UNKNOWN WEAVER, English
(active c. 1080)

The Bayeux Tapestry: Bishop Odo

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

Bishop Odo was the half-brother of William the Conqueror and the probable patron of the Bayeux Tapestry. (It was William who appointed Odo Bishop of Bayeux.) In this scene in the long tapestry Odo is shown dressed as a soldier (contrary to any of the written sources and probably, therefore, an example of artistic licence), rallying the troops at the Battle of Hastings. He rides a black charger and is identified by the inscription above him: Hic Odo Eps. After the Conquest, Odo was made Earl of Kent and thus became one of the most powerful landholders in England.




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