Écouché () is a former commune in the Orne department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Écouché-les-Vallées. The village Écouché stands out today for the monumental church, a very rare Republican altar, several medieval merchants' houses, a number of original towers, a network of well-conserved lanes and – a reminder of the ordeal of World War II and the Liberation – a Sherman assault tank. Until 2015, Écouché was the administrative centre of a canton within the arrondissement of Argentan. History timeline The origin of human settlement remains obscure. It can be supposed that the Gauls(Celts) and the Gallo-Romans recognised the advantages of the site, but the earliest written documents available that mention SCOCEI date only from 1066 (a grant of tithes from Gacé and Écouché by William the Conqueror to his wife Mathilda at the Ladies' Abbey (Abbaye aux Dames ) in Caen). SCOCEI viendrait du mot SCOTTI, moines irlandais du 6è siècle (Jean-Michel Picart, Université de Dublin) The place-name later evolved to Scocetum, Escocheum, Escochie, Escouche and finally Écouché. Disputes have arisen over the origin of the name, but the more classical version is that it started with a man's name of SCOTTIUS followed by the Latin possessive suffix ACUS, meaning "the property of Scottius". This implies a Roman origin 1045: the town had to meet the demands of the three sons of Guillaume Soreng, bandit chiefs who attacked the Diocese of Sées with fire and sword. 1136: In the wars of succession between the heirs of William the Conqueror, the troops of Geoffroy invaded Normandy at Ecouché. The inhabitants fled, but not before burning their own village down. In this disaster the battlements disappeared, never to be rebuilt. Hundred Years War (1337–1453): In 1445, during the English occupation, a garrison of 16 mounted lancers and 48 archers was installed, matching what happened in the nearby fortified towns of Falaise and Argentan – which gives an idea of the importance of our town at that time. 1450: When Normandy was reconquered by the French, it was in Ecouché that King Charles VII of France signed the confirmation of the letters patent of the University of Caen, which had been created by the King of England. Wars of Religion (1562–1598): Although, nearby Argentan was besieged, destruction spared Écouché, which found a way of managing the situation, favouring Catholicism. 1589: the