AN X-rated medieval artwork filled with penises and depicting an alleged secret sex scandal could rewrite European history.
The Bayeux Tapestry, an embroidered cloth which depicts the infamous Battle of Hastings in 1066, could contain a hidden royal affair, according to a historical expert.
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The masterpiece was created in the 11th century in Normandy, France and is set to return to the UK for the first time in nearly 1,000 years.
It illustrates 58 events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England by William the Conqueror.
The tapestry will be displayed at an exhibition in the British Museum and its curator, Professor Michael Lewis, believes an X-rated scene on the tapestry could rewrite our understanding of UK history.
The medieval magnum opus, which contains over 90 penises, also includes a vignette that could endanger the legitimacy of the English King, Norman leader William the Conqueror.
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The illustration shows a clergyman caressing the cheek of a noblewoman while a naked man looks on from below a decorative border.
Professor Lewis believes that the woman is Emma of Normandy, who took on the Old English name Aelfgyva during her marriage.
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Emma was the great-aunt of William the Conqueror, wife of English King Aethelred the Unready, and mother to Edward the Confessor.
“It undermines the legitimacy of the Norman Conquest,” said British Museum curator Professor Michael Lewis on the HistoryExtra podcast.
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In 1066, Edward the Confessor died without an heir, which led to William making a claim to the English throne through his family connections and paving the way for his conquest.
At the time there were rumours that Emma cheated on King Aethelred with a prominent religious figure, and Professor Lewis believes that this vignette hints at this alleged affair.
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By alluding to the affair, artists were able to subtly question William’s legitimacy as King.
The popular theory was that Emma was having an affair with Alfwin, the Bishop of Winchester, according to Professor Lewis.
He added: “That [naked] figure at the bottom, and the sexual scandal… then it kind of switches it completely against her…it undermines her legitimacy and therefore the legitimacy of the Norman Conquest.”
The alleged slander against Emma could have weakened William’s claim to the English throne by consanguinity.
Nonetheless, the name Aelfgyva was extremely popular in 11th century England and the identity of the woman in the tapestry will likely remain a mystery.
Historians have speculated whether she could have been Aelfgyva of York, first wife of King Aethelred, or Aelfgyva of Northampton, wife of King Cnut — the English/Danish king whom Emma of Normandy married after King Aethelred’s death.
The tapestry will be on display at the British Museum in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery from from September 10, 2026 until July 11, 2027.
It comes as The Bayeux Museum, where the tapestry has been since 1983, closed on September 1, 2025, for a two-year refurbishment.
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Measuring 70 metres long and containing 626 characters and 202 horses, it will be the first UK showing of the tapestry since it was made.
The masterwork holds great historical significance as it portrays key moments in the UK’s history, moments that reshaped the country’s ruling class, transformed the national language from English to French, and bound the two countries closer together for centuries to come.