from Count Simon between 1076 and 1077 to bestow it upon his son the future Louis VI
(r. 1108–37), who even occupied the Norman Vexin until his defeat at Brémule (1119).
Henry II of England (r. 1154–89) did homage for the Norman Vexin, and the French
Vexin was made the dowry of two daughters of Louis VII (r. 1137–80), married and
betrothed successively to two of Henry’s sons. The latter marriage, to Richard I the
Lionhearted (r. 1189–99) never having taken place, Philip II Augustus (r. 1180–1223)
waged war against him from 1195 to 1199, losing most of the French Vexin in the
process. But after Richard’s death, the annexation of Normandy in 1204, confirmed by
the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, rendered moot the question of the frontier. Philip II was
to grant communal charters to several towns in the Vexin, which quickly became
integrated into the royal domain.
R.Thomas McDonald
[See also: NORMANDY; ROYAL DOMAIN]
Barroux, Robert. “L’abbé Suger et la vassalité du Vexin en 1124.” Moyen âge 64(1958):1–26.
Grierson, Philippe. “L’origine des comtes d’Amiens, Valois et Vexin.” Moyen âge, 3rd ser.,
2(1939):81–125.
VÉZELAY
. The stormy history of Vézelay (Yonne) and its monastery spans most of the Middle
Ages. Founded in Carolingian times, the first monastery, not on the hill, was destroyed in
886–87 by Vikings whom Charles III The Fat had allowed to pillage in Burgundy. It was
soon rebuilt on the hill above, which was fortified. Belief in the presence of remains of
the body of Mary Magdalene grew, and in 1058 Pope Stephen IX confirmed the relics
and pilgrimages began.
Vézelay (Yonne), La Madeleine, plan
and elevation of narthex and nave.
After Salet and Losowska.
Given the vast numbers of pilgrims, Abbot Artaud decided in 1096 to replace the
Carolingian church with a larger structure, whose choir and transept were consecrated on
April 21,1104. Two years later, the townspeople, over-whelmed by taxes to finance the
construction, assassinated Artaud. His successor, Renaud de Semur, rebuilt the
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 1798