First published in Choice, December 2003; named as an 'Outstanding Title'

This program (BTDE) is an innovative addition to the scholarship of the Norman conquest of England and circumstances leading to that momentous event. Not simply a digital reproduction of the Bayeux Tapestry, BTDE is a comprehensive multimedia library including an extensive bibliography of relevant scholarship; a genealogy (with biographies) of invasion participants; an interactive map of region and battle complete with video panoramas; a virtual museum; a glossary of terms; and a thorough introduction. For comparative study, tapestry facsimiles allow researchers to compare the specific facsimile scene under examination with that corresponding to the original work.

Opening the application reveals the initial panel/scene of the tapestry with navigational and utility buttons. The tapestry is reproduced as a series of 173 panels of 40 distinct scenes. To navigate the work, one may either use navigational buttons (panel and scene) or the "outline," a time line arrayed below the image of the work and extending across the window; brief annotations describe specific panels/scenes. One may click any portion of the tapestry to zoom in on a section. As the panel/scene pans left or right, the "inscriptions" button toggles the display between English-language or Latin description of the scene currently being examined. Finally, the "scene" button will open a text window describing the scene within the window, and the "commentary" button will display panel-specific commentaries drawn from a variety of scholarly publications.

Researchers who need additional materials relevant to the tapestry will be pleased to discover the comprehensive bibliography, effectively linked throughout BTDE. Students new to the tapestry are likewise benefited by a glossary of people, places, details (e.g., weapons, hairstyles, etc.), and events. To understand the tapestry within the social and historic context of the 11th century, the "library" utility accesses 17 full-text contemporary accounts of the invasion complete with explanatory notes and bibliographic references. The "museum" utility has digital images and descriptive notes of "visual analogs" (e.g., manuscript details, cultural artifacts, etc.) of the tapestry proper. Split screen and toggle features allow comparisons between the museum images and tapestry analogs. Additional features allow creation of slideshows for classroom use and printing portions of textual supplements and bibliography. Finally, a functional search utility facilitates access to all components of the product, returning results with links to previews in context and finally to the entire result desired. One substantive difficulty: the "help" menu periodically failed to fully display, necessitating closing and then reopening the application. Disciplinary relevance extends to art, archaeology, cultural anthropology, history, military science, and textile studies. BTDE is brilliant in design, scholarly in content, and worthy of inclusion in any university or college library.

Summing Up: Essential. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates through faculty.

T. A. Chavez, University of South Florida