What does the Norman conquest of 1066 have to do with me? you may ask.
Suprisingly, quite a bit! After the Norman conquest, a large number of words with a French origin (up to 1/3 of English) entered the English language. This includes words like: bacon, massage, corset, fantastic, flower. All of which, bien sûr, make learning French a bit easier!
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux
"Wow..it looks like a matte painting!", David exclaims as a massive cathedral suddenly appears as we walk a curvy cobblestone street. I nod. Now, as it has for almost 1,000 years, the cathedral dominates the old section of Bayeux. Fires, wars, and time have all led to many changes, additions, and modifications. At night, it is beautifully lit. Later, on a D-Day tour, we would see the cathedral spires from Point du Hoc on the coast.
Inside, a formidable set of 20 ft tall dark wooden doors, topped with a cobwebbed glowing circular window is behind me. Ahead, the ceiling soars far, far above me, criss-crossed by delicate ribs that sprout from the tops of slender clusters of tall columns that reach towards the ground. Soft music plays in the background as I look up and pass intricately carved stonework: small ovals--a man charming a monkey, monsters, lions, bishops, and lovers--punctuate a background of geometrical designs caved in relief.Before this cathedral, there was, perhaps, a Roman sanctuary when the city was known as Augustodurum. Later, a Roman Catholic cathedral was built. While still under construction, William the Bastard forced Harold Godwinson to take an oath on holy relics in this (now rebuilt and modified) cathedral. Harold broke his oath, eventually leading to the Norman conquest of England in 1066. And William finally got a new last name...William the Conquerer.
The cathedral was initially completed under Bishop Odo, William the Conquerer's half brother, who also likely commissioned that the history of his brother's 1066 conquest be embroidered on linen (the Bayeux tapestry). Surviving wars, invading armies, fires and other near misses, the Bayeux tapestry existed within these walls for some 1,000 years to become one of the few surviving records of life during this time.
As we descend into the crypt, it is dim and cool. It is one of the few 11th century areas that is pretty much structurally the same. Most of the crypt is dark; only a few lights shine on the paintings of angels (added in the 15th century) at the
top of the columns. I can see a shape in the dark. Only after the camera has flashed do we realize it is a brightly
painted tomb with a painting of the deceased behind it. I think, perhaps, this is sometimes how we live our lives. Only dimly seeing where we are going, until the occasional bright flash illuminates what was already around us.Note: I found an interesting book review for "The Needle in the Blood", a historical novel by Sarah Bower about Odo and the making of the Bayeux Tapestry. Looks like it could be a good read!
A quick video is here.
All photos 2010 by L Gunter
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