Odo Bishop of Bayeux

Brawling Bishop Boniface beats ‘em up at St Bartholomew’s….

Jul 14, 2023

anniversaries, genealogy, religion

Amadeus IV of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury, Boniface of Savoy, Eleanor of Provence, Friar Rahere, Henry III, Louis IX, Matthew Parris, miracles, Odo Bishop of Bayeux, St. Bartholomew’s, St. Thomas Becket, violence, visions, West Smithfield Priory

Becket wasn’t the only troublesome priest in medieval England, because in 1244 came another, Boniface of Savoy (see here and here) who became Archbishop of Canterbury. Boniface was the younger brother of Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy, and one of their nieces was Henry III’s queen, while another was married to King Louis IX of…
In its true colours – Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry

Dec 25, 2022

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, Science, travel

Battle of Hastings, Bayeux Museum, Bayeux Tapestry, BBC4, colours, coronations, embroidery, loan, Odo Bishop of Bayeux, Restoration, William I, wool

This enthralling BBC Four documentary describes the story of the artwork that is actually a seventy metre embroidery on a woollen surface. It was mostly filmed at the Bayeux Museum, where the artwork is displayed in temperature and humidity controlled conditions. The presenters pointed out that the “Tapestry”, obviously dedicated to Odo Bishop of Bayeux,…
The battling Bishop of Norwich….

Feb 23, 2022

anniversaries, battles, religion

Bishops of Norwich, Flanders, French, Henry le Despenser, Justin Welby, North Walsham, Odo Bishop of Bayeux, Peasants’ Revolt, siege of Ypres

Well, many of us will remember fondly the Baby-eating Bishop of Bath & Wells of Blackadder fame. I’m not writing about him, but of the Bold Battling Bishop of Norwich, who donned armour on 17th May 1383 and set off on a disastrous crusade against the French in Flanders. Not long ago I wrote…
The Iron Man, Bishop Odo of Bayeux….

Sep 10, 2021

battles, religion

Archbishop of Canterbury, Battle of Hastings, Bishop Henry Despencer, Bishop of Norwich, Crusades, Dukes of Normandy, Earl of Kent, Herleva, Norman conquest, Odo Bishop of Bayeux, Palermo Cathedral, William I

If Bishop Odo of Bayeux is anything by which to judge, bishops were certainly something else back in the Norman period, and later, of course. As a friend has commented: “….As late as the 14th Century there was Bishop Henry Despenser. He was knighted before he became a clergyman and was literally made Bishop of…
Some more articles …

Apr 11, 2021

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, religion

Archbishop of Canterbury, Battle Abbey, Battle of Fulford, Battle of Hastings, Bayeux Tapestry, Harald Hardrada, Harold II, Odo Bishop of Bayeux, Peregrinations, Rome, St. Edward the Confessor, Stigand, Trajan’s Column, Viking longboats, William I, Yorkshire

… on the Bayeux Tapestry are featured in this excellent journal, Peregrinations by the International Society for the Study of Pilgrimage Art. The first relevant article, which also discusses Viking longboats and the Battle of Fulford, earlier in 1066, starts on (pdf) page 196. The second starting on page 238 compares the Tapestry with Trajan’s…
Where the Bayeux Tapestry was always meant to be….

Apr 2, 2020

archaeology, battles, buildings

Battle of Hastings, Bayeux Cathedral, Bayeux Tapestry, British Archaeological Association, Norman conquest, Odo Bishop of Bayeux, William I

“….New evidence, published in the Journal of the British Archaeological Association, has confirmed that the Bayeux Tapestry was designed specifically to fit a particular area of Bayeux’s cathedral….” The above quote is from an interesting article that tells us how they arrived at deciding on the actual spot in Bayeux Cathedral for which the great tapestry was…
The oldest house in England, once lived in by the Conqueror’s brother….

Jun 14, 2019

buildings

auctions, Kent, listed buildings, Luddesdown Court, Odo Bishop of Bayeux, property

Well, it was lived in by Odo, that’s for sure, but “The assertion that a particular house is the oldest in the country is as impossible to prove as it is to refute, but Luddesdown Court probably has as good a claim as any – and it’s now on the market. “ “The sales details…
1066: THE YEAR OF THREE KINGS

Oct 14, 2017

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, sources

Alfred son of Ethelred, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Athelings, bastardy, Battle of Britain, Battle of Hastings, Bayeux Tapestry, Cerdic, Cnut, David Douglas, Domesday Book, Dover, Eadmer, Edgar the Atheling, Edward the Exile, Emma of Normandy, English Channel, Ethelred II, Eustace of Bologne, Frank Barlow, Fulford, Godwin Earl of Wessex, Gytha, Hakon grandson of Godwin, Harald Hardrada, Harald Sigurdsson, Harold Harefoot, Harold II, Harthacnut, Herleve, hindsight, hostages, House of Wessex, Hungary, invasions, Isle of Wight, Jane Austen, John of Worcester, Leofric, Lotharingia, Magnus Magnusson, Magnus the Good, Matilda of Flanders, Michael Lawson, Norman conquest, Normans, oaths, Oderic Vitalis, Odo Bishop of Bayeux, Papacy, Paul Hill, Peter Rex, Pevensey Bay, primogeniture, promises, propaganda, Queen Edith, Richard Duke of Normandy, Richard III, Robert Chumpert, Romney, Scotland, Shakespeare, shipwreck, Sigurd, Sir Frank Stenton, St. Edward the Confessor, Stamford Bridge, Stigand, Sveyn Godwinson, Sweyn Estrithson, Synod of Chelsea, Tostig, Vik, Vita Edwardi Regis, William I, William of Jumieges, William of Malmesbury, William of Poitiers, Winston Churchill, Witangemot, Wulfnoth Godwinson, York

“History with its flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale gleams the passion of former days” (Winston Churchill) “I often think it odd that it should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invention.” (Catherine…