The church of Douvre, the next village, is rather a picturesque
building. The upper story of the tower has two pointed windows of the
earliest date. A pediment between them rests on the archivolt on either
side. This is frequently seen in buildings in the circular style. The
other stories of the tower, and the west front of the church are Norman;
the east end is in ruins. The British name of the village may afford
ground for much ethnigraphical and etymological speculation.
Saint Exuperius is said to have founded the Chapel of La Delivrande,
some time in the first century. The tradition adds, that the chapel was
ruined by the Northmen,--and the statue of the Virgin, which now
commands the veneration of the faithful, remained buried until the
appointed time of resuscitation, in the reign of Henry Ist, when it was
discovered, in conformity to established usage and precedent in most
cases of miraculous images, by a lamb. Baldwin, Count of the Bessin and
Baron of Douvre, was owner of the flock to which the lamb belonged. The
Virgin would not remain in the parish church of Douvre, in which she was
lodged by the Baron, but she returned every night to the spot where she
was disinterred. Baldwin therefore understood that it was his duty to
erect a chapel for her reception, and he accordingly built that which is
now standing, and made a donation of the edifice to the Bishop of
Bayeux, whose successor receives the mass-pennies and oblations at this
very day.
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