Bonjour Blog! You might well have already guessed where I am, but if not – I’m in France! Caen in Normandy, to be precise – and I have been on a history tour of the local area, from the châteaux (castles) to les églises (churches) to the individual items that make up part of the eternal and infinite story that is history. Normandy’s story seems to be Norman castles interspersed with WWII tanks, which shouldn’t go together but do in Normandy! The name Normandy comes from its namesake inhabitants – the Normans – whose name in turn stems from “North-men” – the Vikings under Rollo who invaded northern France at the end of the first millennium. They gained the title “Dukes of Normandy”, and this powerful dynasty held Normandy until the 13th century, when, due to a series of defeats, Henry II and his sons went from the entire enormous Angevin Empire, one of the largest in Europe at the time, to just ruling England.
Of the history I have been learning so far, half is those WWII tanks and other historical artefacts and documents (next post), and half is the Norman castles. These are all in some way related to one incredible figure, in both French and English history. The royal man I am speaking of is Guillaume le Conquérant, William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, King of England; the son of the brother of Emma of Normandy, wife of Knut; husband of Matilda of Flanders; William the Bastard and the only Frenchman ever to win a war with England, in the final time Britain would be overrun by invaders with fire and the sword.
1066 – the date is graven into the memory of all those who have studied any English history. For this reason it is one of the only two ‘memorable’ dates, that is, according to Sellar and Yeatman in 1066 and all that. The outline of the year is told on the Bayeux Tapestry, one of the most astounding artefacts and the first known comic strip. I certainly prefer it to the modern ones. It goes something like this.
King Edward the Confessor – “Hey, Harold Godwinson, go across the channel and tell William of Normandy I’ve decided he’s my heir. When I die, he’s king, ok?”
Harold – “Ok Ed I’ll go tell him”
(Harold gets a boat across the channel. The boat is shipwrecked, and the company is captured. William learns of this and ransoms Harold.)
William – “Ok Harold I hear Ed wants to make me king after he dies. Will you swear allegiance to me as your future king?”
Harold – “Sure!”
(William has prepared the table with the bones of saints to prevent Harold breaking his oath. Harold takes it, but does not intend to keep it – he quite likes the idea of being king. Once back in Britain…)
Edward – “You did it right?” (shortly after dies)
Harold – “Yeah. I did, and – wait – you’re dead. Oh goodie! That means I can be king now!”
(The Wittain parliament elect Harold king – they don’t like the idea of a foreigner ruling. William prepares for an invasion, to claim his crown.)
William (on arriving in England) – “I have taken possession of England and will defend it with my blood. Charge boys!”
(The Battle of Hastings. Harold gets hit in the eye with a Norman arrow, and dies. The Normans have won. On Christmas Day, William is crowned.)
It is a wonderful story, stitched in 10 dyes on a linen banner over 70 metres long and half a metre high with 58 known scenes and the most incredible detail in both the main narrative and the border panels, and certainly deserves its reputation and status as a Memory of the World artefact. There is an entire museum dedicated to it and its preservation, which we visited. Do visit it, because It. Is. Awesome! Commissioned by William’s half-brother Odo, it hung in Bayeux church for a month every year at first, before nearly being used as a tarpaulin in the French Revolution (but was saved just in time) and then used by Napoleon as propaganda before preparing to invade England – he failed, and was beaten at Trafalgar. After that, it was slowly forgotten and not known of professionally until the late 1800s. Quite an incredible story for a piece of needlework nearly a thousand years old!
We have also been to William’s Castle in Caen. Built under his orders, it is an impressive feat of stonework, and very beautiful – unfortunately the inside of it was literally blown to bits in WWII, by the bombers preparing Normandy for D-day operations (which is what next post is about!). It now houses the Normandy Museum, which tells you the entire story of Normandy from the neanderthals to the present day; and the Musée des Beaux-arts, which we didn’t visit. The complex is currently undergoing redevelopment so we couldn’t go around much, but from what I can see the few Norman bits left look good. There is another Norman castle, in far better condition, which we also went to see – this is Falaise castle, where William was born to Robert the Magnificent, Duke of Normandy, and Arlette, a tanner’s daughter. Hence why people called him “William the Bastard”. Then he must have made them all feel a bit stupid by conquering England, after which they called him “le Conquérant” instead. Bit funny, really – the monarchy in mediaeval and Tudor times was obsessed with legitimate sons, and yet they’re all descended from an illegitimate son of a tanner’s beautiful daughter and her local lord. The castle is situated on a natural hill overlooking the town (which is actually built inside what is effectively an outer bailey) and was fought over between the English and the French in the Hundred Years War, and then between the Allies and the Germans in WWII.
The French were ultimately victorious in both these wars, as the English lost the Hundred Years War and after a period of occupation, the Allies, including France, pushed the Nazis back. (The Germans had built an anti-tank gun on top of the tower in the meantime.) Falaise is one of the best castles I have ever been in – and I’ve been in lot – but then the English castles were all destroyed in the civil war by the parlimentarians to stop royalist uprisings, whereas the French were not. The rooms still stand though some of the floors are replaced and some damage during WWII has been repaired with concrete blocks. VR tablets are available, and there are scanner points around the castle to allow you to see how it would have been in William the Conqueror’s day. There are also projections which show the lords of Falaise, including William the Conqueror himself, his son Henry I who built the keep, and Philip Augustus the French king who took back all the French territories which other countries ruled. It is a magnificent testimony to the Norman Dukes and Kings, whose work is still standing.
Finally, in 1087, William the Conqueror died after being impaled on his saddle pommel. His death was rather gross as it involved a ruptured bowel, which did not please the noses of the monks who buried him! This burial was in the Abbey he founded – the Abbaye-aux-Hommes, in Caen; just round the corner from where were staying. Of course, we had to go and see. A slab with gold lettering proclaims his tomb – here lies William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, King of England. The Bastard, the Duke, the King, the Conqueror – what a story!