Abbaye aux Hommes — Conquest, Penance and a Royal Tomb
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Transcript
William founded the Abbaye aux Hommes, while his wife Matilda founded the Abbaye aux Dames. Medieval tradition linked the foundations to papal objections to their marriage because the couple were related within prohibited degrees. The exact motivations combined devotion, politics and dynastic display.
The abbey church of Saint-Étienne became William’s burial place after his death in 1087. His tomb was disturbed during later conflicts, leaving only part of the original burial history intact.
The architecture helped shape the Norman Romanesque style that would cross the Channel after 1066. Caen’s local building programme therefore became part of a wider Anglo-Norman world.