How Harold was depicted before the Bayeux Tapestry (and what it tells us) | Curator's Corner Ep101 [14:22]

YouTube ^ | October 8, 2026 | The British Museum

[SunkenCiv]

You may know King Harold II for one thing: losing the Battle of Hastings in 1066. But is this Harold's whole story? 

In 2023 a remarkable coin hoard was discovered in Yorkshire, England, that shows Harold in a different light. 

This is the first recorded hoard of coins which can definitely be dated to the year 1066. Containing only coins struck during Harold’s brief reign of 282 days, the hoard reveals a king whose authority was recognised across England, and whose government could produce new coins with great speed. 

Join Elina Screen, Curator of Medieval and Modern Coin Collections at the British Museum, to find out what this discovery tells us about this king and one of the most famous years in English history... 

How Harold was depicted before the Bayeux Tapestry 
(and what it tells us) | Curator's Corner Ep101 | 14:22 
The British Museum | 796K subscribers | 7,469 views | October 8, 2026

[Dr. Sivana]

Why wouldn’t it be nominative instead of accusative?

[Texan5]

Don’t know which Harold did that-but it was not Harold Godwinson-he was only married twice and had a rich noble family and plenty of money of his own. To his 1st wife Eadith by common/Danish law-for 20 years and they had a bunch of kids. Under Danish law, he could also marry a 2nd wife while keeping the 1st one, too.

He took a 2nd wife-Ealdgyth, who was a widow with a child-in about 1065, likely to keep the military support of her Mercian and Northumbrian relatives.

[Verginius Rufus]

I’m assuming William is pushing Harold into the dog dish, so William is in the nominative (but probably should be spelled WILLELMUS) and Harold should be in the accusative.

[Dr. Sivana]

I read it differently. I saw the two princes names as the title of the scene, since the Latin “He pushed [him] into the dog bowl” stands on its own nicely.

The harder to resolve problem is what to do with the “W”, as Latin has no letter “W”. “VV” would awful (but seen in Middle English, including the 1589 Douay-Rheims Bible before “W” gained full membership). My checking indicates that later Latin translations tend to render William as “Guillelmus / Gulielmus”, but then the joke is lost.

My wife’s first name is Gwendolynn, and when a France French speaker tried to say it, he just couldn’t, even though she was describing the (originally Welsh) name to him in Canadian French. She put up with him calling her Genevieve. Close enough.

[Verginius Rufus]

I looked for some photos from the Bayeux tapestry and they do have W in William's name. Not authentic ancient Latin to be sure.

If Harold is the one being pushed into the dish, his name needs to be in the accusative (like "him" in English rather than "he").

Anyway I think they would have "rex" instead of "princeps."

[Dr. Sivana]

If Harold is the one being pushed into the dish, his name needs to be in the accusative (like "him" in English rather than "he").

NOT if the names are listed as a title. There's no punctuation, but the names are in larger letters.
"Prince William" "Prince Harry"
"He pushed [him] into the dog bowl"

When the words are not part of a sentence, they will be nominative or vocative. Charles is Rex. I do not think they would have a Crown Prince described a Rex. Harry is a Duke of a County that doesn't exist anymore (Sussex), as the boundaries changed and they got renamed. The AI suggests "Latin often preferred filius regis (“son of the king”) or, for an heir, heres regni. Princeps stresses rank and rule rather than royal birth." I would go with princeps so the joke doesn't get lost again.

[Sawdring]

Harold is tapping into this imagery of kingship, but he is also tapping into the Roman past. And we can tell that by looking more closely at Harold’s neck. So on the coin, you can see this line; this is something which he is borrowing from a coin of Claudius. Claudius was emperor from 41 A.D. to 54, and he is famous also as the ruler under whom the Romans conquered Britain. And what’s striking is that Claudius has this long neck with the muscles very visible. And so Claudius’ bust shows this line and Harold’s bust shows it too. So Harold and his image design team are very much opting into a Roman inheritance to add a layer of Roman authority to Harold’s power and his public image.

I wonder how often Roman coin hoards were found if he copied the Claudius coins with his own image. The British History Podcast just went over how the Norman King Henry I and the birth of the Exchequer. They had a system to determine the metal content of coinage. It is a good podcast if you can get beyond little snippets of politics and the Millennial sense of humor. He says Horse Bro a lot.

[Verginius Rufus]

Harold became king after Edward the Confessor's death. His father was never king so he was not a filius regis. The Bayeux Tapestry has the word REX next to his name at least twice (including in the scene showing his death).

I don't know if they ever add a title to William's name. He was a duke at the time of his invasion of England so perhaps dux. Maybe all the scenes are available online somewhere.

[Albion Wilde]

bump

[Dr. Sivana]

You DO understand that the faux tapestry I posted is about Prince Henry, Duke of Sussex (called Harry, and at times Harold, by his big brother). I was more interested in it as describing them (William and Harry) rather than a picture perfect analogue to 1066.

Throw in Meghan, and we are out of the world of tapestries and into melodramatic Italian opera. Oh, if Dickens were alive today.

[Verginius Rufus]

Thanks for the clarification. That went completely over my head. Never knew that Harry Windsor-Markle was sometimes called Harold by Prince William.

[nwrep]

Have women presenters like this given up wearing makeup and lipstick? I don’t understand why they would go barefaced in front of the world.