A closer look
The Middle Ages’ most famous infographic is built on a throne of lies. The Bayeux Tapestry isn't even a tapestry—it's technically an embroidery—and it serves as a 230-foot-long piece of shameless Norman propaganda. Commissioned to justify William the Conqueror’s hostile takeover of England in 1066, this giant comic strip goes out of its way to paint the defeated King Harold as an oath-breaking villain who totally deserved to get shot in the eye. It's the 11th-century equivalent of controlling the media narrative, entirely stitched by people who were just trying not to get executed.
