This collection of fifteen papers ranges from the author's initial interest in the Tapestry as a source of information on early medieval dress, through to her startling recognition of the embroidery's sophisticated narrative structure. Developing the work of previous authors who had identified graphic models for some of the images, she argues that

Gale Owen-Crocker is Professor of Anglo-Saxon Culture at the University of Manchester, UK.

Contents: Preface, Shirley Ann Brown; Introduction; Part I Textile: Behind the Bayeux Tapestry; The Bayeux 'tapestry': invisible seams and visible boundaries; Fur, feathers, skin, fibre, wood: representational techniques in the Bayeux Tapestry. Part II Sources: Reading the Bayeux Tapestry through Canterbury eyes; Stylistic variation and Roman influence in the Bayeux Tapestry. Part III Narrative Devices: The embroidered word: text in the Bayeux Tapestry. Telling a tale: narrative techniques in the Bayeux Tapestry and the Old English epic Beowulf; Brothers, rivals and the geometry of the Bayeux Tapestry. Part IV Borders: Squawk talk: commentary by birds in the Bayeux Tapestry?; The Bayeux tapestry: the voice from the border. Part V Dress: The Bayeux 'tapestry': culottes, tunics and garters and the making of the hanging; Dress and authority in the Bayeux Tapestry. Part VI Detail: Embroidered wood: animal-headed posts in the Bayeux 'Tapestry'; The interpretation of gesture in the Bayeux Tapestry; Hawks and horse-trappings: the insignia of rank; Index.