GISORS, a town of France, in the department of Eure, in the pleasant valley of the Epte, 44 m. N.W. of Paris on the railway to Dieppe. Pop. (1931) 5,289. In the middle ages Gisors was capital of the Vexin. Its position on the frontier of Normandy caused its possession to be hotly contested by the kings of England and France during the 12th century, when with the fortresses of Neau fles and Dangu it was ceded by Richard Coeur de Lion to Philip Augustus. During the wars of religion of the 16th century it was occupied by the duke of Mayenne on behalf of the League, and in the I7th century, during the Fronde, by the duke of Longueville. Gisors was made a duchy in 1742 and afterwards came into the possession of the count of Eu and the duke of Penthievre.
Gisors is dominated by an 11th and 12th cent. stronghold of the kings of England. The central tower, the choir and parts of the aisles of the church of St. Gervais dates from the middle of the 13th century, and the rest from the Renaissance. Gothic and Renaissance styles mingle in the west facade, adorned with a pro fusion of sculptures ; the fine carving on the wooden doors of the north and west portals is particularly noticeable. Among the in dustries of Gisors are felt manufacture, bleaching, dyeing and leather-dressing.