For some reason this tapestry has always started me imagining a scene.
There are a number of Saxon women sitting around sewing the story of their Norman masters’ conquest over their land. Every so often a Norman comes to check on their work, but they speak rapidly in English to each other as they sew, since this is a language the Normans cannot understand (and would consider beneath them anyway). Perhaps the Saxon women loathed and resented these men who were suppressing and subjugating them, who had taken their land, built castles in strategic places and put down rebellions with such fury.
And yet, despite all this, these women couldn’t resist the opportunity to make something beautiful. Their fingers were nimble and skilful even while in their hearts they despised their new rulers.
Of course, this is just my imagination at work. It’s hard to be certain of what actually happened. Historians generally believe that the tapestry was commissioned by Normans and then created by Saxon women, but it has been argued that Norman women made it.
Whether my scene is true or not, the tapestry is a tribute to those women’s fingers and their skill. Here’s an irony for you: though made by women, there are only three women depicted in the actual cloth. Here is an animation of it from You-Tube: