Rouen – A Traveling Fool

December 15, 2022

Thoughts While on the Avalon Waterways Grand France River Cruise: Knowledge of my own ancestry within an area makes me feel more connected to it

Probably as part of my love of history, I also trace my family roots. Some people just stick to one part of their family. I don’t. I trace both sides and all the little branches that stem off from them. It has been some of those branches where I have found some of the most interesting ancestors, including the occasional saint or not so much a saint.

Full disclosure, one of Richard III of England’s henchmen, William Catesby, who has been considered to have possibly been one of the men who murdered the two princes in the Tower of London, and who died at Bosworth along with his boss, is a 16^th great grandfather. But then I share that particular ancestor with the Game of Thrones actor, Kit Harington, so that’s alright. I’m descended from Catesby’s daughter, Elizabeth, while Kit is descended from his son, George.

Since I had some Viking (Norse) ancestors head down from Norway to settle on Orkney, I definitely loved being able to spend some time on Orkney, exploring some of the places they would have been. Then we get into Scotland where there were many, many ancestors running around. One was actually murdered in Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh.

Loads of ancestors all over England and Wales too. A Scottish de Ros ancestor acquired the original version of Belvoir (pronounced “Beaver”) Castle through marriage in the 13^th century. When his male line died out, the Manners family (a de Ros nephew who became the 1^st Duke of Rutland) took over and still owns the place. When I visited the castle, I was on a tour. But my tour group was small and given a private tour of the castle by a member of the staff. We were also greeted by the Duchess at that time.

In the United States, I have a lot of ancestral ties to Massachusetts from the 1600s in places like Plymouth, Boston, Marblehead, and Salem. In Boston especially I know where my ancestors lived and where some of them are buried. It was so wonderful to be able to walk around in that area and try to imagine back to when they were there.

For the Grand France River Cruise, I had printed out the names, dates and birthplaces of my French ancestors. There were a few hundred of them. That way, as we traveled around, I could have some context of which ancestors were from where and when.

In Arles, all of my ancestors were from such an early period of time that it was possible that some of them might have lived in houses that were built in the Arena when that was no longer used for its original purpose. The time period that those houses existed was the same as the time period of my ancestors.

I had ancestors from all over Burgundy, but I don’t necessarily know the individual towns. So, when we got to that part of France, I just took loads of photos of anything really old. I also drank a fair amount of the wines from that region.

In Normandy, I had many, many ancestors. A couple of the main towns in which they lived were Bayeux and Rouen. There were parts of both places where I felt transported back in time and could easily imagine what it might have been like in their day.

I started on my genealogical quest back in the days when I had to physically go into a library and study the microfiche and other items they might have and then send away for birth, death and marriage certificates, etc. Having access to online data sure does help enormously. There are a lot of things that can be found out without ever paying any money to anyone.

Although I love traveling to every place to which I have traveled so far, I have to admit that I get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I am someplace where I know my ancestors have been and I can get an idea of what their lives might have been like.

November 21, 2022

Thoughts While on the Avalon Waterways Grand France River Cruise: Knowledge of the history of a place makes being there more interesting

I love history anyway, so I can easily get excited over seeing someplace like Hadrian’s Wall or Egyptian pyramids and temples or battlefields like Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Yorktown, Culloden, the D-Day landing beaches, etc. Smaller historical events are also intriguing to me.

Whether you are fascinated by history or not, knowing just a little bit about a place can make it much more interesting, such as what is the significance of an old cemetery? Who is buried there?

In St Augustine, Florida, I was fascinated by the fort. It had been built by the Spanish prior to the English settlements at either Jamestown or Roanoke, Virginia or Plymouth, Massachusetts.

In Israel, Masada would have just been several piles of rocks up on a high, hot plateau without knowledge of its history. For those who hadn’t read up on it before the trip, there was a short film down at the base that everyone watched before taking the cable car up to see it.

At Thermopylae in Greece, without knowledge of what had taken place there a couple thousand years ago, just looking at a monument to Leonides and the 300 Spartans who fought and died there wouldn’t have been all that fascinating. Since I knew the story, I could use my imagination. And a good imagination was necessary. The topography has changed quite a bit since 480 BC.

On this trip, my knowledge of Joan of Arc came in handy while in Rouen. I knew that the museum dedicated to her was in the very building where her trial had taken place. I also knew about all of the other locations associated with her.

In Avignon, I was aware of the history of the town, the Pont de Avignon, and the Palais des Papes. Despite it being a very hot day, my back hurting, and lots of stairs to climb, I was very interested in seeing it all.

Sometimes when visiting a place where you already know the history, you can find that seeing the place itself can make your understanding of it much clearer. It was one thing to read about traboules (the secret passages that had been used by the French Resistance to escape detection), but quite another to actually walk through a few of them. They had been built in the old, Renaissance portion of Lyon back when that part of the city was new. People who lived there knew about them. But people who didn’t live there were at a loss. To this day, only a handful of them are open to the public.

Although most people are well aware of who Napoleon was and his role in history, I always find it to be fun to see personal objects used by such iconic public figures. In Napoleon’s case, it was his hat on display in the library of Malmaison – the home he shared with Josephine. It made him seem more human. Like when I saw one of Queen Victoria’s gowns and Admiral Horatio Nelson’s uniform.

August 1, 2022

Grand France River Cruise – Joan of Arc & Rouen

The symbolic figure of Rouen, Joan of Arc, is present everywhere in the streets, squares and monuments in the former capital of Normandy. I have always been fascinated by Joan – her visions, her courage, her faith. Other locations associated with Joan – Paris, Orleans, and Reims – had drawn my interest in past trips.

Jeanne d’Arc (“The Maid of Orleans”) was born roughly 1412 in Domremy. She came from a peasant family. She began to have visions of the archangel Michael, Saint Margaret of Antioch, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria telling her to help Charles VII to recover the throne of France from English domination. She gained prominence after her quick victory at Orleans. Several more swift victories later led to Charles’ consecration as King of France at Reims.

She was captured in May of 1430 at Compiegne by some French nobles who were allied with the English. She was handed over to the English and put on trial for heresy. She was convicted and burned at the stake in May of 1431. Her imprisonment, trial and execution all took place in Rouen. She was only nineteen when she died.

The main charge in her conviction seemed to be her dressing as a man. Women’s clothing would have been terribly impractical for leading an army. She also found that it was much more difficult for men to try to sexually assault her when she was dressed as a man. Women’s clothing offered no such protection. While imprisoned, it is said that she was repeatedly raped by her captures until she put men’s clothing back on. That was the final evidence (the donning of men’s clothing while imprisoned) that was used to convict her.

The only remaining part of Rouen Castle is the keep or donjon, which is now known as the Tour Jeanne d’Arc. This was where a portion of her trial took place and where she was threatened with torture. Some people believe this was where she was imprisoned, but she was actually held in the Tour de la Pucelle, which no longer exists. There is a building at 102 Rue Jeanne d’Arc where the foundations of that tower may be seen.

It was the Archbishop’s Palace, just behind the Cathedral, where Joan was condemned. A retrial also took place there in 1456, which nullified the first trial. A little too late for Joan. The Historical Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc Museum) is now housed in the Archbishop’s palace. They use multimedia to present the story. I really like it when the actual locations of history are used to tell history.

The cathedral has a small chapel dedicated to Joan near the choir and a more modern statue in the choir area. When I was sitting and listening to the local guide tell us about the cathedral, I could see the modern statue and was wondering if it was Joan. When we had our own time, I walked straight to it.

At the main market square (the Place du Vieux Marche), I was feeling a little impatient while we were led through the market itself and told about its history. I wanted to get over to the garden area by the modern church of Joan of Arc (L’eglise Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc). This time, fruits, vegetables, pastries, and other edibles weren’t interesting to me.

When we got to the garden, I was looking for the little sign that used to be there, but couldn’t find it. Then the local guide (Evangeline) said that the tall, modern cross now marked the spot where Joan had been burned at the stake. A statue of Joan being executed stands near the entrance to the church, facing the cross.

We finished our tour inside of the church dedicated to Joan. It was built in 1979 with sweeping curves to represent the flames as well as an overturned longship. Many early churches, especially those of wood, were designed to represent an overturned boat.

The stained glass windows came from a 16^th century church whose ruins are a short distance away. The windows had been removed from the church during World War II. When the church was destroyed by bombs, the decision was made to incorporate them into the new church to Saint Joan.

Also inside the church is a bust that may or may not accurately portray Joan. I don’t think she was ever drawn, painted or sculpted in her lifetime. The signature etched beneath the bust is believed to have been her actual signature.

When the fire was still smoldering, Joan’s ashes were collected. Her enemies didn’t want anyone collecting any potential relics.

It is said that her heart did not burn. Her heart and the collected ashes were thrown into the Seine near the cathedral. This would have been roughly where our ship was docked. When the ship pulled out from this location, I took the included photo of that area of the Seine.

Next time –Josephine’s Malmaison

July 3, 2022

Grand France River Cruise – Rouen

Rouen has so much that I have separated it into two posts. The first is on Rouen itself and the second has to do with Rouen’s connections with Joan of Arc.

Founded by the Gaulish tribe of the Veliocasses (also known as the Vexin), Rouen was second only to Lyon. Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, the city prospered and built both an amphitheater and baths. The foundations of both remain.

By the time of the Viking raids, beginning in 841, the Normans took over Rouen and made it their capital until William the Conqueror moved the capital to Caen. During the Hundred Years’ War Rouen kept changing hands between England and France and ended up being the site of the imprisonment, trial and execution of Joan of Arc.

Rouen was heavily damaged by bombs during World War II with the cathedral being heavily hit.

For our excursion into Rouen, we were docked between the Pont Boieldieu and the Pont Comeille on the same side of the Seine as the cathedral. It was easy to see the spire directly in line with our ship.

We came up to the city at the Pont Comeille. This was an area that had been quite heavily bombed and was mostly modern. As we headed north and a little bit east, the buildings became older until we were immersed in an original, medieval section of the city.

We briefly visited the Church of Saint-Maclou. It was a 15^th century church that incorporated a previous, neglected 14^th century church. The interior decorations were rather macabre as the previous church had been consecrated during the time of the Black Death. At that time, the Black Death was the deadliest plague in history with an estimated 75 – 200 million deaths over a five year span.

From there we headed over towards the Rouen Cathedral, visiting a couple very narrow, pedestrian-only, intact medieval streets along the way. We also stopped at the Historical Jeanne d’Arc, which was in the Archbishop’s Palace next to the cathedral and had been the site of Joan of Arc’s trial. More about that in the next post.

After entering through a very, very old door that we entered through a courtyard, we spent quite a bit of time in the cathedral.

Christianity first came to Rouen in about 260. The first church was believed to have been close to or under the present cathedral. In 395, a large basilica was built on the same site.

The cathedral was enlarged in 650 and visited by Charlemagne in 769. However, the Viking raids caused a great deal of damage.

The first Duke of Normandy was the Viking leader, Rollo. He was baptized in the cathedral in 915 and buried there in 932. His grandson enlarged it again in 950.

In the 1020s, parts of the cathedral were rebuilt in the Romanesque style. William the Conqueror was present at the consecration shortly before his conquest of England.

In the 12^th century, a complete reconstruction of the cathedral was undertaken in the new Gothic style. This style tended to fill the space with light.

During the 16^th century some Renaissance features were added and some repairs made. The Western façade (later painted by Monet) was tilting, so it was completely reconstructed in an extremely ornate Flamboyant style with lots of lacelike stone tracery and hundreds of sculpted figures. Buttresses were also added.

During repairs made after World War II, excavations were also done under and around the cathedral. Vestiges of the previous versions of the building were found.

We had some free time in the cathedral. So I wandered around looking at some of the old tombs, including Rollo. I also checked out some of the chapels, including Joan of Arc.

When we left the cathedral, we were shown the building where Monet stayed while painting his series of the Western façade. It is now the Office de Tourisme.

We then had the 14^th century astronomical clock (Gros Horloge) pointed out from a distance before taking a detour to see the Palais de Justice. When we walked back down to the Rue du Gros Horloge, we could see the clock close up from a different angle.

There were loads of museums in Rouen which we didn’t have time to visit. We were heading for the Market Square, also known as the Place du Vieux Marche. There was a very large market where all kinds of items could be purchased. Several shops and cafes were located in the buildings that lined the square as well. This was the location of the execution of Joan of Arc.

Next time – the Rouen of Joan of Arc