Corbie

Corbie lies near the meeting of the Somme and the Ancre, east of Amiens. Its Benedictine abbey was a celebrated centre of learning in the early Middle Ages, and a town grew under its protection. The great abbey church was rebuilt in Gothic style from the beginning of the sixteenth century, though work continued only slowly.

In 1636, during the war between France and Spain, a Spanish army captured the fortified town in August. Its fall brought a hostile army close to the French capital and caused alarm in Paris, but Louis XIII's forces besieged Corbie and recovered it in November. The abbey, affiliated to the Congregation of Saint-Maur since 1618, saw building work resume later in the century under the Maurist monks.