A fragment of the Medieval Bayeux Tapestry has been found at the Schleswig-Holstein State archive in northern Germany, the Canberra Times reported.
The famous embroidered tapestry depicts the Norman invasion of England by the Duke of Normandy in 1066. It offers numerous details, including crossing the sea in longships, long cavalcades on horseback, notable shields and coats of arms, encounters with fantastic creatures, and battlefield scenes. Though fragmentary, the Romanesque masterpiece is a unique example of Anglo-Norman art at roughly 230 feet long and one-and-a-half feet wide. It is a UNESCO Memory of the World heritage item.
Ultimately, William, the seventh duke of Normandy, became known as the Conqueror after his coronation in England on December 25, 1066. He is considered one of the most powerful monarchs of Western Europe during the Middle Ages.
The piece was part of the estate of the archive’s textile archaeologist Karl Schlabow (1891-1984). The Schutzstaffel (SS) organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party had ordered the remeasurement of the Bayeux Tapestry by Schleswig, along with a team of German scientists, in 1941.
The fragment was removed from the underside of the tapestry, according to the archive. A press conference on March 25 is expected to explain further details about the process.
Since the Bayeux Tapestry is considered French cultural property, the previously missing fragment is slated to be returned to the French republic this year.
France’s public display of the tapestry is slated to close to the public for two years for conservation beginning on August 31, 2025.
