How Does Lewd Humor Present In The Tapestry

Lewd humor is the final kind present in the tapestry. Naked figures appear in the tapestry that may allude to certain fables, historic episodes, or humorous allusions. There are several instances of naked males accosting naked females who are covering themselves and shy away from their aggressor. One author postulates that these may relate to a fable where a father rapes his daughter, however there isn’t a strong theme present in this story that connects with the rest of the narrative. Another theory is that the naked figures are associated with Harold. These few naked figures appear when he is in situations of distress, such as when he leads his armies out to the battlefield at Hastings and when Guy turns him over to William. In both situations, Harold is facing an enemy just like the woman is in the images above and below him are facing sexually aggressive males. If one is viewing these scenes through a Norman centric lens they may not just …show more content…
This scene in register 15 shows a woman named Aelfgyva having her faced touched by a cleric, but the caption does not share any more information. Directly underneath Aelfgyva and the cleric is a squatting naked man and a naked workman. Much thought has gone into identifying who Aelfgyva was. McNulty postulates that she was a historic woman, Aelfgyva of Northampton, with confirmed promiscuity whose son had a claim to the English throne. The rumors said that Aelfgyva, who was married to the Cnut, king of England, Denmark, Norway, could not conceive and instead took the baby of a workman and convinced the king it was hers. Harold and William talk animatedly about this, gesturing to the scene to the right, which does not occur in the castle, but is a remembered event. Harold and William, known enemies, seem excited about this event, because this son is an imposter and has no claim to the English throne, which justifies both of their