 His county of Valois passed to his sister's husband, Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois, Amiens to Philip, and the Vexin was partitioned between Philip and William, creating the modern division between the "Vexin français" and the "Vexin normand".Simon was not content with the relatively luxurious surrounds of the Abbey of Saint-Claude, and decided upon a life as a hermit in the forests of Burgundy on the upper reaches of the Doubs River.There he and a few colleagues constructed cabins and cleared land to farm.