Our first stop was Bayeux, home to the famous (or "famous" if you're a student of medieval French history) Bayeux Tapestry. The extraordinarily long tapestry was commissioned by the Bishop of Bayeux, Odon, to celebrate the victory of his half-brother who has gone down in history as William the Conqueror. The tapestry is basically a glorified comic strip of the year 1066 in the Anglo-Norman world: King Edward dies, Harold is sent to inform William (known to his contemporaries as le Bâtard because of his illegitimate birth) that the English throne is his, but double-crossing Harold declares himself king of England which William does not appreciate. This of course provokes the famous Battle of Hastings, which illustration occupies a sizable part of the tapestry, and in which Harold's army is crushed and he himself is killed by a splinter to the eye (also illustrated on the tapestry. Nothing like a gory comic strip, no?) and William wins back his right English throne.
The next part of the story, not illustrated on the tapestry, is the part where the backwards English are "cultured" by the French-speaking Normans, and the English language as we know it today is born. The 1066 invasion is the reason our Germanic mother tongue is so heavily influenced by Latin, by way of Old French. It's also the reason we have two words for things like "cow" and "steak," the first of Germanic origin and the second from French. The peasants who tended the "cows" spoke a Germanic tongue, and the conquering nobility under the francophone William ate "steak."
That's probably a whole load of medieval history that's less-than-exciting for the readership, so here's a picture of the tapestry as a consolation prize:
After leaving Bayeux, we headed to coast of what we call the English Channel, but is known in French as La Manche (literally, "the sleeve") to the site of the allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June, 1944. The museum and plot at Omaha beach were gifted to the United States by France. It's a wonderful place, but bring your tissues; even my cold soul shed a tear or two. The visit was truly a moving experience.
What touched me the most is the verdant beauty of the site today, where 66 years ago it was a bloody battle scene. The lawns, trees, bushes, shrubs, and flowers grow in soil bloodied by war. It was me a testament to rebirth. What was once a place of violence and death is now a place of peace and meditation. I feel that it is a sacred place well-worth the visit, even for those with no interest in military history. This is our heritage.
In total contrast was the next battleground we visited, the ruins of Nazi bunkers about 15 minutes West of the American Cemetery at Normandy. The hilltop was pockmarked by 66 year old shell fire. We were able to explore some of the remains of German pillboxes and crawl around in the old cement bunkers. I am thankful to be (a) a woman and (b) a civilian. War is a crazy, crazy thing.
All in all, I enjoyed the sites we visited. 1066 to 1944, two invasions in opposite directions. That's some nice historical circularity, no?
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