Vows to develop cultural and academic ties between the French city of Bayeux and the city of Carrollton were warmly exchanged last week thanks to a replica of an 11th century tapestry depicting William the Conqueror’s invasion of England in 1066.
The State University of West Georgia, which owns the replica, held a symposium which was attended by several of the world’s foremost authorities on the tapestry as well as Pierre Pican, the Bishop of Bayeux, and Bayeux’s mayor, Jean-Leonce Dupont. The original tapestry is kept in Bayeux located in the Normandy Region of France and attracts some 500,000 visitors a year.
The occasion provided an opportunity for Carrollton’s mayor, Joseph McGinnis, to exchange keys with Mr. Dupont to their respective cities. Plans for faculty and student exchanges between the university and academic institutions in the Normandy Region were discussed.
Edd Wheeler, a federal administrative law judge who lives in Tucker, donated the replica of the tapestry to West Georgia. He originally commissioned the painting out of an interest in military history.
For more information about the tapestry or the ties being developed between the two cities, call Bruce Bobick, chairman of the university’s department of art, at (770) 836-6520; fax, (770) 836-4392.