Harold and William in Brittany

The Bayeux Tapestry, scenes 13–20: Harold rides to war alongside the man he will later fight, and the debt he owes grows with every scene.

Bayeux Tapestry scenes 13–20 · 11.6 m to 21.7 m along the cloth

Harold rides to war alongside the man he will later fight, and the debt he owes grows with every scene.

Guy delivers Harold to William, who takes him to his palace. Then comes the scene nobody has explained. A cleric reaches out to touch the face of a woman standing in a doorway, and the inscription says only "where a certain cleric and Ælfgyva" — no verb, no ending. A naked figure crouches in the border below. Everyone watching in 1070 evidently knew the story; nobody since has recovered it.

William then campaigns in Brittany and Harold goes with him. They pass Mont-Saint-Michel and cross the river Couesnon, where men and horses sink in the quicksands and Harold hauls two soldiers out bodily — the tapestry's most flattering image of him. They take Dol, ride on Rennes, and besiege Dinan, where the defenders set fire to their own palisade.

Conan of Brittany surrenders, passing the keys of the town out on the point of a lance. Harold has fought well for William, in public, in front of witnesses — which is exactly the point the next scenes will turn on.

Listen while you walk — free

Our free walking guide keeps pace with you along the cloth: open audioguide.london/bayeux-tapestry on your phone before you go in. It needs no app and no sign-up.

Photography is not permitted in the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition, so the camera on the audioguide.london home page will not work there. Open audioguide.london/bayeux-tapestry instead and keep your phone in your hand.

audioguide.london now covers the British Museum’s permanent galleries too, in beta. This walking guide is separate, made for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition, where photography is not allowed.

What the audio guide says here

The narration for these scenes, word for word, as you hear it in the walking guide — 3:54 to 6:39 into the 20-minute walk. It was written with reference to Wikipedia, whose text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

William takes Harold into his own household, a move that binds the two men together in a way neither can easily undo. They are no longer strangers; they are companions in a court that will soon decide the fate of England. William’s power over him is absolute, and Harold’s path forward is narrow. He is walking toward a fate stitched in thread, not chosen by his own hand.

The march on Brittany halts when a strange interruption breaks the line of war. A cleric stands near a woman named Ælfgyva, his hand raised as if in accusation or prayer, while a naked figure squats in the lower border, mirroring his pose. No one knows who she is or why she appears here.

The Norman force crosses the river Couesnon, but the ground ahead is treacherous. Mud and sand swallow the horses, and two Norman soldiers sink to their waists, struggling in the mire. Harold leaps from his mount, wading into the sludge to haul them out on his shoulders. It is a brutal, physical act of loyalty that binds him deeper to William. The chase drives Conan through Rennes, pushing him further into his own territory. In the lower border, a fallen knight lies in chain mail, his hand raised in a final plea.

The English earl rides alongside the Norman duke, his presence a constant reminder of the debt he now owes. At Dinan, the pursuit ends. Conan, cornered and exhausted, surrenders the keys to the city. In the embroidery, a figure in a patterned tunic looks down, perhaps watching the gates open or the chains fall away. It is a quiet end to a violent chase, but for Harold, it is another link in the chain binding him to William.

The inscriptions in these 8 scenes

The embroidered Latin, letter for letter, with translations. Positions are measured from the start of the cloth.

  • Scene 13

    HIC WIDO AD DVXIT hAROLDVM ADVVILGЄLMVM NORMANNORVM DVCЄM

    Here Guy brought Harold to William Duke of the Normans

    Ici Guy amena Harold à Guillaume duc des Normands

    11.6 m along the cloth

  • Scene 14

    HIC DVX VVILGELM CVM hAROLDO VЄNIT AD PALATIUM SVVM

    Here Duke William came with Harold to his palace

    Ici le duc Guillaume, avec Harold, vint à son palais

    13.0 m along the cloth

  • Scene 15

    VBI VNVS CLЄRICVS ЄT ÆLFGYVA

    Where a certain cleric and Ælfgyva

    Où un clerc et Ælfgyva

    14.8 m along the cloth

  • Scene 16

    HIC VVILLEM DVX ЄT ЄXЄRCITVS EIVS VЄNЄRVNT AD MONTЄ MIChAЄLIS

    Here Duke William and his army came to Mont St Michel

    Ici le duc Guillaume et son armée vinrent au Mont (Saint) Michel

    15.8 m along the cloth

  • Scene 17

    ЄT HIC TRANSIЄRVNT FLVMЄN COSNONIS / HIC hAROLD DVX TRAhЄBAT ЄOS DЄ ARЄNA

    And here they crossed the river Couesnon / Here Duke Harold pulled them out of the sand

    Et ici, ils franchirent le fleuve du Couesnon / Ici, le duc Harold les retirait du sable

    16.6 m along the cloth

  • Scene 18

    ЄT VЄNЄRVNT AD DOL ЄT CONAN FVGA VЄRTIT / RЄDNЄS

    And they came to Dol and Conan turned to flight / Rennes

    Et ils vinrent à Dol, et Conan prit la fuite / Rennes

    17.8 m along the cloth

  • Scene 19

    hIC MILITЄS VVILLЄLMI DVCIS PVGNANT CONTRA DINANTЄS

    Here Duke William’s soldiers fight against the men of Dinan

    Ici les chevaliers du duc Guillaume combattent contre Dinan

    19.1 m along the cloth

  • Scene 20

    ET CVNAN CLAVЄS PORRЄXIT

    And Conan surrendered the keys

    Et Conan tend les clefs

    20.8 m along the cloth

See it in person

The Bayeux Tapestry is at the British Museum from 10 September 2026 to 11 July 2027 — the first time it has been in Britain in roughly 950 years. Entry is by timed ticket, booked in advance and separate from the museum's free general admission, and each slot is short, so it is worth knowing what you are looking at before you arrive.

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