29th September 1106
Yesterday was the fortieth anniversary of the day the Conqueror landed at Pevensey and gained a kingdom. And yesterday was the day his son, Duke Robert, lost Normandy. After a rainsoaked battle fought at Tinchebrai in wretched conditions, the duke’s hopes sank into the mud and disappeared.
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Easter 1105
Carentan yesterday became the centre of Anglo-Norman politics. Unlikely as it seems, this little town at the foot of the Contentin peninsula, squeezed into a marshy basin of the Douve, was the scene of unprecedented controversy.
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1070 AD
Some secrecy surrounds the commissioning of an artwork to commemorate the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in the autumn of 1066. Although news about it has leaked out, no-one has come forward to claim artistic involvement or financial investment in the project.
What seems clear is that the unknown commissioner is someone with huge resources and a great deal of personal energy. “It takes a strong motive to drive forward such a massive project less than five years after the event, “ said one commentator. “Somebody wants to control the story rather badly.”
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