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diff --git a/8593-h/8593-h.htm b/8593-h/8593-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e51d9ee --- /dev/null +++ b/8593-h/8593-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1530 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<title>NORMANDY, Part 1.</title> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + body {background:#faebd7; margin:10%; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: .75em; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + HR { width: 33%; text-align: center; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; } + .figleft {float: left;} + .figright {float: right;} + .toc { margin-left: 15%; margin-bottom: 0em;} + CENTER { padding: 10px;} + PRE { font-family: Times; font-size: 97%; margin-left: 15%;} + // --> +</style> + +</head> +<body> + +<h2>NORMANDY, Part 1, By Gordon Home</h2> +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Normandy, Part 1, by Gordon Home + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Normandy, Part 1 + The Scenery & Romance Of Its Ancient Towns + +Author: Gordon Home + +Release Date: August 11, 2004 [EBook #8593] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NORMANDY, PART 1 *** + + + + +Produced by Ted Garvin, Beth Trapaga and the Distributed Proofreading +Team + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + + + +<br> +<hr> +<br><br><br><br><br><br> + + + +<center> +<h1>NORMANDY</h1> +<br><br> +<h3>THE SCENERY & ROMANCE OF ITS ANCIENT TOWNS</h3> +<br><br><br> +<h3>DEPICTED BY</h3> +<br> +<h2>GORDON HOME</h2> +<br><br> +<h3>Part 1.</h3> +<br><br> +</center> + +<a name="michel"></a> +<br><br> +<center> +<a href="images/01.jpg"><img alt="01h.jpg (30K)" src="images/01h.jpg" height="464" width="339"></a> +</center> +<br><br> + +<br><br> +<a name="preface"></a> +<br><br> +<center><h2> +PREFACE</h2></center> + +<p>This book is not a guide. It is an attempt to convey by pictures and +description a clear impression of the Normandy which awaits the visitor.</p> + +<p>The route described could, however, be followed without covering the same +ground for more than five or six miles, and anyone choosing to do this +would find in his path some of the richest architecture and scenery that +the province possesses.</p> + +<p>As a means of reviving memories of past visits to Normandy, I may perhaps +venture to hope that the illustrations of this book—as far as the +reproductions are successful—may not be ineffectual.</p> + +<p>GORDON HOME</p> + +<p>EPSOM, <i>October</i> 1905</p> + +<br><br><br><br> + +<h2> +CONTENTS</h2> + +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> + + +<p><a href="#preface">PREFACE</a></p> + +<p><a href="#color">LIST OF COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS</a></p> + +<p><a href="#ch1">CHAPTER I</a> +Some Features of Normandy</p> + +<p><a href="#ch2">CHAPTER II</a> +By the Banks of the Seine</p> + +<p><a href="#ch3">CHAPTER III</a> +Concerning Rouen, the Ancient Capital of Normandy</p> + +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> + +<br><br><br><br> + +<a name="color"></a><br><br> +<center> +<h2> +LIST OF COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> +</center> + +<p><a href="#michel">MONT ST MICHEL FROM THE CAUSEWAY</a></p> + +<p><a href="#poplars">ON THE ROAD BETWEEN CONCHES AND BEAUMONT-LE-ROGER</a> +This is typical of the poplar-bordered roads of Normandy.</p> + +<p><a href="#gaillard">THE CHATEAU GAILLARD FROM THE ROAD BY THE SEINE</a> +The village of Le Petit Andely appears below the castle rock, and is +partly hidden by the island. The chalk cliffs on the left often look +like ruined walls.</p> + +<p><a href="#andeley">A TYPICAL REACH OF THE SEINE BETWEEN ROUEN AND LE PETIT ANDELY</a> +On one side great chalk cliffs rise precipitously, and on the +other are broad flat pastures.</p> + +<p><a href="#gisors">THE CHURCH AT GISORS, SEEN FROM THE WALLS OF THE NORMAN CASTLE</a></p> + +<p><a href="#horloge">THE TOUR DE LA GROSSE HORLOGE, ROUEN</a> +It is the Belfry of the City, and was commenced in 1389.</p> + +<p><a href="#rouen">THE CATHEDRAL AT ROUEN</a> +Showing a peep of the Portail de la Calende, and some of the quaint +houses of the oldest part of the City.</p> + + + +<br><br> +<a name="ch1"></a> +<br><br> +<center> +<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> +<h3>Some Features of Normandy</h3> +</center> +<br> + +<p>Very large ants, magpies in every meadow, and coffee-cups without handles, +but of great girth, are some of the objects that soon become familiar to +strangers who wander in that part of France which was at one time as much +part of England as any of the counties of this island. The ants and the +coffee-cups certainly give one a sense of being in a foreign land, but when +one wanders through the fertile country among the thatched villages and +farms that so forcibly remind one of Devonshire, one feels a friendliness +in the landscapes that scarcely requires the stimulus of the kindly +attitude of the peasants towards <i>les anglais</i>.</p> + +<p>If one were to change the dark blue smock and the peculiar peaked hat of +the country folk of Normandy for the less distinctive clothes of the +English peasant, in a very large number of cases the Frenchmen would pass +as English. The Norman farmer so often has features strongly typical of the +southern counties of England, that it is surprising that with his wife and +his daughters there should be so little resemblance. Perhaps this is +because the French women dress their hair in such a different manner to +those on the northern side of the Channel, and they certainly, taken as a +whole, dress with better effect than their English neighbours; or it may be +that the similar ideas prevailing among the men as to how much of the face +should be shaved have given the stronger sex an artificial resemblance.</p> + +<p>In the towns there is little to suggest in any degree that the mediaeval +kings of England ruled this large portion of France, and at Mont St Michel +the only English objects besides the ebb and flow of tourists are the two +great iron <i>michelettes</i> captured by the French in 1433. Everyone who comes +to the wonderful rock is informed that these two guns are English; but as +they have been there for nearly five hundred years, no one feels much shame +at seeing them in captivity, and only a very highly specialised antiquary +would be able to recognise any British features in them. Everyone, however, +who visits Normandy from England with any enthusiasm, is familiar with the +essential features of Norman and early pointed architecture, and it is thus +with distinct pleasure that the churches are often found to be strikingly +similar to some of the finest examples of the earlier periods in England.</p> + +<p>When we remember that the Norman masons and master-builders had been +improving the crude Saxon architecture in England even before the Conquest, +and that, during the reigns of the Norman kings, "Frenchmen," as the Saxons +called them, were working on churches and castles in every part of our +island, it is no matter for surprise to find that buildings belonging to +the eleventh, twelfth, and even the thirteenth century, besides being of +similar general design, are often covered with precisely the same patterns +of ornament. When the period of Decorated Gothic began to prevail towards +the end of the thirteenth century, the styles on each side of the Channel +gradually diverged, so that after that time the English periods do not +agree with those of Normandy. There is also, even in the churches that most +resemble English structures, a strangeness that assails one unless +familiarity has taken the edge off one's perceptions. Though not the case +with all the fine churches and cathedrals of Normandy, yet with an +unpleasantly large proportion—unfortunately including the magnificent +Church of St Ouen at Rouen—there is beyond the gaudy tinsel that crowds +the altars, an untidiness that detracts from the sense of reverence that +stately Norman or Gothic does not fail to inspire. In the north transept of +St Ouen, some of the walls and pillars have at various times been made to +bear large printed notices which have been pasted down, and when out of +date they have been only roughly torn off, leaving fragments that soon +become discoloured and seriously mar the dignified antiquity of the +stone-work. But beyond this, one finds that the great black stands for +candles that burn beside the altars are generally streaked with the wax +that has guttered from a dozen flames, and that even the floor is covered +with lumps of wax—the countless stains of only partially scraped-up +gutterings of past offerings. There is also that peculiarly unpleasant +smell so often given out by the burning wax that greets one on entering the +cool twilight of the building. The worn and tattered appearance of the +rush-seated chairs in the churches is easily explained when one sees the +almost constant use to which they are put. In the morning, or even as late +as six in the evening, one finds classes of boys or girls being catechised +and instructed by priests and nuns. The visitor on pushing open the swing +door of an entrance will frequently be met by a monotonous voice that +echoes through the apparently empty church. As he slowly takes his way +along an aisle, the voice will cease, and suddenly break out in a simple +but loudly sung Gregorian air, soon joined by a score or more of childish +voices; then, as the stranger comes abreast of a side chapel, he causes a +grave distraction among the rows of round, closely cropped heads. The +rather nasal voice from the sallow figure in the cassock rises higher, and +as the echoing footsteps of the person who does nothing but stare about him +become more and more distant, the sing-song tune grows in volume once more, +and the rows of little French boys are again in the way of becoming good +Catholics. In another side chapel the confessional box bears a large white +card on which is printed in bold letters, "M. le Cure." He is on duty at +the present time, for, from behind the curtained lattices, the stranger +hears a soft mumble of words, and he is constrained to move silently +towards the patch of blazing whiteness that betokens the free air and +sunshine without. The cheerful clatter of the traffic on the cobbles is +typical of all the towns of Normandy, as it is of the whole republic, but +Caen has reduced this form of noise by exchanging its omnibuses, that +always suggested trams that had left the rails, for swift electric trams +that only disturb the streets by their gongs. In Rouen, the electric cars, +which the Britisher rejoices to discover were made in England—the driver +being obliged to read the positions of his levers in English—are a huge +boon to everyone who goes sight-seeing in that city. Being swept along in a +smoothly running car is certainly preferable to jolting one's way over the +uneven paving on a bicycle, but it is only in the largest towns that one +has such a choice.</p> + +<br><br> +<a name="poplars"></a> +<br><br> +<center> +<a href="images/02.jpg"><img alt="02h.jpg (40K)" src="images/02h.jpg" height="486" width="350"></a> +</center> +<br><br> +<br><br> + + +<p>Although the only road that is depicted in this book is as straight as any +built by the Romans and is bordered by poplars, it is only one type of the +great <i>routes nationales</i> that connect the larger towns. In the hilly parts +of Normandy the poplar bordered roads entirely disappear, and however +straight the engineers may have tried to make their ways, they have been +forced to give them a zig-zag on the steep slopes that breaks up the +monotony of the great perspectives so often to be seen stretching away for +great distances in front and behind. It must not be imagined that Normandy +is without the usual winding country road where every bend has beyond it +some possibilities in the way of fresh views. An examination of a good road +map of the country will show that although the straight roads are numerous, +there are others that wind and twist almost as much as the average English +turnpike. As a rule, the <i>route nationale</i> is about the same width as most +main roads, but it has on either side an equal space of grass. This is +frequently scraped off by the cantoniers, and the grass is placed in great +piles ready for removal. When these have been cleared away the thoroughfare +is of enormous width, and in case of need, regiments could march in the +centre with artillery on one side, and a supply train on the other, without +impeding one another.</p> + +<p>Level crossings for railways are more frequent than bridges. The gates are +generally controlled by women in the family sort of fashion that one sees +at the lodge of an English park where a right-of-way exists, and yet +accidents do not seem to happen.</p> + +<p>The railways of Normandy are those of the Chemin de Fer de l'Ouest, and one +soon becomes familiar with the very low platforms of the stations that are +raised scarcely above the rails. The porters wear blue smocks and trousers +of the same material, secured at the waist by a belt of perpendicular red +and black stripes. The railway carriages have always two foot-boards, and +the doors besides the usual handles have a second one half-way down the +panels presumably for additional security. It is really in the nature of a +bolt that turns on a pivot and falls into a bracket. On the doors, the +class of the carriages is always marked in heavy Roman numerals. The +third-class compartments have windows only in the doors, are innocent of +any form of cushions and are generally only divided half-way up. The second +and first-class compartments are always much better and will bear +comparison with those of the best English railways, whereas the usual +third-class compartment is of that primitive type abandoned twenty or more +years ago, north of the Channel. The locomotives are usually dirty and +black with outside cylinders, and great drum-shaped steam-domes. They seem +to do the work that is required of them efficiently, although if one is +travelling in a third-class compartment the top speed seems extraordinarily +slow. The railway officials handle bicycles with wonderful care, and this +is perhaps remarkable when we realize that French railways carry them any +distance simply charging a penny for registration.</p> + +<p>The hotels of Normandy are not what they were twenty years ago. +Improvements in sanitation have brought about most welcome changes, so that +one can enter the courtyard of most hotels without being met by the +aggressive odours that formerly jostled one another for space. When you +realize the very large number of English folk who annually pass from town +to town in Normandy it may perhaps be wondered why the proprietors of +hotels do not take the trouble to prepare a room that will answer to the +drawing-room of an English hotel. After dinner in France, a lady has +absolutely no choice between a possible seat in the courtyard and her +bedroom, for the estaminet generally contains a group of noisy Frenchmen, +and even if it is vacant the room partakes too much of the character of a +bar-parlour to be suitable for ladies. Except in the large hotels in Rouen +I have only found one which boasts of any sort of room besides the +estaminet; it was the Hotel des Trois Marie at Argentan. When this defect +has been remedied, I can imagine that English people will tour in Normandy +more than they do even at the present time. The small washing basin and jug +that apologetically appears upon the bedroom washstand has still an almost +universal sway, and it is not sufficiently odd to excuse itself on the +score of picturesqueness. Under that heading come the tiled floors in the +bedrooms, the square and mountainous eiderdowns that recline upon the beds, +and the matches that take several seconds to ignite and leave a sulphurous +odour that does not dissipate itself for several minutes.</p> + + +<br><br> +<a name="ch2"></a> +<br><br> +<center> +<h2>CHAPTER II</h2> +<h3>By the Banks of the Seine</h3> +</center> +<br> + + +<p>If you come to Normandy from Southampton, France is entered at the mouth of +the Seine and you are at once introduced to some of the loveliest scenery +that Normandy possesses. The headland outside Havre is composed of ochreish +rock which appears in patches where the grass will not grow. The heights +are occupied by no less than three lighthouses only one of which is now in +use. As the ship gets closer, a great spire appears round the cliff in the +silvery shimmer of the morning haze and then a thousand roofs reflect the +sunlight.</p> + +<p>There are boats from Havre that take passengers up the winding river to +Rouen and in this way much of the beautiful scenery may be enjoyed. By this +means, however, the country appears as only a series of changing pictures +and to see anything of the detail of such charming places as Caudebec, and +Lillebonne, or the architectural features of Tancarville Castle and the +Abbey of Jumieges, the road must be followed instead of the more leisurely +river.</p> + +<p>Havre with its great docks, its busy streets, and fast electric tramcars +that frighten away foot passengers with noisy motor horns does not compel a +very long stay, although one may chance to find much interest among the +shipping, when such vessels as Mr Vanderbilt's magnificent steam yacht, +without a mark on its spotless paint, is lying in one of the inner basins. +If you wander up and down some of the old streets by the harbour you will +find more than one many-storied house with shutters brightly painted, and +dormers on its ancient roof. The church of Notre Dame in the Rue de Paris +has a tower that was in earlier times a beacon, and it was here that three +brothers named Raoulin who had been murdered by the governor Villars in +1599, are buried.</p> + +<p>On the opposite side of the estuary of the Seine, lies Honfleur with its +extraordinary church tower that stands in the market-place quite detached +from the church of St Catherine to which it belongs. It is entirely +constructed of timber and has great struts supporting the angles of its +walls. The houses along the quay have a most paintable appearance, their +overhanging floors and innumerable windows forming a picturesque background +to the fishing-boats.</p> + +<p>Harfleur, on the same side of the river as Havre, is on the road to +Tancarville. We pass through it on our way to Caudebec. The great spire of +the church, dating from the fifteenth century, rears itself above this +ancient port where the black-sailed ships of the Northmen often appeared in +the early days before Rollo had forced Charles the Simple (he should have +been called "The Straightforward") to grant him the great tract of French +territory that we are now about to explore.</p> + +<p>The Seine, winding beneath bold cliffs on one side and along the edge of +flat, rich meadowlands on the other, comes near the magnificent ruin of +Tancarville Castle whose walls enclose an eighteenth century chateau. The +situation on an isolated chalk cliff one hundred feet high was more +formidable a century ago than it is to-day, for then the Seine ran close +beneath the forbidding walls, while now it has changed its course somewhat. +The entrance to the castle is approached under the shadow of the great +circular corner tower that stands out so boldly at one extremity of the +buildings, and the gate house has on either side semi-circular towers +fifty-two feet in height. Above the archway there are three floors +sparingly lighted by very small windows, one to each storey. They point out +the first floor as containing the torture chamber, and in the towers +adjoining are the hopelessly strong prisons. The iron bars are still in the +windows and in one instance the positions of the rings to which the +prisoners were chained are still visible.</p> + +<p>There are still floors in the Eagle's tower that forms the boldest portion +of the castle, and it is a curious feature that the building is angular +inside although perfectly cylindrical on the exterior. Near the chateau you +may see the ruined chapel and the remains of the Salle des Chevaliers with +its big fireplace. Then higher than the entrance towers is the Tour +Coquesart built in the fifteenth century and having four storeys with a +fireplace in each. The keep is near this, but outside the present castle +and separated from it by a moat. The earliest parts of the castle all +belong to the eleventh century, but so much destruction was wrought by +Henry V. in 1417 that the greater part of the ruins belong to a few years +after that date. The name of Tancarville had found a place among the great +families of England before the last of the members of this distinguished +French name lost his life at the battle of Agincourt. The heiress of the +family married one of the Harcourts and eventually the possessions came +into the hands of Dunois the Bastard of Orleans.</p> + +<p>From Tancarville there is a road that brings you down to that which runs +from Quilleboeuf, and by it one is soon brought to the picturesquely +situated little town of Lillebonne, famous for its Roman theatre. It was +the capital of the Caletes and was known as Juliabona, being mentioned in +the iters of Antoninus. The theatre is so well known that no one has +difficulty in finding it, and compared to most of the Roman remains in +England, it is well worth seeing. The place held no fewer than three +thousand people upon the semi-circular tiers of seats that are now covered +with turf. Years ago, there was much stone-work to be seen, but this has +largely disappeared, and it is only in the upper portions that many traces +of mason's work are visible. A passage runs round the upper part of the +theatre and the walls are composed of narrow stones that are not much +larger than bricks.</p> + +<p>The great castle was built by William the Norman, and it was here that he +gathered together his barons to mature and work out his project which made +him afterwards William the Conqueror. It will be natural to associate the +fine round tower of the castle with this historic conference, but +unfortunately, it was only built in the fourteenth century. From more than +one point of view Lillebonne makes beautiful pictures, its roofs dominated +by the great tower of the parish church as well as by the ruins of the +castle.</p> + +<p>We have lost sight of the Seine since we left Tancarville, but a ten-mile +run brings us to the summit of a hill overlooking Caudebec and a great +sweep of the beautiful river. The church raises its picturesque outline +against the rolling white clouds, and forms a picture that compels +admiration. On descending into the town, the antiquity and the quaintness +of sixteenth century houses greet you frequently, and you do not wonder +that Caudebec has attracted so many painters. There is a wide quay, shaded +by an avenue of beautiful trees, and there are views across the broad, +shining waters of the Seine, which here as in most of its length attracts +us by its breadth. The beautiful chalk hills drop steeply down to the +water's edge on the northern shores in striking contrast to the flatness of +the opposite banks. On the side of the river facing Caudebec, the peninsula +enclosed by the windings of the Seine includes the great forest of +Brotonne, and all around the town, the steep hills that tumble +picturesquely on every side, are richly clothed with woods, so that with +its architectural delights within, and its setting of forest, river and +hill, Caudebec well deserves the name it has won for itself in England as +well as in France.</p> + +<p>Just off the road to Rouen from Caudebec and scarcely two miles away, is St +Wandrille, situated in a charming hollow watered by the Fontanelle, a +humble tributary of the great river. In those beautiful surroundings stand +the ruins of the abbey church, almost entirely dating from the thirteenth +century. Much destruction was done during the Revolution, but there is +enough of the south transept and nave still in existence to show what the +complete building must have been. In the wonderfully preserved cloister +which is the gem of St Wandrille, there are some beautiful details in the +doorway leading from the church, and there is much interest in the +refectory and chapter house.</p> + +<p>Down in the piece of country included in a long and narrow loop of the +river stand the splendid ruins of the abbey of Jumieges with its three +towers that stand out so conspicuously over the richly wooded country. When +you get to the village and are close to the ruins of the great Benedictine +abbey, you are not surprised that it was at one time numbered amongst the +richest and most notable of the monastic foundations. The founder was St +Philibert, but whatever the buildings which made their appearance in the +seventh century may have been, is completely beyond our knowledge, for +Jumieges was situated too close to the Seine to be overlooked by the +harrying ship-loads of pirates from the north, who in the year 851 +demolished everything. William Longue-Epee, son of Rollo the great leader +of these Northmen, curiously enough commenced the rebuilding of the abbey, +and it was completed in the year of the English conquest. Nearly the whole +of the nave and towers present a splendid example of early Norman +architecture, and it is much more inspiring to look upon the fine west +front of this ruin than that of St Etienne at Caen which has an aspect so +dull and uninspiring. The great round arches of the nave are supported by +pillars which have the early type of capital distinguishing eleventh +century work. The little chapel of St Pierre adjoining the abbey church is +particularly interesting on account of the western portion which includes +some of that early work built in the first half of the tenth century by +William Longue-Epee. The tombstone of Nicholas Lerour, the abbot who was +among the judges by whom the saintly Joan of Arc was condemned to death, is +to be seen with others in the house which now serves as a museum. +Associated with the same tragedy is another tombstone, that of Agnes Sorel, +the mistress of Charles VII., that heartless king who made no effort to +save the girl who had given him his throne.</p> + +<p>Jumieges continued to be a perfectly preserved abbey occupied by its monks +and hundreds of persons associated with them until scarcely more than a +century ago. It was then allowed to go to complete ruin, and no +restrictions seem to have been placed upon the people of the neighbourhood +who as is usual under such circumstances, used the splendid buildings as a +storehouse of ready dressed stone.</p> + +<p>Making our way back to the highway, we pass through beautiful scenery, and +once more reach the banks of the Seine at the town of Duclair which stands +below the escarpment of chalk hills. There are wharves by the river-side +which give the place a thriving aspect, for a considerable export trade is +carried on in dairy produce.</p> + +<p>After following the river-side for a time, the road begins to cut across +the neck of land between two bends of the Seine. It climbs up towards the +forest of Roumare and passes fairly close to the village of St Martin de +Boscherville where the church of St George stands out conspicuously on its +hillside. This splendid Norman building is the church of the Abbey built in +the middle of the eleventh century by Raoul de Tancarville who was +William's Chamberlain at the time of the conquest of England. The abbey +buildings are now in ruins but the church has remained almost untouched +during the eight centuries and more which have passed during which Normandy +was often bathed in blood, and when towns and castles were sacked two or +three times over. When the forest of Roumare, has been left behind, you +come to Canteleu, a little village that stands at the top of a steep hill, +commanding a huge view over Rouen, the historic capital of Normandy. You +can see the shipping lying in the river, the factories, the spire of the +cathedral, and the many church towers as well as the light framework of the +modern moving bridge. This is the present day representative of the +fantastic mediaeval city that witnessed the tragedy of Joan of Arc's trial +and martyrdom. We will pass Rouen now, returning to it again in the next +chapter.</p> + +<p>The river for some distance becomes frequently punctuated with islands. +Large extents of forest including those of Rouvray, Bonde and Elbeuf, +spread themselves over the high ground to the west. The view from above +Elbeuf in spite of its many tall chimney shafts includes such a fine +stretch of fertile country that the scene is not easily forgotten.</p> + +<p>Following the windings of the river through Pont-de-L'Arche and the forest +of Louviers we come to that pleasant old town; but although close to the +Seine, it stands on the little river Eure. Louviers remains in the memory +as a town whose church is more crowded with elaborately carved stone-work +than any outside Rouen. There is something rather odd, in the close +juxtaposition of the Hotel Mouton d'Argent with its smooth plastered front +and the almost overpowering mass of detail that faces it on the other side +of the road. There is something curious, too, in the severe plainness of +the tower that almost suggests the unnecessarily shabby clothing worn by +some men whose wives are always to be seen in the most elaborate and costly +gowns. Internally the church shows its twelfth century origin, but all the +intricate stone-work outside belongs to the fifteenth century. The porch +which is, if possible, richer than the buttresses of the aisles, belongs to +the flamboyant period, and actually dates from the year 1496. In the +clerestory there is much sixteenth century glass and the aisles which are +low and double give a rather unusual appearance.</p> + +<p>The town contains several quaint and ancient houses, one of them supported +by wooden posts projects over the pavement, another at the corner of the +Marche des Oeufs has a very rich though battered piece of carved oak at the +angle of the walls. It seems as if it had caught the infection of the +extraordinary detail of the church porch. Down by the river there are many +timber-framed houses with their foundations touching the water, with narrow +wooden bridges crossing to the warehouses that line the other side. The +Place de Rouen has a shady avenue of limes leading straight down to a great +house in a garden beyond which rise wooded hills. Towards the river runs +another avenue of limes trimmed squarely on top. These are pleasant +features of so many French towns that make up for some of the deficiencies +in other matters.</p> + +<p>We could stay at Louviers for some time without exhausting all its +attractions, but ten miles away at the extremity of another deep loop of +the Seine there stands the great and historic Chateau-Gaillard that towers +above Le Petit-Andely, the pretty village standing invitingly by a cleft in +the hills. The road we traverse is that which appears so conspicuously in +Turner's great painting of the Chateau-Gaillard. It crosses the bridge +close under the towering chalk cliffs where the ruin stands so boldly. +There is a road that follows the right bank of the river close to the +railway, and it is from there that one of the strangest views of the castle +is to be obtained. You may see it thrown up by a blaze of sunlight against +the grassy heights behind that are all dark beneath the shadow of a cloud. +The stone of the towers and heavily buttressed walls appears almost as +white as the chalk which crops out in the form of cliffs along the +river-side. An island crowded with willows that overhang the water +partially hides the village of Le Petit-Andely, and close at hand above the +steep slopes of grass that rise from the roadway tower great masses of +gleaming white chalk projecting from the vivid turf as though they were the +worn ruins of other castles. The whiteness is only broken by the horizontal +lines of flints and the blue-grey shadows that fill the crevices.</p> + +<br><br> +<a name="gaillard"></a> +<br><br> +<center> +<a href="images/04.jpg"><img alt="04h.jpg (28K)" src="images/04h.jpg" height="276" width="496"></a> +</center> +<br><br> +<br><br> + +<p>From the hill above the Chateau there is another and even more striking +view. It is the one that appears in Turner's picture just mentioned, and +gives one some idea of the magnificent position that Richard Coeur de Lion +chose, when in 1197 he decided to build an impregnable fortress on this +bend of the Seine. It was soon after his return from captivity which +followed the disastrous crusade that Richard commenced to show Philippe +Auguste that he was determined to hold his French possessions with his +whole strength. Philippe had warned John when the news of the release of +the lion-hearted king from captivity had become known, that "the devil was +unchained," and the building of this castle showed that Richard was making +the most of his opportunities. The French king was, with some +justification, furious with his neighbour, for Richard had recently given +his word not to fortify this place, and some fierce fighting would have +ensued on top of the threats which the monarchs exchanged, but for the +death of the English king in 1199. When John assumed the crown of England, +however, Philippe soon found cause to quarrel with him, and thus the great +siege of the castle was only postponed for three or four years. The French +king brought his army across the peninsula formed by the Seine, and having +succeeded in destroying the bridge beneath the castle, he constructed one +for himself with boats and soon afterwards managed to capture the island, +despite its strong fortifications. The leader of the English garrison was +the courageous Roger de Lacy, Constable of Chester. From his knowledge of +the character of his new king, de Lacy would have expected little +assistance from the outside and would have relied upon his own resources to +defend Richard's masterpiece. John made one attempt to succour the +garrison. He brought his army across the level country and essayed to +destroy the bridge of boats constructed by the French. This one effort +proving unsuccessful he took no other measures to distract the besieging +army, and left Roger de Lacy to the undivided attention of the Frenchmen. +Then followed a terrible struggle. The French king succeeded in drawing his +lines closer to the castle itself and eventually obtained possession of the +outer fortifications and the village of Le Petit-Andely, from which the +inhabitants fled to the protection of the castle. The governor had no wish +to have all his supplies consumed by non-combatants, and soon compelled +these defenceless folk to go out of the protection of his huge walls. At +first the besiegers seemed to have allowed the people to pass unmolested, +but probably realizing the embarrassment they would have been to the +garrison, they altered their minds, and drove most of them back to the +castle. Here they gained a reception almost as hostile as that of the +enemy, and after being shot down by the arrows of the French they remained +for days in a starving condition in a hollow between the hostile lines. +Here they would all have died of hunger, but Philippe at last took pity on +the terrible plight of these defenceless women and children and old folks, +and having allowed them a small supply of provisions they were at last +released from their ghastly position. Such a tragedy as this lends terrible +pathos to the grassy steeps and hollows surrounding the chateau and one may +almost be astonished that such callousness could have existed in these days +of chivalry.</p> + +<p>The siege was continued with rigour and a most strenuous attack was made +upon the end of the castle that adjoined the high ground that overlooks +the ruins. With magnificent courage the Frenchmen succeeded in mining +the walls, and having rushed into the breach they soon made themselves +masters of the outer courtyard. Continuing the assault, a small party +of intrepid soldiers gained a foothold within the next series of +fortifications, causing the English to retreat to the inner courtyard +dominated by the enormous keep. Despite the magnificent resistance +offered by de Lacy's men the besiegers raised their engines in front of +the gate, and when at last they had forced an entry they contrived a +feat that almost seems incredible—they cut off the garrison from their +retreat to the keep. Thus this most famous of castles fell within half +a dozen years of its completion.</p> + +<p>In the hundred years' war the Chateau-Gaillard was naturally one of the +centres of the fiercest fighting, and the pages of history are full of +references to the sieges and captures of the fortress, proving how even +with the most primitive weapons these ponderous and unscalable walls were +not as impregnable as they may have seemed to the builders. Like the abbey +of Jumieges, this proud structure became nothing more than a quarry, for in +the seventeenth century permission was given to two religious houses, one +at Le Petit-Andely and the other at Le Grand-Andely to take whatever +stone-work they required for their monastic establishments. Records show +how more damage would have been done to the castle but for the frequent +quarrels between these two religious houses as to their rights over the +various parts of the ruins. When you climb up to the ruined citadel and +look out of the windows that are now battered and shapeless, you can easily +feel how the heart of the bold Richard must have swelled within him when he +saw how his castle dominated an enormous belt of country. But you cannot +help wondering whether he ever had misgivings over the unwelcome proximity +of the chalky heights that rise so closely above the site of the ruin. We +ourselves, are inclined to forget these questions of military strength in +the serene beauty of the silvery river flowing on its serpentine course +past groups of poplars, rich pastures dotted with cattle, forest lands and +villages set amidst blossoming orchards. Down below are the warm +chocolate-red roofs of the little town that has shared with the chateau its +good and evil fortunes. The church with its slender spire occupies the +central position, and it dates from precisely the same years as those which +witnessed the advent of the fortress above. The little streets of the town +are full of quaint timber-framed houses, and it is not surprising that this +is one of the spots by the beautiful banks of the Seine that has attained a +name for its picturesqueness.</p> + +<p>With scarcely any perceptible division Le Grand-Andely joins the smaller +village. It stands higher in the valley and is chiefly memorable for its +beautiful inn, the Hotel du Grand Cerf. It is opposite the richly +ornamented stone-work of the church of Notre Dame and dates chiefly from +the sixteenth century. The hall contains a great fireplace, richly +ornamented with a renaissance frieze and a fine iron stove-back. The +courtyard shows carved timbers and in front the elaborate moulding beneath +the eaves is supported by carved brackets. Unlike that old hostelry at +Dives which is mentioned in another chapter, this hotel is not over +restored, although in the days of a past proprietor the house contained a +great number of antiques and its fame attracted many distinguished +visitors, including Sir Walter Scott and Victor Hugo.</p> + +<p>In writing of the hotel I am likely to forget the splendid painted glass in +the church, but details of the stories told in these beautiful works of the +sixteenth century are given in all good guides.</p> + +<p>There is a pleasant valley behind Les Andelys running up towards the great +plateau that occupies such an enormous area of this portion of Normandy. +The scenery as you go along the first part of the valley, through the +little village of Harquency with its tiny Norman church, and cottages with +thatched roofs all velvety with moss, is very charming. The country is +entirely hedge-less, but as you look down upon the rather thirsty-looking +valley below the road, the scenery savours much of Kent; the chalky fields, +wooded uplands and big, picturesque farms suggesting some of the +agricultural districts of the English county. When we join the broad and +straight national road running towards Gisors we have reached the tableland +just mentioned. There are perhaps, here and there, a group of stately elms, +breaking the broad sweep of arable land that extends with no more +undulations for many leagues than those of a sheet of old-fashioned glass. +The horizon is formed by simply the same broad fields, vanishing in a thin, +blue line over the rim of the earth.</p> + + +<br><br> +<a name="andeley"></a> +<br><br> +<center> +<a href="images/03.jpg"><img alt="03h.jpg (31K)" src="images/03h.jpg" height="457" width="360"></a> +</center> +<br><br> +<br><br> + + +<p>At Les Thilliers, a small hamlet that, owing to situation at cross-roads +figures conspicuously upon the milestones of the neighbourhood, the road to +Gisors goes towards the east, and after crossing the valley of the Epte, +you run down an easy gradient, passing a fine fortified farm-house with +circular towers at each corner of its four sides and in a few minutes have +turned into the historic old town of Gisors. It is as picturesque as any +place in Normandy with the exception of Mont St Michel. The river Epte +gliding slowly through its little canals at the sides of some of the +streets, forms innumerable pictures when reflecting the quaint houses and +gardens whose walls are generally grown over with creepers. Near the ascent +to the castle is one of the washing places where the women let their soap +suds float away on the translucent water as they scrub vigorously. They +kneel upon a long wooden platform sheltered by a charming old roof +supported upon a heavy timber framework that is a picture in itself.</p> + +<p>If you stay at the Hotel de l'Ecu de France you are quite close to the +castle that towers upon its hill right in the middle of the town. Most +people who come to Gisors are surprised to find how historic is its castle, +and how many have been the conflicts that have taken place around it. The +position between Rouen and Paris and on the frontier of the Duchy gave it +an importance in the days of the Norman kings that led to the erection of a +most formidable stronghold. In the eleventh century, when William Rufus was +on the throne of England, he made the place much stronger. Both Henry I. +and Henry II. added to its fortifications so that Gisors became in time as +formidable a castle as the Chateau Gaillard. During the Hundred Years' War, +Gisors, which is often spoken of as the key to Normandy, after fierce +struggles had become French. Then again, a determined assault would leave +the flag of England fluttering upon its ramparts until again the Frenchmen +would contrive to make themselves masters of the place. And so these +constant changes of ownership went on until at last about the year 1450, a +date which we shall find associated with the fall of every English +stronghold in Normandy, Gisors surrendered to Charles VII. and has remained +French ever since.</p> + +<p>The outer baileys are defended by some great towers of massive Norman +masonry from which you look all over the town and surrounding country. But +within the inner courtyard rises a great mound dominated by the keep which +you may still climb by a solid stone staircase. From here the view is very +much finer than from the other towers and its commanding position would +seem to give the defenders splendid opportunities for tiring out any +besieging force. The concierge of the castle, a genial old woman of +gipsy-like appearance takes you down to the fearful dungeon beneath one of +the great towers on the eastern side, known as the Tour des Prisonniers. +Here you may see the carvings in the stone-work executed by some of the +prisoners who had been cast into this black abyss. These carvings include +representations of crucifixes, St Christopher, and many excellently +conceived and patiently wrought figures of other saints.</p> + + + + +<br><br> +<a name="gisors"></a> +<br><br> +<center> +<a href="images/05.jpg"><img alt="05h.jpg (34K)" src="images/05h.jpg" height="497" width="354"></a> +</center> +<br><br> +<br><br> + + + +<p>We have already had a fine view of the splendid Renaissance exterior of the +church which is dedicated to the Saints Gervais and Protais. The choir is +the earliest part of the building. It belongs to the thirteenth century, +while the nave and most of the remaining portions date from the fifteenth +or sixteenth century. It is a building of intense architectural interest +and to some extent rivals the castle in the attention it deserves.</p> + + +<br><br><br><br> +<br><br> + + + + + +<br><br> +<a name="ch3"></a> +<br><br> +<center> +<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> +<h3>Concerning Rouen, the Ancient Capital of Normandy</h3> +</center> +<br> + +<br><br> +<a name="horloge"></a> +<br><br> +<center> +<a href="images/06.jpg"><img alt="06h.jpg (39K)" src="images/06h.jpg" height="514" width="334"></a> +</center> +<br><br> +<br><br> + + +<p>When whole volumes have been written on Rouen it would be idle to attempt +even a fragment of its history in a book of this nature. But all who go to +Rouen should know something of its story in order to be able to make the +most of the antiquities that the great city still retains. How much we +would give to have an opportunity for seeing the Rouen which has vanished, +for to-day as we walk along the modern streets there is often nothing to +remind us of the centuries crowded with momentous events that have taken +place where now the electric cars sweep to and fro and do their best to +make one forget the Rouen of mediaeval times.</p> + +<p>Of course, no one goes to the city expecting to find ancient walls and +towers, or a really strong flavour of the middle ages, any more than one +expects to obtain such impressions in the city of London. Rouen, however, +contains sufficient relics of its past to convey a powerful impression upon +the minds of all who have strong imaginations. There is the cathedral which +contains the work of many centuries; there is the beautiful and inspiring +church of St Ouen; there is the archway of the Grosse Horloge; there is the +crypt of the church of St Gervais, that dates from the dim fifth century; +and there are still in the narrow streets between the cathedral and the +quays along the river-side, many tall, overhanging houses, whose age +appears in the sloping wall surfaces and in the ancient timbers that show +themselves under the eaves and between the plaster-work.</p> + +<p>Two of the most attractive views in Rouen are illustrated here. One of them +shows the Portail de la Calende of the cathedral appearing at the end of a +narrow street of antique, gabled houses, while overhead towers the +stupendous fleche that forms the most prominent feature of Rouen. The other +is the Grosse Horloge and if there had been space for a third it would have +shown something of the interior of the church of St Ouen. The view of the +city from the hill of Bon Secours forms another imposing feature, but I +think that it hardly equals what we have already seen on the road from +Caudebec.</p> + +<p>When you come out of the railway station known as the <i>Rive Droite</i> a short +street leads up to one of the most important thoroughfares, the Rue Jeanne +d'Arc. It is perfectly straight and contains nothing in it that is not +perfectly modern, but at the highest point you may see a marble tablet +affixed to a wall. It bears a representation in the form of a gilded +outline of the castle towers as they stood in the time of the Maid of +Orleans, and a short distance behind this wall, but approached from another +street, there still remains the keep of Rouen's historic castle. The +circular tower contains the room which you may see to-day where Joan was +brought before her judges and the instruments of torture by which the +saintly maiden was to be frightened into giving careless answers to the +questions with which she was plied by her clever judges. This stone vaulted +room, although restored, is of thrilling interest to those who have studied +the history of Joan of Arc, for, as we are told by Mr Theodore Cook in his +"Story of Rouen," these are the only walls which are known to have echoed +with her voice.</p> + +<p>Those who have made a careful study of the ancient houses in the older +streets of Rouen have been successful in tracing other buildings associated +with the period of Joan of Arc's trial. The Rue St Romain, that narrow and +not very salubrious thoroughfare that runs between the Rue de la Republique +and the west front of the cathedral, has still some of the old canons' +lodgings where some of the men who judged Joan of Arc actually lived. Among +them, was Canon Guillaume le Desert who outlived all his fellow judges. +There is still to be seen the house where lived the architect who designed +the palace for Henry V. near Mal s'y Frotte. Mr Cook mentions that he has +discovered a record which states that the iron cage in which Joan of Arc +was chained by her hands, feet and neck was seen by a workman in this very +house.</p> + + + +<br><br> +<a name="rouen"></a> +<br><br> +<center> +<a href="images/08.jpg"><img alt="08h.jpg (30K)" src="images/08h.jpg" height="498" width="348"></a> +</center> +<br><br> +<br><br> + +<p>In the quaint and narrow streets that are still existing near the Rue St +Romain, many strange-looking houses have survived to the present day. They +stand on the site of the earliest nucleus of the present city, and it is in +this neighbourhood that one gets most in touch with the Rouen that has so +nearly vanished.</p> + +<p>In this interesting portion of the city you come across the marvellously +rich Grosse Horloge already mentioned. A casual glance would give one the +impression that the structure was no older than the seventeenth century, +but the actual date of its building is 1529, and the clock itself dates +from about 1389, and is as old as any in France. The dial you see to-day is +brilliantly coloured and has a red centre while the elaborate decoration +that covers nearly the whole surface of the walls is freely gilded, giving +an exceedingly rich appearance. The two fourteenth century bells, one known +as La Rouvel or the Silver Bell on account of the legend that silver coins +were thrown into the mould when it was cast, and the other known as +Cache-Ribaut, are still in the tower, La Rouvel being still rung for a +quarter of an hour at nine o'clock in the evening. It is the ancient +Curfew, and the Tower de la Grosse Horloge is nothing more than the +historic belfry of Rouen, although one might imagine by the way it stands +over the street on an elliptical arch, that it had formed one of the gates +of the city.</p> + +<p>At the foot of the belfry is one of those richly sculptured fountains that +are to be seen in two or three places in the older streets. The carving is +very much blackened with age, and the detail is not very easily +discernible, but a close examination will show that the story of Arethusa, +and Alpheus, the river-god, is portrayed. The fountain was given to Rouen +by the Duke of Luxembourg early in the eighteenth century.</p> + +<p>Adjoining the imposing Rue Jeanne d'Arc is the fine Gothic Palais de +Justice, part of which was built by Louis XII. in the year 1499, the +central portion being added by Leroux, sixteen years later. These great +buildings were put up chiefly for the uses of the Echiquier—the supreme +court of the Duchy at that time—but it was also to be used as an exchange +for merchants who before this date had been in the habit of transacting +much of their business in the cathedral. The historic hall where the +Echiquier met is still to be seen. The carved oak of the roof has great +gilded pendants that stand out against the blackness of the wood-work, and +the Crucifixion presented by Louis XII. may be noticed among the portraits +in the Chambre du Conseille.</p> + +<p>The earliest portions of the great cathedral of Notre Dame date from the +twelfth century, the north tower showing most palpably the transition from +Norman work to the Early French style of Gothic. By the year 1255 when +Louis IX. came to Rouen to spend Christmas, the choir, transepts and nave +of the cathedral, almost as they may be seen to-day, had been completed. +The chapel to St Mary did not make its appearance for some years, and the +side <i>portails</i> were only added in the fifteenth century. The elaborate +work on the west front belongs to the century following, and although the +ideas of modern architects have varied as to this portion of the cathedral, +the consensus of opinion seems to agree that it is one of the most perfect +examples of the flamboyant style so prevalent in the churches of Normandy. +The detail of this masterpiece of the latest phase of Gothic architecture +is almost bewildering, but the ornament in every place has a purpose, so +that the whole mass of detail has a reposeful dignity which can only have +been retained by the most consummate skill. The canopied niches are in many +instances vacant, but there are still rows of saints in the long lines of +recesses. The rose window is a most perfect piece of work; it is filled +with painted glass in which strong blues and crimsons are predominant. +Above the central tower known as the Tour de Pierre, that was built +partially in the thirteenth century, there rises the astonishing iron spire +that is one of the highest in the world. Its weight is enormous despite the +fact that it is merely an open framework. The architect of this masterly +piece of work whose name was Alavoine seems to have devoted himself with +the same intensity as Barry, to whom we owe the Royal Courts of Justice in +London, for he worked upon it from 1823, the year following the destruction +of the wooden spire by lightning, until 1834, the year of his death. The +spire, however, which was commenced almost immediately after the loss of +the old one, remained incomplete for over forty years and it was not +entirely finished until 1876. The flight of eight hundred and twelve steps +that is perfectly safe for any one with steady nerves goes right up inside +the spire until, as you look out between the iron framework, Rouen lies +beneath your feet, a confused mass of detail cut through by the silver +river.</p> + +<p>The tower of St Romain is on the north side of the cathedral. It was +finished towards the end of the fifteenth century, but the lower portion is +of very much earlier date for it is the only portion of the cathedral that +was standing when Richard I. on his way to the Holy Land knelt before +Archbishop Gautier to receive the sword and banner which he carried with +him to the Crusade.</p> + +<p>The Tour de Beurre is on the southern side—its name being originated in +connection with those of the faithful who during certain Lents paid for +indulgences in order to be allowed to eat butter. It was commenced in 1485, +and took twenty-two years to complete. In this great tower there used to +hang a famous bell. It was called the Georges d'Amboise after the great +Cardinal to whom Rouen owes so much, not only as builder of the tower and +the facade, but also as the originator of sanitary reforms and a thousand +other benefits for which the city had reason to be grateful. The great bell +was no less than 30 feet in circumference, its weight being 36,000 lbs. The +man who succeeded in casting it, whose name was Jean Le Machon, seems to +have been so overwhelmed at his success that scarcely a month later he +died. At last when Louis XVI. came to Rouen, they rang Georges d'Amboise so +loudly that a crack appeared, and a few years later, during the Revolution, +Le Machon's masterpiece was melted down for cannon.</p> + +<p>Inside the cathedral there are, besides the glories of the splendid Gothic +architecture, the tombs of Henry Plantagenet, the eldest son of Henry II., +and Richard I. There are also the beautifully carved miserere seats in the +choir which are of particular interest in the way they illustrate many +details of daily life in the fifteenth century. The stone figure +representing Richard Coeur de Lion lies outside the railings of the +sanctuary. The heart of the king which has long since fallen into dust is +contained in a casket that is enclosed in the stone beneath the effigy. The +figure of Henry Plantagenet is not the original—you may see that in the +museum, which contains so many fascinating objects that are associated with +the early history of Rouen. The splendid sixteenth century monument of the +two Cardinals d'Amboise is to be seen in the Chapelle de la Sainte Vierge. +The kneeling figures in the canopied recess represent the two +Cardinals—that on the right, which is said to be a very good portrait, +represents the famous man who added so much to the cathedral—the one on +the left shows his nephew, the second Cardinal Georges d'Amboise. In the +middle of the recess there is a fine sculpture showing St George and the +Dragon, and most of the other surfaces of the tomb are composed of richly +ornamented niches, containing statuettes of saints, bishops, the Virgin and +Child, and the twelve Apostles. Another remarkable tomb is that of Louis de +Breze, considered to be one of the finest specimens of Renaissance work. It +is built in two storeys—the upper one showing a thrilling representation +of the knight in complete armour and mounted upon his war-horse, but upon +the sarcophagus below he is shown with terrible reality as a naked corpse. +The sculptor was possibly Jean Goujon, whose name is sometimes associated +with the monument to the two Cardinals, which is of an earlier date.</p> + +<p>The tomb of Rollo, the founder of the Duchy of Normandy, and the first of +the Normans to embrace the Christian religion, lies in a chapel adjoining +the south transept. The effigy belongs to the fourteenth century, but the +marble tablet gives an inscription which may be translated as follows: +"Here lies Rollo, the first Duke and founder and father of Normandy, of +which he was at first the terror and scourge, but afterwards the restorer. +Baptised in 912 by Francon, Archbishop of Rouen, and died in 917. His +remains were at first deposited in the ancient sanctuary, at present the +upper end of the nave. The altar having been removed, the remains of the +prince were placed here by the blessed Maurille, Archbishop of Rouen in the +year 1063." The effigy of William Longsword, Rollo's son, is in another +chapel of the nave, that adjoining the north transept. His effigy, like +that of his father, dates from the fourteenth century. It is in +surroundings of this character that we are brought most in touch with the +Rouen of our imaginations.</p> + +<p>We have already in a preceding chapter seen something of the interior of +the church of St Ouen, which to many is more inspiring than the cathedral. +The original church belonged to the Abbey of St Ouen, established in the +reign of Clothaire I. When the Northmen came sailing up the river, laying +waste to everything within their reach, the place was destroyed, but after +Rollo's conversion to Christianity the abbey was renovated, and in 1046 a +new church was commenced, which having taken about eighty years to complete +was almost immediately burnt down. Another fire having taken place a +century later, Jean Roussel, who was Abbot in 1318, commenced this present +building. It was an enormous work to undertake but yet within twenty-one +years the choirs and transepts were almost entirely completed. This great +Abbot was buried in the Mary chapel behind the High Altar. On the tomb he +is called Marc d'Argent and the date of his death is given as December 7, +1339. After this the building of the church went on all through the +century. The man who was master mason in this period was Alexandre +Barneval, but he seems to have become jealous of an apprentice who built +the rose window that is still such a splendid feature of the north +transept, for in a moment of passion he killed the apprentice and for this +crime was sentenced to death in the year 1440. St Ouen was completed in the +sixteenth century, but the west front as it appears to-day has two spires +which made their appearance in recent times. The exterior, however, is not +the chief charm of St Ouen; it is the magnificent interior, so huge and yet +so inspiring, that so completely satisfies one's ideas of proportion. +Wherever you stand, the vistas of arches, all dark and gloomy, relieved +here and there by a blaze of coloured glass, are so splendid that you +cannot easily imagine anything finer. A notable feature of the aisles is +the enormous space of glass covering the outer walls, so that the framework +of the windows seems scarcely adequate to support the vaulted roof above. +The central tower is supported by magnificent clustered piers of dark and +swarthy masonry, and the views of these from the transepts or from the +aisles of the nave make some of the finest pictures that are to be obtained +in this masterpiece of Gothic architecture. The tower that rises from the +north transept belongs, it is believed, to the twelfth century church that +was burnt. On the western front it is interesting to find statues of +William the Conqueror, Henry II. and Richard Coeur de Lion among other +dukes of Normandy, and the most famous Archbishops of Rouen.</p> + +<p>Besides the cathedral and St Ouen there is the splendid church of St +Maclou. Its western front suddenly appears, filling a gap in the blocks of +modern shops on the right hand side as you go up the Rue de la Republic. +The richness of the mass of carved stone-work arrests your attention, for +after having seen the magnificent facade of the cathedral you would think +the city could boast nothing else of such extraordinary splendour. The name +Maclou comes from Scotland, for it was a member of this clan, who, having +fled to Brittany, became Bishop of Aleth and died in 561. Since the tenth +century a shrine to his memory had been placed outside the walls of Rouen. +The present building was designed by Pierre Robin and it dates from between +1437 and 1520, but the present spire is modern, having replaced the old one +about the time of the Revolution. The richly carved doors of the west front +are the work of Jean Goujon. The organ loft rests on two columns of black +marble, which are also his work; but although the dim interior is full of +interest and its rose windows blaze with fifteenth century glass, it is the +west front and carved doors that are the most memorable features of the +building.</p> + +<p>In the Place du Marche Vieux you may see the actual spot where Joan of Arc +was burnt, a stone on the ground bearing the words "Jeanne Darc, 30 Mai, +1431." To all who have really studied the life, the trial and the death of +the Maid of Orleans—and surely no one should visit Rouen without such +knowledge—this is the most sacred spot in the city, for as we stand here +we can almost hear her words addressed to Cauchon, "It is you who have +brought me to this death." We can see her confessor holding aloft the cross +and we seem to hear her breathe the Redeemer's name before she expires.</p> + + + +<br> +<br> +<hr> +<br><br> + + + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Normandy, Part 1, by Gordon Home + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NORMANDY, PART 1 *** + +***** This file should be named 8593-h.htm or 8593-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/8/5/9/8593/ + +Produced by Ted Garvin, Beth Trapaga and the Distributed Proofreading +Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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