fme_1190425 - ROUEN - CLERGÉ ET ÉGLISES Médaille, Eglise de l’abbaye St-Ouen

ROUEN - CLERGY AND CHURCHES

Under the Ancien Régime, Rouen was one of the great cities of the kingdom, considered, in the 16th century, as the second city in France after Paris, before gradually declining until the beginning of the 19th century, when it had the reputation of to be dirty, and poorly constructed. The administrative and religious functions of the city are at the origin of the stable base of its population and its influence. The Catholic reform of the 17th century encouraged the multiplication of convents. It is estimated that nearly two thousand monks supported Rouen households until the Revolution. Biblio.: MOLLAT M. (dir.), "History of Rouen", Toulouse, 1979.