The world-famous medieval Bayeux Tapestry, which has been hanging in the Bayeux Museum in Normandy for decades, will be lent to the British Museum in London. This means that the tapestry will return to the United Kingdom more than 900 years after it was made.
The museum in London may borrow the tapestry between September 2026 and July 2027. During that time, the Bayeux Museum will be renovated. The exchange will take place as part of a bilateral art season in 2027. The agreement has been signed by the French and British governments.
The 68-meter-long, embroidered tapestry shows how William the Conqueror invades England from Normandy and defeats the Anglo-Saxon King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It is assumed that the tapestry was made in Kent shortly after the battle.
The tapestry depicts 58 scenes, 626 characters and 202 horses. It provides a unique picture of the Middle Ages in Normandy and England and offers not only information about military traditions, but also details from daily life. The last part of the embroidery is missing.
France will also receive something valuable in return. It concerns treasures from the Sutton Hoo sacrificial burial site and the Lewis chess pieces made of walrus ivory, which surfaced on the Scottish island of the same name in the early nineteenth century. The pieces will be loaned to museums in Caen and Rouen.
