Western Civilization
Secondary Sources: Lectures on Medieval History - The Bayeux Tapestry - Lynn Nelson
The Bayeux Tapestry 
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One cannot use the Tapestry as a source for political history, since it is biased, and also because it is a very complex "document." The upper and lower borders are mostly simply decoration, but sometimes show scenes that may be comments upon or clarifications of the story unfolding in the middle section. Some of these scenes can be identified as being from the Bible or Aesop's Fables, but the sources of others are unknown and the significance of the scenes obscure at best. One might use as an example, the panel that portrays Harold and his men eating and drinking in an upper room while waiting for a fair wind to the Continent. The Norman account of these events claims that King Edward had told Harold to go to Norman and announce to Duke William that the childless Edward wish William to succeed him as king of England. Harold, however was not only the greatest noble on England but was also ambitious. It was not difficult for his followers to convince him not to reveal King Edward's will to Duke William, to bide his time, and - as soon as Edward was dead - to seize the royal treasury at Winchester and have himself crowned king.
There is nothing in the human figures or in the text to suggest that this was what was going on, but a small picture in the lower border clearly suggests that this was the case. The picture is that of an ungainly bird sitting in a tree under which an animal (a leopard judging by its spots) is lying. They are looking at each other with their mouths open, and there is some object in the air between them. It doesn't take a genius to recognize the scene.
The Fox and the Crow
A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree. "That's for me, as I am a Fox," said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree. "Good-day, Mistress Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking to-day: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds." The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox. "That will do," said he. "That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice for the future.
"Do not trust flatterers."
Although the tapestry portrays a leopard in place of a fox, the moral is the same and the reason for pointing to this particular fable at this particular place is quite clear. Harold's vanity would lead him to try to be what he was not and, as a consequence, to lose everything he held dear.
The Tapestry is most revealing in its details. One can see how a castle was built and discover that they were originally wooden stockades constructed on artificial mounds, trace the process of building warships from the felling of the trees to the launching of the vessels, view Edward, king of England, sitting in state at Westminster long before there was a Parliament sitting there, watch the death of a king and the coronation of a usurper, see a a bunch of soldiers pillaging the countryside, and many other things. Even better, many of the places pictured in the tapestry still exist and can be compared with their depiction in the Tapestry. A comparison of the the tapestry's depiction of the famous monastery of Mt.-St.-Michel with a modern photograph of the same place can be a great help in understanding how the designer of the tapestry pictured the world about him (or her). It would be well worth your time to study the scenes portrayed in the Bayeux Tapestry carefully. They offer a rare glimpse into the lives of both high and low in northwestern Europe in the middle of the eleventh century.
There is a great deal of material on the web about the tapestry and the events it portrays. Perhaps the best coverage is provided by the Introduction to the Battle-1066 site [www.battle1066.com/intro.shtml].