21st November 2009 to 28th March 2010

The invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy,
which culminated in the Battle of Hastings in the year 1066,
is considered historically as ‘the last Viking raid’.
The history and the development of this conquest are
related in colourful, dramatic images and text on the
famous ‘Bayeux Tapestry’ in Normandy. The embroidered
wall hanging – the original is just 70 metres long and 50
centimetres wide – was created with about 10 years’ work,
soon after the historical events had occurred. It represents
an inexhaustible source of images on the history and
culture of the late viking period.
 
This Bayeux Tapestry and its historical and cultural
background are the subject of an exhibition, at whose
centre stands a complete reproduction of the monumental
tapestry, presented in the form of a half-life-size
large-scale slide projection, complete with the transcription,
translation and explanation of the narrative elements.
Numerous archaeological finds from the late Viking era and
the Middle Ages, on loan from several danish and german
museums, illustrate various subject areas which come up in
the 58 scenes of the tapestry: ships and ship-building,
costume and jewellery, weaponry and modes of fighting,
falconry, religious relics and the coinage and monetary system
of the norman dukes and the english kings.

In co-operation with the Centre Guillaume le Conquérant,
Bayeux, the Danish National Museum
(Dänischen Nationalmuseum) in Copenhagen and the
Viking Ship Museum (Wikingerschiffsmuseum) in Roskilde.