“An exceptional book that highlights the importance of the Tapestry as a historical and artistic treasure” - Dan Snow

“Filled with many fresh ideas and unexpected discoveries, it provides convincing explanations for many of the most notorious mysteries left to us by its creators. A must for anyone interested in the history of Britain” - Michael Wood

Published on the occasion of its exhibition at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027, here is a guide to the Bayeux Tapestry and its legacy, exploring the rich narrative behind the embroidery and the turbulent times in which it was created. Political intrigue and betrayal, heroism and brutal violence, victory and defeat – all are depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, an epic reference to a defining moment in English history. Yet there is much more to this remarkable historical and artistic treasure, telling its story with an intensity and immediacy that speaks to our modern world, nearly 1,000 years after its creation. Many mysteries and questions revolve around this unique embroidered cloth – and nothing is as it first appears. Who made it and when, why, where and for what purpose? David Musgrove and Michael Lewis place the depicted events in the context of intrigues on both sides of the English Channel in the years leading up to the Norman Conquest and reveal what the Tapestry tells us about the acts of kings as well as aspects of daily life in medieval Europe.