The first Romanesque cathedral consecrated in 1076 was destroyed in 1119 when the town was set on fire on the orders of Henri I faced by an uprising of the Norman barons. It was rebuilt on the orders of Pope Calixtus, as an act of penitence, by the same Henri I and completed in 1140. In 1194 and 1198 two new fires due to conflicts between Philippe Auguste and Richard the Lion Heart affected the cathedral. Only seven arches of the lower parts of the nave, capitals ornamented with foliate decorations, scrolls or cut almond moulding elements, and a number of stylised human masks as well as blind arches interspersed in the bays located under the towers of the gothic church.

Bibliography

- Gossé-Kischinewski, Annick. – Evreux, la légende des pierres. – Evreux : Fromont Glatigny Editeurs, 1988.
- Gosse-Kischinewski, Annick. “ Evreux : Cathédrale Notre-Dame ”, dans : Baylé, Maylis (dir.). – L’architecture normande au Moyen-Age, Condé-sur-Noireau : Editions Charles Corlet, Caen : Presses universitaires de Caen, 1997, p. 173 à 178.