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The best known of Avenay-Val-d legends? Or is it that of Saint Berthe, which dates back to the 7th century. Sainte Berthe was the daughter of an earl of the palace under Clovis, king of France. It was born of a very noble blood in the Antibes region where you can still get bottled rosé wine with the label “Les larmes de Sainte-Berthe”. Saint Berta, having heard of the benefits lavished by the Irish monk Saint Trésain who came to evangelize the Marne valley and was buried at Avenay-Val-d? Or she was led there by an angel to found her famous Clovis-funded royal abbey. Today this abbey has completely disappeared. Instead, the Saint-Trésain church was erected in the 12th century. Santa Berta spent her days recollecting prayers and tending the sheep whose wool she worked as tradition wished. The village, at that time, was in great need of water and, with its miraculous power, it caused a spring to gush forth and a stream arose that dug its bed as it advanced, spinning its distaff. The town was protected from drought for eternity! The stream was given to the inhabitants for the payment of a pound of silver. That is why it was called The Book. The water from the spring and Avenay stream, the fruit of a miracle, had exceptional virtues. It was supposed to cure the insanity of those who drank it. That is why every year many pilgrimages are organized that welcome thousands of people from all over France and even beyond. The Count of Flanders Baldwin himself was treated for his insanity during the winter of 1284 (a commemorative plaque in the former Hôtel Dieu, now the harvest of the Mumm house, is still there). Another great power of this water was to refuse to boil or cook any food resulting from the theft. What a disappointment for criminals! In the village church rest the relics of Saint Bertha and her husband Saint Gombert, as well as Saint Trésain, a jewel of Gothic art from the 12th and 13th centuries, classified as a historical monument.
(Sources: Val Avenay d? Gold Town Hall)