Lecturer: Christine Crawford-Oppenheimer
Date: Saturday, August 13, 2022 1PM Eastern
Registration: July 11-18, 2022 1PM Eastern

The Bayeux Tapestry (actually, an embroidery) is a fascinating example of eleventh century needlework. This talk discusses its history, both the history depicted on the Tapestry and the history of the Tapestry over the almost 1000 years of its existence, including a few narrow escapes. Mysteries of the tapestry include questions about what some scenes depict (the Latin phrases on the cloth are sometimes very inadequate) and who commissioned, designed, and embroidered it. You’ll also learn about the stitch used for most of the embroidery, the Bayeux stitch, and how to do it. Attendees will receive bibliography that lists several books about the Tapestry and some needlework shops that sell kits for reproductions of some scenes.

Registration is now closed.

Registration is limited to 100 EGA members and will remain open for a full week. Not a member yet? Join here! Once registration ends, the entire list will be run through a randomization app and the list of attendees will be filled in that randomized order with the remaining members added to a waitlist. Learn more in our Virtual lecture Series page.

Christine Crawford-Oppenheimer started embroidering when she was six years old, and learned many techniques from her mother, who was an avid embroiderer. When she took early retirement in 2011, she joined the Embroiderers Guild of America, and has taken advantage of opportunities to learn even more techniques. Sometime in the distant past, she learned about the Bayeux Tapestry, and put it on her bucket list. She finally visited it in 2018. Before her visit, she read a book about it, which raised questions, which led to reading more and more books about it, which led to answers or potential answers to some questions, but also to more questions. The material on the Tapestry was so fascinating that she decided to put together a talk about it, to share all these tidbits of knowledge (and questions!).