The abbaye Notre-Dame du Val is a former Cistercian Abbey located in the territory of the communes of Meriel and Villiers-Adam in the Val-d'Oise, 30 km north of Paris. It is the oldest Cistercian church in île-de-France, from 1125. It is well over a century before the nearby abbeys of Royaumont and Maubuisson were built.
There are several buildings, including one of the most beautiful medieval France monastic dormitories and a gallery of the cloister. The abbaye du Val is classified as a historical monument since 1947 for the building of the monks, and since 1965 for the other building.

Saint Bernard banned burials within the Cistercian abbeys, but the ban was observed only a few decades. It is customary in the 12th century that Lords and major donors of an Abbey to be buried within the church. It is for them the assurance of perpetual prayers for the repose of their soul and the forgiveness of their sins. From 1161, Ansel I d' Isle, considered the founder of the Abbey, is buried in its enclosure, only eight years after the death of saint Bernard. Then Laurence of Hainaut and the wife of the Constable of France Bouchard V of Montmorency, was buried in the enclosure in 1189.
Nicolas de Saint - Mesmin, the last monk of Val, in 1741 made a handwritten inventory of the present tombs in his time, he describes as competing beauty with those of Saint Denis Basilica. Nevertheless the Abbey houses no royal burial, unlike the latter.

Most of the tombs are located in the Abbey Church, some in the cloister, and a few are found in the chapter room. They contain the graves of noble families in the region, of l'Isle-Adam, Villiers, Montmorency, Saunier, Neelle, Vallangoujard, Chambly, Mery, sorts, Neaufles, Aunay, Roussy, Beaujeu...