Melun
Encyclopedia
Melun is a commune
in the Seine-et-Marne
department in the Île-de-France
region
in north-central France. Located in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris, Melun is the capital of the department, as the seat of an arrondissement. Its inhabitants are called Melunais.
noted Melun as "a town of the Senones
, situated on an island in the Seine"; at the island there was a wooden bridge, which his men repaired. Roman Meledunum was a mutatio where fresh horses were kept available for official couriers on the Roman road
south-southeast of Paris, where it forded the Seine.
The Normans
sacked it in 845. The castle
of Melun became a royal residence of the Capetian kings. Hugh Capet (See also: House of Capet
) gave Melun to Bouchard, his favorite. In the reign of Hugh's son, Robert II of France
, Eudes, the count of Champagne
, bought the city, and the king took it back for the viscount in 999. Le Chatelain and his wife, who had sold the city, were hanged. Robert died there in July 1031.
. Based on closer reading of the original documents, Adolphe Duchalais constructed this list of viscounts in 1844:
The title eventually became an honorary peerage. Such viscount include Honoré-Armand de Villars
and Claude Louis Hector de Villars
.
Melun is served by Melun station, which is an interchange station on Paris RER line D
, on the Transilien R
suburban rail line, and on several national rail lines.
was the original home of the Melun Diptych
.
The nearby chateau
of Vaux-le-Vicomte
is considered a smaller predecessor of Palace of Versailles
.
The officers' school of the French Gendarmerie is located in Melun.
with: Ouidah
, Benin Spelthorne
, United Kingdom Crema, Italy
Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne is a French department, named after the Seine and Marne rivers, and located in the Île-de-France region.- History:Seine-et-Marne is one of the original 83 departments, created on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution in application of the law of December 22, 1789...
department in the Île-de-France
Île-de-France (région)
Île-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-two administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area....
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
in north-central France. Located in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris, Melun is the capital of the department, as the seat of an arrondissement. Its inhabitants are called Melunais.
History
Meledunum began as a Gaulish town; CaesarJulius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
noted Melun as "a town of the Senones
Senones
The Senones were an ancient Gaulish tribe.In about 400 BC they crossed the Alps and, having driven out the Umbrians settled on the east coast of Italy from Forlì to Ancona, in the so-called ager Gallicus, and founded the town of Sena Gallica , which became their capital. In 391 BC they invaded...
, situated on an island in the Seine"; at the island there was a wooden bridge, which his men repaired. Roman Meledunum was a mutatio where fresh horses were kept available for official couriers on the Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
south-southeast of Paris, where it forded the Seine.
The Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
sacked it in 845. The castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
of Melun became a royal residence of the Capetian kings. Hugh Capet (See also: House of Capet
House of Capet
The House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France , or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. As rulers of France, the dynasty...
) gave Melun to Bouchard, his favorite. In the reign of Hugh's son, Robert II of France
Robert II of France
Robert II , called the Pious or the Wise , was King of France from 996 until his death. The second reigning member of the House of Capet, he was born in Orléans to Hugh Capet and Adelaide of Aquitaine....
, Eudes, the count of Champagne
Count of Champagne
The Counts of Champagne ruled the region of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the county of Troyes in the late eleventh century and Hugh I was the first to officially use the title "Count of Champagne". When Louis became King of France in 1314, upon the death of his father Philip...
, bought the city, and the king took it back for the viscount in 999. Le Chatelain and his wife, who had sold the city, were hanged. Robert died there in July 1031.
Counts of Melun
- Donatus (?-834)
- Bouchard I (956/967–1005), also Count of Vendôme and Count of ParisCount of ParisCount of Paris was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. Eventually, the count of Paris was elected to the French throne...
Vicounts of Melun
The early viscounts of Melun were listed by 17th and 18th century genealogists, notably Père AnselmePère Anselme
Père Anselme was a French genealogist.He was born in Paris in 1625. As a layman his name was Pierre Guibours...
. Based on closer reading of the original documents, Adolphe Duchalais constructed this list of viscounts in 1844:
- Salo (c. 993; possibly legendary)
- Joscelin I (c. 998)
- William (possibly c. 1000)
- Ursio (c. 1067–1085)
- William the CarpenterWilliam the CarpenterWilliam the Carpenter , viscount of Melun, was a French nobleman who participated in the Reconquista in Spain and on the First Crusade...
(c. 1094) - Hilduin, Garin, Ursio II, Jean (unknown dates, possibly not viscounts)
- Adam (c. 1138–1141; married Mahaut, daughter of his predecessor)
- Joscelin II (c. 1156)
The title eventually became an honorary peerage. Such viscount include Honoré-Armand de Villars
Honoré-Armand de Villars
Don Honoré Armand de Villars, 2e duc de Villars , Duke and Peer of France, Prince of Martigues, Grandee of Spain, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Viscount of Melun, Marquis of la Melle, Count of Rochemiley, was a French nobleman, soldier and politician.-Early life:He was the son of Claude Louis Hector...
and Claude Louis Hector de Villars
Claude Louis Hector de Villars
Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince de Martigues, Marquis then Duc de Villars, Vicomte de Melun was the last great general of Louis XIV of France and one of the most brilliant commanders in French military history, one of only six Marshals who have been promoted to Marshal General of...
.
Transport
RER D
The RER D is one of the five lines in the RER rapid transit system serving :Paris, France.The line officially runs from the northern terminus Orry-la-Ville – Coye to the southern terminuses Melun and Malesherbes...
, on the Transilien R
Transilien Paris – Lyon
Transilien Paris – Lyon is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network. The trains on this sector depart from Gare de Lyon in central Paris, as well as from Melun station in the suburbs...
suburban rail line, and on several national rail lines.
Main sights
The Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame, MelunCollegiate Church of Notre-Dame, Melun
The Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame is a church in the French town of Melun, on rue de la Courtille on the île Saint-Etienne. Formerly a collegiate church, it was founded between 1016 and 1031 by Robert II of France. Until around 1775 it housed the 1450 Melun Diptych and in 1840 it was made a...
was the original home of the Melun Diptych
Melun Diptych
Melun Diptych is an diptych created by Jean Fouquet. Commissioned by Etienne Chevalier for the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame and completed in 1450, one wing currently hangs in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium, the other in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany.The name of the diptych...
.
The nearby chateau
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
of Vaux-le-Vicomte
Vaux-le-Vicomte
The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is a baroque French château located in Maincy, near Melun, 55 km southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne département of France...
is considered a smaller predecessor of Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
.
The officers' school of the French Gendarmerie is located in Melun.
People
Melun was the birthplace of:- Willy BolyWilly BolyWilly Boly is a French football player who plays for French club Auxerre in Ligue 1. He plays as a central defender and is a former graduate of the Clairefontaine academy. Boly is a France youth international having represented his nation at under-16, under-17, and under-19 level...
footballer - Pierre CertonPierre CertonPierre Certon was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was a representative of the generation after Josquin and Mouton, and was influential in the late development of the French chanson.-Life:...
(c.1510-1520-1572), composer of the RenaissanceRenaissance musicRenaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
(probably born in Melun) - Jacques AmyotJacques AmyotJacques Amyot , French Renaissance writer and translator, was born of poor parents, at Melun.He found his way to the University of Paris, where he supported himself by serving some of the richer students. He was nineteen when he became M.A. at Paris, and later he graduated doctor of civil law at...
(1513–1593), writer - Chimène BadiChimène Badi-Early life:Chimène Badi was born in Melun, in the Paris suburbs but she spent her entire childhood in the south-west of France, growing up in Villeneuve-sur-Lot with her parents, Chérifa and Mohammed, her sister, Déborah, and her brother, Karim...
(1982–), singer - Samir BeloufaSamir BeloufaSamir Beloufa is a French-Algerian football player for the Swedish side Helsingborgs IF of the top Allsvenskan league. He transferred to Helsingborg from the Belgium club Westerlo in March 2007. He also played with Mouscron and Germinal Beerschot in Belgium...
(1979–), professional footballer - Raphael Desroses,basketball player
- Stephane DondonStephane DondonStephane Dondon is a French basketball player who played for French Pro A league clubs Vichy, Chalon/Saone and Cholet between 2002 and 2008.-References:...
,basketball player - Yvan KibunduYvan KibunduYvan Kibundu is a French midfielder. Currently, he plays in the Ligue 2 for the team of Tours FC.He played first for the Chamois Niortais and scored his first goal for this club in the 2–1 Coupe de la Ligue defeat to Créteil on September 3, 2008.-External links:* at chamoisniortais.fr* at l'Equipe...
, footballer - Steven MouyokoloSteven MouyokoloSteven Stefan Fabrice Mouyokolo is a French-Congolese footballer who plays as a defender. He is currently on loan at Ligue 1 club FC Sochaux on loan from English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.-Early career:...
footballer - Granddi NgoyiGranddi NgoyiGranddi N'Goyi Majundu is a French football player of Congolese descent who currently plays for French club Nantes on loan from Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 2.-Career:...
footballer - Yretha Silete figure skater
Twin towns – sister cities
Melun is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Ouidah
Ouidah
Ouidah , also Whydah or Juda, is a city on the Atlantic coast of Benin.The commune covers an area of 364 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 76,555 people.-History:...
, Benin Spelthorne
Spelthorne
Spelthorne is a local government district and borough in Surrey, England. It includes the towns of Ashford, Laleham, Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell and Sunbury...
, United Kingdom Crema, Italy
Crema, Italy
Crema is a town and comune in the province of Cremona, in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is built along the river Serio at 43 km from Cremona. It is also the seat of a Catholic Bishop, who gave to Crema the title of city...
Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany
Sources
- INSEE
- Initial text from the "Carpenters' Encyclopedia of Carpenters 2001" Compiled by John R. Carpenter.
- The Viscounts and Counts of Melun are listed in Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln, Neue Folge, Volume VII, Tafels 55 & 56.