hill which he ascends just after passing by the first crucifix. Hence he
enjoys a lovely prospect, such as delighted the old masters. In the
foreground is the lofty cross, standing on a quadrangular pyramid of
steps. The broken hollow path bending upwards round the base, is always
occupied by a grotesque group of cripples and beldames, in rags and
tatters, laughing and whining and praying. The horizon is bounded by
long lines of grey and purple hills, nearer are fields and pastures,
whilst the river glitters and winds amidst their vivid tints. Nearer
still, the city of Caen extends itself from side to side, terminated at
each extremity by the venerable abbeys of William and Matilda. There are
no traces of work-shops and manufactories, or of their pollution; but
the churches with their towers and spires rise above the houses in bold
architectural masses, and the city assumes a character of quiet monastic
opulence, comforting the eye and the mind.
About four miles farther on from Caen, we reached Cambre, one of the
many seignories which belonged to the very noble family of Mathan. There
was a Serlo de Mathan, who appears as a witness to one of the
Conqueror's charters, and the family is now represented by the present
Marquis, who has recovered his château, and a fragment of his domain.
Cambre is also the residence of the Abbé de la Rue, by whom the Marquis
was educated. When they both took refuge in England, the Abbé was the
only protector of his pupil, who now returns the honorable obligation.
It is well known that the Abbé has devoted his life to the investigation
of the antiquities both of Normandy and of the Anglo-Normans. Possessing
in a high degree the acute and critical spirit of research which
distinguished the French archaiologists of the Benedictine school, we
have only to regret, that the greater part of his works yet remain in
manuscript. His _History of Anglo-Norman Poetry_, which is quite ready
for the press, would be an invaluable accession to our literature; but
books of this nature are so little suited to the taste of the French
public, that, as yet, he has not ventured upon its publication. The
collections of the Abbé, as may be anticipated, are of great value; they
relate almost wholly to the history of the duchy. The château escaped
spoliation. The portraits of the whole line of the Mathans, from the
first founder of the race, in his hauberk, down to the last Marquis, in
his _frisure_, are in good preservation; and they are ancient specimens
of the sign-post painting usually found in old galleries. The Marquis
has also a finely-illuminated missal, which belonged to a Dame de
Mathan, in the fourteenth century, and which has been carefully handed
down in the family, from generation to generation.
The church of Douvre, the next village, is rather a picturesque
building. The upper story of the tower has two pointed windows of the
earliest date. A pediment between them rests on the archivolt on either
side. This is frequently seen in buildings in the circular style. The
other stories of the tower, and the west front of the church are Norman;
the east end is in ruins. The British name of the village may afford
ground for much ethnigraphical and etymological speculation.
Saint Exuperius is said to have founded the Chapel of La Délivrande,
some time in the first century. The tradition adds, that the chapel was
ruined by the Northmen,--and the statue of the Virgin, which now
commands the veneration of the faithful, remained buried until the
appointed time of resuscitation, in the reign of Henry Ist, when it was
discovered, in conformity to established usage and precedent in most
cases of miraculous images, by a lamb. Baldwin, Count of the Bessin and
Baron of Douvre, was owner of the flock to which the lamb belonged. The
Virgin would not remain in the parish church of Douvre, in which she was
lodged by the Baron, but she returned every night to the spot where she
was disinterred. Baldwin therefore understood that it was his duty to
erect a chapel for her reception, and he accordingly built that which is
now standing, and made a donation of the edifice to the Bishop of
Bayeux, whose successor receives the mass-pennies and oblations at this
very day. Some idea of the architecture of the building may be formed
from the inclosed sketch of the western front. During the morning mass,
the chapel was crowded with women, young and old, who were singing the
litany of the Virgin in a low and plantive tone. A hymn of praise was
also chaunted. It was composed by the learned Bishop Huet, and it is
inscribed upon a black marble tablet, which was placed in the chapel by
his direction. The country women of the Saxon shore possess a very
peculiar physiognomy, denoting that the race is unmixed. The
Norman-Saxon damsel is full and well made, her complexion is very fair,
she has light hair, long eyelashes, and tranquil placid features; her
countenance has an air of sullen pouting tenderness, such as we often
find in the women represented in the sculptures and paintings of the
middle ages. And all the girls are so much alike, that it might have
been supposed that they all were sisters. As to our Lady, she is gaily
attired in a Cashemire shawl, and completely covered with glaring amber
necklaces and beads, and ribband knots, and artificial flowers. Many
votive offerings are affixed round her shrine. The pilgrim is
particularly desired to notice a pair of crutches, which testify the
cure of their former owner, who lately hobbled to the Virgin from
Falaise, as a helpless cripple, and who quitted her in perfect health.
Of course the Virgin has operated all the usual standard miracles,
including one which may be suspected to be rather a work of
supererogation, that of restoring speech to a matron who had lost her
tongue, which had been cut out by her jealous husband. Miracles of every
kind are very frequently performed, yet, if the truth must be told, they
are worked, as it were, by deputy, for the real original Virgin suffered
so much during the revolution, that it has been thought advisable to
keep her in the sacristy, and the statue now seen is a restoration of
recent workmanship. In order to conciliate the sailors and fishermen of
the coast, the Virgin has entered into partnership with St. Nicholas,
whose image is impressed on the reverse of the medal representing her,
and which is sold to the pilgrims.
The country about La Délivrande is flat, but industriously cultivated
and thickly peopled. The villages are numerous and substantial. From a
point at the extremity of the green lane which leads onward from La
Délivrande, six or eight church spires may be counted, all within a
league's distance. By the advice of the Abbé de la Rue, we proceeded to
Bernieres, which is close to the sea. The mayor of the commune offered
his services with great civility, and accompanied us to the church,
which, as he told us, was built by Duke William. We easily gave credit
to the mayor's assertion, as the interior of the nave is good Norman.
The pillars which support the groining of the roof are square; this
feature is rather singular. The tower and spire are copied from Saint
Peter, at Caen. Those of Luc, Courseilles, Langrune, and the other
neighboring villages, are upon the same model. Many instances of the
same kind of affiliation occur at home, which shew how easily a fashion
was set in ecclesiastical architecture.
* * * * *
[Illustration: Font at Magneville]
APPENDIX II.
* * * * *
The most remarkable among the ancient inscriptions found in that part of
Normandy, which is now comprised in the Department of La Manche, are
upon an ancient altar, at Ham, on a medallion attached to the outside of
the church of Ste. Croix, at St. Lô, and upon the font at Magneville,
near Valognes. The first of these has generally been referred to the
seventh century; the second seems to be of the ninth; and the last may
with safety be considered as of the latter part of the tenth, or
beginning of the eleventh, at which period, the choir of the church of
Magneville appears also to have been erected. Of the sculpture upon the
font, as well as of the inscription, an accurate idea may be formed,
from the annexed drawing: the most remarkable character of the
inscription seems to be in its punctuation. The letters upon the altar,
at Ham, touch one another, and there is no separation of any kind
between the words: here, on the contrary, almost all the words are
divided by three or four points placed in a perpendicular direction,
except at the end of the phrases, where stops are wholly wanting. At
Ham, also, the letters are cut into the stone, while at Magneville they
are drawn with a brush, with a kind of black pigment.
G.
INDEX.
A.
_Abbey_, of Ardennes,
Bec,
Bernay,
Bonport,
Cormeilles,
Ducler,
Jumieges,
Preaux,
St. Evroul,
St. Georges de Bocherville,
St. Stephen, at Caen,
St. Taurinus,
Trinity at Caen.
_Academy of Druids_, at Bayeux.
_Academy of Sciences_, at Caen.
_Agnes Sorel_, buried at Jumieges,
her statue destroyed by the Huguenots,
her tomb destroyed at the revolution,
inscription upon.
_Amphitheatre, Roman_, found near Lisieux.
_Amyot, Mr_. his paper on the Bayeux tapestry.
_Andelys_, origin of the name,
history of,
seat of an early monastery,
great house at,
birth-place of Poussin.
_Andromeda polifolia_, found near Jumieges.
_Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury_, a monk at Bec.
_Aqueduct, Roman_, remains of, at Vieux.
_Archbishops of Rouen_, their palace at Gaillon.
_Arches, trefoil-headed_, early specimen of, at Jumieges.
_Ardennes_, abbey of, near Caen.
_Arlette, mother of the Conqueror_, native of Falaise.
_Arnulf_, bishop of Lisieux.
_Arthur, Prince_, knighted at Gournay.
_Asselin_, forbids the interment of the Conqueror.
_Audinus, bishop of Evreux_, authorizes Henry Ist to burn the city.
_Augustodurum_, probably the site of, at Vieux.
B.
_Bailiffs_, first established in Normandy under Philip Augustus,
_Baiocco of Naples_, named after Bayeux,
_Bas-relief_, in the church of St. Georges de Bocherville,
_Baudius_, professor of law for a short time at Caen,
_Bayeux_, seat of an academy of Druids,
Roman relics found near, but no Druidic,
a Roman station,
probably the Næomagus Viducassium,
its ancient name,
its importance under the early French kings,
its history,
the place where the Norman princes were educated,
castle,
situation, population, and trade,
tapestry,
cathedral,
_Bayeux, Roman_, probably destroyed by the Saxons,
_Bec, abbey of_, its present state,
former income and patronage,
church described by Du Plessis,
founded by Hellouin,
history,
seminary for eminent men,
_Belenus_, worshipped near Bayeux,
_Berengarius_, his tenets impugned by Lanfranc,
condemned by the council of Brionne,
_Bernay_, abbey of,
church,
burial-ground,
population and trade,
costume of the females,
_Bernieres_, church of,
_Blanche, wife of Charles the Bel_, confined in Château Gaillard,
_Bochart_, one of the founders of the academy at Caen,
_Boileau_, his eulogium on Malherbe,
_Bonport_, abbey of,
_Borghese, Princess of_, original letter by,
_Bouillon, Duke of_, Lord of Evreux, at the revolution,
_Bourg-Achard_, seat of an abbey, dedicated to St. Eustatius,
leaden font,
_Bourg-Theroude_,
_Bourgueville_, his antiquities of Caen,
present at the exhumation of the Conqueror's remains,
_Boy, bishop_, annually elected at Caen,
_Bretteville l'Orgueilleuse_, church of,
_Brionne_, situation of,
seat of the council which condemned the tenets of Berengarius,
castle,
_Brito_, his account
of the siege of Gournay,
of Château Gaillard,
of the murder of the French garrison of Evreux,
of Caen.
_Broglie_, church of.
_Bruce, David_, a resident in Château Gaillard.
_Buck-wheat_,
much cultivated in Lower Normandy,
etymology of its French name.
C.
_Caen_,
arrival at,
distant view of,
trade and population,
situation,
grand cours,
costume of females,
house-rent,
foundation,
described by Brito,
etymology of the name,
fortifications,
Château de Calix,
castle,
chapel in the castle,
hospital,
royal abbeys,
college,
palace,
museum,
library,
universities,
men of eminence,
academy,
Malherbe,
history,
neighborhood abundant in fossil remains,
seen from the road leading to La Délivrande.
_Caen-stone_,
large quarries of,
formerly much used in England.
_Cambre_.
_Cambremer, Canon of_, tale respecting, at Bayeux.
_Cannon_, first used in France, at the siege of Pont Audemer.
_Canons_, four statues of, at Evreux.
_Castle_, of Bayeux,
Brionne,
Caen,
Creully,
Falaise,
Gisors,
Montfort,
Neufmarché.
_Cathedral of Bayeux_, founded by St. Exuperius,
history,
described,
crypt,
stripped of its relics,
revenue,
right of mintage.
_Cathedral of Evreux_, often destroyed,
its present state,
little injured by the Huguenots,
founded by St. Taurinus.
_Cathedral of Lisieux_, now the parish church of St. Peter,
described,
remarkable tomb in.
_Cauchon, Peter_, bishop of Lisieux, president at the trial of Joan of Arc.
_Cecily_, daughter of the Conqueror, abbess at Caen.
_Chapel_, subterranean, in Bayeux cathedral,
in the castle at Caen,
in the castle at Falaise,
of St. Adrian,
of La Délivrande.
_Chapel in the castle at Caen_, built fronting the east
_Chapels_, stone-roofed, in Ireland, of Norman origin
_Charles the Bad_, born in the Château de Navarre
_Charters_, of the abbey of St. Georges de Bocherville
_Château de Navarre_
_Château Gaillard_, its situation
described
account of, by Brito
history
_Château de Calix_, at Caen
_Chesnut-timber_, formerly much used in Normandy
_Church_, of the abbey of Bec
Bernieres
Bernay
Bretteville l'Orgueilleuse
Broglie
Creully
Ducler
Ecouis
Falaise
Gisors
Gournay
Jumieges
St. Peter's at ditto
Louviers
Moulineaux
Pont Audemer
Pont-de-l'Arche
St. Germain de Blancherbe
St. Gervais, at Falaise
St. Georges de Bocherville
St. Giles, at Evreux
St. James, at Lisieux
St. John, at Caen
St. Michael, at ditto
St. Nicholas, at ditto
St. Peter, at ditto
St. Stephen's abbey, at ditto
St. Stephen, at ditto
Trinity, at ditto
Trinity at Falaise
Vernon
_Cider_, the common beverage, in Normandy
first introduced by the Normans
_Cocherel_
_Coins, golden_, struck at Bayeux, under the first French kings
_Colline des deux amans_, priory of
_Cormeilles_, abbey of
_Corneille_, buried at Andelys
_Costume_, at Bernay
at Caen
_Coupe gorge_, colony established at, by Napoléon
_Creully_, castle
church
_Crocodile fossil_, found near Caen
_Croissanville_
D.
_Dalechamps_, native of Caen
_D'Amboise, Cardinal_, built the palace at Gaillon
_Darnétal_
_De Boissy_, bishop of Bayeux, his epitaph.
_De la Rue, Abbé_,
professor of history at Caen,
is preparing an account of Caen,
his paper on the Bayeux tapestry.
_Douce, Mr._, his illustration of the sculpture at
St. Georges de Bocherville.
_Douvre_.
_Druids_, academy of, at Bayeux.
_Dubois Louis_,
his discoveries among the ruins of Old Lisieux,
preserved the original M.S. of Ordericus Vitalis,
is preparing the history of Lisieux.
_Ducarel_, his description of a pavement in the palace at Caen.
_Ducler_,
convent,
parish church.
_Du Perron_, cardinal, bishop of Evreux.
_Du Plessis_,
his opinion as to Turold on the Bayeux tapestry,
description of the abbey church of Bec.
E.
_Ecouis, church of_,
burial-place of John and Enguerrand de Marigny,
singular epitaph.
_Epitaph_,
enigmatical at Ecouis,
of John de Boissy,
on the exterior of Bayeux cathedral.
_Evreux_,
destroyed by Henry Ist,
cathedral,
abbey of St. Taurinus,
history,
present appearance.
_Evreux, Old_, a Roman station.
F.
_Falaise_,
situation of,
etymology of the name,
castle,
Talbot's tower,
chapel in castle,
history,
firmly attached to the League,
fortifications,
inhabitants _true Normans_,
population and trade,
churches.
_Fastolf, Sir John_, governor of Caen.
_Flambart, Ralph_, bishop of Durham, seizes Lisieux.
_Fleury, Cardinal_, abbot at Caen.
_Fonts_, seldom seen in French churches.
_Font_, curiously sculptured, at Magneville.
_Font, leaden_, at Bourg-Achard.
G.
_Gaillon_, vineyards near,
present state of,
ceded to the archbishop of Rouen,
made by the treaty of Louviers the frontier town of the Duchy,
_Gisors_, castle, appearance of,
history,
place of interview between Henry IInd, and Philip Augustus,
arms of the town,
castle, described,
church of,
banded column in the church,
_Glass painted_, at the abbey of Bonport,
in the church of Pont de l'Arche,
_Gournay_, origin of,
present appearance,
history,
siege described by Brito,
arms of,
place where Prince Arthur was knighted,
church,
remarkable sculpture on the capitals,
_Gournay, Hugo de_,
_Guibray_, fair of,
_Gurney, Hudson_, his paper on the Bayeux tapestry,
H.
_Harcourt_, castle of,
_Hellouin_, founder of the abbey of Bec,
his epitaph,
_Hennuyer, John_, bishop of Lisieux, said to have saved the Huguenots,
_Henry Ist_, kept prisoner by Robert at Bayeux,
destroyed the city,
_History, ecclesiastical, of Ordericus Vitalis_,
materials for a new edition of,
original manuscript,
manuscript copies,
_Holy Trinity_, church of, at Falaise,
_Honfleur_, situation of,
described,
_Horses, Norman_, present price of,
_Hospital at Caen_, founded in the thirteenth century,
_Hoveden_, his account of the interview between Henry IInd,
and Philip Augustus, near Gisors,
_Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury_, a monk of Bec,
_Hubert, M._, discovered the site of the Neomagus Lexoviorum,
_Huet_, his _Origines de Caen_,
one of the founders of the academy at Caen,
_Huguenots_, destroy the tomb and violate the remains of the Conqueror,
_Hume, David_, his opinion on the Bayeux tapestry,
_Hypocaust, Roman_, found at Vieux,
I.
_Inscription_, on the font at Magneville,
_John, King_, murders the French garrison of Evreux,
_Isatis tinctoria_, cultivated in France under Napoléon,
_Jumieges, abbey of_, its foundation,
original building,
history,
church,
Salle des Chevaliers,
church of St. Peter,
monuments,
_Ivory chest_, in Bayeux cathedral,
K.
_Knights, Templars_, house of, at Louviers,
L.
_Lamouroux, M_. professor of natural history at Caen,
his publications,
_Lanfranc_, settled at Bec,
first schoolmaster in Normandy,
first abbot of St. Stephen's,
_Langevin, M_., author of the history of Falaise,
_Langlois, M_., his portrait,
his work on Norman Antiquities,
_Le Beuf, Abbé_, his opinion of Vieux,
_Le Brasseur_, his account of the statues of four canons at Evreux,
_Léproserie de Beauîleu_,
_Letter, original_, from Princess Borghese,
_Library, public_, at Caen,
_Lisieux_, situation and trade of,
its see suppressed in 1801,
cathedral,
tomb in cathedral,
town probably founded in the sixth century,
ancient names of,
history of,
church of St. Jacques,
_Littleton, Lord_, his opinion of the Bayeux tapestry,
_Louviers_, treaty of,
population,
church,
house of knights templars,
history,
M.
_Magneville_, font at,
_Malherbe_, native of Caen,
_Mallet, Anthony_, his statement of Hennuyer's saving the Calvinists,
_Maréchal de Belle Isle_, his monument,
_Margaret of Burgundy_, immured in Château Gaillard,
_Marigny, Enguerrand de_, buried at Ecouis,
his mausoleum destroyed at the revolution,
_Marriage ceremony_, in France,
_Matilda, wife of the Conqueror_, supposed portrait of,
her seal
buried in the church of the Trinity,
her tomb destroyed by the Huguenots,
her remains lately found and new tomb raised,
_Maud, Empress_, her expostulations with her father as to the place
of her burial,
_Mazarine, Cardinal_, abbot of St. Stephen's,
_Melons_, cultivated on a large scale, near Lisieux,
_Misereres_, sculptured, in Bayeux cathedral,
_Misletoe_, commonly hung over inn-doors, near Caen,
_Money_, struck by the chapter of Bayeux, how marked,
_Montfaucon_, his engravings of the portraits of the Conqueror
and his family,
_Montfort_, castle of,
_Moulineaux_, church of,
_Mount Phaunus_, temple of, near Bayeux,
_Museum_, at Caen,
_Musicians_, sculptured at St. Georges de Bocherville,
N.
_Napoléon_, establishment formed by him at the pass of _Coupe Gorge_,
his attempt to make a naval station at Caen,
_Navarre, kings of_, lords of Evreux,
_Navarre, Château de_,
_Næomagus Viducassium_, probably the modern Bayeux,
_Neomagus Lexoviorum_, site of, lately discovered,
_Neufmarché_, castle of,
_Normandy_, divided anew, under Philip Augustus,
_Notre Dame de la Délivrande_, chapel of,
O.
_Odo, bishop of Bayeux_, rebuilds the cathedral,
his life and character.
_Ordericus Vitalis_, his account of the destruction of Evreux,
his account of St. Taurinus,
sketch of his life,
his ecclesiastical history,
his reflections on the death of the Conqueror
_Ornaments_ on the spandrils of the arches in Bayeux cathedral.
_Oxen_, breed of, near Caen.
P.
_Paintings, fresco_, in Bayeux cathedral.
_Passports_, regulations respecting, in France.
_Patye, John, Canon of Cambremer_, legend concerning, at Bayeux.
_Pays de Bray_.
_Pistae_, the site of, occupied by Pont de l'Arche.
_Pont Audemer_, its situation,
history,
churches.
_Pont de l'Arche_, seat of a palace under Charles the Bald,
origin of the name,
church.
_Portraits_, of the Conqueror and family.
_Poussin_, born at Andelys,
if his example has been favorable to French art.
_Preaux_, abbey of.
_Priory, des deux Amans_.
R.
_Rabelais_, his autograph.
_Reseda luteola_, cultivated near Rouen.
_Richelieu, Cardinal_, abbot of St. Stephen's at Caen.
_Roads in France_, compared with those in England.
_Robert the Devil_, his castle near Moulineaux.
_Romance_, subjects borrowed from, sculptured on a capital in St. Peter's,
at Caen.
_Rupierre, William of, Bishop of Lisieux_, resists the power of King
John.
S.