How the Bayeux Tapestry stitched up post-Brexit wounds

The Bayeux Tapestry, a nearly 70-meter-long, 350-kilogram medieval work commemorating the Norman conquest of England, has arrived in London as an unlikely symbol of post-Brexit reconciliation. France has lent it to the British Museum for 10 months after decades of British requests for its return, in a move driven by President Emmanuel Macron to reinforce the Anglo-French alliance.

The exhibition opens to the public on September 10 and has generated interest comparable only to the British Museum's 1972 display of Tutankhamun's treasures. More than 100,000 tickets sold in the first 24 hours, and this year's tickets are now exhausted. The work's origins remain disputed, although the ceremony endorsed the prevailing theory that it was made in Canterbury, in southwest England, before being taken to France. The first known evidence of its existence dates to 1476.

The tapestry records 626 people, including only six women, along with 737 animals, 37 buildings and more than 40 ships. At the official opening, attended by Macron, King Charles III and the British prime minister, the king joked that its name is wrong: technically it is linen cloth rather than a tapestry, and it was not made in Bayeux. His proposed alternative, the Canterbury Embroidery, is unlikely to catch on, but the display nevertheless feels like a homecoming to Britons.

France sees the loan as a diplomatic success and an exercise in soft power during the post-Brexit geopolitical realignment. It also solves the practical problem of housing the work while the Bayeux Museum, its home since 1982, undergoes a major renovation through autumn 2027. The decision has drawn criticism because of the risks involved in moving a thousand-year-old textile. A 2020 examination recorded more than 24,000 stains, nearly 9,700 holes and about 30 tears. Britain is providing insurance worth £800 million, about €930 million, against risks including earthquakes, fires and even an aircraft collision. The French regard the loan as a historic duty and moral debt, linked to Britain's contribution during the unfinished portion of the article.