transition between the Vexin plateau and the Andelle valley. Personalities Henry I of England died on 1 December 1135 of food poisoning from eating "a surfeit of lampreys" (of which he was excessively fond) at Lyons-la-Forêt (then Saint-Denis-en-Lyons). The mucus and serum of several lamprey species, including the Caspian lamprey (Caspiomyzon wagneri), river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis and L. planeri), and sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), are known to be toxic and require thorough cleaning before cooking and consumption. Lyons-la-Forêt was the birthplace of Enguerrand de Marigny (1260–1315), chamberlain and minister of Philip IV the Fair. It was also the birthplace of Isaac de Benserade, French poet (1612–1691), who was one of the first intellectuals in France to evoke female homosexuality in a theater play. Maurice Ravel stayed in Lyons many times from 1917 to 1922. He wrote music including Le Tombeau de Couperin in Le Fresne, one of the old mansions of Lyons-la-Forêt. Monique de La Bruchollerie (1915 – 1972), the classical concert pianist, lived there all her life with her family. Gérard Souzay (1918 – 2004), the French baritone, lived there for a while during the Second World War, at la Fontaineresse, on the banks of the Lieure. Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann (1879 – 1933) was a renowned French designer of furniture and interiors. His house is described in several publications concerning his life and work. The artist Paul-Émile Pissarro (the youngest son of Camille Pissarro) lived here for some years from 1922, when he bought a house and had the garden designed by his godfather, Claude Monet. See also Communes of the Eure department References External links Aerial pictures of Lyons-la-Forêt Pictures – Some of the town's cultural traits. Communes of Eure Plus Beaux Villages de France