Abbey of Saint-Étienne, Caen

Lanfranc of Pavia, Prior of Bec Abbey, who himself had initially expressed concerns regarding the marriage, acted on William's behalf to secure Leo's forgiveness.

The funeral, attended by the bishops and abbots of Normandy as well as his son Henry, was disturbed by the assertion of a citizen of Caen who alleged that his family had been illegally despoiled of the land on which the church was built.

In 1562, during the French Wars of Religion, the grave was again opened and the original tombstone of black marble, similar to that of Matilda in the Abbaye aux Dames, was destroyed.

This tomb was again destroyed during the French Revolution, but was eventually replaced with the current early 19th-century ledger stone in white marble.

The original Romanesque apse was replaced in 1166 by an early Gothic chevet, complete with rose windows and flying buttresses.

During the Normandy Landings, inhabitants of Caen found refuge in the church; on the rooftop there was a red cross, made with blood on a sheet, to show that it was a hospital (to avoid bombings).