The Bayeux Museum offers an online panorama that lets users explore the Bayeux Tapestry scene by scene, presenting high‑resolution images of the entire 70‑meter‑long embroidered linen canvas. Access is free for private or public non‑commercial use, while commercial exploitation and extraction of images are prohibited under the terms set by the collaborating institutions. The interactive tool includes zoom functionality to examine the intricate embroidery patterns and allows navigation through each of the 58 scenes.
This image shows the online panorama referenced in the article, enabling scene‑by‑scene exploration of the tapestry with zoom and navigation.
The tapestry itself is described as a ‘fabulous epic’ that tells the story of William the Conqueror’s accession to the throne of England in 1066 through 380 Latin words. It contains roughly 1500 designs featuring 600 characters, 500 animals, 200 horses, and 50 trees, arranged over 58 scenes (with a missing ending) on a canvas 50 cm high made of nine linen strips. Notably, the online panorama reveals the embroidered depiction of Halley’s Comet crossing the English sky in spring 1066.
This high‑resolution digital panorama was produced by a partnership between the City of Bayeux, DRAC Normandie (the regional arm of the French Ministry of Culture), the University of Caen, the CNRS, and La Fabrique de patrimoines en Normandie, which photographed the embroidery in 2017. The images were reconstituted by the University of Caen and CNRS, and the panorama serves as the reference image for the S.D.I.S tool (Spatialized Documentary Information System), intended to aid scientific research and provide public documentation for the future museum.