Description : Sées is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. It lies on the Orne River 3 miles (5 km) from its source and 13 miles (20 km) north-by-northeast of Alençon. The first bishop of Sées was St Lain, who lived about the fourth century. In the ninth century, Sées was a fortified town and fell a prey to the Normans. At that period Sées had two distinct parts: the Orne: the bishop's borough to the north and the new count's borough (Bourg le Comte) to the south. The counts of Alençon took control in 1356. It was captured and recaptured in the wars between Henry II of England and his sons. In the Hundred Years' War it was one of the first towns of Normandy to fall into the hands of the English, in 1418. Pillaged by the Protestants during the Wars of Religion, Sées attached itself to the Catholic League in 1589, but voluntarily surrendered to Henry IV of France in 1590.
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