Saint-Saëns (, until about 1940–1950 ) is a commune in the

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inf� ...

department in the

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

region in northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. A small town of

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and associated

light industry Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...

situated by the banks of the river Varenne in the

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 Pr ...

, some southeast of

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

at the junction of the D929, D12, D99 and the D154 roads. Junction 11 of the A28 autoroute with the

A29 autoroute The A 29 is a major toll motorway in Normandy and Picardy, northwestern and northern France. The road is also part of European route E44. From its western interchange with the A28 autoroute until its junction with the A26 autoroute, part of th ...

is within the commune's territory.

History

The year 674 saw the foundation of a monastery on the hill at the present-day location of the village. The first abbot was Sidonius (Saëns), an Irish monk and a disciple of St

Philibert of Jumièges Philibert of Jumièges (c. 608–684) was an abbot and Monastery, monastic founder, particularly associated with Jumièges Abbey. Life Philibert was born in Gascony, the only son of Filibaud, a magistrate of Vicus Julius (now Aire-sur-l'Ado ...

. Sidonius died in about 689 and was buried in the monastery. Called "Sancti Sidonii" in a document of around 830, it was destroyed by the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

in the 9th century. In the 11th century, the

seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

s of Saint-Saëns were rich and powerful men. One of them became governor of

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

and another excelled at the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...

. In 1127, Helias of Saint-Saens was outlawed in England on the orders of

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 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 1087, Henr ...

for sheltering Guillaume Cliton, rebel claimant to the

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

of Normandy. The seigneurs built again on Cateliers hill, this time a castle and a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

which later became the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

abbey of Saint-Wandrille. The castle was taken in 1204 by the French king

Philip II Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...

and became part of France, like most of Normandy by this time. About 1167Leonie V. Hicks, ''Religious Life in Normandy 1050–1300: Space, Gender and Social Pressure'', Appendix B: Nunneries, p. 201. a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

dedicated to

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

was founded near the village by nuns from Bival under the patronage of

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

. This was later upgraded to an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

in 1629. The abbess was a friend of the king's mistress, Madame de Maintenon, who often contributed to the beautification of the church. By 1740, there was only one monk left at the monastery and after the Revolution it became the present-day church. The castle and village were looted and burned by the English and the Burgundians in 1450 and again by

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

in 1592. That same year, the Spanish ravaged the manor of Quesnay. In the 14th century, the town was famous for its

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

s, potters and

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware) includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. While most cutlers ...

Glassmaking Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container ...

started here in 1450 at the hamlet of Bully and was active until 1807. The tanneries were well-known up until the 19th century. The Montérolier-Buchy–Saint-Saëns railway, connecting the town with Gare de Montérolier-Buchy, was opened in 1900 and closed in 1953.''Encyclopédie générale des transports'' – ''Chemins de fer'', tome 12, 76.2.

Heraldry

Population

Main sights

* The church of St Saëns, dating from the thirteenth century. * Ruins of the twelfth century castle. * The

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

at the hamlet of Quesnay. * Two chateaus, at Bailly and Vaudichon. * The seventeenth century market building. * Vestiges of the seventeenth century Bernardines convent.

People

* Sidonius of Saint-Saëns, founder of the town.

References

External links

Former official website (archive from 27 April 2012; accessed 26 July 2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintsaens, Seine-Maritime Communes of Seine-Maritime