We know very little of Peter of Blois except what can be deduced from his letters. He was born about 1135. He studied at Tours; followed law at Bologna in 1160; subsequently he went to Paris for theology. In 1167 he was in Sicily in the train of Estienne du Perche, who had been named archbishop of Palermo. Peter remained quite bitter over the situation which he found in Sicily. Just after the archbishop had been obliged to flee Peter came down with a semi-tertian ague of the medium sort and was turned over to Romualdo, archbishop of Salerno, for care and treatment. Eventually he recovered and was urged to return to Sicily; but he had had enough. Once back in France he wrote several letters to his brother, William of Blois, who was abbot of Matine (Maniaci) in Calabria, urging him to leave and return to France — which William speedily agreed to do. (This William is well known as the author of certain Latin dramas.) After 1173 Peter spent most of his time in Normandy and England — at Rouen, Salisbury, Canterbury, and London. He was priested after 1192 and we know that he died before 1212. Apparently he never understood the English language well, and he had a patriotic desire to settle in France for his last years.

Recently there has been published a magnificent treatment of the eleventh-century Bayeux Tapestry in which the sequence of designs is reproduced complete in black and white; in some instances the more interesting sections have been enlarged, usually in color. The volume contains authoritative essays on the history of the Tapestry, the style and design, technique and production, the inscriptions, arms and armor. Only the chapter on costume is somewhat disappointing. There is also a set of notes on the individual scenes. Conspicuous by its absence is a chapter on the castles and private dwelling houses. Such constructions were almost invariably of wood at the date the Tapestry was put together (about 1077), and wooden buildings have totally disappeared, with the exception of the Saxon church at Greensted-le-Ongar. All information from iconographic and documentary sources is therefore invaluable for the consideration of earlier mediaeval architecture. Remarks in the notes of this volume would indicate that the compilers considered the representations of buildings too formalized, too fantastic, for useful study. With reference to the portrayal of Westminster Abbey, it is stated that this building “is one of the few in the Tapestry that is architecturally consistent.” Although it must be admitted that the perspective is faulty, that proportions are often distorted to achieve emphasis, and that walls and windows are removed or raised to show what was behind them, I believe that the designers of the Tapestry had actual buildings in mind and that careful attention should be paid to all these priceless representations of wooden structures of the Romanesque era.