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For almost a thousand years tapestry He tells the story of how the French Duke defeated the English king in battle – and changed the course of European history.
Now that France is preparing for debt 70 -meter masterpiece in the UKThe design is in the background in the background to make historical borrowing reality.
The embroidered tapestry that depicts events that led to the conquest of England by the Normans and The battle of Gastings In 1066, it will be exhibited at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027.
When French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed lending during his state visit to Britain in 2025, the first EU leader after Brexit – Symbolism did not fall into fines on both sides of the channel. After many years of cold relations, the movement was considered as a gesture of updated cultural heat.
But this is not just a policy. Historians widely believe that the tapestry was actually sewn in England using a woolen thread on linen fabric. This makes her temporary return something like “returning home,” says the curator of the Bayie Museum Antoine Verni.
“For the British, the date is the only date – they all know that this is 1066,” said Verny AP.
It is this sense of common property – and the common story – gives a new incentive to this complex loan, which will see works from British The museum representing all four Great Britain, including Lewis’s chess songs, traveling to the Normandy museums.
The movement of any 900 years of fabric is dangerous. The movement of one consisting of nine united pieces of linen fabric, which depicts 626 characters, 41 ships and 202 horses? Even more.
“There is always a risk. The goal is that these risks are carefully calculated as possible, ”said Vernie.
The tapestry survived the invasions, revolutions and world wars. Napoleon She put her to Paris in 1804, and the allies returned her back in 1944 after the liberation of France. But even with this genealogy tree, its age seems.
“Textile fibers are 900 years old. Thus, they are naturally degraded from age, ”said Verny. “But at the same time, this is a project that has already traveled a lot and has turned a lot.”
The details about how it will be moved, remain discussed. Transport is processed between the British and the French government, when the maintenance groups weigh each option – from the control of moisture and monitoring of vibration to specially built containers.
Better is sure that the British Museum will not risk it.
“As you can imagine, in my opinion, that the British Museum risks damaging, thanks to the report, this work, which is an important element of the general heritage?” He said. “I do not believe that the British can take risks that would jeopardize this important element of the history of art and world heritage.”
While the tapestry is absent, the Baye Museum will have its own transformation. The venue is closed to visitors from September 1 of this year for a large reconstruction, which costs tens of millions of euros. When it will be rethought in 2027, the attraction will return to the -Hart -Art house, where it will be subjected to a specially built 70 -dimensional inclined table.
Return says that the redesign will completely change the method that people see work – not only as one Medieval A miracle, but as a piece of narrative and design that still resonates.
In the British Museum, curators are already preparing for what is expected to become one of the largest exhibitions in their history. The tapestry will be represented in the Sainsbury exhibition hall in the museum, and maintenance staff throughout the exhibition.
The tapestry was probably ordered by the bishop of ODO, heterosexual brother William Conqueror to note the construction of a new cathedral in Baya in 1077. For centuries, he was mainly out of sight, stored in his chest. Today it is not just a rare surviving relic, but also a strong national identity for both France and the UK.
Images sewn in a dramatic sequence are often described as a kind of medieval comic book. But they are important: the problems of power, invasion, resistance and fate are still resonated, even in the modern museum.