Historians dispute Bayeux penis tally after lengthy debate

In a historical spat that could be subtitled "1066 with knobs on", two medieval experts are engaged in a battle over how many male genitalia are embroidered into the Bayeux tapestry.

- Kim Willsher

George Garnett, a professor at the University of Oxford, drew worldwide interest six years ago when he announced he had totted up 93 penises stitched into the embroidered account of the Norman conquest of England. According to Garnett, 88 of the male appendages are attached to horses and the remainder to human figures.

Now, the historian and Bayeux tapestry scholar Dr Christopher Monk - known as the Medieval Monk - believes he has found a 94th. A running man depicted in the tapestry border has something dangling beneath his tunic. Garnett says it is the scabbard of a sword or dagger. Monk insists it is a male member.