Scholarly row erupts over ‘well-endowed warrior’ on Bayeux Tapestry

25 April 2025, 16:06 | Updated: 25 April 2025, 16:53

By Lauren Lewis

A row has erupted amongst scholars over a 'well-endowed warrior' depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry.

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Dr Christopher Monk has claimed to have found a previously uncounted penis in the tapestry, which depicts the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

Six years ago, Oxford professor George Garnett made headlines worldwide when he announced his count of 93 penises on the tapestry.

The controversial count, according to Garnett, included 88 penises depicted on horses with the remainder featured on human figures.

But Dr Monk has now claimed to have found the 94th Bayeux Tapestry penis, pictured dangling between the legs of a figure of a running man on the border of the tapestry.

Professor Garnett believes the image is a scabbard of a sword or dagger.

The Bayeux tapestry depicts the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Picture: Alamy

Dr Monk has said he is "in no doubt" the depiction is a penis, adding: "The detail is surprisingly anatomically fulsome".

Professor Garnett took to the HistoryExtra podcast to defend his claim, telling the host the image definitely isn't a penis because "right at its end is a yellow blob" which he believes to be brass.

"If you look at what are incontrovertibly penises in the tapestry, none of them have a yellow blob on the end," Garnett said.

The Oxford professor also defended his decision to count the penises in the tapestry as neither smutty nor silly.

“What I’ve shown, is that this is a serious, learned attempt to comment on the conquest – albeit in code," he said.

He does admit some will find his hyper-specific area of study amusing.

"That article took me one afternoon," he said. "But if there’s even a mention of penises, suddenly it attracts vast numbers of people who would never dream of opening an academic journal."