Melun () 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

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne (river), Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne, and the seat of one of its ''

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...

s''. Its inhabitants are called ''Melunais''.

History

Meledunum began as a

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium ...

town;

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

noted Melun as "a town of the

Senones The Senones or Senonii (Gaulish: "the ancient ones") were an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling in the Seine basin, around present-day Sens, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Part of the Senones settled in the Italian peninsula, where they ...

, 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 roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

south-southeast of Paris, where it forded the Seine. Around 500 A.D,

Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...

granted Melun to a Gallo-Roman magnate, Aurelianus, who had fought for Clovis several times and apparently influenced his conversion to Christianity. The

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

sacked it in 845. The castle of Melun became a royal residence of the Capetian kings.

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; french: Hugues Capet ; c. 939 – 14 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, ...

(See also:

House of Capet The House of Capet (french: Maison capétienne) or the Direct Capetians (''Capétiens directs''), also called the House of France (''la maison de France''), or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most s ...

) gave Melun to Bouchard, his favorite. In the reign of Hugh's son,

Robert II of France Robert II (c. 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious (french: link=no, le Pieux) or the Wise (french: link=no, le Sage), was King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his ...

, Eudes, the

count of Champagne The count of Champagne was the ruler of the County 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. Count Theobald I ...

, bought the city, but the king took it back for Bouchard in 999. The chatelain Gautier and his wife, who had sold the city, were hanged; Eudes escaped. Robert died there in July 1031.

Robert of Melun Robert of Melun ( c. 1100 – 27 February 1167) was an English scholastic Christian theologian who taught in France, and later became Bishop of Hereford in England. He studied under Peter Abelard in Paris before teaching there and at Melun ...

(c. 1100 – 27 February 1167) was an English scholastic Christian theologian who taught in France, and later became

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...

in England. He studied under

Peter Abelard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...

in Paris before teaching there and at Melun, which gave him his surname. In July 1415, Melun was besieged by King

Henry V of England Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...

, who had recently signed the

Treaty of Troyes The Treaty of Troyes was an agreement that King Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the French throne upon the death of King Charles VI of France. It was formally signed in the French city of Troyes on 21 May 1420 in the aftermath of ...

with King

Charles VI of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé) and later the Mad (french: le Fol or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychotic ...

. The town was in the hands of the Dauphin, later

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...

, who had been dispossessed by the treaty. The defenders were led by Arnaud Guillaume, seigneur de Barbazan, and fought off the besiegers for fourteen weeks before capitulating. The town was liberated by

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

on 17 April 1430.

Counts of Melun

* Aurelianus (c. 500) *Donatus (?-834) *Bouchard I (956/967–1005), also

Count of Vendôme Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and

Count of Paris Count of Paris () was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. After Hugh Capet was elected King of France in 987, the title merged into the crown and fell into disuse. However, it was later revived by the ...

Viscounts of Melun

The early viscounts of Melun were listed by 17th and 18th century genealogists, notably

Père Anselme Anselm de Guibours (born 1625) (Father Anselm of the Blessed Mary, O.A.D., french: Père Anselme de Sainte-Marie, or simply ''Père Anselme'') was a French Discalced Augustinian friar and noted genealogist. Biography He was born Pierre de Guibour ...

. 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 Carpenter William the Carpenter (floruit, fl. 1087–1102), viscount of Melun, was a French Nobility, nobleman who participated in the ''Reconquista'' in Spain and on the First Crusade. He was notorious for defecting from the army both in Spain and on the cr ...

(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 viscounts include

Honoré Armand de Villars Don Honoré Armand de Villars, 2e duc de Villars (4 October 1702, Paris – May 1770, Aix), 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 ...

and Claude Louis Hector de Villars. France-melun1095

Population

Climate

Transport

Melun is served by the Gare de Melun, which is an interchange station on Paris RER line D, on the Transilien R suburban rail line, and on several national rail lines.

Main sights

The

Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame, Melun The Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame (''Collégiale Notre-Dame de Melun'') is a former collegiate church, now a parish church in the French town of Melun, on rue de la Courtille on the île Saint-Etienne. History The building dates back to the 1 ...

was the original home of the

Melun Diptych The Melun Diptych is a two-panel oil painting by the French court painter Jean Fouquet (c. 1420–1481) created around 1452. The name of this diptych came from its original home in the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame in Melun. The left panel dep ...

. The nearby

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

Vaux-le-Vicomte The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (English: Palace of Vaux-le-Vicomte) is a Baroque French château located in Maincy, near Melun, southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne department of Île-de-France. Built between 1658 and 1661 for Nicolas Fo ...

is considered a smaller predecessor of

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

. The officers' school of the

French Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie nationale, ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police (France), National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the ...

is located in Melun.

Notable people

Melun is the birthplace of: *

Morgan Ciprès Morgan Ciprès (born 24 April 1991) is a French former competitive pair skater. With partner Vanessa James, from the United States, he is the 2019 European Champion, the 2018 World bronze medalist, the 2017 European bronze medalist, the 2018 G ...

, pair skater *

Jérémie Bela Jérémie Bela (born 8 April 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Ligue 1 club Clermont and the Angola national team. He has played for Lens, Dijon, Albacete and Birmingham City. He represented his native Fra ...

, footballer * Willy Boly, footballer *

Pierre Certon Pierre Certon (ca. 1510–1520 – 23 February 1572) 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 Most likel ...

(c.1510-1520-1572), composer of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

(probably born in Melun) *

Jacques Amyot Jacques Amyot (; 30 October 15136 February 1593), French Renaissance bishop, scholar, writer and translator, was born of poor parents, at Melun. Biography Amyot found his way to the University of Paris, where he supported himself by serving som ...

(1513–1593), writer *

Chimène Badi Chimène Badi (; born 30 October 1982 in Melun, Seine-et-Marne), also known by her mononym Chimène, is a French singer of Algerian descent. Early life Badi was born in Melun in the Paris suburbs to a family of Algerian origin. She spent her enti ...

(1982–), singer *

Samir Beloufa Samir Beloufa ( ar, سمير بلوفة; born 27 August 1979) is an Algerian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Club career Beloufa played in the Italian Serie A he played for AC Milan, and Monza in Serie B. He also ...

(1979–), professional footballer * Raphaël Desroses, basketball player * Khamis Digol, footballer * Stéphane Dondon, basketball player * Grégory Guilvert, racing driver *

Judah of Melun Judah of Melun was a French rabbi and ''tosafist'' of the first half of the 13th century. He was the son of the tosafist David of Melun (from the area of Seine-et-Marne). In Perez of Corbeil's ''tosafot'' to Baba Ḳamma (ed. Leghorn, p. 5 ...

(13th century), French

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 ''

tosafist The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

'' *

Yvan Kibundu Yvan Kibundu (born March 26, 1989 in Melun, France) is a French football player. Currently, he plays for Romorantin. He played first for Chamois Niortais and scored his first goal for this club in the 2–1 Coupe de la Ligue defeat to Créteil ...

, footballer * Godson Kyeremeh, footballer *

Edmé-François Mallet Edmé-François Mallet, also abbé Mallet, (29 January 1713, Melun – 25 February 1755, Châteaurenard) was an 18th-century French theologian and encyclopédiste. Biography Edmé-François Mallet first received his education by the country pri ...

(1713–1755), theologian and encyclopédiste * Steven Mouyokolo, footballer * Granddi Ngoyi, footballer *

Yrétha Silété Yrétha Silété (born 27 August 1994) is a French former competitive figure skater. She is a two-time French national champion (2011, 2012) and represented France at the European, World, and World Junior Championships. She achieved her best res ...

, figure skater *

Oumar Solet Oumar Mickaël Solet Bomawoko (born 7 February 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender for Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg. Club career Laval Solet developed through the Stade Laval academy. He made his debu ...

, footballer *

Bertrand Grospellier Bertrand Grospellier (; born 8 February 1981 in Melun), also known as ElkY , is a French poker player and former '' StarCraft: Brood War'' and ''Warcraft III'' esports player. He has won a World Poker Tour (WPT), a World Series of Poker (WSOP ...

(1981–), poker player *

, viscount of Melun in the 11th century *

Jean-Baptiste Djebbari Jean-Baptiste Djebbari (or Djebbari-Bonnet; born 26 February 1982) is a French aircraft pilot and politician of La République En Marche! (LREM). Djebarri was appointed as Secretary of State for Transport on 3 September 2019 under Prime Minis ...

, politician and former

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

Education

A campus of the

École nationale de l'aviation civile École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

(French civil aviation university) is located in Melun. Public high schools/sixth form colleges:Liste des établissements scolaires
." Melun. Consulté le 29 août 2016. * Lycée Léonard de Vinci * Lycée Jacques-Amyot * Lycée Georges Sand There is one private high school/sixth form college: * Lycée Saint Aspais

Twin towns – sister cities

Melun is twinned with: *

Crema Crema or Cremas may refer to: Crema * Crema, Lombardy, a ''comune'' in the northern Italian province of Cremona * Crema (coffee), a thin layer of foam at the top of a cup of espresso * Crema (dairy product) Crema is the Spanish word for cream. I ...

, Italy *

Spelthorne Spelthorne may refer to: * Borough of Spelthorne, a local government district in the county of Surrey, England * Spelthorne (UK Parliament constituency), Surrey constituency in the British House of Commons * Spelthorne College, was a single-cam ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Vaihingen (Stuttgart) Vaihingen may refer to: * Vaihingen (Stuttgart), a city district of Stuttgart *Vaihingen an der Enz Vaihingen an der Enz is a town located between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe, in southern Germany, on the western periphery of the Stuttgart Region. ...

, Germany

External links

* *
Tourist office website

* {{Authority control Communes of Seine-et-Marne Prefectures in France Senones