st years of the tenth century, erected the first cathedral that is
upon record at Seez. William of Jumieges relates of him, that he
destroyed the walls of the city, and with their stones built a church in
honor of St. Gervais, the martyr, "ubi sedes episcopalis longo post
tempore fuerat." The same author tells that, in consequence of this
church having been turned into a place of refuge by some rebels, about
fifty years afterwards, Ivo, the third from Azo upon the episcopal
throne, set fire to the adjoining houses for the purpose of dislodging
them, and the church fell a victim to the flames. The act, though
unintentional, brought upon the prelate a severe reprimand from the
pope; and Ivo, to repair his fault, undertook a journey to his relatives
and friends in Apulia and Constantinople, whence he returned, loaded
with rich presents, by the aid of which he undertook the erection of a
new church upon so large a scale, that "his successors, Robert, Gerard,
and Serlo, were unable to complete it in fifty years." The cathedral
then raised is said to be the same as is now standing; and, according to
what has already been recorded of the cathedrals of Lisieux and
Coutances, there is nothing in its architecture to discredit such an
opinion. The first stone was laid about the year 1053: the dedication
took place in 1126. Godfrey, archbishop of Rouen, performed the ceremony
in the presence of Henry, then duke, who, at the same time, endowed the
church with an annual income of ten pounds.

The diocese of Seez is surrounded by those of Lisieux, Evreux, Mans, and
Bayeux. According to De Masseville,[222] it extended, before the
revolution, twenty-five leagues in length, and from eight to ten in
width, comprising the districts of _le Houme_, _les Marches_, and a part
of _le Perche_. The towns of Seez, Alencon, Argentan, Falaise, Hiesmes,
Mortagne, and Belleme, together with several smaller towns, and five
hundred villages, were also included in its limits; as were five
archdeaconries, six rural deaneries, and many abbeys and other religious
houses. The episcopal revenue was estimated at only ten thousand livres.
The late concordat, by reducing the number of the Norman dioceses, has
of course added to the extent of those that remained.

Seven of the early bishops of Seez are inscribed among the saints of the
Roman calendar: in later times, no names appear of greater eminence than
those of Frogerius and John de Bertaut. The first of the