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A remarkable discovery emerged in 2025 from the archives of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Catalogers unearthed a long-missing piece of the Bayeux Tapestry. While organizing the estate of Karl Schlabow, a textile archaeologist with Nazi connections, archivists found an inch-sized fragment of linen fabric bearing the inscription “Bayeux Ground: I Chain, II Weft.”
This scrap was removed from the embroidery’s underside during a 1941 examination. The fragment was taken when Nazi scientists, commissioned by the Ahnenerbe (an SS organization promoting pseudoscientific racial theories), were granted access to the cultural treasure during the German occupation of France.
This is just the latest of the fascinating history of the Bayeux Tapestry.
The Bayeux Tapestry was created around 1070-1077 CE.
Unlike other tapestries where designs are woven into the fabric, this masterpiece used wool yarn embroidered onto linen cloth.
The embroidery shows English needlework techniques.
Analysis of stitch patterns, vegetable dyes, and stylistic elements links it to Anglo-Saxon craftspeople, possibly from Canterbury workshops.
Though commissioned by a Norman, it was created by skilled English artisans in a conquered land. The Latin inscriptions contain Anglo-Saxon linguistic features, further supporting its English origin.
Scholarly analysis in the 20th century put to bed the popular French legend attributing the work to Queen Matilda.
Evidence strongly suggests Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William the Conqueror’s maternal half-brother, commissioned it.
Three of Odo’s followers (Wadard, Vital, and Turold) appear in the work and are also mentioned in the Domesday Book. Furthermore, the tapestry was found in Bayeux Cathedral, which Odo built.
The tapestry measures about 230 feet (70 meters) long and 20 inches (50 centimeters) tall, divided across nine linen panels.
Historical analysis indicates approximately 8-10 feet of the final section is missing—likely showing William’s coronation at Westminster Abbey on December 25, 1066.
We know this because of the abrupt ending of the current narrative and references in contemporary documents that describe a longer work.
The embroidery’s 58 distinct scenes create a sequential narrative containing over 600 human figures, 200 horses, 40 ships, and 500 mythological creatures and animals.
The central zone depicts the main historical events, while the upper and lower borders feature decorative elements that sometimes complement the central narrative.
Latin tituli (text captions) provide commentary throughout, guiding viewers through the story of the Norman Conquest.
The Bayeux Tapestry also contains the earliest known artistic representation of Halley’s Comet, which appeared in April 1066.
The scene shows people pointing at the celestial phenomenon, which has the Latin inscription “ISTI MIRANT STELLA” (“these men marvel at the star”).
Medieval observers interpreted the comet as a divine omen foretelling King Harold’s defeat.
During the radical phase of the French Revolution in 1792, revolutionaries confiscated the tapestry as public property with the intention of using it to cover military wagons.
A local Bayeux lawyer, Lambert-Léonard Le Forestier, recognized its historical importance and hid it in his home until things calmed down.
From 1803 to 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte had the tapestry transported to Paris and displayed at the Musée Napoléon (now the Louvre).
He wanted to use the depiction of the successful cross-Channel invasion as propaganda to build public support for his planned conquest of England.
Though Napoleon later abandoned these invasion plans.
During the German occupation of France in World War II, the tapestry was moved from Bayeux to the Louvre in Paris in 1944.
Nazi SS leader Heinrich Himmler, who headed the Ahnenerbe (an organization dedicated to proving Aryan racial superiority), attempted to seize it just days before Paris was liberated in August 1944.
The Gestapo arrived to take possession too late—French forces had reclaimed the Louvre.
Archaeological work completed in early 2025 confirmed the existence and location of Harold Godwinson’s residence at Bosham in Sussex, exactly as depicted in the tapestry.
Researchers used ground-penetrating radar and traditional excavation at a site near Bosham Church to uncover the foundations of an Anglo-Saxon great hall that matched the tapestry’s representation.
The discovery validated the Bayeux Tapestry’s accuracy.
Beginning August 31, 2025, the Bayeux Museum will close for an extensive €38 million conservation project.
This initiative will remove a damaging 1983 fleece backing and address centuries of deterioration.
The museum itself will undergo complete renovation with an expanded exhibition space designed by British architectural firm RSHP.
The reopening in late 2027 will coincide symbolically with the millennium of William the Conqueror’s birth in 1028.
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