Medieval period In the
Early Middle Ages, the nearby episcopal town of Maguelone was the major settlement in the area, but raids by
pirates encouraged settlement a little farther inland. In 737
Charles Martel destroyed
Maguelone. Montpellier, first mentioned in a document of 985, was founded under a local
feudal dynasty, the Guilhem, who combined two hamlets and built a castle and walls around the united settlement. The name is from medieval Latin
mons pisleri, "Woad Mountain" referring to the
woad (Latin
pastellus,
pestellus) used for dyeing locally. There is no real "mountain" in the area, with the
mons referring to a pile of stones. In 986 the
Lords of Montpellier begin with
William I of Montpellier. In the 10th century the town consisted of two portions, Montpellier and Montpelliéret. Montpellier was among the most important of the 66 ('cities of protection' or 'protected cities') that the
Edict of Nantes granted to the Huguenots. The city's political institutions and the university were all handed over to the Huguenots. Increasing tension with Paris led to King
Louis XIII besieging the city in 1622. During the
repression of January and February 1894, the police conducted raids targeting the
anarchists living there, without much success. After this the city grew because it welcomed French repatriates from Algeria and other parts of northern Africa after
Algeria's independence from France. In the 21st century Montpellier is between France's number seventh and eighth largest city. The city had another influx in population more recently, largely due to the student population, who make up about one-fourth of Montpellier's population. The school of medicine kickstarted the city's thriving university culture, though many other universities have been well established there. The coastal city also benefited in the past 40 years from major construction programs such as
Antigone, Port Marianne and Odysseum districts. ==Geography==