Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
line the events surrounding the invasion and the subsequent creation of the tapestry. Your
visit finishes with a worthwhile 15-minute film that ties it all together one last time (in the
cinema). You'll exit below, through a formidable boutique.
Remember, this is Norman propaganda—the English (the bad guys, referred to as les
goddamns, afteraphrasetheFrenchkepthearingthemsay)areshownwithmustachesand
longhair;theFrench( les goodguys)areclean-cutandclean-shaven—with eventhebacks
of their heads shaved for a better helmet fit.
▲▲▲ Bayeux Cathedral
This massive building, as big as Paris' Notre-Dame, dominates the small town of Bayeux.
(Make it a point to see the cathedral after dark, when it's beautifully illuminated.)
Cost and Hours: Free, daily July-Aug 8:30-19:00, Sept-June 8:30-18:00.
Visiting the Cathedral: To start your visit, find the small square opposite the
front entry (information board about the cathedral in rear corner). Notice the two dark
towers—originally Romanesque, they were capped later with tall Gothic spires. The
cathedral'swestfacadeisstructurallyRomanesque,butwithadecorativeGothic“curtain”
added.
Before entering, head just to the left of the cathedral and find the stairs at the top of
a walking lane (another information panel is close by). The little rectangular stone house
atop the near tower was the watchman's home, from which he'd keep an eye out for in-
coming English troops during the Hundred Years' War...and for Germans five centuries
later (it didn't work—the Germans took the town in 1940). Bayeux was liberated on D-
Day plus one: June 7. About the only casualty was the German lookout—shot while doing
just that from the window of this stone house.
Now step inside the cathedral. The view of the nave from the top of the steps shows
a mix of Romanesque and Gothic. Historians believe the Bayeux tapestry originally hung
here. Imagine it proudly circling the Norman congregation, draped around the nave above
thebigarches.Thissectionisbrightlylitbythehugewindowsabove,intheGothichalfof
the nave. The glass was originally richly colored (see the rare surviving 13th-century bits
in the high central window above the altar).
Walk down the nave and notice the areas between the big, round arches. That busy
zigzag patterning characterizes Norman art in France as well as in England. These 11th-
centuryRomanesquearchesaredecoratedwithamanicmixofrepeatedgeometricshapes:
half-circles, interlocking hatch marks, full circles, and diagonal lines. Notice also the
creepy faces eyeing you, especially the ring of devil heads three arches up on the right.
Yikes.
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