Rouen
Rouen,
It's History and Monuments
by Théodore Licquet
Cæsar, in his Commentaries does not speak of Rouen; Pomponius Mela, does not mention it in his Geography; Ptolemy is the first author who has noticed it. This observation alone will shew the absurdity of the numerous etymologies assigned to its name of Rothomagus, of which we have made Rouen. The least unlikely are those which have been taken from the primitive language of the country; but, even then we can only form conjectures more or less vague, as, in deriving Rothomagus from two celtic words, some have considered that this name signifies a great town; others, a town on the bank of a river; while others again a town where duties were paid.
Ptolemy then gives us a commencement to the history of Rouen. In his lifetime, that is to say, during the first part of the second-century, Rouen bore the name of Rothomagus; it was the capital of the country of the Velocasses.
If Rouen, as a town of Gaul, is little known to us, Rouen as a Roman town is more so. Its existence is no longer doubtful; its importance even is proved. All suppositions join to make one think that the Romans were the first who erected external fortifications round the town. Remains of walls evidently built by that people, were discovered in 1789 in the cellars of a house which had been built on the edge of the first ditch[1]. These buildings extended westward even under the church of Saint-Lo, and it is very probable that they joined towards the east with other remains of roman architecture, found in digging the foundations of another house, no 2, rue de la Chaîne.
Here then, is the first boundary of Rouen under the Romans, and drawn-out by them: on the south the Seine, the waters of which at this time, came as high as the line occupied at present by the rue des Bonnetiers, the place de la Calende, that of Notre-Dame on its southern portion, and thus along to the extremity of the rue aux Ours. On the north, the ditch which existed the whole length of the streets de l'Aumône, and Fossés-Louis-VIII, that is to say, from the river Robec at the east, to the rue de la Poterne at the west. From the latter point draw a line in a southern direction passing across the Mew-Market, the rue Massacre and the rue des Vergetiers, to the rue aux Ours and you will have the western limit. The eastern limit is naturally marked out by the course of the Robec. The town maintained this boundary till the Xth century, the period of the establishment of Rollon, in this portion of Neustria to which the Normans gave their name.
I have already said, that Rouen, was an important town under the Romans, and this truth is proved, by the fact. It does not figures, it is true, in the notice of the dignities of the Empire, as the seat of a superior magistrate, but, nevertheless it is spoken of, as a town having a garrison; and, it was there that the præfectus militum Ursariensium or, as we should say in English, the colonel of the regiment of the Ursarians, resided.
The ecclesiastical annals also, prove the importance of Rouen at this period. We find, in fact, during the first ages of christianity, the apostles coming into Gaul, going to Rouen, and fixing their abode in a principal town that the sacred word might be more easily spread thro' the surrounding country.
As Saint-Nicaise did not come to Rouen, we must consider Saint-Mellon, as its most ancient bishop. The erection, or the consecration of a first chapel in Rouen, under the patronage of the virgin, is the only important event which the life of this prelate contains. As to the destruction of a temple dedicated to the pretended idol Roth, I think I have proved in an other work[2], first, that there never existed an idol of that name, neither was the temple situated on the ground occupied by the church of Saint-Lo; secondly, that this temple was demolished by Saint-Romain, nearly four hundred years later.
Nothing very remarkable happened at Rouen, under the successors of Saint-Mellon, until Saint-Victrice. But, here commences a new era for the town. Its population increases, its reputation extends, the temples of the true god are multiplied; even Saint-Victrice himself works in their erection: «He rolls the stones with his own hands, he carries them on his shoulders.»
This town continued its career peaceably during nearly a century, until Saint-Godard succeeded to the episcopate. Then we come to a great historical transition.
Roman power had been long struggling against the encroachments of the Francs in Gaul. Clovis, conquers the provinces situated between the Somme, the Seine and the Aisne; the monarchy commences, and Rouen becomes a French town.
To Saint-Godard who died in 529, Flavius succeeded the same year. The first foundation by Clotaire I, of the abbey of Saint-Peter, now Saint-Ouen, about the year 540, is attributed to him.
After Flavius, came Pretextat, whose name alone reminds us of those of two women, unfortunately too celebrated, Fredégonde and Brunehaut. The latter had been exiled to Rouen, by Chilperic, king of Soissons. Merovee, son of Chilperic, loved Brunehaut and was loved by her. He came to Rouen, and married his mistress; Pretextat blessed their union. Chilperic arrives and the two lovers take refuge in the church of Saint-Martin-sur-Renelle, a wooden building, on the wall of the town. It is to Gregory of Tours that we owe this information which is valuable, in as much, as it makes us acquainted with the limits of Rouen on the north-west side at this period.
Fredegonde did not pardon Pretextat; she caused him to be murdered, during mass, in the Cathedral.
The episcopate of Melance and of Hidulfe, the successors to Pretextat, offers no very particular circumstances. That of Saint-Romain, is much more remarkable, for the destruction of heathen temples, and the famous miracle of the Gargouille, which, gave birth to the privilege not less famous, which the chapter possessed of setting at liberty a prisoner every year. It is thought generally, however, that Saint-Romain, constructed one of the churches, which succeeded each other on the site of the Cathedral, but, they were deceived who have said that this bishop extirpated paganism from Rouen, and from the province. Saint-Ouen, who came after Saint-Romain, found the people clownish, superstitious, and idolatrous, in consequence of the negligence of some bishops, his predecessors. The inhabitants of the neighbouring country, were coarse, cruel and dishonest; morals and the sciences were cultivated only among the higher classes of society. We find in the preface to the life of Saint-Eloi by Saint-Ouen, that, even in the VIIth century, they read authors of whose works nothing now remains.
Saint-Ouen, founded or enriched a great many religious establishments in Rouen and its environs. It was under his episcopate, that a monument was first raised to Saint-Nicaise within the walls of Rouen. He also caused to be built the celebrated abbeys of Fontenelle (since Saint-Wandrille), Jumiéges, and Saint-Austreberthe.
In the time of this archbishop, there was a state prison near the end of the rue de la Poterne. It was in this prison that Saint-Ouen, having been deceived by the mayor of the palace Ebroin, caused Philibert the first Abbot of Jumieges to be confined on a false accusation of the crime of high-treason.
To Saint-Ouen, Ansbert succeeded in 683; at this time doubtless the mechanical arts were not very far advanced in Rouen, since the new bishop, wishing to erect a rich mausoleum to his predecessor, sent for workmen from different provinces.
According to the monk Aigrad, a great famine took place in Rouen and its neighbourhood, during the episcopate of Ansbert, who caused the treasures of the church to be given, for the relief of the poor.
Here, the history of Rouen is lost in obscurity; our materials are reduced, we may almost say, to the mere list of bishops, until the time when the north-men shewed themselves in this country. From the year 841, when they appeared for the first time at the mouth of the Seine, until the year 912, the period of the treaty of Saint-Claire-sur-Epte, Rouen, and its environs presented nothing but a scene of carnage, fire, and, slaughter. Strangers devouring the country; the villages deserted; the population massacred; the towns half destroyed, every where discord, hatred, avarice, and rapacity; all excesses united: such is the picture of the country at that period. At last Rollo, is created duke of Normandy; the proud Norwegian, becomes the benefactor of the country, to which he had so long proved a scourge. The population reappears; an active police is established, robberies are put a stop to; no more plunderers exist on the highways, or thieves in the towns. Rouen, rises from amidst its ruins, its monuments are repaired, its size increases, its political influence is becoming immense.
The second boundary is due to Rollo, the first duke, and to his son Guillaume Longue-Epée. They confined the waters of the Seine in a narrower bed. Several churches, such as Saint-Martin-de-la-Roquette, Saint-Clement, Saint-Stephen and Saint-Eloi, which had till then been situated on small islands, were united to the main land, the portion which had been gained from the river, received the name of Terres-Neuves. The limits of the town remained the same on the north, east and west.
Under the first succeeding dukes, the town extended westward, as far as the Old-Market place. The porte Cauchoise was erected about the beginning of the XIth century, that is to say, under Richard II.
The fourth boundary was effected under the last dukes. The town extended on the north to the height of the rue Pincedos: on the east, to the rue de la Chèvre. These two streets occupy the ground on which the ditches were situated at that time.
A very short time after, Philip-Augustus, who had just taken Rouen, and all Normandy from Jean-Sans-Terre, caused the old castle to be built, which was included within the interior of the town, in the middle of the XIIIth century; the fifth boundary was made in the reign of Saint-Louis. Rouen was then enlarged by the greater portion of the ground which forms the parishes of Saint-Patrice, Saint-Nicaise, Saint-Vivien, and Saint-Maclou. The gates of Martainville, Saint-Hilaire and Bouvreuil were then built.
A sixth enlargement took place about the middle of the XIVth century. The monastery of the Jacobins, which now forms a portion of the prefecture, was enclosed within the walls of the town, as also the Church of Saint-Peter-le-Portier, so that it obliged them to put the porte Cauchoise farther out. On the east, the town was enlarged by the quarter of the Marequerie.
It is not probably to Rollo, the first duke that we owe the institution of the exchequer. The first trace of it, is only found under William-the-Conqueror. Perhaps even, it was only known under his son Henry Ist «the King Duke.» Ancient writers have thought that an exchequer existed in England before the conquest. The learned Madox, on the contrary, (vol. 1st page 177 and following) declares, that he has not found in any document prior to William's expedition, the word scaccarium (or exchequer). But he finds it shortly after that time, from which it would appear natural to conclude that, that institution had been carried over by that prince. The exchequer was removed sometimes to Rouen, at other times to Caen, and sometimes to Falaise. Louis XIIth fixed this sovereign court at Rouen, in 1449, and opened it on the 1st october of the same year. Francis Ist raised the exchequer into a parliament in the year 1515. It was interdicted in the month of August 1540, but the 7th January 1541, was reinstated.
http://manybooks.net/pages/licquett1874018740-8/6.html
It's History and Monuments
by Théodore Licquet
Cæsar, in his Commentaries does not speak of Rouen; Pomponius Mela, does not mention it in his Geography; Ptolemy is the first author who has noticed it. This observation alone will shew the absurdity of the numerous etymologies assigned to its name of Rothomagus, of which we have made Rouen. The least unlikely are those which have been taken from the primitive language of the country; but, even then we can only form conjectures more or less vague, as, in deriving Rothomagus from two celtic words, some have considered that this name signifies a great town; others, a town on the bank of a river; while others again a town where duties were paid.
Ptolemy then gives us a commencement to the history of Rouen. In his lifetime, that is to say, during the first part of the second-century, Rouen bore the name of Rothomagus; it was the capital of the country of the Velocasses.
If Rouen, as a town of Gaul, is little known to us, Rouen as a Roman town is more so. Its existence is no longer doubtful; its importance even is proved. All suppositions join to make one think that the Romans were the first who erected external fortifications round the town. Remains of walls evidently built by that people, were discovered in 1789 in the cellars of a house which had been built on the edge of the first ditch[1]. These buildings extended westward even under the church of Saint-Lo, and it is very probable that they joined towards the east with other remains of roman architecture, found in digging the foundations of another house, no 2, rue de la Chaîne.
Here then, is the first boundary of Rouen under the Romans, and drawn-out by them: on the south the Seine, the waters of which at this time, came as high as the line occupied at present by the rue des Bonnetiers, the place de la Calende, that of Notre-Dame on its southern portion, and thus along to the extremity of the rue aux Ours. On the north, the ditch which existed the whole length of the streets de l'Aumône, and Fossés-Louis-VIII, that is to say, from the river Robec at the east, to the rue de la Poterne at the west. From the latter point draw a line in a southern direction passing across the Mew-Market, the rue Massacre and the rue des Vergetiers, to the rue aux Ours and you will have the western limit. The eastern limit is naturally marked out by the course of the Robec. The town maintained this boundary till the Xth century, the period of the establishment of Rollon, in this portion of Neustria to which the Normans gave their name.
I have already said, that Rouen, was an important town under the Romans, and this truth is proved, by the fact. It does not figures, it is true, in the notice of the dignities of the Empire, as the seat of a superior magistrate, but, nevertheless it is spoken of, as a town having a garrison; and, it was there that the præfectus militum Ursariensium or, as we should say in English, the colonel of the regiment of the Ursarians, resided.
The ecclesiastical annals also, prove the importance of Rouen at this period. We find, in fact, during the first ages of christianity, the apostles coming into Gaul, going to Rouen, and fixing their abode in a principal town that the sacred word might be more easily spread thro' the surrounding country.
As Saint-Nicaise did not come to Rouen, we must consider Saint-Mellon, as its most ancient bishop. The erection, or the consecration of a first chapel in Rouen, under the patronage of the virgin, is the only important event which the life of this prelate contains. As to the destruction of a temple dedicated to the pretended idol Roth, I think I have proved in an other work[2], first, that there never existed an idol of that name, neither was the temple situated on the ground occupied by the church of Saint-Lo; secondly, that this temple was demolished by Saint-Romain, nearly four hundred years later.
Nothing very remarkable happened at Rouen, under the successors of Saint-Mellon, until Saint-Victrice. But, here commences a new era for the town. Its population increases, its reputation extends, the temples of the true god are multiplied; even Saint-Victrice himself works in their erection: «He rolls the stones with his own hands, he carries them on his shoulders.»
This town continued its career peaceably during nearly a century, until Saint-Godard succeeded to the episcopate. Then we come to a great historical transition.
Roman power had been long struggling against the encroachments of the Francs in Gaul. Clovis, conquers the provinces situated between the Somme, the Seine and the Aisne; the monarchy commences, and Rouen becomes a French town.
To Saint-Godard who died in 529, Flavius succeeded the same year. The first foundation by Clotaire I, of the abbey of Saint-Peter, now Saint-Ouen, about the year 540, is attributed to him.
After Flavius, came Pretextat, whose name alone reminds us of those of two women, unfortunately too celebrated, Fredégonde and Brunehaut. The latter had been exiled to Rouen, by Chilperic, king of Soissons. Merovee, son of Chilperic, loved Brunehaut and was loved by her. He came to Rouen, and married his mistress; Pretextat blessed their union. Chilperic arrives and the two lovers take refuge in the church of Saint-Martin-sur-Renelle, a wooden building, on the wall of the town. It is to Gregory of Tours that we owe this information which is valuable, in as much, as it makes us acquainted with the limits of Rouen on the north-west side at this period.
Fredegonde did not pardon Pretextat; she caused him to be murdered, during mass, in the Cathedral.
The episcopate of Melance and of Hidulfe, the successors to Pretextat, offers no very particular circumstances. That of Saint-Romain, is much more remarkable, for the destruction of heathen temples, and the famous miracle of the Gargouille, which, gave birth to the privilege not less famous, which the chapter possessed of setting at liberty a prisoner every year. It is thought generally, however, that Saint-Romain, constructed one of the churches, which succeeded each other on the site of the Cathedral, but, they were deceived who have said that this bishop extirpated paganism from Rouen, and from the province. Saint-Ouen, who came after Saint-Romain, found the people clownish, superstitious, and idolatrous, in consequence of the negligence of some bishops, his predecessors. The inhabitants of the neighbouring country, were coarse, cruel and dishonest; morals and the sciences were cultivated only among the higher classes of society. We find in the preface to the life of Saint-Eloi by Saint-Ouen, that, even in the VIIth century, they read authors of whose works nothing now remains.
Saint-Ouen, founded or enriched a great many religious establishments in Rouen and its environs. It was under his episcopate, that a monument was first raised to Saint-Nicaise within the walls of Rouen. He also caused to be built the celebrated abbeys of Fontenelle (since Saint-Wandrille), Jumiéges, and Saint-Austreberthe.
In the time of this archbishop, there was a state prison near the end of the rue de la Poterne. It was in this prison that Saint-Ouen, having been deceived by the mayor of the palace Ebroin, caused Philibert the first Abbot of Jumieges to be confined on a false accusation of the crime of high-treason.
To Saint-Ouen, Ansbert succeeded in 683; at this time doubtless the mechanical arts were not very far advanced in Rouen, since the new bishop, wishing to erect a rich mausoleum to his predecessor, sent for workmen from different provinces.
According to the monk Aigrad, a great famine took place in Rouen and its neighbourhood, during the episcopate of Ansbert, who caused the treasures of the church to be given, for the relief of the poor.
Here, the history of Rouen is lost in obscurity; our materials are reduced, we may almost say, to the mere list of bishops, until the time when the north-men shewed themselves in this country. From the year 841, when they appeared for the first time at the mouth of the Seine, until the year 912, the period of the treaty of Saint-Claire-sur-Epte, Rouen, and its environs presented nothing but a scene of carnage, fire, and, slaughter. Strangers devouring the country; the villages deserted; the population massacred; the towns half destroyed, every where discord, hatred, avarice, and rapacity; all excesses united: such is the picture of the country at that period. At last Rollo, is created duke of Normandy; the proud Norwegian, becomes the benefactor of the country, to which he had so long proved a scourge. The population reappears; an active police is established, robberies are put a stop to; no more plunderers exist on the highways, or thieves in the towns. Rouen, rises from amidst its ruins, its monuments are repaired, its size increases, its political influence is becoming immense.
The second boundary is due to Rollo, the first duke, and to his son Guillaume Longue-Epée. They confined the waters of the Seine in a narrower bed. Several churches, such as Saint-Martin-de-la-Roquette, Saint-Clement, Saint-Stephen and Saint-Eloi, which had till then been situated on small islands, were united to the main land, the portion which had been gained from the river, received the name of Terres-Neuves. The limits of the town remained the same on the north, east and west.
Under the first succeeding dukes, the town extended westward, as far as the Old-Market place. The porte Cauchoise was erected about the beginning of the XIth century, that is to say, under Richard II.
The fourth boundary was effected under the last dukes. The town extended on the north to the height of the rue Pincedos: on the east, to the rue de la Chèvre. These two streets occupy the ground on which the ditches were situated at that time.
A very short time after, Philip-Augustus, who had just taken Rouen, and all Normandy from Jean-Sans-Terre, caused the old castle to be built, which was included within the interior of the town, in the middle of the XIIIth century; the fifth boundary was made in the reign of Saint-Louis. Rouen was then enlarged by the greater portion of the ground which forms the parishes of Saint-Patrice, Saint-Nicaise, Saint-Vivien, and Saint-Maclou. The gates of Martainville, Saint-Hilaire and Bouvreuil were then built.
A sixth enlargement took place about the middle of the XIVth century. The monastery of the Jacobins, which now forms a portion of the prefecture, was enclosed within the walls of the town, as also the Church of Saint-Peter-le-Portier, so that it obliged them to put the porte Cauchoise farther out. On the east, the town was enlarged by the quarter of the Marequerie.
It is not probably to Rollo, the first duke that we owe the institution of the exchequer. The first trace of it, is only found under William-the-Conqueror. Perhaps even, it was only known under his son Henry Ist «the King Duke.» Ancient writers have thought that an exchequer existed in England before the conquest. The learned Madox, on the contrary, (vol. 1st page 177 and following) declares, that he has not found in any document prior to William's expedition, the word scaccarium (or exchequer). But he finds it shortly after that time, from which it would appear natural to conclude that, that institution had been carried over by that prince. The exchequer was removed sometimes to Rouen, at other times to Caen, and sometimes to Falaise. Louis XIIth fixed this sovereign court at Rouen, in 1449, and opened it on the 1st october of the same year. Francis Ist raised the exchequer into a parliament in the year 1515. It was interdicted in the month of August 1540, but the 7th January 1541, was reinstated.
http://manybooks.net/pages/licquett1874018740-8/6.html
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