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 its stitches and the turbulent times in which it was created. Political intrigue and treachery, heroism and brutal violence, victory and defeat – all this is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, an epic account of a pivotal moment in English history.

However, there is much more to this remarkable historical and artistic treasure, which tells its tale with an intensity and immediacy that speak to our modern world, almost 1,000 years after its creation. Many mysteries and questions still surround this unique embroidery - and not all is as it might appear at first glance. Who made it, and when, why, where and what for? David Musgrove and Michael Lewis set the events depicted in the context of the machinations on either side of the English Channel in the years leading up to the Norman Conquest and tease out what the Tapestry tells us of the deeds of kings as well as aspects of everyday life in medieval Europe.