The Bayeux Tapestry

Glad you agree anno- I did 2 courses with NT about the preservation of antique textiles and it is very difficult to move an ancient piece- especially one so massive and so old.

I do agree sharing cultural treasures and artefacts is wonderful- but not if it puts in danger the treasure in question. Terracotta Warriers were 'easy' to wrap and protect. not so ancient tapestry.

Like many others, we saw the original on a holiday in France many years ago. Amazing workmanship. I did a taster course on the Bayeaux stitch back in October. It was very interesting and quite an easy stitch to do. (Just by the by, doing a taster on stump work embroidery tomorrow)! ?

Readymeals

I agree with others, sharing artifacts and exhibitions has been going on for a long time, and long may it continue.

I could have sworn we were shown the Bayeux Tapestry or something just like it when I went for a week to the Cinque Ports (staying at Hythe) with my school, 55 years ago. We went to at least one castle and I could have sworn the teacher showed us some long tapestry. Probably wasn't paying much attention I was usually more interested in getting to the bit where we ate our packed lunches.

Surely any sharing of artifacts is a good thing. we have the Terracotta Warriors coming over again- I missed them last time. I understand we are offering to send the Rosetta Stone to them at the same time.
Great idea.

There is a perfect replica of the tapestry, beautifully displayed in Reading Museum ‘Britain's famous full-size copy of the Bayeux Tapestry in its magnificent entirety. This faithful replica is 70 metres long. It was made by 35 skilled Victorian women embroiderers in 1885’

Apparently it's going to be another 5 years till we get it. So may never happen.

Apparantly it is going to take five years to acheive the planning of the moving of this tapestry, if it is ever going to be moved to the UK, we dont need to worry for a while.
On the other hand the Chinese Terracotta army warriors exhibition is in Liverpool from February until October, well worth a visit I think.

When I heard the proposal to bring the Tapestry on a visit to England, my reaction was 'No!' I was deeply impressed by the exhibit in Bayeux. We saw a video first - choice of English or French. The Tapestry is 50 metres long, wool embroidery on linen. As it's very fragile it is in a temperature controlled, specially constructed display case. Transportation would be difficult as the Tapestry should not be removed from its environment. I can imagine that the curators are cursing Macron for making this offer. Has he really thought it through?

As The Sun, which thinks it is the voice of the people, has gratuitously insulted the French and the EU with their disgusting mock up of the tapestry I think it should stay in France. We don't deserve it....

I don't think they should risk moving it. No matter where it goes on show in the UK people will still have to travel to see it, it's not much harder to hop across to France and see it there.

It would be great to see the tapestry, but not in London, Perhaps Birmingham, or another more central location could be chosen.

Go see the Reading one in The Museum....fabulous and wonderfully presented

Macron speaks with forked tongue. I would rather visit France to view this tapestry. Like I would visit Italy to view the Mona Lisa This way we Brits can't be blamed should any disaster befall this piece of history.

Apologies about the text about the suffix 'thorpe' I posted above. I should have made it clear it was not written by me, but by a specialist in the history of the English language.

Oops yes, forget that one! 3 then!

That is what happen with 2nd, 3rd, 4th generation of immigrant- the new language the first generation acquired becomes the main language. Any expat family will tell you it is very difficult to maintain a good level of the mothertongue of the parent/s when living in a different country.

One young man who visits us regularly, was born here but his mum was English. By the time she was in her 70s, she still didn't speak French really fluently, but had become very hesitant in English- and her kids never became fluent either.

Children lemongrove!

Thanks to the Normans we have two names for meaty foods! Beef and pork and poultry all from the French names, and still kept the Anglo Saxon words for them as bullocks,swine and hens/chickens.One name for the animals in the fields and another when served to the Norman overlords at the table.
We also gained the words endings in es ( for plural) and lost our en ( for plural) the only words we have left are oxen and bretheren.
The history of language is fascinating.
I am off out now to buy new shoen!

It was Norman french, Jalima (as Azie has explained above) and it was different from French french. I imagine it might be in the same way that Scottish English is different from English English.
It's interesting that Latin became the base language of many of the conquered Roman lands but didn't survive in England (though I have read that Welsh could be derived from Latin). Most of our very latinate words came into English from about 15th/16th century. (Though, of course, some were earlier by way of Norman french.)

I believe the Vikings spoke old Norse, hence Norsemen and were the ancestors of the Frank's/Frankish tribes who invaded France at the point where the Celts made up the bulk of the inhabitants. The modern French language contains a proportion of words from old Norse, as does English, but is grouped in the family of Latin languages because of the Romans.

Something like that, anyway.

The reason Harald lost was because he'd been up in Yorkshire fighting some real Vikings at the battle of Stamford Bridge under led by his own brother, Tostig, along with Harald Hardrada. He won that one, but then had to march to the South coast to fight William.
Strange that we remember the one he lost, but not the one he won.

I saw it over 30 years ago. I can't remember there being too many people in the way. I think they probably think why are all these English people in the way.
We had been in Brittany and were on our way to catch the ferry at Cherbourg, and the whole route was a mass of French, British and American jeeps and flags.
We were actually over there at the time of the commemoration of the D-Day landings, and hadn't realised.

How are they going to transport it? It must be very fragile by now.

Althorp - pronounced Althrop
(if anyone is interested)

MaizieD
And don't all shout at me for inaccurate history - certainly not as mine must be confused too because I need to ask a question - if they were Vikings why did they bring us the French language?