Lyons-la-Forêt () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of the

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, in northwest

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Lyons-la-Forêt has distinctive historical geography, and architecture, and contemporary culture, as a consequence of the Forest of Lyons, and its bocage, and of the adjacent

Pays de Bray The Pays de Bray (, literally ''Land of Bray'') is a small (about 750 km²) natural region of France situated to the north-east of Rouen, straddling the French departments of the Seine-Maritime and the Oise (historically divided among the ...

Geography

Lyons-la-Forêt is located from

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

and from

Gisors Gisors () is a Communes of France, commune of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, France. It is located northwest from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Gisors, together with the neighbouring communes of Trie-Château and Trie-la-Vill ...

. Former name: Saint-Denis-en-Lyons. Lyons was originally the name of the forest ''Licontio-/Ligontio-'', based probably on the Celtic root ''lic''/''lig'', that is also found in the name of the stream: la Lieure ''Licoris /Ligoris''. Same root as the river

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

< ''Liger'' and ''-ley'' in

Beverley Beverley is a market town, market and minster (church), minster town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre ...

(

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

) from Celtic > Old English beaver, stream.

History

An early mention of a ducal residence in Lyons can be found in 936, when

William I, Duke of Normandy William Longsword (french: Guillaume Longue-Épée, nrf, Willâome de lon Espee, la, Willermus Longa Spata, on, Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; c. 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942.Det ...

used to stay. The castle of Lyons-la-Forêt was constructed at the start of the 12th century by

Henry I of England Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

, also known as "Henri Beauclerc". He died there in 1135, supposedly from "a surfeit of

lampreys Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like s ...

". The town and the castle were occupied by King

Philip II Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French ...

of France in 1193 but the following year,

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

, back from captivity, obtained the restitution of Lyons; the king of England and Duke of Normandy stayed frequently until 1198. In 1202, Philip II Augustus re-conquered the city, and after him, several French kings were attracted by the Lyons forest and the good hunting grounds. From 1359 to 1398, the castellan domain of Lyons was part of Blanche de Navarre's

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law. ...

after she became the widow of King

Philip VI of France Philip VI (french: Philippe; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (french: le Fortuné, link=no) or the Catholic (french: le Catholique, link=no) and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 ...

. In 1403–1422, it was the dower of

Isabeau de Bavière Isabeau of Bavaria (or Isabelle; also Elisabeth of Bavaria-Ingolstadt; c. 1370 – September 1435) was Queen of France from 1385 to 1422. She was born into the House of Wittelsbach as the only daughter of Duke Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingol ...

, wife of King

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

. In 1419, in the course of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

, the English took Lyons.Site listing
the

communes of France The () is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, ' in Germany, ' in Italy, or ' in Spain. The United Kingdom's equi ...

. During the Second World War, the area was used for parachute drops of agents F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas and

André Dewavrin André Dewavrin DSO, MC (9 June 1911 – 20 December 1998) was a French officer who served with Free French Forces intelligence services during World War II. Biography He was born in Paris, the son of a businessman. He graduated as an ar ...

Population

Gallery

File:Normandie Eure Lyons1 tango7174.jpg, Normandy style houses File:Normandie Eure Lyons2 tango7174.jpg,

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

's mansion File:Vestiges de l'enceinte fortifiée.JPG, Remains of the rampart

Sights

* Gallo-Roman theatre (private property) * Castle of

(private property) * Covered market place (18th century) * Church Saint-Denis (12th and 18th centuries) * Town hall (17th century) * Houses built in typical Normandy style (17th and 18th centuries) * The

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

is 10,700

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s, the largest state forest in

and one of the largest

Beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

s in Europe. It is renowned for the "cathedral-like" straightness and height of its trees' trunks. One of its characteristics is its numerous open spaces and clearings among which lie small villages and hamlets. This makes a transition between the

Vexin Vexin () is an historical county of northwestern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank (north) of the Seine running roughly east to west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle (about 20 km from Rouen), and north to south ...

plateau and the Andelle valley.Lyons Tourism office

Personalities

died on 1 December 1135 of food poisoning from eating "a surfeit of

lamprey Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like s ...

s" (of which he was excessively fond) at Lyons-la-Forêt (then Saint-Denis-en-Lyons). The

mucus Mucus ( ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous cells. It is ...

and serum of several lamprey species, including the Caspian lamprey (''Caspiomyzon wagneri''), river lamprey (''Lampetra fluviatilis'' and ''L. planeri''), and sea lamprey (''Petromyzon marinus''), are known to be toxic and require thorough cleaning before cooking and consumption. *Lyons-la-Forêt was the birthplace of

Enguerrand de Marigny Enguerrand de Marigny, Baron Le Portier (126030 April 1315) was a French chamberlain and minister of Philip IV. Early life He was born at Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy, of an old Norman family of the smaller baronage called Le Portier, which to ...

(1260–1315),

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

and minister of

Philip IV the Fair Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 1 ...

. *It was also the birthplace of

Isaac de Benserade Isaac de Benserade (; baptized 5 November 161310 October 1691) was a French poet. Born in Lyons-la-Forêt, Normandy, his family appears to have been connected with Richelieu, who bestowed on him a pension of 600 ''livres''. He began his liter ...

, French poet (1612–1691), who was one of the first intellectuals in France to evoke female homosexuality in a theater play. *

stayed in Lyons many times from 1917 to 1922. He wrote music including ''

Le Tombeau de Couperin ''Le Tombeau de Couperin'' (''The Couperin's Grave'') is a suite for solo piano by Maurice Ravel, composed between 1914 and 1917. The piece is in six movements, based on those of a traditional Baroque suite. Each movement is dedicated to the mem ...

'' in Le Fresne, one of the old mansions of Lyons-la-Forêt.info site on the Pays de Bray.
*

Monique de La Bruchollerie Monique de La Bruchollerie (20 April 191515 December 1972) was a French classical concert pianist. Career La Bruchollerie was born in Paris. She came from a family of musicians, both François-Adrien Boieldieu and André Messager being among ...

(1915 – 1972), the classical concert pianist, lived there all her life with her family. *

Gérard Souzay Gérard Souzay (8 December 1918 – 17 August 2004) was a French baritone, regarded as one of the very finest interpreters of mélodie (French art song) in the generation after Charles Panzéra and Pierre Bernac. Background and education He wa ...

(1918 – 2004), the French

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

, lived there for a while during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, at la Fontaineresse, on the banks of the Lieure. *

Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann (28 August 1879 – 15 November 1933), (sometimes called Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann), was a French furniture designer and interior decorator, who was one of the most important figures in the Art Deco movement. His furn ...

(1879 – 1933) was a renowned French designer of furniture and interiors. His house is described in several publications concerning his life and work. *The artist Paul-Émile Pissarro (the youngest son of

Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but t ...

) lived here for some years from 1922, when he bought a house and had the garden designed by his godfather,