C

The butchers and flayers of Paris, nick-named the Cabochiens after one of their leaders, Simon Caboche, created a reign of terror in Paris in 1413, evidently at the instigation of the duke of Burgundy, who hoped to thwart the plans the duke of Guyenne was forming against him. The excesses committed in the summer of 1413 alienated many Parisians from the Cabochiens. This, along with the king's willingness to negotiate with the Armagnacs and allow the duke of Guyenne to free the prisoners taken in the spring, led to the fall of the Cabochiens. The medieval city of Caen (Calvados) gained importance in the 11th century owing to the favor of William the Conqueror, who established his base there for the governance of lower Normandy. Around the middle of the century, the duke built a castle and enclosed the town with walls, and shortly afterward he and his wife, Matilda, founded two monasteries at Caen.