"Into Harold's hands I commit my Kingdom," Edward the Confessor declared on his deathbed, according to Harold. As Edward had no heirs he probably thought Harold, his brother-in-law, and a reliable and trustworthy man would be a good King. That, at least, is the Anglo-Saxon version of the story.
The Normans had a different version. William, ambitious and determined, wanted the throne and indeed claimed that Edward had appointed him his true successor. Harold had even delivered the message and sworn to this effect on the relics of a martyred saint. William thought that Harold was now defying the terms of his sacred oath. The Pope took William's side and excommunicated Harold.
William, of course, defeated Harold in The Battle of Hastings in 1066 and was crowned King in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day.
WHICH STORY DOES THE TAPESTRY TELL?
The Bayeux Tapestry tells the Norman version of the story or does it? This famous and impressive tapestry which depicts the events leading up to the battle, the battle itself, and the conquest is woven on linen and 230 feet long and 20 inches wide. According to Andrew Bridgeford, this gigantic piece of cloth if erected in Trafalgar Square would "outstretch Nelson's Column by more than a third of its height".
The tapestry was probably made to celebrate William's victory and designed to be placed in the new Cathedral of Bordeaux. It is believed to have been commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux but stitched by women in Canterbury, Kent where there was a famous tapestry school which taught a similar style of stitching. This theory makes sense as Bishop Odo was also Earl of Kent.
Andrew Bridgeford, who wrote The Hidden History of the Bayeux Tapestry argues that the tapestry contains a 'secret, subversive message'. The tapestry shows William forcing Harold to take the oath. This means that: "King Harold was, in this case, quite literally, stitched up."
There are other anti-Norman images shown in the tapestry which provide evidence for this argument. One scene, for example, depicts a mother and child forced out of their burning home (which the Normans set alight) as the Norman soldiers advance. In another scene Harold is shown pulling two men out of quicksand around Mont Saint Michel, not the act of a villain.
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