Évreux

Wall fragment with fresco of a Gallo Roman man, from Évreux, 250-275 AD

In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named Mediolanum Aulercorum, "the central town of the Aulerci", the Gallic tribe then inhabiting the area. Mediolanum was a small regional centre of the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. Julius Caesar wintered eight legions in this area after his third campaigning season in the battle for Gaul (56-55 BC): Legiones VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII and XIV.

The first known members of the family of the counts of Évreux were descended from an illegitimate son of Richard I, duke of Normandy. These counts became extinct in the male line with the death of Count William in 1118. The county passed by right of Agnes, William's sister and wife of Simon I de Montfort (died 1087) to the house of the lords of Montfort-l'Amaury. Amaury VI de Montfort-Évreux ceded the title in 1200 to King Philip II. Philip IV presented it in 1307 to his brother Louis d'Évreux, for whose benefit Philip the Long raised the county of Évreux into the peerage of France in 1317.[5]

Philip d'Évreux, son of Louis, became king of Navarre by his marriage to Joan II of Navarre, daughter of Louis the Headstrong, and their son Charles the Bad and their grandson Charles the Noble were also kings of Navarre. The latter ceded his counties of Évreux, Champagne and Brie to King Charles VI of France in 1404.[5] In 1427 the county of Évreux was bestowed by King Charles VII on Sir John Stewart of Darnley (c. 1365–1429), the commander of his Scottish bodyguard, who in 1423 had received the seigniory of Aubigny, and in February 1427 or 1428 he was granted the right to quarter the royal arms of France for his victories over the English. On Stuart's death before Orléans, during an attack on an English convoy, the county reverted to the crown.

The countship was again temporarily alienated (1569–1584) as an appanage for Duke François of Anjou, and in 1651 was finally given to Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon, in exchange for the Principality of Sedan.[5] The most famous holder of the title is Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, son of Marie Anne Mancini.

Évreux was heavily damaged during the Second World War, and most of its centre was rebuilt. The nearby Évreux-Fauville Air Base was used by the United States Air Force until 1967, and since then by the French Air Force.

12th-century nave of the former abbey church of Saint-Taurin

Évreux Cathedral

Évreux Cathedral has been the seat of the bishops of Évreux since its traditional founder, Saint Taurin of Évreux, most probably working between 375 and 425; Bishop Maurusius was present at the Council of Orléans in 511. The earliest parts of the present building, which is mostly Gothic, date from the eleventh century. The west façade and its two towers are mostly from the late Renaissance; the octagonal central tower dates from the late fifteenth century. Of especial note are the Lady chapel and its stained glass, the rose windows in the transepts and the carved wooden screens of the side chapels.[8] The church of the former abbey of St-Taurin is in part Romanesque. It has a choir of the 14th century and other portions of later date, and contains the thirteenth-century shrine of Saint Taurin.[5] The episcopal palace, a building of the fifteenth century, adjoins the south side of the cathedral.[5] The belfry facing the hôtel de ville also dates from the fifteenth century.

In the Middle Ages, Évreux was one of the centres of Jewish learning,[9] and its scholars are quoted in the medieval notes to the Talmud called the Tosafot.[10] The following rabbis are known to have lived at Évreux: Samuel ben Shneor,[11] praised by his student Isaac of Corbeil as the "Prince of Évreux", one of the most celebrated tosafists; Moses of Évreux, brother of Samuel, author of the Tosafot of Évreux; Isaac of Évreux; Judah ben Shneor, or Judah the Elder, author of liturgical poems; Meïr ben Shneor; Samuel ben Judah; Nathan ben Jacob, father of Jacob ben Nathan, who in 1357 copied the five Megillot with the Targum for Moses ben Samuel.[9]

Since 2015, Évreux is part of three cantons:[12][13]

• The canton of Évreux-1 includes a part of Évreux and the communes of: Arnières-sur-Iton and Saint-Sébastien-de-Morsent (pop: 24,125 in 2019);
• The canton of Évreux-2 includes a part of Évreux and the communes of: Aviron, Le Boulay-Morin, La Chapelle-du-Bois-des-Faulx, Dardez, Émalleville, Gravigny, Irreville, Normanville, Reuilly, Saint-Germain-des-Angles and Saint-Vigor (pop: 28,128);
• The canton of Évreux-3 includes a part of Évreux and the communes of: Angerville-la-Campagne, Les Baux-Sainte-Croix, Boncourt, Cierrey, Fauville, Gauciel, Guichainville, Huest, Miserey, Le Plessis-Grohan, Saint-Luc, Sassey, La Trinité, Le Val-David and Le Vieil-Évreux (pop: 22,912);

Évreux has historically maintained socialist politics, with Roland Plaisance of the French Communist Party serving as mayor for over two decades (1977–2001). Plaisance was followed by Jean-Louis Debré, in some part due to the latter's friendship with Jacques Chirac. In 2014, Guy Lefrand (UMP, centre-right) a former member of the National Assembly of France, was elected mayor, with a mandate lasting six years.