THE ORIGIN OF LUNAS
It has been proved by archaeology, that the region of Lunas had been already settled permanently since the earliest antiquity (about 3000 years A.C.). But what do we know about the actual origin of the place ?
As we know, the first text mentioning it, is a charter of the abbey of Gelone in the year 806, second year of the reign of Charles the Bald. In this charter, a certain Sigoald gives to Rustan, archbishop of Arles and abbot of Aniane a field, situated in "Lunas", in the "pagus" of Béziers :
"Ego in Die nomen Sigoaldus dono vobis Rustano, Archiepiscopo Arelatensis sedis, sive Abbati de Aniano monasterio, vel ... et in pago Biterrensi in villa Lunatis donon campum unim habentem semodiatam unam,..."
Ten years later, Lunas is mentioned in a charter from the 5th of June 909, accorded by Charles the Simple, on advice of Raymond, son of Eudes – Earl of Toulouse, in favour of Regembald, abbot of Psalmodi in the diocese of Nimes and of Joncels in the diocese of Béziers, which one, as tells the charter :
" situm est in pago Biterrensi, in suburbio castro Lunetense"
Firstly, as we see, called "Lunates villa" and "Terra Lunatensi", the "castrum" gets its name "Lunaz" from 1160 on.
The former simple etymology attributes the word to the general form of the first place. The constructions, leaning on the Redondel-rock, stuck between the brooks Nize and St-Georges and the river Gravezon, offered to the view a form of a crescent moon.
Mr Rives Jr. from Bedarieux gives in the edition of the 9th of February 1851 of the "Echo de Lodève, Bédarieux, Clermont et Gignac " a more scientific origin of the word : "The name Lunas is composed by two Celtic words : AR and DUN, meaning "place on a hill" (AR = on, DUN = hill). The name Dunar changed at the use to become Lunar, as it can be read in a test from 1163, and became finally the definitive name of Lunas.
Recently (22.6.1974) André Dedet wrote a thesis (linguistic) at the University Paul Valéry in Montpellier about the science of names and micro-science of names in the district of Lunas. He thinks that the syllable "-as" comes from the suffix "ates" (still before the roman occupation), designating the inhabitants of a place. André Dedet specifies that this originally atone suffix becomes later, under Roman influence, tonic and stays it in the Occitan language.
Concerning the syllable "lun", he thinks that it is a form of a pre-indo-European language.
Our theory is one conciliating both of the indicated hypotheses :
Dun or Lun : hill Ates : inhabitant
This brings us to Lun Ates inhabitant on a hill
Later, the place will be known under the succeeding designations :
Lunatium / Lunosum / Launaz / Lunar / Lunaz / Lunas.