King Edward gives instruction to two persons, of whom one is Harold; Edward’s clothes are richly embroidered. He is seated on a throne and has a crown and sceptre.
The scene shows a room in Edward’s castle; a portion of the outside wall is given; but the rest is cut away to give a view of the interior in a manner very common in mediæval art. It will be seen that the castle is in the Norman style. On the left is a round Norman window and there are Norman turrets above. The throne on which Edward is sitting is typical of the art of the period, the animal’s head which forms the right arm being a common decoration. In an Anglo-Saxon calendar of the 11th century (the MS. Cotton and Julius A VI.) a drinking party is shown on a large daïs, the two ends of which are in form like the head and front legs of two great dogs.
As to the nature of the communications passing between Edward the Confessor and Harold, it may be added that three reasons are given of Harold’s journey to Normandy in different versions: (1) To release his brother and nephew from imprisonment; (2) that, owing to a storm when out fishing, he was shipwrecked on the coast of France; (3) to impart to William Edward’s intention of making him his heir. The third was the Norman method of explaining what happened and is apparently the one accepted by the designer of the Tapestry.
Plate II.
Harold’s Oath.
William of Normandy, sword in hand, sits on the left while Harold takes a solemn oath of fealty; each hand rests on an altar, supporting a box of relics. The cloths that cover the altars are of embroidery, though in the Tapestry they look like velvet. The absence of any secrecy in the matter of the relics is here insisted on, the story being told from the Norman point of view.
Plates III., IV.
The Palace of Westminster, and Edward the Confessor’s body borne to the Church of St. Peter’s.
Several points of interest arise in connection with these two plates; it will be seen that the Palace of Westminster shows a general similarity to the representation in the first scene. The room in which Edward receives Harold is the same shape and similar turrets appear in each case. Further historical accuracy is shown in placing Edward’s palace immediately to the left of St. Peter’s Church.
This St. Peter’s Church is the earliest form of what has since been known as Westminster Abbey, before it was rebuilt in the Gothic style during the latter part of the 13th century. This picture is of particular interest, as considerable care seems to have been taken in the reproduction to give an accurate picture. The long series of Norman arches below and the smaller row above are particularly noticeable. The centre tower is also well portrayed. The hand of God appearing through a cloud as if in dedication, and a man placing a weather-cock on the roof, seem to suggest that the church was just being completed, a fact that is nowadays believed to be true, though before it used to be held that Edward never finished the church.