The misereres of the choir-stalls were carved between 1457 and 1469, and should be seen for the vivid details they reveal of nearly every trade and employment, as well as the costumes of the period when the Flamboyant style was in vogue.
The tombs in the cathedral bring one into close touch with the Dukes of Normandy and their successors on the throne of England. In the easternmost chapels on either side of the nave are the tombs of Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy, and his son, William Longsword, who was murdered in 943. The statues were made in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, and have been restored. The inscription on Rollo’s tomb says:
‘Here lies Rollo, the first Duke, founder and father of Normandy, of which he was at first the terror and the scourge, but afterwards the restorer. Baptized in 912 by Françon, Archbishop of Rouen; died in 917. His remains were at first deposited in the ancient sanctuary, at present the upper end of the nave. The altar having been removed, the remains of the Prince were placed here by the blessed Maurille, Archbishop of Rouen, in the year 1063.’
A thirteenth-century effigy of Richard Cœur de Lion, discovered in 1838, lies outside the southern railing of the choir. The heart was found in a triple casket of lead, wood, and silver. Some of the dust can be seen in the Museum of Antiquities, whither the original effigy of Henry II.’s eldest son, Henry Plantagenet, has also been taken, the one in the cathedral being modern. On the left side of the high altar is the tomb of John, Duke of Bedford, Regent under Henry VI., and on the north side of the choir is the mutilated effigy of Archbishop Maurice, who died in 1235.
The two grandest monuments are facing one another in the Lady-chapel. The finer is that of Louis de Brézé, who was Grand Seneschal of Normandy. It is an extremely good example of early Renaissance work, carried out in black marble and alabaster. The splendid equestrian figure in the upper part gives the monument a most imposing character. At the head of the recumbent effigy is the figure of Diane de Poitiers, who raised the memorial to her husband after his death in 1531. She subsequently left her name written prominently on the page of history by becoming the mistress of the Dauphin, afterwards Henri II. At the castle of Chenonceaux and at Fontainebleau we shall see the homes of this famous widow (see [Section V.]).
On the west side of the great monument is the beautiful canopied recess of the Flamboyant period, where the effigies of Pierre de Brézé and his wife lay until they were removed in 1769. Pierre was the first Grand Seneschal of Normandy when the province was restored to France, as a result of the work of Jeanne d’Arc. He was the favourite of Charles VII., and was prominent in the reconquest of Normandy, finally losing his life in the Battle of Montlhéry in 1465.
Opposite is the tomb of the famous Cardinal Georges d’Amboise, whose lifelike figure is shown kneeling under a beautiful canopy. He was made Bishop of Montauban when he was only fourteen, and was elected Archbishop of Rouen at the early age of thirty-three. The story of his election is interesting. On the death of Archbishop Robert de Croixmare, Charles VIII. hinted that he would like the canons to choose the Duke of Orleans, and by so doing gave some annoyance. However, on August 21, 1493, when the crowds in Rouen were wondering what was going to happen, the canons retired to the chapter-house, as was their custom, and each took the oath to vote according to conscience. Then, all kneeling down, they sang the Veni Creator Spiritus, and prayed that they might make the right choice, after which all rose to their feet as one man, saying, ‘Georges d’Amboise shall be Archbishop.’ This remarkable unanimity was based on the wonderful promise the Cardinal showed even at that age, and to Rouen he became a benefactor, for whose wisdom and equity in administration and for the splendour of whose gifts the city has still reason for gratitude. If he had lived earlier in the century, it is conceivable that his influence would have prevented the tragedy of the death of Jeanne d’Arc. He was the builder of the splendid Tour de Beurre and the Flamboyant work of the west front of the cathedral, and he improved the city’s supply of water, as well as its sanitation. Further than that, he became, as Prime Minister under the easy-going Louis XII., the virtual ruler of France; for the King was always ready to let the wise Cardinal act for him, usually saying, ‘Leave it to George.’ He died in 1510.
The other figure on the tomb is that of the second Cardinal of the same name, who was a nephew of the statesman.
The great bell which was given by the Archbishop to be hung in the Tour de Beurre, and was named Georges d’Amboise, was in 1793 melted down to make cannon for the Republicans. The thirteenth-century glass in the sacristy and the two adjoining windows is a foretaste of the glories of Chartres.
The erection of the great spire of open ironwork on the central tower began in 1827, replacing the wooden spire finished in 1550, and destroyed by lightning in 1822. It is one of the tallest spires in the world, and is considered by many writers to be a hideous excrescence on the great Gothic pile; but although it cannot have the romance or charm of stone, its effect at a distance, in spite of its curious finial, is quite the reverse of unpleasing, and when one is near at hand it has a way of hiding itself, or, if it shows at all, it appears so vast and tremendous that its dimensions suppress the criticisms that would flow readily if the spire were half its height.