Overview

• Oxford professor George Garnett's 2018 tally of 93 penises on the Bayeux Tapestry is being challenged by medieval scholar Dr. Christopher Monk, who claims to have found a 94th depiction.
• The disputed figure, a running man in the tapestry's border, features an appendage that Garnett argues is a sword scabbard, while Monk insists it is a depiction of male genitalia.
• The Bayeux Tapestry, a nearly 70-meter-long embroidery chronicling the 1066 Norman Conquest, includes prominent depictions of nudity, which scholars interpret as symbolic of medieval masculinity and power.
• The debate, featured on the HistoryExtra podcast, has drawn attention to the tapestry's layered symbolism and the scholarly methods used to analyze its details.
• No consensus has been reached as of April 25, 2025, with both historians maintaining their interpretations and emphasizing the broader significance of understanding medieval perspectives.