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The Bayeux Penis Count

Accepted submission by looorg at 2025-05-04 14:21:42 from the dong.tapestry dept.
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Just how many penises are there on the Bayeux tapestry? The previous count was 93. Now they claim to have found another one. So is it 93 or 94? Most of them belong to horses. So it's a Oxford professor showdown in how many penises they can see in a tapestry. Nobs for History!

Garnett's results made headline news: he identified 88 penises belonging to horses and five human penises, for a grand total of 93.

Although Monk agrees with Garnett on the first 93, he believes he has spotted one more appendage dangling liberally down from the tunic of a soldier.

To George Garnett, it is clearly a scabbard—the long protective sheath that holds the sword or dagger. To Dr. Monk, on the other hand, it far more closely resembles a penis.

Scabbard or Penis?

The men's penises are included in the border of the embroidery, but there is no agreement about why they are there.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn05wyld45wo [bbc.com]
https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/bayeux-tapestry-count/ [historyextra.com]
https://www.thevikingherald.com/article/archeologists-dispute-penis-count-in-bayeux-tapestry/1172 [thevikingherald.com]
https://allthatsinteresting.com/bayeux-tapestry-penises [allthatsinteresting.com]
  -- there is an image of the part of the tapestry in question here where you can see the penis/scabbard in question. To judge for yourself ...


Original Submission