| An ailing
King Edward, an Anglo-Saxon king, has no heirs. He tells his brother-in-law
Harold to go tell William of Normandy that William is his choice for heir to the kingdom. |
Harold, with
the mustache and falcon, leaves Edward and prepares to for his journey to inform William. |
Harold
boards a ship for Normandy, a part of modern-day France across the English Channel. |
Harolds
ships travel along the water, but high winds and rough sea blow him off course. He
lands not in Normandy... |
...but on
the property of Count Guy (on the horse), a rival of William. |
Harold is
taken prisoner by Guy (on the hrone) and the two speak. |
Williams
hears of Harold's capture and two of his messengers confront Guy (standing w/ battle axe) |
At the end
of this section, William (seated) is updated of the situation by his messengers. |
Here, Guy
decides to take Harold back to William. |
Guy (on
black horse) and William (in a maroon cloak on golden horse) meet face-to-face. At
William's insistance... |
...Harold
and William head back to his castle. There, Harold describes to William what happened to
him. |
A bond of
friendship develops, and William and Harold agree to go lay seige to a castle captured by
another rival, Conan. |
As they
travel, they pass Mont St. Michel, William slips into some quicksand. Harold rescues
him. |
They attack,
but Conan slips away. |
Attacking
again, they pummel the fortress with spears and missles. |
In honor of
his bravery, William places a Norman helmet on top of the head of Harold. |
Following
the battle, Harold stands between two shrines and swears to aid William's quest for the
throne in any way possible. |
Harold then
boards his ship to return to England. |
He lands,
and returns to report to Edward, the ailing king. |
But the
inevitable has happened. Edward is dead. His body is laid to rest.
William is to be king, right? |
But, look
who is on the throne! |
His men here
are pointing into the sky (look on the border of the tapestry). It is a sign. |
William is
informed of Harold's betrayal. |
William
begins to prepare take back what he feels is his. |
The ships
are dragged to the shore |
Preparations
continue. |
They're off. |
Their
journey across the English Channel continues. |
Men and
horses disembark. |
Advance
soldiers ride to the first town they encounter, Hastings, to secure supplies. |
|
|
No, these
men are not clubbing one another. They are combing their hair. |
William,
sitting above, hears news of Harold from one of his messengers. |
Soldiers
mount their horses and prepare to leave. |
At the end
of this section, William, on the golden horse and his left hand raised slightly, asked a
knight if has seen Harold's army. |
|
Here,
Harold, facing left on the black horse, is told of William's advance. That crooked tree
marks a change in scene. |
William, at
the end of the last section, points forward, urging his men forward with all speed. |
About
150-ft. from the battle line, archers let loose their arrows. |
The two
sides meet as arrows fly. |
Harold men
present a great challenge to William's cavalry. |
The
hand-to-hand chaos continues. |
Harold's men
try to keep their advantage. On the right, it appears as if William, on the gold
horse, is hit. |
But, he's
safe. Directly above, William's brother, Otto, points to William, who lifts his mask
to prove to his men he it still alive. |
Death
continues to reign. |
At last,
victory. Harold, standing just left of the slouched man on the horse, his right hand
raised in agony, is killed. |
|
The tapesty
ends with Harold's men fleeing. Two missing panels of the tapestry are thought to
contain images of William, now the Conqueror, atop the throne. |
