Monthureux-sur-Saône (, literally ''Monthureux on

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name der ...

'') is a commune in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

department in

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administ ...

in northeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. Inhabitants are called ''Monthurolais''.

History

Origins and Etymology

The name Monthureux comes from the base Latin word "monasteriolum" meaning 'little monastery'. By the fourteenth century the name had mutated to Monstreuil. The origins of the little town are uncertain. During the turbulent aftermath of the

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

period, the site currently occupied by Monthureux-sur-Saône was probably abandoned to the forest. The name "Monasteriolum" (little monastery) only dates from the end of the ninth century. Subsequent spelling included "Monstreuil", "Montreuil", "Montreux" and "Montureux". The "h" in the spelling of the modern name is believed to result from a clerical error by a transcriber in 1628 who wrote "Montheureux". The beginnings of Monthureux are frequently thought to involve the Gallo-Roman cemetery and the feudal castle, but the site was actually settled long before the arrival of the Romans. The town was settled in the time of the

Lingons The Lingones (Gaulish: 'the jumpers') were a Gallic tribe of the Iron Age and Roman periods. They dwelled