The Norsemen and William the Conqueror (part III).

The load of the centuries: the Colosseum, Rome.
Photo: Daniel Delgado, 2010.

Many men have a natural tendency: it is a wish for trascending, to perpetuate their work and memory. It is somehow as the searching of inmortality. Due to that, we may know many events from ancient times. The commemoration of great victories or impressive achievements, have always been a favorite subject for architects, plastic artists or creators in general. Obelisks, columns, mausoleums, triumphal archs or statues, often are telling us about a glorious past. But sometimes we can find another kind of things, more subtle, such as a stele, painted pottery, some written poem, even a piece of cloth... which may be as important as all the former. But the fragility of these type of historical traces, makes it very hard to find them well preserved. 

The Bayeux Tapestry. Photo: Dennis Jarvis, Halifax, Canada, 2014. Source: France-000668-Tapestry-8-9
Lic. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0

If we take a look at the Bayeux Tapestry, very well preserved despite being almost one thousand years old... the medieval way of life and the events shown there, we may understand its significance. But, which is the story depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry? Something seems obvious: it was made for its exhibition in a great hall, maybe into a church. There, many people could behold and admire the triumph of their king, step by step. It was such as a royal publicity.

The Norsemen and William the Conqueror (part I).

The White Tower, built by William the Conqueror, London UK. Photo: Stephan Brunker. German Language Wikipedia
Permission GNU FDL

The review and study of historical processes is a fascinating task. When establishing any sequence of events which led to the great happenings of human history, we often may find some patterns. It seems as if everything followed some kind of script, to bring those results. Is amazing to realize how the slightest variation on a simple link of that chain of events, might have produced completely different consequences. A "what if..." question, many times arises, opening the doors to the imagination. 

At the same time, some predestined people emerge, no matter their origin. They seem to take a road, which always leads to put them in front of the main historical changes... for better or for worse. At this point, is interesting to consider, if each sequence of facts may create its own characters. On the contrary, might some persons be who made things happen, with their decisions and acts? Could it exist somehow, a mid point between those extremes? Sure it is a subject for endless debates.