Rouen (France) -- Description and travel; Rouen (France) -- History
In 1197 the same spirit of assertive independence was evidenced in the
building of stone crosses in all parts of the city, which lasted until
1562, and recorded that their Duke, Richard had bought the manor of
Andelys and the rock for his Chateau Gaillard from the Archbishop of
Rouen, at the price of two of the town's public mills, the manor of
Louviers, the towns of Dieppe and Bouteilles, and the forest of
Aliermont. The bargain had not been struck without great agitation,
interdicts on the town, and outcries from laymen and ecclesiastics
alike. But it was well worth any trouble and treasure, and the
Lionheart's "saucy castle" became the key of Normandy. His miserable
brother John would never have lost the Duchy had he kept the fort. But
his reign was ever destined to failure and discredit, and after the
murder of Prince Arthur, which is said to have taken place within the
Tower of Rouen by the Seine, had added gross impolicy to unpardonable
crime, the last descendant of Rollo, who was both a King of England
and a Duke of Normandy, fell before the power of the King of France.
Rouen surrendered to Philip Augustus, and Normandy became a French
province. The change had been an easy one, for John was far more
Angevin and English than he was Norman, and his Duchy was no longer
the home that William the Conqueror had made a terror to his
neighbours.
[Illustration: FIGURE FROM THE BORDER OF THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY]
Englishmen might indeed regret the loss of that motherland of heroes
which had conquered Sicily and England too, and mourn to see her seven
great cities, her strong castles, her stately minsters, and her
Teutonic people in a Roman land, all under the yoke of kings whom Duke
William had beaten at Varaville, and King Henry had conquered at
Noyon. But the loss was England's gain. It meant not only that England
was united under a really English king, but that her Norman nobles had
become her own Englishmen. Far more had resulted from the immigration
from the Continent, led by the Conqueror, than is usually appreciated.
Its results were not merely such tangible documents as that charter of
the liberties of London, signed by the great Duke of Rouen, which is
still the most cherished possession of the archives of the City.
William's soldiers were swiftly followed by peaceful invaders far more
numerous, whose influence was far more widespreading. Not only did
every Norman baron and abbot bring his own company of chosen artists
and craftsmen with him from France, but "many of the citizens and
merchants of Rouen," says the chronicler, "passed over, preferring to
be dwellers in London, inasmuch as it was fitter for their trading,
and better stored with the merchandise in which they were wont to
traffic." One concrete example of the resulting growth of trade may be
quoted. Before the Conquest, weaving had not been practised in England
as a separate craft for the market. By 1165 we find a kind of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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