Conqueror Country

Today I woke up in Bayeux, which I can describe the city of the “deeds of the Conqueror.” I then went to Caen, which we can call the “home of the Conqueror.” The city is dominated by three historic monuments, all built by William the Conqueror between 1060-1066. Other than those monuments and a hand-full of other churches, the city is thoroughly modern. Caen was mostly destroyed in the aftermath of D-Day, which is why Caen is also the home of one of the largest D-Day museums in the world. But that’s for tomorrow.

The Norman flag looks suspiciously English...

 The first of the three monuments is the Chateau Ducal, or the Duke’s Castle. It is the center of the city and remains one of the largest medieval fortifications in all of Europe. William was born “William the Bastard,” his father was the Duke of Normandy but his mother was from a small family from Calais (I think). When his father died, William managed to take control of Normandy. His capital was at Rouen (I will go there later), but he made his home in Caen.

Don't mind my pinky, it's just blotting out the sun so you can see the castle.

 Most of the castle still exists, and it houses a Museum of Modern Arts and a Museum of Norman History, neither of which was all that great. The Museum of Normandy at least had a cool exhibit on the burial of an old blacksmith/goldsmith. However, the parts of the castle which no longer exist are the donjon (not a dungeon, it’s a keep. Think like the Tower of London) and the Ducal Palace. That’s right, William’s house no longer exists.

That would be Will's house.

 The other two monuments in the city were built by William and his queen, Mathilde of Flanders. They were two abbeys, built to help alleviate their guilt over something they did. William dedicated the Abbaie aux Hommes (Men’s Abbey) and Mathilde dedicated the Abbaie aux Dames (Women’s Abbey). I arrived first at the Men’s Abbey, but had to wait outside because there was a funeral going on inside. Once inside, it was basically another gothic cathedral, except for one thing, which I’ll touch on later.

Meh, nothing new at this point...

 Across town was the Women’s Abbey, which was almost entirely Romanesque. The ceiling over the nave seems to be more recent than the rest, which makes sense because the Normans typically used wooden roofs. This abbey was pretty small, but the stained glass windows in the apse were absolutely awesome. They flooded the entire altar area with red light.

A lot of light despite the small windows.

 Remember yesterday when I was trying to explain the difference between Romanesque vaults and Gothic vaults? As it turns out the Women’s Abbey included the best photo to demonstrate it. Seriously, this photo is something I’m going to keep for when I try to teach it to a bunch of stupid high-schoolers.

Vault above: ribbed. Vaults below: groined.

 Okay, so when I said that William and Mathilde felt guilty over something? It was that they happened to be first cousins. So they built churches so that God wouldn’t smite them. And when I said that Caen was William’s home? It still is. William and Mathilde are both buried in their respective abbeys. So all in all, the past two days have been pretty amazing for me.

Notice that William liked Normandy better than England.

And notice Mathilde's much less impressive treatment.

 I had hoped to see the castle lit up at night, but Caen apparently can’t afford to illuminate its historical sites. I don’t know, but it was pretty disappointing. Tomorrow I’m going to the D-Day beaches, so it should be quite an exciting day. Onward ho!