The Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts numerous scenes of the 1066 Norman Invasion of England, has returned to England for the first time in nearly a thousand years, for a period of display in the British Museum.
The Norman Invasion wasn't just an invasion. William the Conqueror thought that he had the right to the Throne of England. Edward the Confessor had made William his heir, and Harold Godwinson had supported it. But then Harold claimed the crown for himself upon Edward's death, and William launched the invasion.
Here are some thoughts about the Normans.
The two present royal brothers, William and Harry, don't get along with each other. But what do you notice here? What about their names? William against Harold in the Battle of Hastings. It doesn't matter that Harold isn't Harry's actual name. History demands that they not get along with each other.
The Bayeux Tapestry is set up like a movie, with dozens of different scenes. Movies, photos that move, were first developed in France by the Lumiere brothers. Has anyone ever thought that the tapestry provided the mindset for movies?
The Norman Invasion took place in 1066. D-Day, which was a reversal of the Norman Invasion and landed in Normandy, took place in 1944. Is it historical forces at work that the two dates add up to an even thousand?
The Normans were great builders. They built castles and cathedrals everywhere. My life-long interest in history began with an early childhood visit to Chepstow Castle. A major reason for such building was to display the superiority of Norman ways to the local people. What about the arch on the Monnow Bridge in Monmouth? It was built by the Normans about 750 years ago. But what was it's purpose? I wondered about this when I was there as a teenager. It certainly isn't defensive and wasn't part of some larger complex. There is nothing else quite like it in Britain.
But now I think I know it's purpose. We saw in the posting "Mercia And Birmingham", July 2026, that Mercia was one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that preceded a united England. This arch is near the southern end of Offa's Dyke, which was described in that posting. This separated Mercia from the Welsh kingdoms to the west. This arch was built after Gwent, the Welsh kingdom here, and the former territory of Mercia was under Norman control. It represents the new era of Norman control of all the former kingdoms and so the end of the borders. Two images of the arch from Google Street View.
This is my pic of the arch.
We saw in "Traces Of The Normans" how they permanently influenced our language. Here is a link to it.
https://markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2025/09/traces-of-normans.html?m=0
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