Bayeux Tapestry

Undoubtedly the world's most celebrated embroidery, the misnamed Bayeux Tapestry (it's actually wool thread embroidered onto linen cloth) vividly recounts the story of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Divided into 58 scenes briefly captioned in almost-readable Latin, the main narrative – told from an unashamedly Norman perspective – fills up the centre of the canvas, while religious allegories and depictions of daily life in the 11th century unfold along the borders. The final showdown at the Battle of Hastings is depicted in truly graphic fashion, complete with severed limbs and decapitated heads (along the bottom of scene 52). Halley's Comet, which blazed across the sky in 1066, makes an appearance at the top of scene 32, while at the bottom of scene 15 there's – no, it can't be! – an 11th-century 'full Monty'.

Most scholars believe that the 68.3m-long tapestry was commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William the Conqueror's half-brother, in southern England (probably Canterbury) for the opening of Bayeux' cathedral in 1077, although there are others who argue the tapestry was indeed produced in France.

The tapestry is housed in the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux, where the extraordinarily well-preserved embroidery doubles back on itself on display behind glass. Upstairs is an excellent exhibition on the tapestry's creation, its remarkable history and its conservation, as well as a 15-minute film screened alternately in English and French.

For an animated version of the Bayeux Tapestry, check out David Newton's very creative short film on YouTube.