Does Burford own the Bayeux Tapestry?

At the time of the conquest in 1066 the Manor of Burford was in the ownership pf the Godwin family but when King Harald Godwinson lost the Battle of Hastings it passed to Bishop Odo, William’s half-brother.

When William I died in 1088 Bishop Odo thought he should be king and rebelled against William II. Bishop Odo was unsuccessful and was sent back in disgrace to Bayeux. William II gave the Manor to Robert FitzHamon, one of his loyal Norman knights, and he granted Burford a charter in 1090. Burford was a settlement, recorded in Domesday Book, as being in the Hundred of Bampton and the county of Oxfordshire. It had a recorded population of 43 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 20% of settlements recorded in Domesday.

Land of Bishop Odo of Bayeux.

Households: 22 villagers. 18 smallholders. 3 slaves. Land and resources 20 ploughlands. 4 lor 4 lord's plough teams. 12 men's plough teams. Other resources: Meadow 25 acres. Pasture 1 * 1 leagues. 2 mills, value 1 pound 5 shillings.

Valuation Annual value to lord: 13 pounds in 1086; 16 pounds in 1066.

Owners Tenant-in-chief in 1086: Bishop Odo of Bayeux. Lord in 1086: Bishop Odo of Bayeux.

French legend maintained the Bayeux Tapestry was commissioned and created by Queen Matilda, William the Conqueror's wife, and her ladies-in-waiting. Indeed, in France, it is occasionally known as La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde ("The Tapestry of Queen Matilda"). However, scholarly analysis in the 20th century concluded it was probably commissioned by William's half-brother, Bishop Odo of Bayeux, who, after the Conquest, also became Earl of Kent and, when William was absent in Normandy, Regent of England.

Further proof that Bishop Odo commissioned the work is:

• Three of the Odo's followers mentioned in the Domesday Book appear on the tapestry;

• It was found in Bayeux Cathedral, built by Bishop Odo.

  
  

So if Odo commissioned the tapestry, it was probably designed and constructed in England by Anglo-Saxon artists. The Latin text contains hints of Anglo-Saxon; other embroideries originated from England at this time; and the vegetable dyes can be found in cloth traditionally woven here.

The actual physical work of stitching was most probably undertaken by women needleworkers. Anglo-Saxon needlework of the more detailed type, known as Opus Anglicanum, was famous across Europe, and it makes perfect sense for this epic work that Opo  would want the finest embroideresses in Europe.

So finally to the crux of the matter. When you commission and pay for a piece of art, you become the owner of the physical object itself. This means the actual canvas, embroidery, the block of sculpted marble, or the specific photographic print belongs to you. As the owner of the tangible item, you have the right to possess it, display it in your home or office, and sell or give away that specific object to someone else.

I think I have proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that Bishop Odo commissioned, and paid for the work to be made in England, probably in Canterbury, by the finest needlewomen. As Bishop Odo is no longer with us and as he was our Lord of The Manor, I submit that the Bayeux Tapestry belongs to the people of Burford invoking that ancient Ango Saxon Law non potes probare aliter si nostrum est (you can’t prove otherwise so it’s ours).

To strengthen my argument even further our museums and galleries are full of works of art that were collected (stolen) from various countries during times of war, colonialism and the like and so my final word is Possessio est novem partes decem legis

(possession is nine tenths of the law!) and the British Museum now possess the tapestry.  I rest my case

Whilst re-reading this I have noticed one major flaw, only one you say, that is that Bishop Odo wasn’t actually our Lord of the Manor at the time the work was commissioned; but if we don’t tell them they’ll never notice!

Anonymous

This article first appeared in the monthly newsletter of the Burford Tolsey Museum and Archive and is reproduced here with their kind permission