Bayeux Tapestry 101
Event information
14 August 2026
18.30–19.30
Reading Room; and online via Zoom
Price
- £17
- £12 (Concessions)
- £6 (Online)
16+
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Can't tell Harold from Harald? Think Odo's a type of bird? Struggling to tell an Anglo-Saxon from a Norman? Hint: it's all in the moustache!
Find out everything you need to know about the Bayeux Tapestry ahead of the opening on 10 September.
Prof Michael Lewis, Curator of The Bayeux Tapestry, and Dr Dave Musgrove, Content Director of HistoryExtra, will guide you chronologically through the epic story the Tapestry tells. It will arm you with key details on the main characters and places, and tell exactly what to look out for on your visit.
Lewis and Musgrove – co-authors of The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry: Unravelling the Norman Conquest (2024) – will reveal the story, mysteries and enduring legacy of the Bayeux Tapestry, one of the most remarkable surviving works of medieval art.
This event is part of the public programme supporting The Bayeux Tapestry (10 September 2026 – 11 July 2027).
To attend this event
You can join this event in person, or online via Zoom.
Attend online via Zoom – £6
- Book now to reserve your place online. Booking will close at 17.00 on Thursday 13 August.
- We are hosting the event on Zoom – a free video conferencing system that requires users to register in advance. If you do not already use Zoom, you can sign up using this registration link.
- You'll receive a link to access the event livestream on the morning of the talk.
- This event includes live captioning provided by Stagetext and delivered by MyClearText.
- Read our booking form privacy policy.
- You'll be sent a copy of the recording after the event.
Attend in person – sold out
- Concessions include Disabled visitors, job seekers, students and 16–18 years. The event is free for Disabled visitors' assistants (booking required).
- Please show your confirmation email or paper ticket to our Visitor Welcome colleagues. They will guide you to our security check and bag search before entering the Museum.
- Doors to the Reading Room will open at approximately 18.00 for the audience to take their seats.
- Please note only bottled water is permitted in the Reading Room. No food or other drinks are allowed.
About the speakers
Prof Michael Lewis is Curator of The Bayeux Tapestry and former Head of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum. He's a Visiting Professor in archaeology and social humanities at the universities of Exeter, Reading and Helsinki, with a particular interest in medieval small finds. Lewis has written many articles and several books on the Bayeux Tapestry, including The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry (2021) with David Musgrove. He's a member of the Bayeux Tapestry scientific committee, which helps advises on the interpretation and display of the Tapestry at the Bayeux Museum.
Dr Dave Musgrove
Dr David Musgrove is Content Director of the HistoryExtra magazine, website and podcast. He is a medieval archaeologist by training and is the author, with Prof Michael Lewis, of The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry (2021) and author of 100 Places That Made Britain (2011). He has a PhD in medieval landscape archaeology.
Privacy policy
The personal data you provide to us on the event booking form is being collected so that we can administer the event efficiently and, if necessary, contact you with important updates about the event and to ask for your feedback. It will only be used by the British Museum for this purpose, it will not be shared with any third parties and it will be securely deleted as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than a month. This privacy information does not apply to the processing of your personal data by Zoom which will be governed by the terms of the agreement made between you and Zoom when you subscribed to their service.