Farther  down  the  Rue  Jeanne  Dare  to  the  1.  is  the
magnificent  Palais  de  Justice,  built  by  Louis  XII.  for  the


44  NORTH-WESTERN  FRANCE.
Echiquier  de  Normandie,  which  was  formed  into  an  in-
dependent sovereign  court  of  permanent  magistrates,  recog-
nised as  a  parliament  by  Frangois  I.,  and  which  held  all
the  powers  of  communal  administration,  civil  and  military.
The  oldest  portion  of  the  building  is  the  1.  wing,  erected  in
1493  as  a  meeting-place  for  merchants.  The  r.  wing  (which
only  dated  from  the  xvm.  c.)  was  rebuilt  1842-52.  The
splendid  central  fagade,  begun  1499,  is  due  to  Roger  Ango
and  to  Laurent  Leroux,  architect  of  the  central  portal  of
Notre  Dame.  The  statues,  representing  all  the  different
classes  of  society  of  the  time  of  Louis  XII.,  are  modern
additions  by  Le  Brun.  A  staircase  (of  1607)  leads  to  the
Salle  des  Procureurs  or  des  Pas  Perdues,  which  has  bold
simple  timber  vaulting.  A  marble  table  of  1555  is  shown
as  that  where  the  jurisdiction  of  the  rivers  and  forests  was
executed.  The  parliament  chapel,  which  adjoined  the  hall
and  overhung  the  Rue  aux  Juifs,  was  demolished  in  1794.
A  door  at  the  end  of  the  hall  (r.)  communicates  with  the
restored  hall  of  the  Cour  d'Assises,  possessing  a  beautiful  gilt
and  sculptured  chestnut  ceiling  of  the  time  of  Louis  XII.
The  Chambre  du  Conseil  contains  portraits  of  the  Coun-
sellors of  the  Parliament  of  Normandy,  and  a  Crucifixion
given  by  Louis  XII.
