Alençon (UK: /æˈlɒ̃sɒ̃/, US: /ˌælɒ̃ˈsoʊn/, French: (listen); Norman: Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated 173 kilometres (107 mi) west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). The name of Alençon is first recorded in a document dated in the seventh century. During the tenth century, Alençon was a buffer state between Normandy and the Maine regions. In 1049–1051, William Duke of Normandy, later known as William the Conqueror and king of England, laid siege to the town, which had risen in support of the Count of Anjou along with two other towns of the Bellême estates, Domfront (then in Maine) and Bellême (held directly from King Henry I of France). According to Duke William's chaplain and panegyrist, William of Poitiers, the defenders of the fortress refused to surrender and mockingly waved animal hides from the castle walls, referencing William's lineage as the grandson of a tanner. In response to this, William had 32 prisoners of the town's hands and feet cut off, prompting a sudden surrender. Upon hearing of this event, the town of Domfront also surrendered. More information...
According to PR-model, alencon.fr is ranked 648,051st in multilingual Wikipedia, in particular this website is ranked 522,906th in English Wikipedia.
The website is placed before screamteamreleasing.com and after horsereporter.com in the BestRef global ranking of the most important sources of Wikipedia.
