The Norman Towers of Bayeux Cathedral

In the background can be seen the two Norman Towers of the Bayeux Cathedral. These towers are all that is left of an earlier cathedral built by the brother of William the Conqueror, about 11 years after the conquest of Englad by William the Conqueror. The original building, except of the two towers, was detroyed by a fire and the cathedral was rebuilt. In fact the cathedral was destroyed and rebuilt several times, each time the successdig cathedral incorporated the surviving architectural elements from the previous buildings so that the present day cathedral has many styles from many different periods of French history.

THE NORMAN TOWERS OF BAYEUX CATHEDRAL

BAYEUX, a city of France, in the department of Calvados, Normandy, twenty miles northwest of Caen. It is nicely situated on the Aure River, five miles above its outlet into the English Channel, and has a trade in cattle, grain, and dairy products. The chief building is a cathedral said to be the oldest in Normandy. It occupies the site of the Roman town known as Augustodurum.

BAYEUX CATHEDRAL, the oldest cathedral in Normandy, located at Bayeux, France. Most of the present buildings date from the 11th to the 13th centuries. Many notable improvements were made in 1077 by William the Conqueror, and various additions have been added since. To the west are two steeples and several beautiful sculptured porches built in the 12th century.

BAYEUX TAPESTRY, a linen cloth twenty inches wide and 214 feet long, on which scenes of the invasion and conquest of England by the Normans were skillfully worked. It is said to be the work of Matilda, the wife of William the Conqueror. The scenes begin with Harold's visit to the Norman court and end with the defeat of the English and the death of Harold at Hastings. It is divided into seventy-two compartments, and on each one the subject of the scene is indicated in Latin inscription. It was discovered in 1730, and is now kept in the library of Bayeux, France, as a valuable record of scenes and customs in the early period of Norman-French history.

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