Guillaume-Le-Conquérant

After having escaped an ambush devised by his barons in western Normandy, William was to challenge them in the summer of 1047, during the first pitched battle of his lifetime. After leaving Argences, where he took up supplies, the young duke headed for the Val ès dunes plain, where he joined forces with his overlord, Henry I, King of France, who had come to his rescue. The conspirators met with total disaster. Many of them were chopped to pieces or drowned in the Orne whilst attempting to cross the river in their hasty flight. The young duke's victory was to seal his authority over Normandy. In October, he gathered Normandy's aristocracy in Caen and proclaimed the Truce of God.

In 1841, in memory of this battle, a stele was erected in Vimont alongside the Paris road by Arcisse de Caumont, who explained the choice of this site, "Had we wished to place the column on the very spot where the battle took place, we would have had to stick it in the middle of the countryside; yet, how, amidst the fields where no one passes by, could it have brought this historic event to anyone's attention?[…] Thus, it was a far better idea to place the monument alongside a busy road, where it could be seen, hence enlightening on the event of which it is intended to be reminiscent."

In 1959, a further stele was erected in Bellengreville, opposite the battlefield.

Site developed in the village of Bellengreville, alongside the D41 main road (access via the D613 road linking Caen with Lisieux): orientation table with views across the battlefield, picnic area (available as from 2012), parking area... This is one of the 8 sites along the Battle of Val ès dunes interpretation trail; it takes visitors to the very spots where the belligerents joined forces in the summer of 1047 and to commemorative sites in Vimont and Bellengreville. .

Information available at the Val ès dunes Tourist Board:
Tel : 02 31 85 38 82
contact@sivalesdunes.et
http://www.sivalesdunes.net