Account of a Tour in Normandy Volume Ii Part 2

Petri_; a latere habens _S. Martini_ oratorium. Ad Austrum est S. Viri cellula, et petris habens margines; saxis cinguntur claustra camerata: is decor cunctorum animos oblectans, eum inundantibus aquis, geminus vergit ad Austrum. Habet autem ipsa domus in longum pedes ducentos nonaginta, in latum quinquaginta: singulis legere volentibus lucem transmittunt fenestr vitre: subtus habet geminas des, alteras condendis vinis, alteras cibis apparandis accommodatas."]

[Footnote 12: Allusions to the cultivation of the vine at Jumieges, as then commonly practised, may be found in many other public doc.u.ments of the fifteenth century: but we may come yet nearer our own time; for we know that, in the year 1500, there was still a vineyard in the hamlet of Conihoult, a dependence upon Jumieges, and that the wine called _vin de Conihoult_, is expressly mentioned among the articles of which the charitable donations of the monastery consisted.--We are told, too, that at least eighteen or twenty acres, belonging to the grounds of the abbey itself, were used as a vineyard as late as 1561.--At present, I believe, vines are scarcely any where to be seen in Normandy, much north of Gaillon.]

[Footnote 13: In a charter belonging to the monastery, granted by Henry IInd, in 1159, (see _Neustria Pia_, p. 323) he gives the convent, "integritatem aqu ex parte terr Monachorum, et _Graspais_, si fort capiatur."--The word _Graspais_ is explained by Ducange to be a corruption of _cra.s.sus piscis_. Noel (in his _Essais sur le Dpartement de la Seine Infrieure_, II, p. 168) supposes that it refers particularly to porpoises, which he says are still found in such abundance in the Seine, nearer its mouth, that the river sometimes appears quite black with them.]

[Footnote 14: The following account of the destruction of the monastery is extracted from William of Jumieges. (See _d.u.c.h.esne's Scriptores Normanni_, p. 219)--"Dehinc Sequanica ora aggrediuntur, et apud _Gemmetic.u.m_ cla.s.sica statione obsidionein componunt.... In quo quamplurima mult.i.tudo Episcoporum, seu Clericorum, vel n.o.bilium lacorum, spretis secularibus pompis, collecta, Christo Regi militatura, propria colla saluberrimo iugo subegit. Cuius loci Monachi, sive incol, Paganorum adventum comperientes, fug lapsi qudam suarum rerum sub terra occulentes, qudam sec.u.m asportantes, Deo juvante evaserunt.

Pagani loc.u.m vacuum reperientes, Monasterium sanct Mari sanctque Petri, et cuncta dificia igne iniecto adurunt, in solitudinem omnia redigentes. Hac itaque patrata eversione, locus, qui tauto honoris splendore diu viguerat, exturbatis omnibus ac subuersis domibus, c?pit esse cubile ferarum et volucrum: maceriis in sua soliditate in sublime porrectis, arbustisque densissimis; et arborum virgultis per triginta ferm annorum curricula ubique a terra productis."]

[Footnote 15: The following are the proportions of the building, in French feet:--

Length of the church..................265 Ditto of the nave.....................134 Width of ditto.........................62 Length of choir........................43-1/2 Width of ditto.........................31 Length of Lady-Chapel..................63 Width of ditto.........................27 Height of central tower...............124 Ditto of western towers...............150

[Footnote 16: Mr. Cotman has figured this porch, (_Architectural Antiquities of Normandy_, t. 4) but has, by mistake, called it "_An Arch on the West Front of the Abbey Church_."]

[Footnote 17: See a paper by M. Le Prevost in the _Prcis a.n.a.litique des Travaux de l'Acadmie de Rouen_, 1815, p. 131.]

[Footnote 18: _Histoire de la Haute Normandie_, II, p. 260.]

LETTER XVI.

GOURNAY--CASTLE OF NEUFMARCH--CASTLE AND CHURCH OF GISORS.

(_Gisors, July_, 1818)

We are now approaching the western frontiers.--Gournay, Gisors, and Andelys, the objects of our present excursion, are disposed nearly in a line between the capitals of France and Normandy; and whenever war broke out between the two states, they experienced all the glory, and all the afflictions of warfare. This district was in fact a kind of debatable land; and hence arose the numerous strong holds, by which the country was once defended, and whose ruins now adorn the landscape.

The tract known by modern topographers, under the names of the _arrondiss.e.m.e.ns_ of Gournay and of Andelys, const.i.tuted one of the general divisions of ancient Normandy, the _Pays de Bray_. It was a tract celebrated beyond every other in France, and, from time immemorial, for the excellence of the products of its dairies. The b.u.t.ter of Bray is an indispensable requisite at every fas.h.i.+onable table at Paris; and the _fromage de Neufchtel_ is one of the only two French cheeses which are honored with a place in the bill of fare at Vry's at Grignon's, or at Beauvilliers'.

The females of the district frequently pa.s.sed us on the road, carrying their milk and eggs to the provincial metropolis. Accustomed as we are to the Norman costume, we still thought that the many-colored attire and long lappetted cap, of the good wife, of Bray, in conjunction with her steed and its trappings, was a most picturesque addition to the surrounding scenery. The large pannier on either side of the saddle leaves little room for the lady, except on the hinder parts of the poor beast; and there she sits, perfectly free and _dgage_, without either pillion or stirrup, showing no small portion of her leg, and occasionally waving a little whip, ornamented in the handle with tufts of red worsted.--We had scarcely quitted the suburbs of Rouen before we found ourselves in Darntal, a place that has risen considerably in importance, since the revolution, from the activity of its numerous manufacturers. Its population is composed entirely of individuals of this description, to whose pursuits its situation upon the banks of the Robec and Aubette is peculiarly favorable: the greater part of the goods manufactured here are coa.r.s.e cloths and flannels. Before the revolution, the town belonged to the family of Montmorenci.--The rest of the ride offered no object of interest. The road, like all the main post-roads, is certainly wide and straight; but the French seem to think that, if these two points are but obtained, all the rest may be regarded as matter of supererogation. Hence, very little attention is paid to the surface of the highways: even on those that are most frequented, it is thought enough to keep the centre, which is paved, in decent repair: the ruts by the side are frequently so deep as to be dangerous; and in most cases the cross roads are absolutely impa.s.sable to carriages of every description, except the common carts of the country.--There is nothing in which England has a more decided superiority over France than in the facility of communication between its different towns; and there is also nothing which more decidedly marks a superiority of civilization.

English travellers, who usually roll on the beaten track to and from the capital, return home full of praises of the French roads; but were they to attempt excursions among the country-towns and villages, their opinion would be wofully altered.--The forest of Feuille extends about four leagues on each side of the road, between Rouen and Gournay. It adds little to the pleasantness of the ride: the trees are planted with regularity, and the side-branches are trimmed away almost to the very tops. Those therefore who expect overhanging branches, or the green-wood shade, in a French forest, will be sadly disappointed. On the contrary, when the wind blows across the road, and the sun s.h.i.+nes down it, such a forest only adds to the heat and closeness of the way.

The country around Gournay is characterized by fertility and abundance; yet, in early times, the rich valley in which it is situated, was a dreary mora.s.s, which separated the Caletes from the Bellovacences. A causeway crossed the marshes, and formed the only road of communication between these tribes; and Gournay arose as an intermediate station.

Therefore, even prior to the Norman ra, the town was, from its situation, a strong hold of note; and under the Norman dukes, Gournay necessarily became of still greater consequence, as the princ.i.p.al fortress on the French frontier; but the annexation of the duchy to the crown of France, destroyed this unlucky pre-eminence; and, at present, it is only known as a great staple mart for cheese and b.u.t.ter. Nor is it advantageously situated for trade; as there is no navigable river or means of water-carriage in its vicinity. The inhabitants therefore look forward with some anxiety to the completion of the projected ca.n.a.l from Dieppe.

Gournay is a small, clean, and airy place. The last two circ.u.mstances are no trifling recommendation to those who have just escaped from the dirt and closeness of Rouen. Its streets are completely those of a country town: the intermixture of wood and clay in the houses gives them a mean aspect, and there are scarcely two to be found alike, either in size, shape, color, or materials.--The records of Gournay begin in the reign of Rollo. That prince gave the town, together with the Norman portion of the Pays de Bray, to Eudes[19], a n.o.bleman of his own nation, to be held as a fief of the duchy, under the usual military tenure. In one of the earliest rolls of Norman chieftains[20], the Lord of Gournay is bound, in case of war, to supply the duke with twelve soldiers from among his va.s.sals, and to arm his dependants for the defence of his portion of the marches. Hugh, the son of Eudes de Gournay, erected a castle in the vicinity of the church of St. Hildebert, and the whole town was surrounded with a triple wall and double fosse. The place was inaccessible to an invading enemy, when these fosses were filled with the waters of the Epte; but Philip Augustus caused the protecting element to become his most powerful auxiliary. Willelmus Brito relates his siege with minuteness in his _Philippiad_, an heroic poem, devoted to the acts and deeds of the French monarch.--After advancing through Lions and Mortemer, Philip encamped before Gournay, thus described by the historical bard;--

"Non procul hinc vic.u.m populos genta superb.u.m, Divitiis plenum variis, famque celebrem, Rure situm piano, munitum triplice muro, Deliciosa nimis speciosaque vallis habebat.

Nomine GORNAc.u.m, situ inexpugnabilis ipso, Etsi nullus ei defensor ab intus adesset; Cui multisque aliis prerat Gornacius HUGO.

Foss cujus erant ampl nimis atque profundae Quas sic Epta suo repleret flumine, posset Nullus ut ad muros per eas accessus haberi.

Arte tamen sibi REX tali pessundedit ipsum.

Haud procul a muris stagnum pergrande tumebat, Cujus aquam, pelagi stagnantis more, refusam Urget stare lacu sinuoso terreus agger, Quadris compactus saxis et cespite multo.

Hunc REX obrumpi medium facit, effluit inde Diluvium immensum, subitque voragine tota Vallis abit maris in speciem, ruit impete vasto Eluvies d.a.m.nosa satis, d.a.m.nosa colonis.

Municipes fugiunt ne submergantur, et omnis Se populus vill viduat, vacuamque relinquit.

Armis villa potens, muris munita virisque, Arte capi null metuens aut viribus ullis, Diluvio capitur inopino...............

REX ubi GORNAc.u.m sic in sua jura redegit, Indigenas omnes revocans ad propria, pacem Indicit populis libertatemque priorem; Deinde re-dificat muros.............

In 1350, after the death of Philip of Valois, Gournay was again separated from France, and given as a dower to Blanche of Navarre, the widow of that prince, who held it forty-eight years, when, after her death, it reverted to the crown. At the commencement of the following century, the town fell, with the rest of the kingdom, into the possession of the English; and once more, upon the demise of our sovereign, Henry Vth, formed part of the dower of the widowed queen. On her decease, it devolved upon her son; but a period of eleven years had scarcely elapsed, when the laws of conquest united it for a third time to the crown of France, in 1449.--From that period to the revolution, it was constantly in the possession of different n.o.ble families of the kingdom.

The name of Hugo de Gournay is enrolled amongst those who followed the conqueror into England, and who held lands _in capite_ from him in this country[21]. Hugo was a man of eminent valor, and his services were requited by the grant of many large possessions; but, after all his military actions, he sought repose in the abbey of Bec, which had been enriched by his piety. His son, Girald, who married the sister of William, Earl Warren, accompanied Robert, Duke of Normandy, into the Holy Land; and the grandson of Girald was in the number of those who followed Richard Coeur-de-Lion in a similar expedition, and was appointed his commissioner, to receive the English share of the spoil, after the capture of Acre. He was also among the barons who rose against King John. Their descendants settled in very early times in our own county, where their possessions were extensive and valuable.

It was in Gournay that the unfortunate Arthur, heir to the throne of England, received the order of knighthood, together with the earldoms of Brittany, Poitou, and Angers, from Philip Augustus, immediately previously to entering upon the expedition, which ultimately ended with his death; and, according to tradition, it was on this occasion that the town adopted for its arms the sable s.h.i.+eld, charged with a knight in armor, argent[22].

Gournay has now no other remains of antiquity, except the collegiate church of St. Hildebert[23], which was founded towards the conclusion of the eleventh century, though it was scarcely completed at the end of the thirteenth. Hence the discrepancy of style observable in the architecture of its different parts. The west front, in which the windows are all pointed, was probably one of the last portions completed. The interior is princ.i.p.ally of semi-circular architecture, with piers unusually ma.s.sy, and capitals no less fanciful and extraordinary than those already noticed at St. Georges. Here, however, we have fewer monsters. The ornaments consist chiefly of foliage, and wreaths, and knots, and chequered work, and imitations of members of the antique capital. Some of the pillars, instead of ending in regular capitals, are surmounted by a narrow projecting rim, carved with undulating lines. It has been supposed that this ornament, which is quite peculiar to the church of St. Hildebert, is a kind of hieroglyphical representation of water.--Perhaps, it is the chamber of Sagittarius; or, perhaps, it is a _fess wavy_, to which the same signification has been a.s.signed by heralds.--If this interpretation be correct, the symbol is allusive to the ancient situation of the town, built in the midst of a marsh, intersected by two streams, the Epte and the St. Aubin.

While we were on the point of setting out from Gournay, we had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Cotman, who landed a few days since at Dieppe, and purposes remaining in Normandy, to complete a series of drawings which he began last year, towards the ill.u.s.tration of the architectural antiquities of the duchy. He has joined our party, and we are likely to have the advantage of his society for some little time.

The village of Neufmarch, about a league from Gournay, on the right bank of the Epte, still retains a small part of its castle, built by Henry Ist, to command the pa.s.sage of the river, and to serve as a barrier against the incursions of the French. Its situation is good, upon an artificial hill, surrounded by a fosse; and the princ.i.p.al entrance is still tolerably entire. But the rest is merely a shapeless heap of ruins: the interior is wholly under the plough; and the fragments of denudated walls preserve small remains of the coating of large square stones, which formerly embellished and protected them.

Neufmarch, in the days of Norman sovereignty, was one of the strong holds of the duchy. The chroniclers[24] speak of the village as being defended by a fortress, in the reign of William the Conqueror. The church, too, with its semi-circular architecture, attests the antiquity of the station.

Long before we reached Gisors, we had a view of the keep of the castle, rising majestically above the town, which is indeed at present "une a.s.sez maussade pet.i.te ville, qui n'a gure qu'une rue." From its position and general outline, the castle, at first view, resembles the remains of Launceston, in Cornwall. It recalled to my mind the impressions of surprise, mixed with something approaching to awe, which seized me, when the first object that met my eyes in the morning (for it was late and dark when I reached Launceston) was the n.o.ble keep, towering immediately above my chamber windows, and so near, that it appeared as if I had only to open them and step into it. I do not mean to draw a parallel between the castles of Launceston and Gisors, and still less am I about to inquire into the relations.h.i.+p between the Norman and the Cornish fortresses. The lapse of twenty years has materially weakened my recollection of the latter, nor would this be a seasonable opportunity for such a disquisition: but the subject deserves investigation, the result of which may tend to establish the common origin of both, and to dissipate the day-dreams of Borlase, who longed to dignify the castellated ruins of the Cornish peninsula, by ascribing them to the Roman conquerors of Britain.

Gisors itself existed before the tenth century; but its chief celebrity was due to William Rufus, who, anxious to strengthen his frontiers against the power of the kings of France, caused Robert of Bellme to erect this castle, in 1097. Thus then we have a certain date; and there is no reason to believe, but that the whole of what is left us is really of the same ra, or of the following reign, in which it is known that the works were greatly augmented; for Henry Ist was completely a castle-builder. He was a prince who spared no pains in strengthening and defending the natural frontiers of his province, as the fortresses of Verneuil, Tillires, Nonancourt, Anet, Ivry, Chteau-sur-Epte, Gisors, and many others, abundantly testify. All these were either actually built, or materially strengthened by him.--This at Gisors, important from its strength and from its situation, was the source of frequent dissentions between the sovereigns of England and France, as well as the frequent witness of their plighted faith, and the scene of their festivities.--In 1119, a well-known interview took place here, between Henry Ist and Pope Calixtus IInd, who had travelled to France for the purpose of healing the schisms in the church, and who, after having accomplished that task, was desirous not to quit the kingdom till he had completed the work of pacification, by reconciling Henry to Louis le Gros, and to his brother, Robert. The speech of our sovereign upon this occasion, as recorded by Ordericus Vitalis[25], is a valuable doc.u.ment to the English historian: it sets forth, at considerable length, his various causes of grievance, whether real, imaginary, or invented, against the legal heir to our throne.--After a lapse of thirty-nine years, Louis le Jeune succeeded in annexing Gisors to the crown of France; but he resigned it to our Henry IInd, only three years subsequently, as a part of the marriage portion of his daughter, Margaret. It then remained with our countrymen till the conquest of the duchy by Philip Augustus; previously to which event, that sovereign and Henry met, in the year 1188, under an elm near Gisors, on the road to Trie, upon receiving the news of the capture of Jerusalem by the Sultan Saladin[26]. The monarchs, actuated by religious zeal, took up the cross, and mutually pledged themselves to suspend for a while their respective differences, and direct their united efforts against the common foe of the christian faith, Legends also tell that, during the conference, a miraculous cross appeared in the air, as if in ratification of the compact; and hence the inhabitants derive the armoria bearing of the town; _gules_, a cross engrailed _or_[27]. In 1197, Philip embellished Gisors with new buildings; and he retired hither the following year, after the battle of Courcelles, a conflict, which began by his endeavor to surprise Richard Coeur-de-Lion, but which ended with his total defeat. He had well nigh lost his life during the flight, by his horse plunging with him, all armed as he was, into the Epte.--He took refuge in Gisors; and the _golden gate_ of the town commemorated his grat.i.tude. With eastern magnificence, he caused the entire portal to be covered with gold; and the statue of the Virgin, which surmounted it, received the same splendor.

During the wars between France and England, in the fifteenth century, Gisors was repeatedly won and lost by the contending parties. In later and more peaceable times, it has been only known as the provincial capital of the bailiwick of Gisors, and of the Norman portion of the Vexin.

The castle consists of a double ballium, the inner occupying the top of a high artificial mound, in whose centre stands the keep. The whole of the fortress is of the most solid masonry. Previously to the discovery of cannon, it could scarcely be regarded otherwise than as impregnable, for the site which it occupies is admirably adapted for defence; and the walls were as strong as art could make them.--The outer walls were of great extent: they were defended by two covered ways, and flanked by several towers, of various shapes.--In the inclosed sketch, you will observe a circular tower, which is perhaps more perfect than any of the rest. The two entrances which led to the inner wards, were defended by more ma.s.sy towers, strengthened with portcullises and draw-bridges.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Distant of the Castle of Gisors]

The conical mound is almost inaccessible, on account of its steepness.

The summit is inclosed by a circular wall of considerable height, pierced with loop-holes, and strengthened at regular intervals with b.u.t.tresses, most of which are small and shallow, and resemble such as are found in the Norman churches. Those, however, which flank the entrance of the keep, are of a different character: they project so boldly, that they may rather be considered as bastions or solid turrets.--The dungeon rises high above all the rest, a lofty octagon tower, with a turret on one side of the same shape, intended to receive the winding staircase, which still remains, but in so shattered a state, that we could not venture to ascend it. The sh.e.l.l of the keep itself is nearly perfect, and is also varied in its outline with projecting piers.--Within the inner ballium, we discovered the remains of the castle-chapel. More than half, indeed, of the building is destroyed, but the east end is standing, and is tolerably entire. The roof is vaulted and groined: the groins spring from short pillars, whose capitals are beautifully sculptured with foliage; The architecture of the whole is semi-circular; but I should apprehend it to be posterior to any part of the fortress.--The inside of the castle serves at this time for a market-hall: the fosse, now dry and planted with trees, forms a delightful walk round the whole.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Banded Pillar in the Church of Gisors]

We were much disappointed by the church of Gisors; in the ill.u.s.tration of the details of which, Millin is very diffuse. The building is of considerable magnitude; its proportions are not unpleasing, and it contains much elaborate sculpture; but the labor has been ill bestowed, having been lavished without any attention to consistency. It is throughout a jumble of Roman and Gothic, except that the exterior of the north transept is wholly Gothic. Some of the little figures which decorate it are very gracefully carved, especially in the drapery. A pillar in the south aisle, entwined by spiral fillets, is of great singularity and beauty. The dolphin is introduced in each pannel, and the heraldic form of this fish harmonizes with the gentle curve of the field upon which it is sculptured. A crown of fleurs-de-lys surrounds the columns at mid-height. These symbols, as I believe I observed on a former occasion, are often employed as ornaments by the French architects. The church, which is dedicated to the twin saints, St.

Gervais and St. Protais, is the work of different ras, but princ.i.p.ally of the latter half of the sixteenth century, a time when, as a Frenchman told me, "l'on commena btir dans le beau style Romain."--The man who made the observation was of the lower order of society, one of the _swinish mult.i.tude_, who, in England, never dream about styles in architecture. I mention the circ.u.mstance, for the sake of pointing out the difference that exists in these matters between the two countries.

Here, every man, gentle or simple, educated or uneducated, thinks himself qualified and bound to deliver his opinion on objects connected with the fine arts; and though such opinions are of necessity commonly crude, and sometimes absurd, they, on the other hand, frequently display a degree of feeling, and occasionally of knowledge, that surprises you.

It may be true indeed, as Dr. Johnson said, with some illiberality, of our brethren across the Tweed, that though "every man may have a mouthful, no one has a belly full;" but it still marks a degree of national refinement, that any attention whatever is bestowed upon such subjects. This smattering of knowledge, accompanied with the constant readiness to communicate it, is also agreeable to a stranger. Except in a few instances at Rouen, I never failed to find civility and attention among the French. To the ladies of our nation they are uniformly polite though occasionally their compliments may appear of somewhat a questionable complexion; as it happened to a female friend of mine to be told, while drawing the church of St, Ouen, "qu'elle avait de l'esprit comme quatre diables."

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 19: _Histoire de la Haute Normandie_, I, p. 18.]

[Footnote 20: _d.u.c.h.esne, Scriptores Normanni_, p. 1046.]