UNKNOWN WEAVER, English
(active c. 1080)

The Bayeux Tapestry: Unidentified cleric and Aelfgyva

c. 1080
Wool embroidered on a linen background
Musée de la Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde, Bayeux

Narrow borders run above and below the main narrative. These borders do not function as an enclosing frame, as in Renaissance and later painting, but are frequently cut into by the main narrative. They contain figurative elements, some of which comment upon the main narrative. These figurative elements include animals, zodiacal signs, scenes from country life, animal fables (a very popular genre in the early Middle Ages), and erotic figures. One example of these figures is found underneath the enigmatic scene of a woman whose name is given as Aelfgyva. She is shown accompanied by an unknown cleric under a doorway with phallic-shaped columns. No convincing explanation has been provided for this scene. The pose and the gesture of the cleric, who caresses Aelfgyva's chin, are mimicked by a naked figure in the border, whose genitals are conspicuous. The scene may allude to a sexual scandal with which some of the earliest viewers of the tapestry would be acquainted. Women rarely occur in the tapestry, and when they do, are represented as passive victims. The picture presented in the Bayeux Tapestry is one of a predominantly masculine society.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.