The Bayeux Tapestry 2026

Posted on 28 August 2026 by ljones

This month, the Bayeux Tapestry returns to England for the first time since is was made, going on display at the British Museum for 10 months. The tapestry depicts the events of 1066, from the death of Edward the Confessor to the defeat of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, and the conquest of England by William the Conqueror.

Historians generally believe that the tapestry was commissioned by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and half-brother of William. Analysis shows it was likely made by English women in Canterbury, before being sent back across the channel. It remained at Bayeux Cathedral, being brought out for one week each year until the 18th Century. In 1797, it was displayed at the Louvre, before being returned to Bayeux 7 years later. It’s current home is a purpose-built museum.

William prepares for battle at Hastings with his half-brothers, Bishop Odo, and Count Robert.

Our display seeks to give you a deeper look into the history of the tapestry itself, as well as biographies of the key figures around 1066. We have also picked some books which look at the broader context of the Norman conquest, and how life changed for Saxons in the decades following 1066.

Did you know?

Historians are unsure whether Harold died from an arrow to the eye, as is widely believed. The earliest source we have for this comes from a few decades after Harold’s death – all earlier sources claim he was hacked apart by a great number of soldiers. Even the Bayeux Tapestry’s depiction is a Victorian restoration; some believe he was originally holding a spear.

Physical resources from top left to bottom right: Edward the confessor : last of the royal blood by Tom Licence ; Conquered : the last children of Anglo-Saxon England by Catherine Eleanor Parker ; Authority, gender and space in the Anglo-Norman world, 900-1200 by Katherine Weikert ; Anglo-Saxon propaganda in the Bayeux tapestry by Meredith Clermont-Ferrand ; The Bayeux tapestry by Lucien Musset ; The Bayeux tapestry : the complete tapestry in colour by David M. Wilson ; Harold II : The Doomed Saxon King by Peter Rex ; The Battle of Hastings, 1066 by M.K. Lawson ; William the Conqueror by David Bates ; The moral economy of the countryside : Anglo-Saxon to Anglo-Norman England by Rosamond Faith ; The Bayeux tapestry and its contexts : a reassessment by Elizabeth Carson Paston, Stephen D. Whiten with Kate Gilbert ; The Normans : power, conquest and culture in 11th-century Europe by Judith A. Green ; King Harold II and the Bayeux Tapestry by Gale R. Owen-Crocker.

*The Design of the Bayeux Tapestry* by Gale R. Owen-Crocker

*An Archaeological Study of the Bayeux Tapestry* by Trevor Rowley

*The Queenship of Mathilda of Flanders c.1031-1083* by Laura L. Gathagan

*The Invention of Norman Visual Culture* by Lisa Reilly

*Conquests in Eleventh-Century England: 1016, 1066*, edited by Laura Ashe and Emily Joan Ward

*The Cambridge Companion to: the Age of William the Conqueror*, edited by Benjamin Pohl

*The Archaeology of the 11th Century*, edited by Dawn M Hadley and Christopher Dyer

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2026

Posted on 31 July 2026 by ljones

The 9th of August celebrates the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. First announced by the UN General Assembly in 1994, the day aims to raise awareness of the needs of indigenous communities worldwide, celebrate indigenous contributions to culture and the environment, and mark the anniversary of the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982.

We have selected a range of books to display in the Upper Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera which cover indigenous communities from across the world and showcase the variety of cultures, languages, food, religion, and literature they have produced. From first hand accounts to collections of local legends and stories, we hope our display inspires interest and appreciation for the rich and varied indigenous cultures from across the world.

For further information and upcoming events, please visit the UN and UNESCO websites.

Resources from top left to bottom right: A revolution for our rights : indigenous struggles for land and justice in Bolivia, 1880-1952 by Laura Gotkowitz | With our labor and sweat : indigenous women and the formation of colonial society in Peru, 1550-1700 by Karen B. Graubart | We people here : Nahuatl accounts of the conquest of Mexico translated and edited by James Lockhart | Possessions : indigenous art, colonial culture by Nicholas Thomas | On our own ground : the complete writings of William Apess, a Pequot edited by Barry O’Connell | Bury my heart at Wounded Knee : an Indian history of the American West by Dee Brown | The heartbeat of Wounded Knee : native America from 1890 to the present by David Treuer | Indigenous citizens : Native Americans’ fight for sovereignty, 1776-2025 by Paul C. Rosier | The rediscovery of America : native peoples and the unmaking of U.S. history by Ned Blackhawk | Native nations : a millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal | The Shona & Zimbabwe 900-1850 : an outline of Shona history by D. N. Beach | The Shona and their neighbours by D. N. Beach | Indigenous continent : a new history of America by Pekka Hämäläinen | A history of the peoples of Siberia : Russia’s north Asian colony, 1581-1990 by James Forsyth | The coming of the Maori by Peter Henry Buck (Te Rangi Hiroa) | The Maori : yesterday and to-day by James Cowan

Accessing these e-resource materials will require a Single Sign On (SSO) login for Oxford University members. External readers will need to log in with their Bodleian accounts while using the Bodleian libraries network (either the Bodleian Libraries Wi-fi network or using the reader PCs within the library).

The Festival of Archaeology 2026

Posted on 2 July 2026 by ljones

The Festival of Archaeology, held annually by the Council for British Archaeology, is an event that invites the public to participate in and learn about archaeological practices and discoveries in the UK.

The History Faculty Library is using this opportunity to highlight our collections focusing on archaeological discoveries in the UK, as well as British archaeological practices abroad. Please feel free to browse the display in the Upper Gladstone Link at the Radcliffe Camera, as well as the e-book display listed further below. Explore the realities of commercial archaeology in the UK with Paul Everill’s book here or read about the discovery of roundhouses built on slits over a river that collapsed in a catastrophic fire around 950 BCE in modern day Cambridgeshire here.

The books present on the physical display are as follows :

In Search of Cult: Archaeological Investigations in Honour of Philip Rahtz edited by M. Carver | Appropriated Pasts: Indigenous Peoples and the Colonial Culture of Archaeology by I. J McNiven | The Making of England: Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture, AD 600-900 edited by L. Webster and J. Backhouse | The Archaeology of Celtic Britain and Ireland, c.AD 400-1200 by L. Laing | Oxford Before the University: The Saxon and Norman Archaeology of the Thames Crossing, Defences and the Town by A. Dodd | The Staffordshire Hoard: An Anglo-Saxon Treasure by C. Fern | Archaeology in British Towns: From the Emperor Claudius to the Black Death by P. Ottoway | Gold, Gilt, Pots and Pins: Possessions and People in Medieval Britain by D. A. Hinton | An Archaeology of the Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms by C. J. Arnold | The Archaeology of Medieval England and Wales by J. Steane | Excavating Women: A History of Women in European Archaeology edited by M. Díaz-Andreu García and M. L. S. Sørenson | A Smith in Lindsey: The Anglo-Saxon Grave and Tattersall Thrope, Lincolnshire by D. A. Hinton | The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland by N. Edwards | Vikings in Scotland: An Archaeological Survey by J. Graham-Campbell and C. E. Batey | The Bretons by P. Galliou and J. Michael | Blood Red Roses: The Archaeology of a Mass Grave from the Battle of Towton AD 1461 edited by C. Knüsel, V. Fiorato, A. Boylston, A. W. Boardman

Pride 2026

Posted on 2 June 2026 by ljones

This Pride month, the History Faculty Library has arranged a display commemorating the history of LGBT+ communities throughout the world. This display aims to address diverse experiences throughout the LGBT+ spectrum, as well as across many different cultures and time periods. The display can be browsed in the Upper Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera, in addition to the collection of e-books which can be accessed by clicking on the book cover pictures further below.

Check out the events that are being held by Oxford University for pride by clicking here and scrolling to the second sub-section, or head to Oxford Pride to see the itinerary of events throughout Oxford and how to get involved.

Books featured on the display above, from left to right:
Before we were trans by Kit Heyam ; In her hands by Emma Day ; Haunted Bauhaus by Elizabeth Otto ; Queer Georgians by Anthony Delaney ; A black queer history of the United States by C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost ; Lesbian intimacies and family life by Rebecca Jennings ; Histories of the transgender child by Jules Gill-Peterson ; Public faces, secret lives by Wendy L. Rouse ; Queen James by Gareth Russell ; The straight state by Margot Canaday.

Accessing the e-resource materials below will require a Single-Sign-On Login for Oxford University members. External readers will need to log in with their Bodleian accounts while using the Bodleian libraries network (either the Bodleian Libraries Wi-fi network or using the reader PCs within the library.)

Mental Health Awareness Week 2026

Posted on 4 May 2026 by ljones

This year, Mental Health Awareness Week runs from the 11^th to the 17^th of May, organised by the Mental Health Foundation. In support of this important campaign, the History Faculty Library’s book display features a collection of items on the history of mental health, in Britain and around the world, to showcase how our understanding of mental illness and wellbeing has developed differently across the globe.

Books featured on the display above, from left to right:
A history of male psychological disorders in Britain, 1945-1980 by Ali Haggett | Psyche on the skin : a history of self-harm by Sarah Chaney | Cultures of psychiatry and mental health care in postwar Britain and The Netherlands edited by Marijke Gijswijt-Hofstra and Roy Porter | The Routledge history of madness and mental health edited by Greg Eghigian | “Shattered nerves” : doctors, patients, and depression in Victorian England by Janet Oppenheim | Mad princes of renaissance Germany by H.C. Erik Midelfort | Madness, religion and the state in early modern Europe : a Bavarian beacon by David Lederer | Invention of hysteria : Charcot and the photographic iconography of the Salpêtrière by Georges Didi-Huberman ; translated by Alisa Hartz | Surfacing up : psychiatry and social order in colonial Zimbabwe, 1908-1968 by Lynette A. Jackson | Mass hysteria : medicine, culture, and mothers’ bodies by Rebecca Kukla | Remembrance of patients past : patient life at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane, 1870-1940 by Geoffrey Reaume | From swords to sorrow : homicide and suicide in early modern Stockholm by Arne Jansson

With Trinity Term upon us, now is a particularly relevant time to remind students of the array of mental health resources that they can access through the University and the Bodleian Libraries. You can find out more about available supportive resources here, and a list of wellbeing initiatives and activities currently running here. Additionally, the Oxford Student Union offers a wide range of advice and support, which can be found on their website.

We would also like to spotlight the wellbeing display in the Bodleian Old Library, which can be found outside the Upper Reading Room. This is a breakout space that offers a selection of poetry, self-help books and even a collection of zines, submitted by kind contributors both within and beyond the university. Do stop by when you need a peaceful moment away from your studies!

Accessing the following e-resource materials will require a Single-Sign-On Login for Oxford University members. External readers will need to log in with their Bodleian accounts while using the Bodleian libraries network (either with a device connected to the Bodleian Libraries Wi-Fi network or using the reader PCs within the library). Select a cover to be taken to that item’s SOLO page.

To add to our display, the following is a selection of more books on the history of mental health that are available to read online, in addition to a number of memoirs. Reading about others’ experiences begets greater understanding, and can help those struggling feel less isolated, hence these personal stories have been chosen to that end.

Trial until 30 May: South Asia Commons

Posted on 23 April 2026 by iholowaty

We are currently trialling South Asia Commons, an online resource comprising two modules, South Asia Archive and South Asian History and Culture.

The landing page of South Asia Commons, showing a search box with suggested topics e.g. Art history, Literature, Government, etc. — (C) Coherent Digital

South Asia Archive, the first module, is a collection of 4.5 million pages of documents and published material from across the Indian subcontinent from 1700 to 1953. The collection was originally amassed by the South Asian Research Foundation in Kolkata and contains material relating to economics, politics, law, Indology, gender, archaeology, anthropology, culture, history and education. The content is mostly English, with 15% in South Asian languages, primarily Bengali and Sanskrit.

The second module, South Asian History and Culture, is a comprehensive, full-text repository providing centralised access to millions of pages of South Asian primary source materials from across the internet.

The trial will run until 30^th May 2026 and can be accessed via the New/Trial Databases section on Databases A-Z. Please send any comments and feedback to emma.mathieson@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

History Thesis Fair for Undergraduates – 30 April 2026

Posted on 20 April 2026 by mendonckw

We are delighted to run the History Thesis Fair for second-year undergraduates this year on Thursday 30 April, 3-5pm at the Examination Schools (North Writing School).

All info can be found here: History Thesis Fair for Undergraduates.

Mosaic of pictures depicting several historical events, documents, and artwork. It includes a portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, an early modern map of the African continent, an illumination for a medieval Book of Hours, a Diego Riveira mural in Detroit, a picture of the 1955 Bandung Conference, a portrait of the British Queen Anne, a mosaic depicting the Byzantine emperor Justinian, and a photograph from the May 1968 student protests in France.

The Fair is aimed at 2nd year history undergraduates embarking on their thesis research and who are looking to explore the wealth of research source material available across Oxford libraries and archives for their field of study.

It is the ideal opportunity to talk to librarians, archivists and subject specialists who can help you navigate the vast collections available, support you to unlock more relevant sources, and point you towards useful finding tools. Plus, you’ll be able to chat to students who have gone before you and learn about their top dissertation tips!

Stalls will cover many areas, including:

Topics and Themes

Biographical Sources for Political, Religious and Social History
Disability History
English Literature
Environmental History
LGBTQ+, Gender and Sexuality History
History of Science & Medicine
Maps and Mapping
Medieval History
Oral History
Visual Culture
Women’s History

Special Collections, Libraries and Archives

Archives and Manuscripts 1500-1800 (Bodleian)
Archives and Modern Manuscripts 1800 onwards (Bodleian)
College Libraries (Special Collections)
College Archives
Digital primary source providers: Gale Primary Sources, AM – Adam Matthew Digital
Early Printed Books (Bodleian)
Oxford Brookes University Special Collections & Archives
Oxfordshire History Centre
Printed Ephemera (John Johnson Collection)
UK and Ireland Parliament and Government Publications + Intergovernmental Publications

Geographical Areas

Africa & Commonwealth
East Asia & South Asia
East-Central and Southeast Europe
Eastern Europe and North Asia incl. Russia
Great Britain & Western Europe
Middle East, Hebraica & Judaica, Caucasus & Central Asia
Latin America
United States

Plus, at our Information Skills stall, learn what courses are laid on to help you develop the research and referencing skills you will need.

The format of the Fair encourages you to explore and discover new materials at your own pace, to be curious and to make connections with experts and your peers.

Accessibility

The main entrance to the Examination Schools is stepped. There is a ramped entrance immediately to the left of the main entrance. There is lift access throughout the building, two wheelchair accessible toilets and hearing support systems that can be deployed where needed throughout the building. Most areas of the building have level access.

The accessible toilet is gender neutral and is at the bottom of the staircase opp. Room 8.

If you have any queries, please email library.history@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Research skills training

Working on your thesis means that you will need to learn new or improve existing research skills, including:

Effective searching for information;
Awareness of the rich sources available in Oxford (and beyond) and how to access them;
Ability to correctly handle physical source material, such as archives;
Correct citation practices, ethical research practice, etc.;
Awareness of the relevant experts in Oxford libraries and archives.

The Bodleian Libraries have many classes and workshops set up to help you learn the skills you need – check out the research training page on this Libguide: Research Training for Historians

We hope to see you at the Fair!

Trial until 8 May 2026: Mass Observation Project, 1981-2019

Posted on 14 April 2026 by iholowaty

We are pleased to invite Oxford researchers to trial Mass Observation Project, 1981-2019.

An image from the home page of the resource showing a collage of various images: photo of an anti-Brexit demonstration, 1997 General Election poster showing Tony Blair and John Major, photo of a house, and handwritten response about voting intentions.

This major resource provides digital access to a remarkable life-writing archive, offering a rare window into the everyday lives, thoughts and emotions of ordinary people living through the turbulent final decades of the twentieth century and the early twenty-first.

At its heart are the voices of hundreds of Mass Observers: individuals who responded to open-ended questionnaires (“directives”), reflecting on their experiences, opinions and personal lives. Their writing captures moments that are rarely recorded elsewhere: private reflections on relationships, family life and identity, alongside candid accounts of work, health, routines and the small details of daily life. It is precisely this combination of the intimate and the everyday that makes the archive so distinctive and valuable.

At the same time, these personal testimonies are deeply connected to wider historical events. Contributors record their reactions as events unfold, offering immediate, unfiltered perspectives on major social and political developments. The archive therefore allows researchers to trace how national and global events were experienced, understood and felt at the level of individual lives.

The directives span an extraordinary range of topics, including: 9/11, AIDS, climate change, the Criminal Justice Act, the death of Princess Diana, disability, education, the EU referendum and Brexit, the Falklands War, the First Gulf War, general elections, the rise of the internet and social media, the Iraq War, the Millennium, natural disasters, the NHS, railway strikes, security and crime, and university life.

Together, these materials create a uniquely rich and textured record of modern life—one that brings history closer to lived experience and gives voice to perspectives that are so often absent from the historical record.

A snippet from this directive reads:
The emphasis this quarter falls on services both public and private, that is those that you pay for indirectly by rates and taxes etc and those that you pay for directly..

1. Public Services: we want to hear about changes in the quality and efficiency in the health service, education, public transport etc. What have been the effect of cuts in local government spending on you, and your neighbourhood? — (C) Mass Observation Archive Trustees. Mass Observation Project. 1982 Summer directivem (p1): Public and private services, the Budget, gas and electricity bills, royalty, inflation, currency, food, EEC

Individual responses also capture basic demographic information, such as marital status, employment status and occupation. This makes it possible to identify and analyse the views of specific cohorts in different circumstances.

Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) has been applied to all documents to allow full text searchability. The resource offers automatically-generated transcript for download for this document but please note that during the trial, the downloading function has been disabled.

The trial ends 8 May 2026. Feedback should be sent to isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk or jo.gardner@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

While you are here, check out some other related resources:

Earth Day 2026

Posted on 2 April 2026 by ljones

To raise awareness of the impact of anthropogenic climate change, Earth day will be held on the 22nd of April. This campaign spotlights the many challenges faced throughout the world due to the mounting effects of ecological changes as well as championing the work being done to limit this, acknowledging especially how this will disproportionately affect impoverished and marginalised communities. In accordance with this, the History Faculty Library has arranged a display in the Upper Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera exploring the history of human impact and research on the environment, as well as current social and political issues surrounding climate change. This also includes a spotlight for our E-book collections, which you can browse further down this post. Please click on the book covers to be directed to the SOLO catalogue record for each entry.

Photograph of the book display in the Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera.

Books on the display above, from the top left:
“The Chimney of the World: A History of Smoke Pollution in Victorian and Edwardian Manchester“ by Stephen Mosley | “A Cultural History of Climate“ by Wolfgang Behringer | “Rummage: a History of the Things We Have Reused, Recycled and Refused to Let Go“ by Emily Cockayne | “Dark Laboratory: on Columbus, the Caribbean, and the Origins of the Climate Crisis“ by Tao Leigh Goffe | “Empire of Things: How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First“ by Frank Trentmann | “Climate, History and the Modern World“ by H. H. Lamb | “Footprints: in Search of Future Fossils“ by David Farrier | “Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620-1914“ by John Robert McNeil | “The Afterlife of Used Things: Recycling in the Long Eighteenth Century“ edited by A. Fennetaux, A. Junqua, and S. Vasset. | “An Environmental History of Britain Since the Industrial Revolution“ by B.W. Clapp | “Science and Nature: Essays in the History of of the Environmental Sciences“ edited by Michael Shortland | “An Environmental History of the Middle Ages: The Crucible of Nature“ by John Aberth | “Losing Earth: The Decade We Could Have Stopped Climate Change“ by Nathaniel Rich |

banner reading "E-Books", white text on a green background with line illustrations of roses in a darker green.

Accessing these e-resource materials will require a Single-Sign-On Login for Oxford University members. External readers will need to log in with their Bodleian accounts while using the Bodleian libraries network (either the Bodleian Libraries Wi-fi network or using the reader PCs within the library.) Please note that one of the entries below: “Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse” by Dave Goulson is an Electronic Legal Deposit item, and will need to be consulted on a reader PC within the Bodleian Libraries using the ELD browser.

Book cover for "Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse" by Dave Goulson. An illustration of various moths, butterflies and beetles in a circular pattern on a black background.

book cover for "At Nature's Edge: The Global Present and Long-Term History" by Gunnel Cederlof and Mahesh Rangarajan. White text on black borders with a photograph in the middle of a woman walking across sand with a water container in her hand.

banner reading "More Resources", white text on a green background with line illustrations of roses in a darker green.

If you would like to get involved in making a difference, please check out these links:

Volunteering in Oxfordshire
Lifestyle and consumer choices in Oxford (And further to that, have a look at: SHARE Oxford to borrow instead of buying, or Ethical Consumer to consider your options.)
Read up on Oxford University’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy, and check out the Climate and Environment page
Talk to a Student Union representative

Easter Closure and Vacation Loans

Posted on 2 April 2026 by scloudesley

Just a reminder that the Radcliffe Camera will be closed over the Easter bank holiday weekend, from Friday 3rd April to Monday 6th April inclusive. We will be open as normal 9am on Tuesday 7th April.

HFL books that have been borrowed with an extended vacation loan are due back on 28/04/2026. At this point these books will no longer be able to be renewed remotely, so must be returned to the library.

We hope you all have a wonderful long weekend!

Image by Gail Sinclair

Bodleian History Faculty Library at Oxford

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