June 7, 2022
“It was now autumn, and I made up my mind to make, before winter set in, an excursion across Normandy, a country with which I was not acquainted. It must be borne in mind that I began with Rouen, and for a week I wandered about enthusiastic with admiration, in that picturesque town of the Middle Ages, in that veritable museum of extraordinary Gothic monuments….”
-Guy de Maupassant
“My God, we have killed a Saint…”
- An English soldier during the execution of Joan of Arc
Rouen is the capital of Normandy and, for a time, it was the 2nd largest city in France. it is over 2,000 years old and William the Conquerer once ruled here before he invaded England. During the war, much of it was leveled by Allied bombing, but miraculously, the historic center and great Notre Dame (their are more than one) Cathedral survived.
Today we took a walk through the city and I want to share some highlights.
Next to the ruins of a 15th century church, that was destroyed during the French Revolution, lies this charming half timbered building. Within you will find La Couronne restaurant that is the oldest in France. It has here in 1948 that a young woman who worked for the US State department enjoyed a fine french meal.
The experience proved to be an epiphany for her. She went on to author two of thebest selling cookbooks of all time and launch a revolution in the eating habits of Americans.
Her name was Julia Child.
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The streets here are lined with charming and eclectic half timbered houses. The reason for this type of architecture was due to the abundance of oak nearby as a foundational material. In between the sturdy posts was filled with soft limestone, straw, mud, etc to provide insulation.
Before 1520 the building were built taller and wider on the subsequent floors. You paid taxes on only the ground level and people wanted more room. Thus, they ‘leaned’ a great deal.
However, it was feared that such crowding blocked breezes and thus helped exacerbate the Plague that ravaged this area. So after 1520 all the houses had flat fronts. it is an easy way to tell the dates of the building that line the cobblestone streets.
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This impressive clock is called the Gros Horloge. It was built in 1528 and decorates the former city hall. For a long time it only sported an hour hand. In Medical times that was enough. However, as the centuries past and the world grew more complicated a minute time was added.
Beneath the arch is a wonderfully detailed carving of the “Good Shepherd” - a tribute not only to the Bible but to the wool industry that made medieval Rouen so wealthy.
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The impressive building in the photograph used to house the parliament. It is a classic example of “Flamboyant Gothic” - one of the last variants of the gothic style. (Whether or not the architect was gay is unknown*).
(*Colleen’s joke. - if you like it then she gets the credit - if you don’t - it was Colleen’s joke)
The sad thing about this structure is it was built in the old Jewish quarter. In the 14th century the Jews were expelled from France, their homes demolished, and this building was built over the top of it.
Here is the thing - This is the Palace of Justice.
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The Cathedrale Notre -Dame is a landmark of Art history. Monet painted the fantastical facade over 30 times at different times of the day to capture light.
The central nave is classic gothic that soars to over 4 stories in height. The outer central tower climbs to over 500 feet and is till the highest church steeple in France.
Many of the beautiful stained glass has been replaced by a clear glass. The windows over the years were destroyed by wars and angry Protestant iconoclasts. In fact the protestant mobs went so far as to decapitate many of the statures during a 6 month time they controlled the city.
Richard the Lionheart, the son of Henry II, is buried here.
Well, sort of…
His heart is all that is in the tomb.
Really, no kidding, it has been confirmed by forensic studies.
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This is the St Maclou church. Its front bow shaped facade is unique and text book “Flamboyant” gothic. It was built at the end of the gothic age and some features reflect the later Renaissance period. Although the building was closed we enjoyed the outdoor cafe that faced it and the parade of school children out for the day.
For Curtis and Rusty - We came across this stout little chap outside a cafe
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The cause of the Black Death was a specific type of bacterium called Yersina Pestis. It enters the body through bites that are carried by the fleas carried on the ubiquitous rats that are found in all population centers. It can also be transmitted through skin contact with infectious fluids and rarely respiratory droplets.
Of course no one knew this about Bubonic Plague back then.
They only saw it sweep into communities and decimate populations. Victims would develop high fevers, swollen glands that drained pus, and gangrene in their limbs leading to horrific appearances.
Eventually, the infection would often overwhelm the lungs and the victim would die from pneumonia drowning in their own blood. It was horrible and terrifying to an uneducated populace.
Here in this quiet courtyard the bodies of thousands of plague victims were buried in a mass grave. The grave diggers would stack the rotting corpses and pour liquid lime over them to hasten decomposition. They would collect the bones and stack them in a gruesome ossuary around the adjacent alcoves.
Today we found children playing in the courtyard seemingly unaware of what they were standing on.
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Joan was only 13 years old and all of 5’3” tall when according to legend she began hearing voices in her father’s garden accompanied by a bright light. It was 1429 and France was still fighting the English during the 100 years war (1350-1450). She was illiterate and very poor.
The voices told her to “save the French from the English”. They also told her to dress as a man and cut her hair. She crudely cut it in what today would be considered a ‘Bob’ (She essentially invented this hairstyle) and left to demand to see the King of France. Her zeal and passion was enough for her to be granted an audience with Charles VII.
The scenes above from a church next to her execution spot where she is venerated.
She told the King, who was mired outside the city of Orleans in a battle with the dreaded English, that the angels told her he would be victorious. The King was impressed and moved by her speech.
He named her “The Maid of France” and presented her with a sword and a banner that read “Jesus, Maria”. She would start to bivouac amid the rough soldiers and ride with them into battle carrying her banner high. She would never actually fight in a battle despite depictions to the contrary but rather served as a rallying cry for the army. The young girl would participate in war councils making plans for assaults.
And the French began to win.
However her luck would not hold. She was injured twice during battles leading many to doubt her aura of invincibility. In 1430 she was captured, placed in an iron cage and sold to the English for 10,000 pounds.
An inquisition was held and contrary to established lore she was not tried for witchcraft but a variation of “sorcery” and various other crimes including everything from stealing a horse to making false claims.
Eventually she was convicted of was the unspeakable offense of a woman wearing men’s clothing, as well as talking to archangels.
For all of these things she was burned on this spot chained to a stake. As she was led to her doom she cried out to the watching crowd “Rouen! Rouen! Must I die here?”
The flame was lit and as they engulfed her she fixed her eyes on a crucifix and died chanting, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…”. Afterwards, her burnt corpse was place on public display to convict skeptics that she really did perish. She was 19 years old. Later her body was returned to the flames and her ashes were scattered in the Seine River.
In death she would accomplish much more than she did in life. She would later become a symbol of French nationhood. The English were eventually defeated and driven out. As the centuries would pass, writers and poets would idealize her image for their own purposes and by 1920 the church officially canonized her as Saint Joan.
Today, she is the patron saint of France. It is an extraordinary legacy for a diminutive, illiterate, medieval girl who heard voices.
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