In common with other embroidered hangings of the early medieval period, this piece is conventionally referred to as a "tapestry", although it is not a true tapestry in which the design is woven into the cloth. It is in fact an embroidery.

The Bayeux “Tapestry” is preserved and displayed in the “Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux”, in Normandy, France. The first written record of the hanging is in 1476 when it was recorded in the cathedral treasury at Bayeux as "a very long and narrow hanging on which are embroidered figures and inscriptions comprising a representation of the conquest of England".

The work was probably commissioned in the 1070s by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, half-brother of William the Conqueror. It is over 70 metres long and is stitched (not woven, as would be a tapestry) in woollen yarns on linen.

In the Victorian era it was thought important to make a full-sized and accurate replica of the Bayeux Tapestry so that England should have a copy of its own. This was led by a skilled embroiderer (Elizabeth Wardle) and engaged 35 women members of the Leek Embroidery Society as well as other women from Derbyshire, Birmingham, Macclesfield and London took part. Each embroiderer stitched her name beneath her completed panel.

In recent years the name "Bayeux Embroidery" has gained ground among art historians for this rare example of secular Romanesque art.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org