JUMIÈGES
. Founded ca. 654 by St. Filibert, the abbey of Notre-Dame de Jumièges (Seine-Maritime)
is today a splendid ruin, its fantastic skeleton defining the skyline by the Seine. Despite
being abandoned (14th c.), sacked (16th c.), and used as a quarry (18th c.), much of
Notre-Dame, along with its neighbor, Saint-Pierre, and other ecclesiastical buildings
survive.
Jumièges (Seine-Maritime), Notre-
Dame, nave ruins. Photograph
courtesy of Whitney S.Stoddard.
A murky history of the early abbey reveals significant ties to the Carolingian dynasty. In
841, Vikings burned the town. Eventually, the dukes of Normandy funded the
reconstruction of the abbey churches of Saint-Pierre (completed 990) and Notre-Dame
(1037–66) on their original 7th-century sites. Although the adventures of William the
Conqueror postponed the dedication of Notre-Dame for a year, to 1067, the Conqueror
brought English land and monastic ties to the abbey. The signature of austere, imposing
strength common to other Norman buildings is particularly indelible at Notre-Dame. Free
from embellishments and figural sculpture, variations in pierced and blind arcades
highlight the sides of the western octagonal towers. A single, plain portal and great
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