Bayeux Tapestry: The Death of Harold, 1066 – Porcelain Art Mug

Hastings, 14 October 1066, late in the day. Under the words HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST – here King Harold is killed – the embroiderers set two figures. One stands with a shaft at his eye; a few steps on, another is cut down by a horseman’s sword. Which of them is Harold has long been argued over, and the arrow may owe something to nineteenth-century repairs. What is not in doubt is the place of the scene in the story. That spring, on the same embroidery, men had pointed at a comet in the sky. Here the omen is fulfilled.

The last of a series of three: the comet of 1066, the Norman charge at Hastings, and the death of Harold. All three together: Bayeux Tapestry: The Comet and the King.

Fine porcelain, 10 oz — 104 mm high, 75 mm across the base. Handle and rim stay white. Dishwasher and microwave safe.

Bayeux Tapestry, scene 57, c. 1070–1077; wool embroidery on linen. Photograph by Myrabella, released under CC0. Public domain.

Selected by Dr. Walther Fuchs for the Tazzarte collection.