Day #36: Bayeux

After a long day of traveling to Bayeux, it was time to explore two of the oldest sights I have visited.

I started out the day by taking a shuttle from Bayeux to the famed Mont St. Michel. Created in the 10th century when a bishop had a series of dream from the archangel Michael, it has been occupied by monks ever since. Mont St. Michel is built on an island, with a church crowning the top. It is accessible by a 2 km causeway from the mainland, but at low tide you can walk across the mudflats (as several school groups did). There is only road leading up to the church and abbey at the top and it is packed with souvenir stands and restaurants. Lest you think it is modern commercialism run amock and destroying a historic sight, locals have been preying on pilgrims (and now tourists) ever since it opened up.

The day I visited Mont saint Michel was especially meaningful as September 29th is St. Michael's Day. And St. Michael, as my father (who was in the 82nd Airborne knows) is the patron saint of paratroopers. So the French Army celebrated the day by performing a jump exercise on the fields just across from the Mont saint Michel. It was a wonderful sight to see stick after stick of paratroopers jump out with the church on the island as a backdrop.

After the ride back to Bayeux, I had enough time to visit the Bayeux tapestry. It commemorates the triumph of William the Conqueror over Harold in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Started not long after the battle, the almost 1000 year old tapestry (which is actually an embroidery) was intended to hang in the Bayeux Cathedral as a pictoral lesson for all of the illiterate peasants.

What struck me about the tapestry was that only te last half or so dealt with the battle. The first half deals with the strength of WIlliam's claim to be king. The focal point of the tapestry is a scene depicting Harold swearing on Bayeux's holy relics not to contest Edward the Confessor's selection of William. Not long after that, we see that Edward died and Harold promptly declares himself the king. So, in essence, the Bayeux tapestry is a 70 meter paean to keeping your word. Who'da thunk it?