Harold Godwinson's residence, Bayeux Tapestry© Ministère de la Culture/Médiathèque du Patrimoine, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY
Posted on 06/19/2025 11:18:58 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The Bayeux Tapestry, a 230-foot-long linen cloth crafted in the eleventh century, depicts scenes from William the Conqueror's invasion of England and his defeat of Harold Godwinson, England's last Anglo-Saxon king, at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. (See "Unfolding the Bayeux Tapestry," January/February 2021.) There are detailed images of boats, horses, battles, fish, and even of Harold himself. Only four actual places in England are shown on the tapestry -- one being Harold's residence -- but their locations have been hard to identify. "Despite the tapestry's relative notoriety," says Newcastle University archaeologist Duncan Wright, "it's unusual that little concerted effort has been made by archaeologists to locate Harold's complex on the ground."
A team led by Wright has now confirmed the location of the king's home. The archaeologists investigated a site known as Bosham Manor House that local tradition has long linked with Harold. The village of Bosham is known to have been one of Harold's chief seats of government and the location of his harbor and personal fleet. Wright's team surveyed the property and reexamined results from old excavations. A key piece of evidence caught their attention -- a latrine located within the ruins of a tenth-century timber building. Only homes belonging to people of the highest status during that era had toilets attached to their private bedchambers. Considering the existence of these en suite facilities, researchers believe that the property must have belonged to Harold's family. "This is a rare example of being able to correlate the archaeological sources with a scene from the Bayeux Tapestry," says Wright. "We often think of the tapestry as just an artwork, but here we have evidence that it captures real sites and landscapes."
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
Harold Godwinson's residence, Bayeux Tapestry© Ministère de la Culture/Médiathèque du Patrimoine, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY
Saw this for myself last September.
The legitimate King of England. William the Bastard was a usurper. (In coming)
Guys on the steps are gay................
I was there in July! As well as a beautiful city. One of the few that weren’t bombed into rubble during WWII.
Was the cathedral still holding light shows every night?
We stayed at the Lion d’Or, on the main drag. Nice place.
Nice!
LOL. So are the pillars of the house.
A legitimate king is one who is strong enough to lead.
I notice several are wearing earrings. Was this common back then?.................
If so, probably as a high-status item for special occasions. Probably even then much more common among high-status women, analogous to certain names which have mostly been dropped for infant sons — Kim, Laurie, Pearl...
https://archaeology.org/issues/online/collection/trenches-anglo-saxon-jewelry-box/
That said, a couple of years ago when Princes Harry and William were fighting about Megxit and Harry claimed that William knocked him over into a dog dish, some clever memeist issued this:
Clever meme by someone who never took Latin. It should say PRINCIPEM HAROLDUM.
Good catch!
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