Publications
The Archaeological Authority of the Bayeux Tapestry, by Michael J. Lewis, published 31 December 2005 (BAR British Series 404, xvi + 267 pp., Oxford: John and Erica Hedges Ltd., ISBN-10: 1841717312 & ISBN-13: 9781841717319) accessible at: British Library
Abstract:The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which artefacts depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry reflect those of the contemporary world of the eleventh century, comparing them with archaeological evidence on the one hand and with early medieval artistic tradition on the other.
Identity and Status in the Bayeux Tapestry: The Iconographic and Artefactual Evidence, by M. J. Lewis and edited by C. P. Lewis, published 19 July 2007 in Anglo-Norman Studies XXIX: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2006 (article, pp.100-120, Boydell Press, ISBN-13: 9781843833093) View Online
The Real World of the Bayeux Tapestry, by Michael J. Lewis, published 6 October 2008 (192 pp., Stroud: History Press, ISBN-10: 0752434462 & ISBN-13: 9780752434469) accessible at: British Library
Abstract:The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most celebrated surviving works of art, as well as recounting the story of one of the most famous episodes of British history. Yet much about the object itself remains a mystery; who commissioned it, and where, when and why was it made? In this introduction to the Tapestry, Michael Lewis looks not only at the story of the Tapestry itself, but also explores the design and production of this great artefact, and looks at how reliable the evidence it presents for 1066 actually is. In a fresh and dynamic approach to one of the 11th century's most famous survivors, this book attempts to dispel some of the myths attached to a traditional interpretation of the tapestry and its message.
Questioning the Archaeological Authority of the Bayeux Tapestry, by M. J. Lewis, published 2010 in Cultural and Social History: The Journal of the Social History Society (vol. 7, issue 4, article, pp.467-484) View Online
Abstract:The Bayeux Tapestry is the earliest known visual record of the events leading to the Norman Conquest of England. In view of this fact, the poor survival of eleventh-century material culture, and the dearth of contemporary imagery depicting secular life on the eve of the Conquest, it is no surprise that historians and archaeologists have quarried it as a source for contemporary life (and death) in the eleventh century. However, have scholars been sufficiently critical of its authority in this respect? Is it reasonable to expect that the medieval artist would 'accurately' depict the world around him, given that the medieval artistic tradition was one where it was customary for artists to repeat pictorial formulae and reuse them in new contexts? With this in mind, the article considers the Tapestry as an example where scholars have utilized its imagery as a factual record of the 'real world' without due caution.
The Bayeux Tapestry: New Approaches, edited by Michael J. Lewis, Gale R. Owen-Crocker and Dan Terkla, published 30 March 2011 (196 pp., Oxford: Oxbow Books, ISBN-10: 1842179764 & ISBN-13: 9781842179765) accessible at: British Library
Abstract:The Bayeux Tapestry, perhaps the most famous, yet enigmatic, of medieval artworks, was the subject of an international conference at the British Museum in July 2008. This volume publishes 19 of 26 papers delivered at that conference.
The physical nature of the tapestry is examined, including an outline of the artefact's current display and the latest conservation and research work done on it, as well as a review of the many repairs and alterations that have been made to the Tapestry over its long history.
Also examined is the social history of the tapestry, including Shirley Ann Brown's paper on the Nazi's interest in it as a record of northern European superiority and Pierre Bouet and François Neveux's suggestion that it is a source for understanding the succession crisis of 1066.
Among those papers focusing on the detail of the Tapestry, Gale Owen-Crocker examines the Tapestry's faces, Carol Neuman de Vegvar investigates the Tapestry's drinking vessels and explores differences in its feast scenes, and Michael Lewis compares objects depicted in the Tapestry and Oxford, Bodleian Library, Junius 11.
The book also includes a résumé of four papers given at the conference published elsewhere and a full black and white facsimile of the Tapestry, with its figures numbered for ease of referencing.
The physical nature of the tapestry is examined, including an outline of the artefact's current display and the latest conservation and research work done on it, as well as a review of the many repairs and alterations that have been made to the Tapestry over its long history.
Also examined is the social history of the tapestry, including Shirley Ann Brown's paper on the Nazi's interest in it as a record of northern European superiority and Pierre Bouet and François Neveux's suggestion that it is a source for understanding the succession crisis of 1066.
Among those papers focusing on the detail of the Tapestry, Gale Owen-Crocker examines the Tapestry's faces, Carol Neuman de Vegvar investigates the Tapestry's drinking vessels and explores differences in its feast scenes, and Michael Lewis compares objects depicted in the Tapestry and Oxford, Bodleian Library, Junius 11.
The book also includes a résumé of four papers given at the conference published elsewhere and a full black and white facsimile of the Tapestry, with its figures numbered for ease of referencing.
Intertextuality in the Bayeux Tapestry: the form and function of dress and clothing, by Michael Lewis, published 2016 in Textiles, Text, Intertext: Essays in Honour of Gale R. Owen-Crocker (article, pp.69-84)
Birds of a feather: magpies in the Bayeux Tapestry ? , by Michael Lewis, published 2016 in Textiles, Text, Intertext: Essays in Honour of Gale R. Owen-Crocker (article, pp.85-102)