Braine

Braine lies in the Vesle valley between Soissons and Reims. Its abbey of Saint-Yved was founded in the twelfth century by Agnès of Braine, wife of Robert of Dreux, a brother of King Louis VII. The abbey church became the burial place of the counts of Dreux, binding the religious house to a family close to the French royal dynasty. Its Gothic choir and transepts formed a distinguished setting for the tombs of its patrons.