Tapestry Twist: Sex Scandal Image Could Reframe Norman Conquest History
A detail from the Bayeux Tapestry shows a cleric caressing a naked noblewoman, potentially Emma of Normandy, with a nude man nearby, a scene some historians suggest could undermine William the Conqueror’s claim and reshape the narrative around England’s Norman Conquest—though the woman’s identity is uncertain and the tapestry’s abundant phallic imagery remains debated.