Lunel (; Provençal: ''Lunèl'') is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.department in southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. According to legend, Lunel was founded by

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

from

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

in the first century. It had a Jewish population by the first millennium, and an ancient synagogue is located there. Map commune FR insee code 34145

Lunel is located east of

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

and southwest of

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

(

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Lunel station has rail connections to Narbonne, Montpellier, Nîmes and Avignon.

History

The ancient Roman site of

Ambrussum Ambrussum (, ; ) is a Roman archaeological site in Villetelle, Occitania, Southern France. It is close to the modern town Lunel, between Nîmes and Montpellier. Ambrussum is notable for its museum, its staging post on the Via Domitia, its bridg ...

is located nearby. The

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

Folquet de Lunel Folquet de Lunel (1244 – c. 1300) was a troubadour from Lunel (in the modern Hérault) in the Languedoc. He left behind nine recorded lyric poems, including five ''cansos'', two ''partimens'', and two ''sirventes The ''sirventes'' or ''s ...

was from Lunel. Lunel was a centre of Jewish learning. It is thought that the family of

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

(1040–1105), the great

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and commentator, originated in Lunel. Other scholars include Jonathan of Lunel,

Meshullam ben Jacob ''Rabbeinu'' Meshullam son of Jacob (or ''Meshullam HaKohen ben Ya'akov'') also known as ''Rabbeinu Meshullam hagodol'' (Rabbi Meshullem the great) was a Franco-Jewish Talmudist of the twelfth century CE.Heinrich Graetz History of the Jews - Page ...

of Lunel, his son Aaron ben Meshullam ben Jacob of Lunel,

Abraham ben David Abraham ben David ( – 27 November 1198), also known by the abbreviation RABaD (for ''Rabbeinu'' Abraham ben David) Ravad or RABaD III, was a Provençal rabbi, a great commentator on the Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central ...

who taught in Lunel before moving to

Posquières Vauvert (; oc, Vauverd) is a commune in the far south of the Gard department in southern France. It was known as ''Posquières'' in the Middle Ages. The commune comprises the town of Vauvert and the villages of Gallician and Montcalm.

, and

Asher ben Meshullam Rabbeinu Asher ben Meshullam was a Jewish theologian and Talmudic scholar who lived at Lunel in the second half of the 12th century CE.Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion - Page 74) A renowned Talmudist, he was a son of the well-known R' Meshu ...

of Lunel. Lunel was the birthplace of

Louis Feuillade Louis Feuillade (; 19 February 1873 – 25 February 1925) was a French filmmaker of the silent era. Between 1906 and 1924, he directed over 630 films. He is primarily known for the crime serials '' Fantômas'', '' Les Vampires'' and '' Judex ...

(1873–1925),

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

from the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. The artist

Jean Hugo Jean Hugo (19 November 1894 – 21 June 1984) was a painter, illustrator, theatre designer and author. He was born in Paris and died in his home at the Mas de Fourques, near Lunel, France. Brought up in a lively artistic environment, he began ...

(1894-1984) lived in the Lunel area for most of his life and painted scenes from the surrounding countryside. The Parc Jean Hugo in the centre of the town was named after him. Since the 20th century, the town has been a destination for Muslim immigrants from Algeria and other parts of North Africa. In 2015 the ''New York Times'' reported that 10% of all the French people killed fighting in Syria for

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

came from Lunel."A French Town Linked to Jihad Asks Itself Why"
''New York Times,'' January 2015

History

Population

See also