bayeux Tapestry retold the story of the Norman invasion from multiple points of view, with respect for the losers as well as the winners.
The 70-metre-long woollen tapestry started with embroidered images of the death of Edward the Confessor, the Normans setting sail in a flotilla of ships, progressing to the battle between Harald III Sigurdsson, King of Norway and King Harold of Wessex at Stanford Bridge, to the eventual victory of William at Hastings, where Harold was killed by an arrow to the eye. In many ways, the Bayeux Tapestry is a moving picture of war, a panorama of storytelling that recreated the complexity of the time in intricate detail.
So, Head of History, Ms Poole came up with a challenge for Year 8 students: recreate a scene from the Bayeux Tapestry using their historical knowledge and their creativity. “I was so impressed by the array of materials, props and techniques they used. There were dogs dressed up as kings. They used forks, pipe-cleaners, Lego and artwork. Congratulations to Scarlett, who used Banksey the dog to recreate Edward being crowned and William going to battle; Eden, who used Lego to demonstrate the battle positions of the Saxon on higher ground, with the Normans below; Ren Ai, who created a beautiful artwork of Harold receiving an arrow to his eye; Georgie, who also recreated the death of Harold, but instead used a teddy bear; Adriana, who recreated the death scene using her dog; Maddy, who used forks to represent Harold and Harald meeting at Stanford Bridge; and Olivia who recreated the arrow to the eye-scene using pipecleaners.”
Thanks for making History come to life Year 8. Like the Bayeux Tapestry, you’ve really helped to put the narrative at the heart of your historical thinking. And it’s great to see your creativity shine!