Rouen (Seine-Maritime), Notre-Dame,
plan of 11th century, present plan.
After Lanfrey.
In 1204, Rouen surrendered swiftly when Philip II Augustus conquered Normandy,
and the French king confirmed important monopolies and liberties for the town. Until the
resumption of war with the English in the mid-14th century, the city’s trade and textile
industries made Rouen one of the richest cities in France. The 13th and early 14th
centuries witnessed the apogee of Gothic architecture; workers began to rebuild the
cathedral of Rouen and the great abbey church of Saint-Ouen. But the Hundred Years’
War brought higher taxes and disrupted trade. In 1418, King Henry V of England
besieged Rouen for six months, reducing the population to starvation, before it
surrendered. The English occupation of Rouen continued for over thirty years, in the
course of which, in 1431, nineteen-year-old Jeanne d’Arc was executed in Rouen’s
marketplace. Eighteen years later, in 1449, King Charles VII of France entered the city
victoriously.
Cassandra Potts
Rouen has many medieval monuments, of which the most important are the cathedral
of Notre-Dame, the Benedictine abbey church of Saint-Ouen, and the church of Saint-
Maclou. All date from the Gothic period, although some remains of earlier Romanesque
structures are preserved in the cathedral (Tour Saint-Romain and crypt) and Saint-Ouen
(Tour des Clercs).
The cathedral was rebuilt following a fire in 1200. Construction began at the west end
under the direction of the architect, Jean d’Andelys. Work continued during the 13th and
14th centuries, with additional construction on the towers in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The nave has eleven bays with side aisles opening onto chapels. The
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 1554