The Queen who put her husband's mark on history: did Matilda of Flanders create the Bayeux Tapestry?

England’s first post Conquest queen is surrounded by much myth and legend. And among the most intriguing story about Matilda of Flanders is that she helped create one of the most famous tellings of one of the most seismic moments in English history. So is the Bayeux Tapestry the creation of Queen Matilda?

The story goes that Matilda, Queen of William the Conqueror helped to create this magnificent testament to her husband's greatest and most lasting achievement. William might have won himself a crown and shaped his conquered nation in his own image but legend has it that it was Matilda who recorded it for posterity. Some historians even went so far as to describe the queen as sitting around sewing the epic work herself with her ladies in waiting. In French, it is sometimes called La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde.

 

Putting aside the idea of Matilda sewing a visual record of her husband battling his way to a throne and Harold II getting an arrow in the eye, the general assumption was always that the first queen of post conquest England had commissioned the great work to leave a lasting legacy of William's win. She was an integral part of his court and a major piece in the jigsaw that turned him from Duke of Normandy to King of England. Her royal blood had already given him kudos in the eyes of many who had laughed (behind their hands, William was scary) at the fact he was the illegitimate son of Robert of Normandy and a tanner's daughter. Matilda was descended from the Kings of France and she liked to let everyone know it. She'd also bought her husband the flagship for his invasion of England. William wouldn't have been king without Matilda so she had a vested interest in recording the Conqeust for history.

 

Except later historians think she most likely didn't commission the tapestry. They attribute its creation to William's half brother, Odo, who also happened to be Bishop of Bayeux. Whatever its origins, it is a spectular sight. Metres of intricate needlework spell out the story of the battle that changed England forever in the way the winners wanted it told. It is a priceless piece of art and an amazing historical source. And its reputation has no doubt been helped by the idea that it was Matilda, Queen of England, who helped create it.