you've heard of Bear in the Big Blue House but what about Blue Bear in the Big Bayeux Tapestry Replica 
i am blue bear
my tail is gold
i'm really cute
and really old
my tail is gold
i'm really cute
and really old
The Bayeux Tapestry's margins are filled with fantastic beasts.
And with our replica made with the same techniques and scale as the original, we are precisely where to find them.
And with our replica made with the same techniques and scale as the original, we are precisely where to find them.
Many people have spotted the bear’s unusually long tail, suggesting that maybe, instead, it’s a cat. A cat in bear's clothing.
Like our friends @TheMERL, we’re as curious as you are.
So, we did some digging. But to go down, first, we had to go up.
Like our friends @TheMERL, we’re as curious as you are.
So, we did some digging. But to go down, first, we had to go up.
Historically, many cultures across the world saw the sky and stars as belonging to the divine: of celestial spheres and heavens, of gods and angels who populated them.
Even today, millennia later, we still turn to the stars for guidance. Even a museum follows @poetastrologers.
Even today, millennia later, we still turn to the stars for guidance. Even a museum follows @poetastrologers.
The sky was an object of enormous wonder – and an unthinkably enormous object at that – and that reverence could swiftly turn to fear.
Think, for example, of a comet.
Think, for example, of a comet.
In the night sky, a comet comes from nowhere; the moon doesn’t give you any warning. They blast into the darkness suddenly and wildly, and when nearing perihelion (the state of being closest to the sun) their tails stretch for millions and millions of kilometers.
In the ancient Greek epic poem The Iliad, Homer describes Achilles' helmet as bearing a comet's power and energy, shining like a 'red star, that from his flaming hair shakes down disease, pestilence, and war'.
And such a comet has a starring (🥁) role in the Bayeux Tapestry.
Because in 1066, soon after Harold became King, Halley's Comet burst through the sky.
William of Jumièges, a Norman monk, said it had 'a three-forked tail', 'portend[ing] as many said a change in some kingdom'.
Because in 1066, soon after Harold became King, Halley's Comet burst through the sky.
William of Jumièges, a Norman monk, said it had 'a three-forked tail', 'portend[ing] as many said a change in some kingdom'.
'Isti Mirant Stella', the Tapestry says: they marvel at the star.
Halley's Comet first famously appeared in June 451, three weeks before Atilla the Hun arrived in Roman France and wreaked a terror that shook an empire.
Halley's Comet arrived with a reputation.
Halley's Comet arrived with a reputation.
The Bayeux Tapestry weaves histories and bestiaries, astronomy and astrology, and comet tails and epic tales.
And thanks to this amazing suggestion, we're absolutely certain that this sweet blue bear is none other than the constellation Ursa Major: the Great Bear. The Great Blue Bear. With a great gold tail.
#MedievalTwitter #BearsOfTwitter
#MedievalTwitter #BearsOfTwitter
we don't have a soundcloud but we *do* have an online shop with loads of Bayeux Tapestry merchandise for you to decorate your home or Norman castle with
reading-museum-shop.myshopify.com/collections/ch…
reading-museum-shop.myshopify.com/collections/ch…
