ABSTRACT
Visible proofs of the Rouen burghers’ lively participation in the cathedral’s building programme. The extortionate measures suffered by Rouen’s middle class at the hands of the French were somewhat balanced by the peace it won under them, almost a century’s worth, a rare and appreciated guerdon. Rouen’s advantageous position had been assured under the Norman dukes and Plantagenet kings, both in the control of the Seine’s outlet and upriver as well, almost to the outskirts of Paris. A significant advance in the municipality’s position came around 1174, none the less, after Rouen’s burghers courageously defended their city against Henry II’s enemies at a critical point of his war with the barons. The extortionate measures suffered by Rouen’s middle class at the hands of the French were somewhat balanced by the peace it won under them, almost a century’s worth, a rare and appreciated guerdon.
