TLC Talk: Michael Lewis and David Musgrove – The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry
Monday 22nd June at 11:00 | £15
It is almost 950 years since this 230-foot-long embroidery collaboration left Britain for France. This is the first (and probably only) time it will ever return. ‘The Bayeux tapestry is one of the supreme achievements of the Norman Romanesque. Its survival almost intact over nine centuries is little short of miraculous … Its exceptional length, the harmony and freshness of its colours, its exquisite workmanship, and the genius of its guiding spirit combine to make it endlessly fascinating.’
There is a massive logistical venture underway to bring the embroidery to London for 10 months from this September. We are delighted to have two acknowledged experts to tell us about the tapestry (Michael and Dave are co-authors of what many experts refer to as ‘the definitive guide’) and to give us some insight into the arduous task of bringing this priceless object back to Britain, avoiding the wet weather and potholes.
Prof Michael Lewis is curator of the Bayeux Tapestry Exhibition at the British Museum. An expert on the Bayeux Tapestry, he is the author of The Real World of the Bayeux Tapestry. He is a member of the Bayeux Tapestry Scientific Committee that is advising Bayeux Museum on the ‘reinterpretation and redisplay’ of the embroidery.
Dr Dave Musgrove has been the editor of BBC History Magazine for five years, prior to which he edited Living History Magazine. He has a doctorate in landscape archaeology.
Together Michael and Dave are co-authors of The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry: Unravelling the
Norman Conquest.
We will do what we can to obtain tickets to see the Bayeux Tapestry while it is in London, although initial indications suggest that the best way to succeed, if you are not a prioritised schoolchild and when an estimated 7.5 million people are scrambling to get into the British Museum, might be to become a Member of the BM. By the way, there is an extraordinarily convincing 230-foot-long 19th century replica in Reading Museum, which we may visit in anticipation of seeing the real thing.
Members wishing to have lunch afterwards in either the Coffee Room or Ribbon Bar are advised to book in advance to avoid disappointment.