orders from King William II Rufus. For a century, it was the scene of constant strife until
finally ceded by Richard I the Lionhearted to Philip II Augustus by the Treaty of
Louviers (1196). Richard then immediately built Château-Gaillard to replace it. The
extensive remains of the ramparts (built probably under Henry I), of the 12th-century
keep (constructed on an irregular octagonal plan upon a 65-foot motte), and of the three-
story Tour du Prisonnier (built by Philip Augustus), dominate the present-day town. It is
an impressive example of Norman military architecture.
The church of Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais, constructed from the 12th through the 16th
century, witnessed a succession of styles. The nave is largely Renaissance, but the
transept tower (12th c.) and choir (13th c.) are significant Gothic structures in the region.
William W.Kibler/William W.Clark
[See also: CHÂTEAU-GAILLARD; LOCHES]
Bruand, Yves. “Le château de Gisors, principales campagnes de construction.” Bulletin
monumental 116 (1958):243–65.
Mesqui, Jean, and Patrick Toussaint. “Le château de Gisors aux XIIe et XIIIe siècles.” Archéologie
médiévale 20 (1990): 253–318.
Pépin, Eugène. Gisors et la vallée de l’Epte. 2nd ed. Paris: Laurens, 1963.
GLOSSA ORDINARIA
. The “Ordinary Gloss” is the name generally given to the commentary on the Bible (and
the prologues of Jerome) of which manuscripts were commonly produced ca. 1130–1250
and which contained in effect a digest of the opinions of all the important patristic
commentators, as well as some selected “moderns” on any given text. It was a reference
work for teachers and students of biblical commentary. Once the text had become
established, it was largely stable, laid out with a central biblical text and glosses added in
the margins and interlinearly. There is no difference, apart from length, between the
marginal and interlinear glosses, and they may change places at will.
Jerome, whose translation is the basis for the Glossa’s Bible text, is also a major
source of the individual glosses, along with Ambrose, Augustine, Bede, Cassiodorus,
Gregory the Great, Origen, and their 9th-century editor, Rabanus Maurus. These are the
main contributors, but others, especially Carolingian authors, are sometimes quoted on
particular words or phrases.
By ca. 1490, it was a commonplace that the Carolingian scholar Walafrid Strabo was
the compiler of the Glossa, but recent scholarship prefers to credit the Psalter, Pauline
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