Maubeuge was founded by Ste Aldegonde in the 7th century. It has a long history. Ste Aldegonde founded a monastery in a curve of the Sambre. The Sambre was at this time not the river which was made to a canal which we know now, but a wild river. There were many little lakes around the Sambre and a very bad climate. The earth was muddy. One say the name of Maubeuge comes from the latin language. One say this in cause of its proximity with the roman town Bagacum (now Bavay) which is 10km away and was occupied by the Romans since one century before Christus. But the romans were no more there since the 4th century. The princess Aldegonde was the daughter of a frankish king. So that we can think the word Maubeuge were not of Latin origin and were as commonly admitted Malbodium, which significate Bad Ground or Bad Earth. The latin word bodium and the german word Boden have the same origin. But because it is in a curve of the Sambre : Mau-Beuge, mau is a german dialect word for bad and Beuge is the german word for curve. So that Maubeuge were founded then by Ste Aldegonde in a bad curve of the Sambre. Ste Aldegonde didn't spoke latin, but a frankish dialect. My husband made at a time some translations from the german into french for a collegue who wrote a doctor thesis in middle age history about the saints of the North Country about 600/1000 after Christus. They decided then when my husband said the word mau is in his dialect (dialect of the Saar), mau, that the origin of the name of Maubeuge is more Mau-Beuge, the bad curve (of the river), than Malbodium (the bad ground) : The ground is muddy, but a very good ground for gras and agriculture.
Clara.
