“For decades we have done our best not to get into the position that we had to borrow the Bayeux carpet,” said French President Emmanuel Macron during a ceremony last Wednesday to perpetuate agreements about the famous medieval carpet. Between September 2026 and July 2027, the carpet is first lent to the British Museum. “We always found experts who could explain in detail why lending was a bad idea. And believe me, we could have done that again.”
The world -famous embroidery of 68 meters by 50 centimeters, which was made around 1068, depicts the Battle of Hastings in a comic strip in 1066, on which the preparation and the Norman conquest of England is depicted. At work you can see 626 people, 190 horses, 35 dogs, 506 other animals, some buildings and some trees and bushes. It was the battle in which Willem the Conqueror, Duke William I of Normandy, beat the English king Harold II on the battlefield. Harold ended up on the throne nine months earlier, while he was previously promised to Willem. The Norman victory ensured that Willem conquered the English crown.
The experts to whom Macron referred in his speech were long against the lending. It was possible, but did the proceeds prevent the risk that the journey before the Bayeux carpet? No, was the outcome in the past.
In 2020, experts again investigated the state of the carpet. A team of eight restorers each investigated one meter a day. They saw: 24,204 spots, 16,445 folds, 9,646 holes in the fabric and in the embroidery, 30 non-stabilized cracks. The first meters of work in particular were weakening. The Bayeux Museum in Normandy confirmed again in 2022 in a statement: according to the experts, relocation of the carpet “can only be justified if that is for restoration”.
That restoration now only comes after the exhibition in London, but the museum is now taking a different position. The museum will close for renovation on 31 August. Head curator Antoine Verney, who previously ‘could not imagine’ that the carpet would be moved, therefore sees it differently: “The carpet can either be removed from his display, and then invisibly stored to the public. Either an agreement can be concluded between the two governments so that the work public is presented in the United Kingdom.”
‘Gallic joke’
It works out well for Macron. He already promised the carpet in 2018. That was canceled at the time, the Coronapandemie made the challenge difficult and the group of eight experts saw many objections in the condition of the work. In addition, the Brexit was coming. There was a bit joked by British about macrons “Gallic joke”: the large image of how the British were defeated was found by some a somewhat strange gift.
But, journalist John Lichfield wrote in an opinion piece The Guardian In 2018: The carpet is not necessarily about how the British were defeated, it is mainly about how closely they are connected to the continent. Or, to keep it with England, the 21st-century country has many forming influences, that of Normandy is an important one. He describes the south of England as a kind of “Norman colony, which has sought the mother country.” In short: according to him, the carpet can be considered a symbol of how culturally connected both countries are, and therefore also how European the English are. “Maybe,” wrote Lichfield, “is that what Emmanuel Macron had in mind.” This connection is also what is now being emphasized during Macron’s visit this week.
A team of eight restorers each investigated one meter a day. They saw: 24,204 spots, 16,445 folds, 9,646 holes in the fabric and in the embroidery, 30 non-stabilized cracks.
Of course, “There is no such thing like no risk, but we have to move the work anyway,” says a spokesperson for the museum The Guardian (on questions from NRC the museum did not respond). “The fact that the work now goes to the British Museum means that the journey will be a little longer.” The museum has found a way to transport the work as safely as possible. The carpet is placed on a kind of folding construction, in a sealed box, which is put in two boxes again. The carpet travels to the Channel Tunnel by truck, after which it takes the submarine crossing via train.
A style rule when maintaining artworks: “Everything you do is in fact not good,” every action detracts from work in a way, says Sjouk Hoitsma, head of collections at the Textielmuseum. This also applies to touches that are aimed at restoration.
The Bayeux carpet is not really a carpet, but an embroidery of wool and gold on linen. “Linen, that is unbelievable, that is so sustainable. And this is almost a thousand years old, you would expect it to be pulverized if you touch it. But I suspect it is still strong and flexible. It is the embroidery that make it vulnerable.” Some threads are wrapped with gold, that material is vulnerable because it is sharp, it cuts and breaks quickly.
“Textile is just as vulnerable as paper,” says Hoitsma, “this is also being looked at during preserving actions.” You have to allow little light, and as few fluctuations as possible in climatic conditions.
Hoitsma has seen the carpet. It is exhibited in a very dark room, “under 50 lux”. When you come in, she remembers, you first have to get used to the light. Then, when your eyes are ready, you will be drawn to the illuminated carpet.
If doing nothing is actually the best, how irresponsible is the exchange with London then? “It’s possible,” says Hoitsma. It must be transported well, not folded (but: rolled up), that is not good for the linen. The coffin in which it is transported must climatically connect to the environment where the carpet hung, that also applies to the destination. When traveling it is important that it fluctuates and shocks as little as possible. That is easy to overcome by putting it in the right package.
But, in the end, says Hoitsma: “If you zoom out, and ask the question: should this be? Then the interests around it are much more interesting.” So a consideration has been made: what it yields, “the work and its condition is secondary to those goals.”
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Bayeux diplomacy
Most historians assume that the Bayeux carpet was made in England, but was transported to Bayeux soon after completion. It has never been seen in England since then, even though there were many requests. For example, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) wanted it on loan to listen to the coronation of Queen Elisabeth in 1953. Almost everything was ready so that the work could be shown for six months: agreements had been made for the loan, the insurance policies had been taken out and the police would be armed and supervised all the entire process, but at the last minute the French authorities said it, because there were experts – they were again, those experts talking about – were fearing for damage.
In 1966, on the occasion of the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, another attempt was made. Again V&A would organize the exhibition, and there would even be conversations to exhibit the tapestry in the United States. The Ministry of Culture agreed at the time, through the novelist André Malraux who held that post 1959 to 1969. Only they didn’t like it in the Bayeux city council. There was a fear of discoloration and damage, and it was too unclear who would take on all costs in the event of damage. And Bayeux itself should be compensated for a lack of income because tourists would stay away, while London would attract more tourists. Malreux moved in the proposal, and again the wall rug did not go to England.
Although all the authorities, also Bayeux itself, are behind the lending, this is mainly a gesture that the relationship between France and Great Britain is better. Macron praised the ties between the two countries during the press moments, and emphasized the political motivation. In the British Museum he stated that there is “no trade war or import tax against this cultural approach … that there are no limits anyway”. The latter was remarkable, because the migrants who made the crossing to Dover via Calais were one of the core topics of the visit.
British Prime Minister Keith Starmer also saw another political gesture in the carpet: “Telling cultural treasures about war, power and politics, about alliances and enemies, as we still know it all too well today.”
The British expect with the return – the official investigation about vulnerability is still busy – having the blockbuster of this generation at home. The conservative politician and chairman of the British Museum, George Osborne, saw it as a “return of common sense.”