Monday, April 10, 2006

The Bayeux Tapestries

If you are looking for an educational activity to the during your homeschool Easter break, here is an idea. On a recent trip to an Imax film theater, our family enjoyed a production entitled The Vikings: Journey to New Worlds. Sprinkled with the usual dose of revisionist history, it was nevertheless very interesting and well done. One fascinating segment was about the account of the work done in 1953 by an archaeologist couple from Norway, who carefully retraced Leif the Lucky's travels and finally found the ruins of his Vineland settlement in North America. The film is not yet available in DVD since it is still being shown in Imax theatres around the world. For more information on the film and showtime locations, go to the official website here.

The film relied on the amazing Bayeux tapestries to tell part of the story, embroidered 1000 years ago depicting the history of the Norman Conquest, the Battle of Hastings, and everything that happened from Saint King Edward the Confessor until William the Conqueror was crowned king of England. Searching on the web, I found a most interesting website from Reading, UK with an interactive set of the tapestries, scene by scene, with captions. A great resource for any curious student to revisit an important part of the History of Europe.

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