City Culture
Montpellier was founded in 985, south of this old route and north of the Route du Sel. A strategic location since the future city is located on the Cami Roumieu or Roman Road which passes between the two roads. The count of Melgueil (Mauguio) gives Guilhem, a lord living in the middle valley of the Hérault opposite the viscount of Béziers, a manse (agricultural domain) on the Mons Pestelarium. The donation text even lets us know the name of the serf who exploits it: Amalbert. On the other hand, the etymology of the place remains mysterious. Many hypotheses have been put forward - including a poetic, but improbable Mont des jeunes filles -. Montpellier, on this point, retains its mystery, even if the most serious hypothesis evokes the strategic position of the hill: the mount of the lock. The development of the estate goes hand in hand with that of the Maison des Guilhem. From the first part of the 11th century, the latter became more powerful than that of the Counts of Melgueil. Flattering alliances illustrate this rise in power of the Lord of Montpellier: Guilhem VII marries in 1156 a descendant of Hugh Capet, Mathilde of Burgundy and Guilhem VIII, in 1174, marries Eudoxie, niece of the Emperor of Byzantium.
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