Today I left Normandy and headed to Brittany — Bretagne to the French. On the way, I wanted a stop in Bayeux to see the famous Tapestry on display there, as well as the Cathedral. I was surprised at how charming the town is — since it’s one of the larger in the area, I had assumed it might be more city-like. But it has retained much of the old world charm of stone houses, narrow streets along the River Aure.
The Bayeux Tapestry is a 230 ft long linen cloth onto which has been stitched the narrative that led to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Embroidered with 10 different shades of wool, the 58 scenes are almost cartoon-like in the story-telling. It’s suggested that because the people of the region were less educated, it was created to tell of the Battle of Hastings and what led to it, in pictures rather than words. Of course it is told from the Norman point of view, so it really is a complete work of propaganda, justifying the invasion. It is believed to have been commissioned by Bishop Odo, William’s half brother to adorn the new cathedral in the city. It was embroidered in England around 1070; the cathedral was consecrated in 1077. It’s amazing that this work of art has survived the centuries — it has been mistreated and abused and used to cover goods in a wagon and moved to various locations for display. As a UNESCO Memory of the World, it is now permanently housed and artfully displayed in a renovated seminary, and an audio guide tells the story as depicted on the tapestry, and points out various specific elements to note. No photos were allowed, but I snapped one of something from the gift shop just for reference.
Just up the street was the Cathedral of Notre Dame. It has been altered over the centuries, but the towers of the western facade and the crypt remain from it’s original building. The first level has remained Norman (12thC), but the second level is gothic and dates from the 13thC. This level comprises a single level instead of the usual two, which was done to better match the two styles. The Norman cathedral was partly destroyed in 1105 during the civil war between the sons of William the Conquerer; given that the King was present for the it’s opening in 1077, it’s horrible that his sons were the cause of the destruction. I’ve been in so many cathedrals already that many are beginning to look the same — it was the pulpit which struck me as unusual here — designed in 1786 it is neoclassical in design. The stained glass windows contain very vivid colors which allow in the light in a diffused way.
That was Bayeux. I knew I had a long drive ahead of me (about 100 miles), so I got on the road headed west. It was mostly highway driving, and I came to the most terrible traffic I’ve encountered maybe anywhere. LA included. There were sections where we were completely stopped. And there was no discernible reason why. At some points the road went to one lane from two and that explained part of the problem. French drivers do the same thing the Americans do — wait to the last moment to merge — making the traffic worse. Whatever happened to “you go, then I’ll go, you go, then I’ll go”? Such a simple concept. Anyway, it took me 4 1/2 hours to travel what should have been half that, and finally I arrived in St. Malo. Apparently Saturday during August in destination areas are the cause of massive traffic jams. Lesson learned. Found some dinner and sat on the beach to watch the sunset and then called it a night. The end to a Saturday.
