The church of Mary Magdalene 0892811994, 2004008842

Citation preview

THE

CHURCH OF MARY MAGDALENE

The Sacred Feminine AND THE

Treasure of Rennes-le-Chateau

JEAN MARKALE

THE

CHURCH OF MARY MAGDALENE The Sacred Feminine AND THE

Treasure of Rennes-le-Ghateau

JEAN MARKALE Translated by Jon Graham

Inner Traditions Rochester,

Vermont

Inner Traditions

One Park

Street

Vermont 05767

Rochester,

www.InnerTraditions.com

©

1989 by Editions Pygmalion/Gerard Watelet, Paris English translation copyright © 2004 by Inner Traditions International Copyright

Originally published in French under the I’or

Rennes-le-Chateau

title

et

Venigme de

maudit by Editions Pygmalion/Gerard Watelet, Paris

First U.S. edition

published by Inner Traditions in 2004

All rights reserved.

No

part of this

book may be reproduced or

utilized in

any

form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Markale, Jean. [Rennes-le-Chateau. English]

The church of Mary Magdalene sacred feminine and the le-Chateau / Jean Markale translated by Jon Graham, :

treasure of Rennes-

;

p.

cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 0-89281-199-4 1.

3.

(pbk.)

— France— Rennes-le-Chateau. Mary Magdalene, Saint — Miscellanea. Occultism

4.

le-Chateau. 5.

Rennes-le-Chateau (France)

2.

Sauniere, Berenger, 1852-1917.

Treasure-trove

—France — Rennes-

—History— Miscellanea.

Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (Rennes-le-Chateau, France)

I.

6. Eglise

Title.

BF1434.F8M3713 2004 944787 dc22

—

2004008842

Printed and

10

bound

in the

United States at Lake Book Manufacturing,

987654321

Text design and layout by

Mary Anne Hurhula

This book was typeset in Sabon

Inc.

Roads

that climb also descend

—Heraclitus

Contents 1.

2. 3.

Part The Site of the Mystery 1

On Roads

A

6.

Fortified

The History of 7. 8.

He Who 4.

of Stone and Dust

Encampment

the

2

35

Earldom of Razes

Part 2 Brings Scandal

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

100

Who Was Abbe

146

5.

One

Train

67

Sauniere?

Can Hide Another

195

11.

Part 3 The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure Treasure Island

The Door 9.

That

10.

Is

on the

226

Inside

243

Odd Mary Magdalene 256

The Shepherds of Arcadia

The Queen’s Gold Index

301

287

274

Part

1

THE SITE OF THE MYSTERY

1

On Roads

of Stone

and Dust

It is

hard for travelers

Aude high

who

have been making their

Valley out of Carcassonne to imagine

—that

is

to say,

on

and ancient picturesque continually

drawn

The

the plateau. villages

its

valley

is

taking place on

rich in

is

the upper

shady groves

such as Limoux and Alet, and the eye

to the flowing river

promontories bordering

what

way up

whose path

is

is

determined by the

winding path. Once travelers have pro-

gressed to Couiza, where the Sals River flows into the Aude, they will be

tempted to continue southward toward Quillan, the gap leading to those castles

constructed “on the flank of the abyss”

Breton’s expression)

—

borrow Andre

castles that are described as Cathar.

land that bears the imprint of those

too quick to

(to

whom many

call dualists, heretics,

For here

is

people have been a

a

bit

and Albigensians. Everything here

depends on what travelers truly seek: either the gold of the Holy Grail or the gold of the devil. exclusive ble to

The quests

for both of these

—not

—do need to be undertaken over time. From Couiza

make

mutually it is

possi-

a detour to the east and, following the Sals Valley, to climb

a steep path that leads to the top of the plateau, into the midst of rocks

and mineral dust that have accumulated over the the flank of the abyss,”

looms

“on

end of a

cul-

a strange village lost at the

de-sac, a hamlet sitting atop the setting sun,

from the surrounding

centuries. There,

and barely distinguishable

stone: the village of Rennes-le-Chateau.

2

On Roads It

took

me

In truth, for

a long time to discover the

my

most of

of Stone and Dust

road to Rennes-le-Chateau.

had no idea of the existence of

life I

3

this iso-

lated village in the Corbieres region or of another hidden in the hollow

of a neighboring valley and bearing a similar name: Rennes-les-Bains.

The word Rennes brought fluence of the

tomary zones

for

Ille

me

to

me

those people

name Rennes

reindeer

1

,

ever since

and

I

was

naively

cus-

border

extremely remote

the

name

of Catalonia.

(located

a child, for

I

wondered about

me

was

in those

had

Ille-et-Vilaine)

in

had heard of the Laplanders,

lived in the frozen steppes of the north

animals, described to station, rather

I

It

(so evocative of a blazing sun) conceals

authentic but “foreign”

who

capital of Brittany.

Aude region from

the

Nevertheless, the intrigued

only the city located at the con-

spend much more time there than

whose French name

much more

the

my mind

and Vilaine Rivers, the

separating

Roussillon,

to

and hunted

the connection between these

as very similar to stags,

and

this city

—or train

—where, night and day, the train that brought me toward

Broceliande stopped, sometimes for a very long while.

extraordinary about childhood imagination terrifying possibility of going as far as

is

we can

What

immense and

the

is

so

finally

possibly go in exploration

of the fantasy world. Sociocultural censorship has as yet no role to play

with children and they breach the ultimate frontiers of reality quite casually and unconsciously. Accordingly,

I

envisioned extending outside

of the Rennes tram station a snow-covered plain over which figures

zon

loomed, tracking the animals that

lost in the night.

somewhat reminiscent of

is

of an animal at bay, isn’t

them

is

toward an

invisible hori-

This was the time of steam locomotives; the puff-

ing of these machines

dislike of

fled

shadowy

it? I

smoking

nostrils

have never been fond of hunters, and

as strong today as

the killing of animals in this

the

way

it

was

as a child. In fact,

as a criminal act;

I

I

my

regard

have never under-

stood the kind of sordid and sadistic pleasure some derive from shooting at rabbits, partridges,

and deer who have never done any

anyone and too often have been raised only to serve for those .

1.

.

.

f

It

is

who

think

virility is

synonymous with

normal for human beings

Rennes means “reindeer”

in

French.

as

ill

moving

targets

But

digress

cruelty.

I

to defend themselves against

— Translator

]

to

an

The

4

Site

of the Mystery

attack by a ferocious or poisonous animal.

It

normal that human

is

would survive

beings, in certain penurious times such as the ice ages,

the expense of animals. But

what can be

a matter of perspective, of course.

It is

words,

kingdom, but

and that

eventually accepted the fact that

I

was once

it

the capital of

doubted the

same name

I

I

cross.

it

was

my

ancestors.

so,

however,

done

I

I

the

name

of a

did not give the

would not have

possibility of the existence of another village bearing the

completely foreign to me.

in a region

Nobody

to the Corbieres region. it.

Had

my own

were to follow

Rennes reminded me of the animal

to say that initially

is

matter any more thought.

ken of

If I

would rescue every unfortunate animal whose path

I

All of this

city

said of those slaughters organ-

few members of the privileged

ized for the disturbing pleasure of a class?

at

In fact,

was only

it

I

tles

of trademarked wine, that the

for

me, though

I

had no connection

spent time with had ever even spo-

when

later,

I

I

read the labels of certain bot-

name Corbieres took on any meaning

should state for the record that from the time

I

became

impassioned about literature the name brought more readily to mind the Breton poet Tristan Corbiere (without the

s)

than a good red wine

worthy of some family celebration. At the time when

me Le Cure

pleasure to read to

it

was my

de Cucugnan, the famous story attrib-

who was

uted to Alphonse Daudet (but actually written by Paul Arene,

Daudet’s black servant),

Cucugnan was located and not

in the

I

father’s

was

far

from supposing that the

precisely in the

village of

mountainous region of Corbieres

completely imaginary Provence created by the author of

the immortal Tartarin.

And

yes

.

.

.

Cucugnan

is

not that far from

Rennes-le-Chateau. According to the vision of the steadfast cure,

it

seemed that the residents of Cucugnan allowed themselves to be ensnared

in the trap of the devil’s gold.

Could

this also

be true of cer-

tain inhabitants of Rennes-le-Chateau? I

must frankly confess that

Chateau

for the first fifty years of

per articles published about noticeable trace in

a novel

way

it

my memory.

were merely the ploy of

up

was completely unaware of Rennes-le-

I

my

life.

in the ’50s I

The magazine and newspaand ’60s had not

probably thought

a skilled local

at the

businessman

left

any

time that they

who had dreamed

of bringing tourism to this forsaken Corbieres region.

had other subjects

for reflection

and research that were

I

entirely cen-

On Roads

my

on

tered

my

personal “poles”: in Brittany

of Stone and Dust

cherished Broceliande

Mound, and

Forest and the Barenton Fountain, the Gavrinis

Morbihan Gulf

New

when

that turns so blue

Grange mound

the

flooded with sunlight; or the

in Ireland, the absolute center of all the Celtic

mythological tales that motivate me; or the strange

on Salisbury Plain

5

in

circle of

Stonehenge

England, where Merlin had used his magic to

transport from Ireland this fantastic “Dance of the Giants” that early

on

I

had guessed

an ancient religion

to be the solar temple of

knew

I

nothing about. Under these conditions, what would have compelled interest in a village in Corbieres, a region

course,

I

had

had been its

ramparts

called

—

Corbieres and the

is

I still

am, by the powerful images that

— inspired

even

in

my

imagination. But Carcassonne

Razes. At this time

less the

is

not

had never even heard

I

name Razes spoken.

What

is

odd about

particular place

luck but

the interest

more what

arises

my

Jean Hani,

I

how

friend the poet

long ago,

my

origins

literature professor in high school,

(that

bought

a

is

—a

not really

I

have

I

lived in

and the great

my meetings

with

and the abbot Henri

who was my

true spiritual is

my

men-

great love

now confess all. In 1948, thanks to my who then “ran” the Librairie Celtique on

name

again!) in Paris, a bookstore that closed

book published

to be truly illuminating:

that

cir-

will

I

Renee Willy,

Rennes I

came about

spent in the Broceliande Forest as to

and druidism.

the rue de

this interest

have never spoken of previously, however,

I

for druids

it

due as much to

Gillard, the “Rector of Trehorenteuc,”

What

awakens

the surrealists called “objective chance.”

Celtic legends, a situation

of time

display for a given subject or a

from some “act of chance” that

already recounted in other books

amount

we

the circumstance that

is

cumstance that often

tor.

city. I

haunted by the beauty of the centuries of the so-

still

Dark Ages

had never frequented? Of

and wandered through the old

visited Carcas'sonne

affected deeply then, as

I

my

three years earlier that turned out

Robert Amberlain’s

Au

pied des Menhirs (At

the Foot of the Menhirs).

This admission

may

sign petitions that accuse at the

same

cause snickering

me

time, “pinching”

among my

detractors,

of both inventing everything it

from

my

colleagues.

their stories straight before casting aspersions

who

write and,

I

They should

on others

.

.

.

but

get let’s

”

6

The

Site

continue. to

I

of the Mystery

cannot deny that Robert Amberlain’s work was a “revelation

me and encouraged me

Celtic spirituality. This

of neo-druidism,

is

to undertake

book

—which

is

more

intensive research into

most suspect kind

inspired by a

devoid of any serious reference, and

based on

is

vague analogies and romanticized translation of purely apocryphal texts

—certainly

other doors. tions, that further.

I

I

It is

am

was

it

Robert Amberlain’s debt, for he provoked

in

now

He was

scientific research.

had more

to

now

that

it

I

to

go

I

did not

was

better

do with frenzied poetry than

clearly raving. But isn’t raving

forms that Celtic logic takes?

me

Erwan Berthou-

dead, at the Hall of Geography in Paris.

that way: His neo-druidism

who

and aberra-

for this reason, despite the book’s failings

understand a word of what he said and realize

Lebesgue,

key that opened

a

attended the conferences of the druid

later

Kerverziou,

has no intrinsic value, but

one of the

much about Phileas Gauls.” He was merely a

could say as

claimed to be “druid of the

“poet and peasant,” but he possessed incontestable literary merit. Likewise, the theme of Rennes-le-Chateau

was imposed upon me by

one of those apparently chance meetings that leave an indelible imprint

on those who in

1981

at

are

aware of having enjoyed such an experience.

newly opened bookstore

a

Genevieve neighborhood

my

in Paris, to

which

friend Jean Picollec, the publisher.

the

in I

Montagne

It

was

Sainte-

had been invited thanks to

The ambience was very

pleasant.

who was squeezing in among the books was a young man who made me a present of his latest volume, complete with a charming inscription, and urged me to explore it for anything I One

of the learned assembly

might find interesting. The

title

of this

book was Le Tresor du

d'or (The Treasure of the Golden Triangle), and

Chaumeil. So

it

is

its

author was Jean-Luc

thanks to Jean-Luc Chaumeil that

straight to the middle of Rennes-le-Chateau

triangle

was ushered

I

and the mystery of

its

cursed gold. I

read his book with a bemused curiosity insofar as

I

have always

regarded treasure hunting as merely an inconsequential mind game.

Chaumeil spoke of Gisors and the castle of this city

on the border of Normandy and

secrets of the mysterious

make known

to a

secrets possibly buried beneath the

the Ile-de-Lrance,

Templars that Gerard de Sede had helped

wider audience a few years

earlier.

He

also spoke of

On Roads

of Stone and Dust

7

Stenay in northern France, the holy city of the Merovingian dynasty;

monument

the Saint-Sulpice church in Paris, a

that

I

consider to be a

triumph of the absolute horror of religious architecture; and Rennes-le-Chateau, where slept the “secret” of a strange

Beranger Sauniere,

in a

priest,

like

a legitimate claim to the throne of France. All this

an excellent piece of historical importance to

ative

Father

foggy atmosphere from which emerged the

who

ure of a so-called authentic descendant of the Merovingians,

make

finally of

and

fiction,

could

seemed to me

could attach only

I

fig-

rel-

without taking any position whatsoever on the

it

hypotheses developed in the work.

was more

I

simply said to myself,

“Why

not?”

At the time

I

legend

Montsegur, a short distance from Rennes-le-Chateau.

in

attracted to the Grail

Therefore, Jean-Luc Chaumeil’s of

my

its

book remained “hibernating” on one

bookshelves.

A seed had It

and the implications of

been planted in

was impossible

rant of

fertile soil,

to hunt for something at

what may have transpired

gious and enigmatic the feeling that this

site.

From my

however, even

buried deep.

Montsegur and remain igno-

in the area first

if

surrounding

this presti-

climb to Montsegur

I

retained

whole region revealed traditions and reminiscences

that asked only to be recalled at the level of the conscious mind. Ever since childhood

era

I

had been somewhat enthralled by the Merovingian

and had dived with delight into the troubled waters of Augustin

Thierry’s Recits des temps merovingiens. After

actual

500

life

of

my

favorite hero,

B.C.E., the transitional era

all,

I

told myself, the

King Arthur, took place around the year between the end of the

Roman Empire

and the beginning of those “barbaric” times ceaselessly embroidered

upon by my imagination. Colorful and

perfectly odious female figures

such as Queen Fredegonde and Queen Brunehaut only added to the

problems that occurred to lization to another. reality of the

West.

I

imprint

I

me

concerning the transition from one

was already

feeling considerable

civi-

doubt about the

“barbarous” and “savage” invasions of the Christian

justly felt, for

example, that the Visigoths had

on the Occitan mind-set, and

unearthed by archaeologists refined, although poorly

their

left

a

profound

astounding objects

testified to a culture that

was

surprisingly

understood and unjustifiably scorned. This

period that the Anglo-Saxons have dubbed the Dark Ages held

much

The

8

Site

of the Mystery

that fascinated me, for in

it

I

found again the soul of the ancient

Britons, those of the Isle of Britain tle

and those who had

on the Armorican Peninsula, They had and not

a simple “warrior chief”

endowed

warriors, sometimes

magical powers that lains

a

there to set-

who was

King Arthur,

only

and whose knights were only

a king,

— according to legend —with formidable

made them more

similar to gods incarnate than vil-

concerned with sacking fortresses. Insofar as

I

had established that

myth was

the origin (or at least one of the origins) of the Grail

situated

whose Christian veneer had not com-

exactly within this era, in a West pletely

left

smothered the pagan Celtic and German substratum,

could not

I

refuse consideration of the strange stories, completely unverifiable but terribly seductive, that tell of possibly legitimate

of the presence of “secrets” not far from

would be dangerous history as

it

power and then

is

who

said,

2

1

them

to lead

me

as a deliberate

in a direction

nize

it

at the

lie

secrets that

own

intended to

and ideologies of those

sole

means

humanity but

as such

opportune moment,

humanity that searches

for

but have merely refined

crystallize the itself. I

it,

I

myth

equivalent to

myth

of proving the existence of

in its materialization, in its incarnation in

is

As

societies.

consider history a material expression of myth. This

The

in

chosen by those called the

no more than manipulators of

are really

a mental structure inherent to

nothing.

—

and

has been recorded.

orient people according to the circumstances

have

Montsegur

heirs

to divulge because they challenge the West’s

History has always appeared to

“elites,”

Merovingian

to recog-

is

men and women who,

unconscious impulse of

have not changed

my

opinion on

and have attempted to make

it

this this

more com-

prehensible and better adapted to the changes that our universalist and industrial society has forced

considered inspires

its

immutable, dogmatic, and completely heroes

wealth of the

when

human

it

2.

Mainly

in

feels the need.

being (even

dred people!), the hero

The roads

on primitive values that have been too long

— any

if it

hero

sterile.

But because free will

exists in only

—influences

is

History the sole

one out of a hun-

how

history unfolds.

that climb are also those that descend.

my

preface to

The

Celts (Rochester, Vt: Inner Traditions, 1993)

afterword to La Tradition celtique

(Paris: Payot, 1975).

and

in

my

On Roads

of Stone and Dust

This digression into the relationship between myth and history purposeless:

however

it,

took place and the

only recognized existence

tale

subsequently told

myth

pure potentiality,

is

who

But

itself,

holds true for history. Because history

longer measurable save through

crete

and

it

memory

hear or read

de facto,

all, it

must be given

is

it it.

no

(memoirs, writings, various

make

appears in the same position as myth. To

accessible to

its

makes

the story (epic, tale, legend) that

is

concrete and accessible to the imaginations of those

monuments),

who assumed

and the goodwill of those

objective,

responsibility for driving this story. Because

this also

not

is

allows us to measure both the distance that separates a

It

historical event that actually

about

9

a body,

whether

this

con-

it

body

is

the narrative history of events or scholarly, coded diagrams that intro-

duce the most

scientific

kinds of notions. This, however,

risks being distorted or falsified, for

timonies of the past? Even

when

what

credit

is

where history

can be given to these

tes-

they are surrounded with the best guar-

antees of authenticity, there exists the risk of

them

straying because of

errors of appraisal or the deficiencies of sensibility. Pure objectivity

only an illusion; our perception of the past

our present viewpoint, which

and the most excessive suffer the all

same

fate.

is

I

I

Both myth and

history, therefore,

had personal confirmation of

the particulars surrounding the

At the time when

completely dependent on

loaded with the most varied motivations

interpretations.

Soon

is

is

murky

affairs of

regarding

this

Rennes-le-Chateau.

read Jean-Luc Chaumeil’s book, however,

I

had

not yet reached a point of raising such questions. Rennes-le-Chateau

appeared to esoteric)

as

me more

works gladly

much by

like

one of those poles that esoteric

label as vital centers,

(or so-called

where something happens

virtue of the geographical situation

and the configuration

of terrain as by their place in the delicate magnetic, telluric, cosmic, and

simply mystical ileged spots

field that

covers the surface of the earth. These are priv-

on the earth that

since the

dawn

of time have been dedi-

cated to celebration by certain cults, to prayer, to so-called miraculous

phenomena. Such places are sanctuaries where heaven and earth communicate, sacred

sites called

nemeton by the

Celts,

and locations on

which many Christian churches have been constructed. Rennes-le-Chateau was one of these privileged places.

knew enough

yet to attempt to decode

it.

I

I

thought

did not feel

I

The

10

One

Site

time

of the Mystery

my

wife,

Mon, and

just given a conference,

Catalonia.

having

had decided

saw no good reason

I

I,

Toulouse, where

left

to continue our journey

back up the Aude a blanquette (a

wine

I

We made

a short stop in

We

what

is

called the Midi.

theless delighted to find myself in

Somewhat

The town

Servan,

first

site

of Alet brought to of the

terrace of

have always been

I

disoriented but never-

an area totally unfamiliar to me,

We

began to daydream as we journeyed. there.

on the

Being more accustomed

trees.

to the rugged granite landscape of the Atlantic coast,

attracted to

planned to

Limoux, not to enjoy

detest), but to refresh ourselves

under the shade of a row of plane

a cafe

toward

and thus had gone

to Prades by secondary roads

Valley.

had

to plan a stop in the Razes region, yet

our travels would be taking us quite close to the area.

make our way back

I

I

continued southward from

mind

name

the former

town and bishopric

of Saint-

of Saint-Malo. Couiza

flashed by like a single street through a valley. Quillan seemed just

another peaceful village slumbering in the

we promised

the direction of Perpignan, first

May

ourselves

As we turned

we would

in

take the

fork that led to the mountain route to Prades.

We several

therefore passed quite close to the Razes, indifferently noticing

remnants of Cathar

castles in the distance.

reach Prades, located in what was a totally interior region of Catalonia called the

of this trip

some of

I

Mon

and did not even know

made

years earlier she had

was

unknown

in a

hurry to

area to me, the

my own.

She had spent part of

had expressed the wish that she show me

the places she haunted as a

family circumstances,

I

Cerdana. Actually, the purpose

was much more Mon’s than

her childhood in Prades, and

ily

heat.

had

young

Because of some painful

contact with her paternal fam-

lost all

at that time

a long trip

girl.

where her father was. Several

through the Pyrenees

in

hopes of

finding him, but until our trip together she had never dared travel

through to the end. There was,

Would

We Once

it

bank of fog

in

Mon’s memory.

be dissipated in Prades?

drove through miles of vineyards before reaching our goal.

there

ily plot. It

What

in fact, a

we was

a strange

had not seen

visited the

cemetery where

there

we

day

was, seeing

it

Mon

hoped

to find the fam-

learned that her grandmother

Mon

for twenty-five years. This

was

still

alive.

with a grandmother she herself

was

to be their last meeting, as

On Roads it

woman was

turned out, for the old

soon

Mon

after.

about her

11

destined to pass from this earth

saw her aunt and uncle again and received news

also

me through

She led

father.

of Stone and Dust

the streets, searching for the fast

freshwater streams that gushed from mountain springs and raced

through the town. She brought

Cuxa and

Saint-Michel of

me

Abbey

to visit the magnificent

day when, as a

recalled the

We

trious figure. at a strange,

left

made

Prades by the mountain road and

empty inn

had

child, she

attended a Pablo Casals concert there and shook the hand of this

of

illus-

a stopover

La Tour de Carol. The windows of our room

in

overlooked the old Spain Road. Everything there was outmoded and

shrouded

in the

remote and long dead

was Mon’s small dog, who had

trip

old and sick at that time, but

our joys and hardships.

though

I

was not even

a pretty black

I

had other subjects of

book on

research for a

interest,

north.

about

I

civilization that

king

the stops to

[Vespasien

and dispensed

justice

in the

is

thus giving

tree,

4

).

Razes during the thirteenth century. Wasn’t

the queen, Blanche de Castille,

somewhere

the French

Vespasianus (69-79

name

the feet of lepers

my work

opinion of the Cathars and what might really

or documents

C.E.).

in Razes,

name

for the

most

had buried

which are known

in

Published in Paris by Editions

Herme

in

— Translator

1985.

a treasure

66

C.E.,

he also

as Vespasiennes

an attempt to restore solvency to the

Vespasian imposed a tax on public bathrooms.

in

Vespasian, Titus Flavius

While known primarily for invading Judea

fact that in

it

likely in Rennes-les-Bains?

Roman emperor

to the public urinals in France,

doubt due to the

4.

all

into the

my

rumored that

lent his

me

Saint Louis brought

sagesse (The

have taken place

3.

There

me the title for the book: he Oak of Wisdom In creating this work, I was

compelled to rethink

fact

that

had aroused the suspicions of the lords of the

who washed

from beneath an oak la

name

Brittany.

wondered how the Occitains would have greeted

this

Cbene de

(a

in

although from time to

Occitan regions where the Capet kings had pulled out

smother a

cats,

dachshund, remains

From La Tour de Carol

all

a question of visiting Rennes-le-Chateau at that time.

Time passed.

my

3

.

we headed westward toward

me),

that

odd name of Vespasien He was

have always loved animals, particularly

I

as a very dear friend.

moved

has always

Accompanying us on

loved him very much, and he shared

must say that Vespasien,

my memory

time

I

the

past.

Roman

— no

Empire,

The

12

of the Mystery

Site

There was food for thought

in this strange

expanse of earth that

I

had

yet to see for myself.

Then

my

I

what would prove

received

personal quest: one of the

to be

an important element

in

French editions of a book that

first

enjoyed huge success, Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent,

Richard Teigh, and Henry Lincoln, 5 a

my

earn ing

and it

I

the hypotheses

all

who

appreciation.

devoured

— quite

this

seemed guaranteed

that

title

to

book, however, without support-

audacious hypotheses

—of

its

authors,

were more akin to sensationalist journalists than writers

in truth

whatever the true value of6 this book

historians. Yet

had the merit of

may

be, for

raising potentially embarrassing questions that

me had

obviously never before been raised or answered, and thus presented

extremely original directions for future research.

That initial

said,

Holy Blood, Holy Grail

is

was

all

reaction

to completely reject

had finished reading

it, I

viewed

it

approach, for

I

am

the ideas

it

Western values.

accused of being an agnostic, which spirituality,”

“irritating”

work, and

my

prompted. Once

I

as a deliberate provocation, a deliber-

ate attempt to destabilize traditional

Western

an

am

I

and

not,

I

have often been

a “gravedigger of

which seems an absolute contradiction to

my

greatly concerned about observations that challenge

the profound reality of the Gospels as well as fundamental pre-Christian texts,

whether Greek, Germanic, or

full hilarity in

Celtic.

While

reading Holy Blood, Holy Grail

impression that

its

subject matter

was of

,

1

I

often surrendered to

nonetheless retained the

essential

importance and that

might prove necessary to revise our old judgments about the

and legendary data of called

Roman

the result of a

a

historical

Europe that had barely emerged from the

Peace' to scale the slopes of a

harmonious synthesis of

all

new culture.

it

so-

This culture was

the sources that

had watered

5.

Holy Blood, Holy Grail (New York: Delacorte

6.

This was especially true with regard to the so-called genealogies, which have been

shamelessly 7.

falsified,

truncated, revised, and corrected.

The Pax Romana, which

turies,

era

is

Press, 1982).

history books depict as a reality that endured for several cen-

one of the most remarkable swindles committed by historians. Never was an

more troubled and more

fertile in revolt,

delights, especially in the territory of Gaul,

acquire and hang on to a

power

usurpation,

where

that escaped them.

a large

civil

wars, and other such

number

of usurpers tried to

On Roads it.

At

least

The Holy

I

of Stone and Dust

had found confirmation of something

I

had long

13

believed:

Grail, the sangreal, in old French, could just as easily designate

“royal blood” (sang royal) or royal lineage as platter that-— if

we

it

could a cup, chalice, or

subscribe to the version of the story popularized

by the Clunisians, then by the Cistercians

—contained the blood of

first

Christ.

But supporting the theory of legitimate descendants of the “hairy kings,”

meaning the Merovingians, and

their debatable origin (Jesus

and Mary

Magdalene), was out of the question for me, even from a heuristic per-

though the

spective,

possibility

was worth

raising.

This was during the

time before Scorsese’s film The Last Temptation of Christ had unleashed

such outrage and controversy, yet the book by Kazantzakis on which the film

was based had been around

for

some time without unleashing such

debate. Let us not forget that the church of Rennes-le-Chateau

cated to

Mary Magdalene and

that she

is

dedi-

is

oddly and abundantly depicted

in the interior of this sanctuary. This reflects the will of Father Sauniere,

also the builder of the

Magdala Tower

in

which he wished

to house his

me to ask myself many obviously unanswerable questions. It also compelled me to reread Le Tresor du triangle d’or by Jean-Luc Chaumeil, who in this library. Strange,

no? The reading of Holy Blood, Holy Grail forced

instance turned out to be

my

white assembly,” where

was

I

Here again, however,

I

“introducing brother” to a strange “closed the sole noninitiate.

found nothing

satisfactory. Despite his data,

which he claims are authentic but are unverifiable because no reference is

ever supplied, Jean-Luc Chaumeil and the authors of

Holy Grail

—who

take themselves a

little

too

much

for

wizards and heirs of ghosts from Scotland’s haunted castles into a trap that

I

think

is

the

most pernicious and

Holy Blood, Anglo-Saxon

—have

fallen

characteristic of our

age devoted to false prophets and cheap gurus: the famous Priory of Sion. This ghostly priory, allegedly resulting

from a

Templar order (beneath the elm of Gisors, thank you Sede!)

and including among

its

scission in the

for that,

Gerard de

grand masters people as famous as

Claude Debussy and Jean Cocteau, seems to be pure invention. story

sewn from whole cloth by

failed

It is

a

would-be writers, country squires

boasting their Merovingian ancestry, and some crackpots of stage and

who must

be laugh-

his provocations.

This tale

screen grouped around the brilliant Francis Blanche, ing in his

tomb

at the

unexpected success of

The

14

of the Mystery

Site

of mysteries of every has been picked up, revised, and corrected by fans of a certain kind and by treasure seekers who have made the glory Charroux in a time when the hazel wand is being replaced by

Robert

pan”). the metal detector (colloquially called a “frying

This means, of course, that

although

I

did not take any of

I

had begun spending time

it

seriously,

Montsegur researching the

at

may have had Cathars, especially the problematic relationship they Rennes-lethe Grail. Still, I was not ready to start exploring

with

Chateau, and

know

I

friendly hoaxers

when

ing this time,

would have taken

it

a lot to

change

my mind

dur-

were taking advantage of moonless

far as to set off nights to dig holes almost everywhere, even going so the legendary explosives in a cemetery in search of the fabled treasure of out of felt it was a wise move on my part to stay

Beranger Saumere.

I

lunacy and ignore the mysterious Razes region. agitated and adventurous life I have learned during my somewhat been given the that I should never undertake anything before having

this frenzied

actions on “green light” by those certain obscure powers that guide our certain figures are earth. I have also realized that our encounters with

correspond to a never a matter of chance, and that they necessarily stage of the quest

we pursue

all

our

lives, especially

when we

claim, as

ideology, have, to be acting independently of any dogma, preconceived

I

or political and philosophical obligation.

obedience or

affiliation;

no “slaves .”

think,

though

I

9

am

I

always ready to admit when

I

I

am

my

life,

When

I

was

women whose

a professor

I

Some have

as

many

I

and

cer

what

I

have been wrong.

I

I

say

I

should

former fellow student

I

me some

as twenty.

unex-

totally

can find him again.

I

am

oaths have crossed mine over the course

did have quite a few students, of course, but that

ferent matter. 9.

my

giving

pected information but no address where

8.

and no

thinking of that mysterious Yann-Ber Kerbiriou

appears from time to time in

thinking of the

less disciples,

have indicated the paths

thinking of Andre Breton and

am

Jean Cathelin.

who

who

sect

myself up as some sort of guru of

not commissioned by anybody.

have encountered only people follow.

set

have no students much

am

I

I

8

any system of thought. tainly

nor do

acknowledge no

I

is

a dif-

On Roads of

my

and who,

of Stone and Dust

famous “maidens” who

15

left their

imprint

on the errantry of Lancelot of the Lake, have each brought me

a ray of

life

like the

sunlight that enabled

me

go farther

to

darkened caverns of the

in the

earth and perceive there the presence of monstrous dragons ready to

swoop down upon me.

my

hands

just at the

I

am

books that

also thinking of certain

moment I needed them: Le

and Holy Blood, Holy Grail

,

Tresor du triangle d’or

more important has been

for instance. But

Michel Lamy’s book Jules Verne,

initie et initiateur,

fundity and oblique approach. 10

You may

because of

what

well ask

has to do with the mystery at Rennes-le-Chateau.

thanks to Michel

Lamy

that

It

its

was

definitely

grasped what was essential in the fog

I

ticular It

ture.

to

I

is

I

how

figured out just

It

was

to enter that par-

dark cavern.

was from Montsegur

that

was

I

finally

always need a connecting door, be

which

sun

starting point that

pro-

Jules Verne

surrounding Father Sauniere and his problematic “cursed gold.”

from that

into

fell

I

my

scorching the earth and

blood

is

this

adven-

only temporary, or a spring

it

must return from time to time

launched into

to slake

my

when

thirst

the

thickening and moving slug-

my veins. Occitania is in no way my two women who have mattered most in my

gishly through

native land,

although the

life

Occitan.

It

was through them

that

paths of the south, even though that

seemed unreal

to

me.

I

I

was able

sometimes

was thanks

It

to

wander on

to felt

are both

the stony

inebriated by a light

Mon that

I

was

able to enter

Montsegur, the very heart of the Cathar mystery. Since that time,

Montsegur has become not only one of the fundamental poles of personal quest, but also a place of asylum, an oasis where in the fullness of spirit

and

in close contact

Wagnerian, although Wagner most ary at the ends of the earth. that

the

I

have friends there.

I

I

with a nature

never

likely

like the village of

love walking

amazing shadow of the pog and

its

on the

in the

10. Published

bookstore of

by Editions Payot

versally ignored

by the allegedly

my

friends

in Paris in

gladly label

Montsegur and know village streets

I

beneath

enjoy spending

Raymonde and Nicolas

It is

home

battlements that always threaten

1984. This

alert critics.

I

feel at

set foot in this sanctu-

to pierce the sky with their philosopher’s-stone teeth.

hours

I

my

work seems

likely that

it

Reznikov.

to have been almost uni-

proved to be “disturbing.”

The

16

I

Site

of the Mystery

familiar atmolove the shadowy, completely old-fashioned, strange yet

and generosity

ity

Fernand Costes,

mean

the castle.

like

have never village of

of light that shines

I

have written a

from

my

fair

its

11 Carnac and the mystery of Atlantis

my

— so

it is

darkness.

I

anxieties as in the

number

on

of pages

my book on

subjects related to other specific sites— for example, in

as

is I

Montsegur. Because

Montsegur

there

who is the true guardian of the temple, by which He knows its every corner and stone no matter how

so good, so at ease, so cleansed of

felt

Then

of ancient times.

priestess

a

knows every glimmer

small; he

Costes presides there with seren-

Madame

sphere of the Costes Hotel.

not surprising that

took

I

launching point to the other side of the Aude River

in

pursuit of the ghosts of Rennes-le-Chateau.

So that

way from

is

how

one day

in

September 1985

Mon

and

Aude

made our

Montsegur

the Atlantic slope of the Pyrenees (where

located) to the Mediterranean side, crossing the

I

at

is

Quillan and

going back up toward the north to Couiza, that small town we had passed through a year earlier and seen nothing of which but a single

running through the floor of a

street

valley.

the back road that follows the Sals River into the mountains,

whose peaks,

as

This time, though,

and then the zigzagging roads

might be guessed, were arid and

sun-scorched even in those waning days of summer. row, winding roads. They remind I

discovered the world on

without comprehending into a

of

my

I

am

partial to nar-

childhood crawls, the time

fours, the time

when we

When we emerged upon

learn the

the plateau,

most

it

was

world of complete wonder.

What trast

it.

all

me

we took

is

unsettling about the Corbieres region

between the

valleys,

which are closed

abundance of greenery and where there

is

in

is

the complete con-

upon themselves with an

fresh running water,

and the plateaus,

never any escape from the wind and sun and whose hori-

zons, riddled with stone debris, defy time. Beneath these massifs there

sometimes emerge even darker buttes whose flanks are curiously crowned by trees that have somehow survived the dog days of summer. There on one of these buttes, village

11.

after

many

turns in the road,

we

spied a

whose houses huddled up against one another beneath

Carnac

et

Venigme de VAtlantide, Jean Markale (Editions Pygmalion,

the

Paris: 1986).

;

On Roads imposing mass of a

castle

and the more

from which, extending westward, a

of Stone and Dust

17

discreet steeple of a church

a bizarre construction in the shape of

tower seemed to defy the abyss below. This was Rennes-le-Chateau,

many

a village, like so

from stone and

others, built

and made up of empty

streets that

Roman

tile

roofs

seemed to suggest that no one had

ever dared to live there.

my car in the shade and then, after going through the village, turned my steps toward the tower that so intrigued me. In truth, I was wondering just what I was doing there. In my confusion I was first

I

parked

worried that

my

would go unrecognized and questions would

I

presence in this place that

is

that the inhabitants of Rennes-le-Chateau

Would

usual haunts.

had had more than

be considered one of these snoopers

I

come

the tranquillity of a village sleeping beneath the sun?

maleficent intention.

buried in the gardens or in the cemetery.

still

the townspeople

me

as both a cursed location

wanted the freedom

Our The

their daily lives.

imbued with the atmosphere of

to be to

and

site

form

to

I

I

knew

their

fill

to disturb

had no such treasure

was

was not concerned with

simply wished to see

this place that

I

wished

had been described

and a high sanctuary of the

my own

reaction, then, both

first

I

was no concern of mine whether

It

I

whose motivations were highly

of treasure seekers and other snoopers suspect.

my

so far from

about

arise

past.

I

opinion.

Mon’s and mine, was one of wonder.

was simply magnificent and arranged

to

my

personal tastes:

oriented toward the setting sun so that a vast landscape of peaks and valleys,

some bathed

We

shadow, was revealed.

in

shared the impres-

sion of finding ourselves in an ideal location where

good

life,

we could

live the

perched between earth and heaven and sweetly

in a village

caressed by mountain breezes charged with aromas and tinted with the

We

richest colors of the sun.

Gothic structure that leaned over tion.

I

library.

have

its

knew

wall and were lost for a long time in mute contempla-

Here was

a

man

after

had

my own

built this

heart!

I

tower to house

would be delighted

his

to

library at such a site, overlooking this kind of serene yet

grandiose landscape.

amid

toward the strange neo-

had been told was the Magdala Tower, and we

that Father Sauniere

my own

tower,

I

directed our steps

all

my

It

seemed that

books, and

it

I

would have

would have been

felt

inspired in this

quite easy to

work

The

18

Site

of the Mystery

there, to think deeply

on things and meditate

there.

No

doubt Father

of such a project. By virtue Sauniere had been inspired even to conceive of this, everything disturbing that priest

I

had been told about

this village

build this kind of became pure invention. Any man who could seeker, and a seeker of for meditating could be only a truth

observatory

the truth could never

sell his

soul to the devil.

but not

made our way along the path toward the church, the Villa Bethania, an incredbefore being dumbfounded by the sight of among the most horrible housing ible construction worthy of a place

We

then

developments

where suburbs of Paris before the war! In a region noteworthy, why stone architecture is remarkable and

in the

the traditional

the merit of being in the noobuild a structure that does not even have 12 stations? Metro Paris old the and dle” style of the architect Guimard different allure, even Curious ... The Magdala Tower has an entirely the early 1900s is too apparent in its design. if the neo-Gothic mania of I

told myself that

maybe Father Sauniere was not

as rich as his biogra-

not take long to be conphers have claimed, an observation that did

add as adornments to his firmed, given the monstrosities he sought to parish church.

Because

it

was morning and

the church

ule our visit there for the afternoon.

I

was

certainly

we had to schedunderstood why the resclosed,

so that tourists are not idents of Rennes-le-Chateau took precautions

left

would have been emptied alone in their church. Otherwise the church snoopers. These preand totally altered long ago by the work of careless to the village that tells viscautions, along with the sign at the entrance borders of the that excavations are forbidden within the itors explicitly

operating on moontownship, do not prevent a few “scratchers” from and, most imporbut they protect the essential in the village less nights,

tant, the tranquillity of the people of

that the church

was

to study the cross pillar

closed. For the time being

on the

was placed upside down.

rative.

formally referred to

— Translator]

couldn't complain, then,

it

was

I

still

possible for

me

and observe that the

could also meditate on the inscription

Terribilis est locus iste (This place

is

terri-

Guimard forms of the 1890s-era architecture designed by the term was pejoas the “noodle style,” though originally

12. [The curvilinear, organic

now

I

so-called Visigoth pillar

above the door of the church:

is

Rennes.

On Roads This inscription intrigued

ble).

word

which has a

iste,

me

for

two

of Stone and Dust

The use of

reasons:

clearly pejorative sense (and

me

equivalent of the second person possessive) plunged

words above the door,

In addition, after reading the

on the request of Father

recall that

bizarre

fairly

the inside”

(in

I

the Latin

sometimes the

deep

in thought.

could not help but

I

myself had written a

above the door of the parish church of

inscription

Trehorenteuc

Flenri Gillard

is

19

Morbihan).

can

It

—and while of course

it

still

be seen today

—-“The door

does not share the same idea,

I

on

is

found

myself in familiar territory and sensed these two churches were analogous, however vaguely, despite the great distance separating them.

Because

on

it

was noon and time

ourselves a table

charming and well-shaded restaurant patio. The weather was

a

splendid and

we

felt

child

we took

course,

took

I

for a

which

I

name was Morgane. Of

because her

girl

little

one more coincidence, for Morgan

le

Fay

is

the Broceliande Forest

and

is

on the Stations of the Cross

Morgane was

later learned that this

no way invalidates the speculations

in

Nor must we lower

handsome

boy,

had formed concerning

ourselves to meaningless quarrels over the

sex of angels. In any event, this angel and the unruliness of a as impertinent as he

Once

in fact a I

Trehorenteuc

in the

between Rennes-le-Chateau and the Broceliande

relationship

Forest.

distracted by the presence of an impertinent

shadow soaring over

specifically depicted

church.

was

this as just

the great mythical

though our

perfectly in tune with the countryside,

attention to our meal

the

we found

for lunch,

the time

was on

Morgane-Morgan had

little devil. I

the face of an

hope he forgives me for being

that September day in 1985.

had come, we went back

panied by a certain number of tourists

accom-

to visit the church,

who were

visibly interested in

every detail of the structure and seemed buried in great perplexity.

seemed the question of the hour was, “What could All of the visitors shared a similar detail that

with a

had escaped

strange

all

impression:

Magdalene was no longer ical treatise in pictures

son must

the rest

be hiding?”

hope of stumbling upon the one

who had

visited the church.

The poor church dedicated

a place of

—coded

strive to find the key.

all this

was

I

was

to

left

Mary

worship or prayer but an alchem-

pictures, of course, to I

It

insistently

from the Trehorenteuc church: “The door

is

which each per-

reminded of the phrase

on the

inside.”

The

20

I

of the Mystery

Site

must confess that on

this first visit

be aware. The

tried only to

I

had been presented to me, with its I opened my mouth— “aura” of mystery, required some thought before testimonies concerning treasand even before I tried to imagine which Western world and a challenge to the basis of the entire

Rennes-le-Chateau “affair,” as

it

ures, secrets,

might be

just

valid.

advised myself then: “Don’t panic!”

I

accused of raving, though the accusation est rationalist to

unfounded.

is

I

am

I

am

often

the cold-

serves as the be found in a domain where the irrational and all intellectual and spiritual approaches. I

absolute engine for any

have also been labeled an agnostic, though

in fact

am

I

a person

who

texts— of all religions— has a great belief in the value of religious Truth, I believe, would because all address the unattainable Truth. This the reality that the

be more appropriately labeled as deep reality Surrealists attempted to flush out

and distraction that day

Blaise Pascal

1985, however,

in

I

felt

from behind the

denounced so

false

appearances

On this

well.

September

myself to be a kind of extraterrestrial in

full

comprehension. It is flabbergasted contemplation of a world beyond incomprehensible. But I was askoften said that the designs of God are design in this church. ing myself if there was really any of God’s Obviously, the words above the door that “this place

From is

the

is

I

itself

know

full

well that this devil,

the holy water stoup,

13

is

could easily conclude that

Asmodeus

He

but beneath I

felt

it.

is

It is

me

the Saint-Sulpice church in Paris. This

is

in

a kind of horri-

to those in the

we

Was

it

Was

it

a detail of ill

little

at ease

account, yet

on entering the

only Rennes-le-Chateau and

surely not by chance.

something

because of the inscription over the

the presence of the grotesque

ing posture could not hide the fact that he

13. [This refers to the

know,

find the devil not in

of unease, tried to analyze the origin of this feeling

experienced as well.

it

sagging under the weight of

strangely

sanctuary, a sensation that has filled

door?

the inscription referring?

obliged to hold. Here

disconcerting nonetheless.

Mon

is

the visitor beforehand

and that we are being welcomed by

not in the most glorious position:

I

we

enter the church

the holy water stoup he

is

but to what place

terrible,”

moment we

the church

ble devil.

is

warn

Asmodeus, whose humiliat-

was guardian

French version of the expression “sticks out

“sticks out like a devil in a stoup of holy water.

Translator]

of the temple?

like a sore

thumb

.

On Roads And what created

of the temple

more

itself?

I

of Stone and Dust

21

confess to feeling that the church

was

marginal celebrations along the

for

of “black

lines

masses.” Throughout the structure there exists a bias toward reversal:

Not only

is

down

the “Visigoth” pillar upside

outside, but inside the

Stations of the Cross are also arranged in a direction that

that found in

most churches. What are we supposed

to

is

make

opposite

of the

two

plaster statues reflecting the purest nineteenth-century Sulpician style,

one depicting Joseph and the other Mary, each holding a child and ing the other

on

either side of the nave?

The theme could be Cathar but

And what

there

is

Were

there

It

infant Jesuses?

nothing Cathar

of the strange painting beneath the

appears, thanks to Father Sauniere?

two

depicts

fac-

in the

church.

placed there,

altar,

Mary Magdalene,

it

the

patron saint of the parish, inside a cave, contemplating a death’s head. Finally,

what

the

is

meaning behind the presence of two Saint

Anthonys, both the hermit and the saint of Padua? be drawn, a priori, from these “curiosities,” but

No

conclusion can

we must admit

that

they provoke and even nourish a certain unease. In this regard

cannot refrain from raising anew the problem of

I

aesthetics as related to religion

most ancient times,

artistic

ing purely aesthetic. the sometimes

dominant tional

and abstract

toward the tinction

religion.

We know

that

from the

manifestations were religious before becom-

known

ambiguous

religions,

megalithic

It is

— any

that theater, for instance,

rituals

and that

all

is

based on

borrowed from ceremonies of pre-

forms of visual art

— both representa-

—on the walls of caves or the supporting columns of

monuments assume

a kind of transcendence of the

divine. In those civilizations that

had not

human

yet created a dis-

between the sacred and the profane and that combined both

intellectual

and manual labor with the

powers that give the shaping of

all

life

act of

to the world, beauty in

worshipping the higher

all its

forms presided over

types of worship, temple construction, and the orna-

mentation of sanctuaries. Now, the aesthetic of Rennes-le-Chateau does not correspond in the slightest to this fundamental search of humanity for

its

Creator.

How

brac, accumulate in

could so

many

what remains

believe that the person

whose

horrors, so

religious bric-a-

a religious sanctuary?

inspiration

ing this church, Father Sauniere,

much

was

was responsible

a complete

Are we to for decorat-

ignoramus from the

The

22

artistic

Site

of the Mystery

point of view, or that he deliberately ignored the aesthetic aspect

in deference to a purely intellectual

aspect of his message It

not at

glance.)

Father Saumere that he lived

was no longer any understanding whatsoever of harmonize beauty and glorification. This was at the end of

when

the need to

all visible at first

in defense of

should be mentioned

time

in a

is

message? (The specifically spiritual

there

the nineteenth century

and the beginning of the twentieth, an era that

witnessed the construction of the basilicas of Fourviere in Tyon, Sacre-

Coeur

in Paris,

and Sainte-Anne-d’Auray

unanimous opinion of being

manifestations

art lovers,

of an

in Brittany,

monuments

aggressive

which

are, in the

to ugliness in addition to

and triumphal Catholicism

against the rise of secularism. Grillot de Givry, in his remarkable and

unmask it

was even then

striving to

the deception that consists of building just anything

provided

relevant

still

work Lourdes

brings in a crowd,” and,

was already thy

ville initiatique,

,

I

might add, a

a horror in 1900.

—and genuinely

faithful

I

— Grillot de Givry would emit

the Basilica of Saint Pius X,

lot,

and the atrocity of

Mary! Things should be

religion are connected. Ancient times

was

most fervent devo-

monuments

that are as glorious

tempted to regard the ornamentation of the Church

initially

Magdalene

as an

Trehorenteuc that was decorated through the efforts of Fienri Gillard,

cussions

14. ical

in

[

and

said as they are: Beauty

14 example of “miserabilism” before the fact, was reminded again of my Broceliande Forest and tnat church in

of Saint I

in the

a Stations of the

worship of the deity as they are for humanity.

in their

but

at the sight

and the Middle Ages have proved

the truth of this assertion in a series of

I

basilica

which has been pompously

Cross perfectly designed to cause nightmares tees of the Virgin

The Tourdes

can imagine the howls that the wor-

of Lourdes’s underground parking

dubbed

profit.

—

I

and to which

—through my presence

as

its

rector, Father

much

as

my

dis-

had contributed. The two churches by no means share iden-

Miserabilism

is

a

word coined by Andre Breton

to describe those cultural

tendencies in a given time that tend to depreciate

which he was writing, he targeted

specific

life

rather than exalt

movements, such

it.

and

polit-

In the era

as existentialism,

which

he described as the offspring of Hitlerite fascism and Stalinism, as the main threat to “sacred language” and the vital connection of the concrete to the abstract, the ideal to the real.

— Translator]

On Roads tical features

fully

examined by

inal. It is a

23

other than the reverse arrangement of the Stations of the

The ornamentation

Cross.

of Stone and Dust

tourists

which has been

in Rennes-le-Chateau,

down

to

its

tiniest detail, offers

care-

nothing orig-

Sulpician creation of which other examples can be found in

Rocamadour. But ornamenta-

several sanctuaries, including the one in

tion in Trehorenteuc

on location under the

original, painted

is

direction

of Father Gillard, with elements influenced by regional style, including

when

a scene that caused a scandal

it

of Jesus falling at the feet of the fairy

of

lust. Yet,

was created

Morgana

1948: a depiction

in

as a symbolic depiction

wouldn’t there be a close connection between the Morgana *

of Celtic tradition, “the hottest and lustiest

Mary Magdalene, been forgiven,

Regardless,

and incorporated into

As

testify.

I

have

from the decadent

era.

sight of this sanctuary, with

church’s

inversions

prompted by the

Could

its

a

and

intention-

who

has

triumphant

my

nonetheless origi-

is

ornamentation of the

said, the

church Saint Magdalene of Rennes-le-Chateau style

Brittany,”

ornamentation of the Trehorenteuc

the

note aesthetically speaking,

little

can personally

I

all

woman

the so-called repentant sinner, the

sanctified,

church, while of nal, as

of

one of the sacred prostitutes from antiquity

ally depicted as

Christianity?

woman

is

the purest Sulpician

feelings of unease at

my

first

Masonic checkerboard and the

imitation

and tawdry Baroque atmosphere, have been

site’s

ugliness rather than by

more

intangible reasons?

But memory, or rather the function of memorizing, comprises a series of trigger

ment.

I

work within

are at

was reminded then of some of Father

that time told

mechanisms that

me

had brushed only a of his

1939-1940, the

fairly

weak

Gillard’s stories that until

my

level of

less

He had

than glorious end of the war following the debacle

German

troops by the French army. During this

time he had been wearing the French uniform, for citizens of

awareness.

“drole de guerre /’ the one that took place during

of the confrontation of

good

a delicate instru-

an age to bear arms. Following

ments he found himself

in

it

was

a series of

right for

troop move-

Rodez, where he was decommissioned, but

before being able to return to Brittany, where his church ministry calling,

all

he was forced to wait. Because he was a

man who

was

could never

stand being inactive, he took advantage of this time before repatriation to travel through the surrounding area

and explore

a region

unknown

The

24

to

Site

him before

He

Aude.

of the Mystery

then.

visited

He was

not far from the Aveyron in Anege and the

Montsegur, where the theme of the Holy Grail con-

interest in the nected to that Cathar fortress influenced him to take an of a Arthurian romances and this major Western myth. And he learned

he told me, in the

village,

Aude

region where a priest of modest

transform the village into a pilgrimage

and the

religious needs

wishing thereby to

his ruined parish church,

had completely restored

site

interests of the

would

that

town

s

means

satisfy

both

his

inhabitants. In short,

what Father Gillard discovered down there was the vocation of reliin the folgious and cultural tourism that he would put into practice lowing years in Trehorenteuc, the Broceliande.

What

I

vital

center

was

did not realize at the time

of

legendary

the

that this place

down

was Rennes-le-Chateau, which amounts to another example that cernothing ever happens by chance. I who had taken part, at least to a Morbihan and tain extent, in the renovation of that forgotten corner of

there

his had, in some way, assisted Father Gillard in the fulfillment of now found myself that September in 1985, six years after Father

who vow,

Gillard’s death, in

dence? I

I

one of the places that inspired

do not think

his action.

A

coinci-

so.

then realized a few things:

Of

course, there

was no question of

attempting to incorporate Father Sauniere into Father Gillard. They

were not of the same time nor of the same stamp, and their profound motivations seem to have been fundamentally different. The sole conlevel, in their desire to

nection between them exists on a superficial

transform modest parish churches into

tourism” and fices.

Of

sites

of “religious and cultural

in the indelible imprints they left

course, abbe Gillard

was entombed

on

their respective edi-

inside the Trehorenteuc

abbe church, a practice that was customary in ancient times, and the Sauniere was buried outside the sanctuary but beneath the chevet, in a Marie strange cemetery next to another tomb, that of his seivant

Denarnaud,

who was

We made

also

an odd individual.

sure to visit the cemetery that September,

and gained

through a door that brought a smile to my face, for it was an imitation and a clumsy one at that of the triumphal portals that have been the glory and reputation of the parish grounds in Finistere.

access to

it

—

We

—

pulled ourselves together in front of Father Saumere’s

tomb with

the

On Roads confused sense that

this

beyond him. Hadn’t

What was someone

man had

25

unleashed something that went far

been told that

I

of Stone and Dust

his

tomb had been

A treasure

looking for here?

desecrated?

or a secret?

I

had been

told that Father Sauniere himself, in circumstances that remain myste-

had performed

rious,

a kind of defilement

on another tomb. What

could be the meaning behind his action?

The

truth

is

that that this short visit to Rennes-le-Chateau,

which

me even though it included deep gulfs my memory as an experience of pure enchant-

constituted a real discovery for

of perplexity, remains in

ment. The beauty and calm of the castle, the

Tower

village, the

powerful simplicity of the

mysterious gardens laid out by Father Sauniere, the Magdala

that faces a horizon

I

imagine as completely bathed by the

of the red sun setting behind the mountains and mists

imparted a sense of great comfort. Yes,

Of

place where anyone could live well. there

was nothing

to be

I

it.

If

I

all

thought to myself,

course,

I

of these this

was convinced

is

a

that

found either by digging up the ground haphaz-

ardly or through shrewd calculations, each

before

—

light

more

false

had been a resident of Rennes-le-Chateau,

than the one I

would not

have calmly accepted others coming to disturb the fullness and serenity of this area. In short,

complete harmony

felt a

I

in this place

Rennes-le-Chateau. The arid plateau around

and a few there to

that a

mountain

or surveillance post,

taken as a whole,

knew

this region

this

who

still

watchtower of

a fortress. Actually,

landscape gave the impression of a fortress.

when

are

in the southeast,

present to serve as an observation

is still

like the

had served

those of the time Visigoths,

much

solely in

resonates with ravines

peak of Bugarach

insistent trees against the

show

it

— but not

haven for

as a safe

the Razes ruled

its

I

former inhabitants,

and during the time of the

considered to have been “barbarians,” though

they were simply foreigners blessed with a brilliant civilization. In addition,

hidden somewhere

Rennes, which to this

my

sense formed an

Rennes perched on the

We

left

was Rennes-les-Bains,

in a valley

side of

road that snaked across the plateau.

my

car

the aridity of

an abyss.

for Rennes-les-Bains that

road, but nothing that

odd contrast with

that other

It

September by the most unlikely

was more

a path than

an actual

had not seen before, having swallowed

The

26

its

Site

of the Mystery

share of dust and sun. This proved to be a marvelous pilgrimage dur-

which we thought ourselves hopelessly

ing

we found

because of the dead ends hamlets

we

We

encountered.

was

several occasions

at every crossroads

and

in all the

slowly descended through the September

heat into a valley that surprised us with serenity that

on

lost

its

totally different in nature

greenery and shade and a

from what we had experi-

We

enced on the summit. This was a domain ruled by water.

quickly

discovered on our arrival that the village of Rennes-les-Bains was an authentic thermal spa. 15

worn

inscription

on

small

left

the

first

things

noticed there

I

I

town buried

greenery from affecting

in

I

me

fully.

16

this

have always

I

have wanted to take the cure

myself, but rather because of the curious fin-de-siecle style in

a

thought, in a region where the

an indelible imprint! This did not prevent the charm of

been fond of spa towns, not because

found

was

a defunct old-fashioned spa hotel: “Specializing in

Rather amusing,

cures for catarrh

Cathars

Among

have always

I

them, a triumph of decadence in the sense given to that word

by the poets

who

succeeded the symbolists and helped

17 of the Belle Epoque.

I

am

time

vitalize the

not, however, a fan of the big spa cities.

I

prefer the small, sometimes half-forgotten stations such as Vals-les-

Bains in the Ardeche, Neris-les-Bains in les-Bains in Nievre. Rennes-les-Bains

that

Allier,

and even Saint-Honore-

had the same appeal

for

me, a spa

seemed to stand completely outside time and space, almost absent

from the maps, succumbing swallowed while

still

to the torpor or heaviness of valley air

charged with the aromas of

all

the herbs growing

on the plateau.

The myth continues

as well in Rennes-les-Bains.

Rennes, as they were formerly called, are mysterious date from the time of the

Romans, which means

The Baths of

in nature.

that the

They

Romans

ren-

ovated an establishment that was previously used by the Gauls. They are also subject to wordplay:

The Baths of Rennes

15. Currently, this small spa has been given a

the

new

lease

on

are also the baths of

life,

thanks particularly to

sponsorship and assistance provided by the city of Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine

in

Brittany). 16. [Here the author 17. |The Belle

is

enjoying some wordplay with Cathar and catarrh.

Epoque was

a time

Nineties in England or America.

— Translator]

on the Continent that was equivalent

— Translator]

to the

Gay

On Roads the reine (queen). This to echo the

rumor

pun was

27

for local tradition

mother of Saint Louis, spent

— or discovered; there are several ver-

— a treasure, or documents. Both Rennes, whether the one on high

or the one below, are definitely

which only adds

of hiding places of this nature,

full

to the mystery of a region that

mysterious as a result of is

was required

that Blanche de Castille,

time there and, of course, buried sions

that

all

of Stone and Dust

its

is

already sufficiently

simultaneously wild and refined nature.

It

a small bit of land lost in the Corbieres where, as Rabelais once said

regarding the years of drought, everyone must have a cool and well-

stocked cellar

Merely

— stocked with the

fruit of the vine, of course.

souvenirs of the remote past are enough to guarantee the

its

town’s mysterious nature, but Rennes-les-Bains

almost magical place,

who was

Boudet,

if

only because of the shadow

He

whose

figure

role,

more confusing than

from what

know

I

that of his colleague

mystical,

a

left

by Father

same time Father

the parish priest there at the

Sauniere was officiating in Rennes-le-Chateau.

mon

also

is

another uncom-

is

of his time, appears even

on the plateau. Father Boudet

prided himself on being a writer, historian, expert on prehistoric times,

and even

He wrote and

a distinguished linguist.

Langue

the true Celtic language (La Vraie

work on

which he recon-

celtique),

from the English language with the aid of an alleged cromlech

structed

encompassed the

that

published a

fragments of

this

Very odd.

entire region.

book and was forced

of the hysterical laughter

it

induced.

I

to put

I

it

attempted to read some

down

each time because

further believe that at the time of

publication of the volume, which went unsold but

was

liberally distrib-

uted to learned societies and local scholars, no one took seriously

Father Boudet’s linguistic ravings.

It

required the resurgence of matters

concerning Father Sauniere to reawaken interest in Father Boudet and

prompt

the republication

—on numerous occasions —of

his

mented with prefaces that were equally delusional. Unless .

.

.

so

many

stupidities written in

ously not an idiot does merit the

work

Mon The

is

one book by someone

some examination. For

concealing something. But

and

I

made

I

felt

as

so,

it

could be

who was

obvi-

instance, perhaps

what?

sure to visit the parish church of Rennes-les-Bains.

building, quite sober in style,

town. Here

if

work, aug-

though

I

was

is

ensconced

in the old part of the

truly in a sanctuary that

was authentic

The

28

of the Mystery

Site

and intended are the joy

worship and prayer, despite the strange paintings that

for

— and anguish —of mystery decoders. The church

almost uterine in nature;

malevolent influence from the outside. that each of us likes to find tire

the eyes

gious

art,

and

but

who

seems to protect those

it

mind.

enter

dark and

from any

the kind of peaceful haven

to time in the midst of travels that

from time

irritate the

It is

is

It is

no masterpiece of

certainly

reli-

does not seem that Father Boudet, having been preoc-

it

cupied with intellectual research,

left

his

own mark on

the walls.

here; the church reveals nothing shocking

Nothing has been renovated or disconcerting.

The cemetery, however,

a completely different story.

is

abodes of the dead generally have a reputation for cemeteries, especially

church (which

more

agitated.

Instead

I

located in the middle of

am

am

town next

to a

seem much

not talking about ghosts, those folk legends of

draw abundantly from

lands that

tranquillity, rural

increasingly rare these days), definitely

is I

when

Although the

confining

my

all

the fantastic world of phantoms.

observations to the real world.

example, are there two tombs for the same individual

Why,

for

in the Rennes-les-

Bains cemetery? Countless hypotheses have been offered to explain this strange anomaly.

It is

for his entire life,”

and

of Rosicrucian lodge then,

is

it

that the individual in question “did

when

alive, as this inscription

The

possibility of a

to this particular case.

There

to every individual to discover his or her

There

is

good

cannot be doubted that he belonged to a kind

the real story here?

seem relevant up

known

is

macabre hoax does not

another reason, and

own

it is

truth.

Andre Breton

a point at which, as

shows. 18 What,

Second

said in the

Manifesto of Surrealism, the various aspects of reality cease to be perceived as contradictory. This is a very difficult notion to accept because life,

as

it

appears to us, rests on this fundamental contradiction that

have demonstrated so

many

times,

if

I

only in the perpetual combat

between the Archangel of Light and the Dragon of the Depths. Everything would be so simple complicated. But the

18.

if

people did not try to

human mind

is

things

“twisted,” and permeated by

[One of the three commandments of Rosicrucians

— Translator]

make

is

to

do nothing but good deeds.

On Roads maleficent forces (by which

mean

I

I

many

realized that there are so

intelligence

is

my

heteroclite elements that

I

is

my

did not carry

human

from what

seemed to me

In this sense the Rennes-les-Bains cemetery

of a certain state of mind, but

to Rennes-les-

first visit

no longer capable of discerning what

29

and decon-

the forces of destruction

struction inherent in the mind). During

Bains

of Stone and Dust

is

not.

a revelation

speculations any fur-

ther at that time.

Whatever the case may

domain” of

what had

the Razes

my

be,

“enchanted

intrusion into the

was merely an epiphenomenon with

chiefly captivated

my

respect to

interest at that time: the extraordinary

adventure of the Cathars, and especially the relentless efforts

made by

those on high (the papacy and the Capet monarchy) to destroy a doctrine

I

consider to be the most wonderful in existence, a doctrine that

world cannot recover

asserts that the last

human

soul

— an angelic

saved and refolded into

its

soul,

it

its

original Light as long as the

goes without saying

—has yet to be

primal purity. Wouldn’t sin then be defined

as not helping others to save themselves?

Wouldn’t

sin be a case of

ignoring rather than giving assistance to someone in danger of dying? I

returned to the Razes with

published.

I still

field of vision

Mon after my book on Montsegur was

saw Montsegur

as the place

from which

to

and dive more deeply into an understanding of a

mented Occitania caught between the Mediterranean and the

among Greek,

Latin,

my

expand

tor-

Atlantic;

and Germanic influences; between the megalithic

peoples and the druids; between northern France and the peaceful king-

doms

of the sun; between the mountains and the causse

Many

things

had changed

in

my

ing the world through the mists of

everything goes out of focus, as

life,

or at least in

which was once the

if I

astray in the ruins of

its

seat of

cathedral

were

at death’s door.

(a

had been one since prehistoric times.

is

of see-

So we did

the climb to

We

had gone

former abbey), which, though in still

retained from the past

privilege as a sacred site both out of principle

19. [The causse

made

an important diocese.

the process of being completely restored,

it

my way

some disconcerting evening when

return to Rennes-le-Chateau, but only after having Alet,

19 .

and due

When we

the limestone plateau of southern France.

its

to the fact that

travel

through the

— Translator]

The

30

Site

of the Mystery

upper Aude Valley, we are not

What we

find there

I

by

call

just

completing the leg of a journey.

name, nemeton, meaning

Celtic

its

com-

a

middle of the woods near run-

pletely natural sanctuary located in the

ning water that circulates through the veins of the earth like blood

through the

arteries of the

human

body. Only here the water irrigates a

mysterious heart whose beatings can be

to pick out the echoes of telluric currents flooding the world.

how

am

I

highlight

not a druid, contrary to the claims of a few

my contradictions.

shadows of the and

who know

only by those

felt

ritual

seek to better

cannot claim to have rediscovered the pale

—nor especially

priests of Celtic society

—twenty years

sacred function

I

who

their doctrine

after their disappearance. In the priests’ time all

was combined with

a social

would not seem

to be the case today.

masquerades

which

I

and cultural function, which

have never taken part

in those

in

white robes and

insignia that are bizarre to say the least (including the

Aryan symbol, the

in

by dressing

individuals,

swastika), seek to abrogate to themselves the right to officiate as priests in the

name

of eternal druidism.

during the time of the

by

So

As we know, the

Roman Empire

last

not only because of persecution they became Christian priests.

Roman authorities, but also because why look for them where they will

not be found?

restore a jury-rigged druidism that has nothing to

worst

aware of taste.

how

crazy our era

is

Why

claim to

do with how

about folklore, even that

who

But what credit can be given to people

was

it

and Vercingetorix?

truly experienced during the time of Caesar fully

druids disappeared

I

am

in the

declare them-

by asserting that heaven spoke to them and revealed

selves druids solely

true that a

good num-

ber of these neo-druids have never claimed to be doing

more than

into the

same mash

to

them

the great secrets of their ancestors?

researching through the tradition. But they

It is

all fall

brewed up by the eighteenth-century Welsh scholar

who was

merely a

intellectual

But

I

brilliant “antiquarian,”

with a dearth of sources. So

do know how to recognize druidic

I

am

sites;

meaning

of Alet, with

dreamlike

alleys

imprint on

Mon

its

I

know how

I

Morganwg,

pre-Romantic

God

help me!

to sense

them

sites for all time.

ruined cathedral and medieval streets,

and impenetrable and me.

a

not a druid,

because they have been and will remain sacred

The town

Iolo

know and

stillness,

left

an

its

unforgettable

love medieval cities.

I

have spent

On Roads much

of Stone and Dust

31

time dreaming on the slopes of Puy-en-Velay, behind the ramparts

of Concarneau and Aigues-Mortes, on the

upward

Dinan and

slopes of

Baux-de-Provence, and around Rouen Cathedral. There was a time

when

the

me.

gifted

I

Middle Ages exerted an it

with

Ages no longer tic

mind

analysis,

the novels

exists, or else

it

and fascinating force over

constructed, but, alas, this Middle

I

emerges from the feverish and roman-

of Viollet-le-Duc and his English counterparts. In the final

what

Glastonbury

I

in

truly prefer

the rough

is

England, the alleged

Queen Guinivere; detail),

all

irresistible

site

and wild beauty of the ruins of of the

tomb

of King Arthur and

Tintagel in England (actually, in Cornwall, a mere

where lurk the shades of Arthur, Merlin,

Tristan, Yseult,

and

King Mark; or even the wrenching melancholy of the Clonmacnoise

Monastery great

in the center of Ireland, the place

fundamental texts of Gaelic tradition were

Christian monks, no

less!

whose roughness expresses occurred there. But in

where the majority of the

I

also prefer the harshness of Montsegur,

better than

also love Alet

I

down-— by

set

and

any restoration the drama that its

tiny streets.

I

felt

as

if I

another world there, one similar to that Celtic Other World

been hunting

down

with no respite for so

Alet, however, with everything

was not our

goal.

We

visiting the church.

allow to permeate that

was

We

the site

we wished

a kind of incomprehensible stillness

more information about those ate at the

into a restaurant.

We

We

I

had

same place beneath the a

in the

little

tombs of

meantime gathered

up

trees in a

in the

this

modest Razes

park transformed

town. Then

Rennes-les-Bains, again by the same dusty roads. the cemetery, at the double

again experienced

greatly the year before:

details that stirred

wandered

to

and a sense of absolute well-being.

Yet the mystery remained intact, for

We

level,

and

to contemplate

were not disappointed.

same atmosphere that had impressed us so

village.

years.

evoked on a subconscious

it

have

returned to Rennes-le-Chateau, this time without

It

us.

many

I

were

We

we

set off for

stopped once at

the lord of Fleury,

and then con-

tinued our journey northward and eastward in a futile search for the

famous tomb not

far

from Arques that was allegedly the model

for the

one painted by Nicolas Poussin. This was the mysterious tomb sur-

rounded by shepherds trying to decipher ego.

Of course,

these shepherds

its

inscription:

Et

in

Arcadia

would have been incapable of discovering

32

The

the true

of the Mystery

Site

meaning of

this logogriph.

Of

course, the

a “fake,” erected after Poussin’s painting still

ask why).

Of

course,

we

is

was created (though we may

manage

didn’t

tomb near Arques

to find the

tomb, but we

nevertheless wished to go farther.

A new her

circumstance had arisen

owned

father

Mouthoumet,

middle of

in the very

far

from Razes,

Now, because Mon’s

truly familiar.

in

same Corbieres region with

this

set foot in the region, curiosity

well imagine.

She had learned that

had

father

house and, what’s more, had to a degree forbidden

this

daughter to

life:

house somewhere not

a

which neither of us was

abandoned

Mon’s

in

We

had to

was

killing us, as

Mouthoumet. That

visit

his

you may

why, leaving

is

Rennes-le-Chateau, passing through Rennes-les-Bains, and then going

we were

looking so desperately for the famous

back up by

Serres,

on the road

to Arques, the one immortalized by Poussin.

Our road con-

tinued on through other green valleys and garigues that

were

We

of snakes.

full

finally

rant in town.

much under

somewhat

The

louder than anyone

else.

when we

somewhat

was even

take our order.

What would happen

in

such

and probably

jovial 20

were embroiled

a

little

too

in a discus-

uniformed gendarme speaking

a

Needless to say, no one paid us the slightest

entered.

thing cool to slake our thirst. least a quarter of

guessed

entered the only bar and restau-

we

the influence of “Corbiere,”

sion. In their midst there

of attention

thirsty,

clientele,

we

reached Mouthoumet, which proved to

be a seemingly deserted, sunbaked village. a place? Feeling

tomb

We It

sat

was

down

in

bit

hopes of getting some-

a waste of time.

We

waited for

at

an hour without any sign of a hostess or waitress to

The

glancing our way.

clientele

We made

continued to talk noisily without even a dignified exit

from the establishment,

which was no doubt highly rated by the Michelin Guide but was obviously reserved only for zombies, and yet ... It reminded me of an old television

remember ful

movie whose plot took place the

title; I

recall

Clothilde Joanno,

involved a couple

from

all

in a Corbieres village.

I

cannot

only that the main actress was the wonder-

who,

who found

alas,

was taken from us too soon.

It

themselves in a village completely cut off

contact with the outside world. The telephone wasn’t working

20. [Corbieres

is

known

for

its

red wine.

— Translator

]

On Roads and cars could not enter or leave the

short,

was

it

which the

a nightmare in

world were so close together that ple to

tell

which world they were

June afternoon World.

had

I

1986

in

possible for the cou-

had the impression on that

in. I truly

Mouthoumet (Aude)

in

was only

a seeming,

automatons. In

world and the imaginary

real

that

a very sharp sensation that everyone

that restaurant-bar silentes,

like perfect

was no longer

it

33

place, but the inhabitants acted as

were normal, though they behaved

if all

of Stone and Dust

what

I

I

was

saw

Other

in the

in the

room

of

the Latin poets called the

those people who, according to ancient Irish legend, dwelled in

glass towers in the

and went about

middle of the ocean. They could be seen, they moved

their lives

(what kind of

lives

did they lead?), but they

could not answer the slightest question that audacious sailors might ask

A strange impression-— a strange land. We found ourselves strolling through the streets of Mouthoumet, where there was not a soul to be seen. We saw nothing but the sun and them.

houses whose windows were frightfully empty of any

Following the directions father’s house.

was

It

in perfect condition,

doned.

We

parked the It

was then

eling grocer

of his horn.

the

life.

which

streets, all of

we made our way back

A a

a

Its

roof was

led into scrub-

to

We

where

I

had

heard the noise of a

van that had stopped on the square.

It

was

a trav-

gathered his customers together with some loud blasts

miracle unfolded before our stupefied eyes, for at that

crowd of women surged from

lifeless

houses

we had

ing us greeted us amiably, as

if

set

we were

say, this scene intensified the vision like the city of

all

over,

emerging from

just passed. Cackling, they

around the van where the grocer had

up

found Mon’s

easily

had obviously been aban-

itself

that something happened.

who

moment same

we

empty and absent of

but the house

of sorts,

given,

presence.

car.

motor and spotted

very

just as

continued wandering the

Somewhat out

land.

we had been

human

I

up

his stand.

gathered

The women

pass-

old acquaintances. Needless to

had of an Other World swallowed

Ys beneath the waves and regaining the surface on

only a few rare occasions, at which time the inhabitants would take

advantage of their freedom to speak and ask something of those

happened by chance Unfortunately,

I

who

to be there at that time.

have no idea what the people of Mouthoumet

The

34

of the Mystery

Site

might have asked of us on that sunny afternoon, the day

mer

solstice.

our

way out

change our

We

of the village and onto the road west. But

We

itinerary.

forests.

I

valleys

mountain that seems

to the foot of

to find that area so

wooded.

demanded some

Montsegur

in

an area where

some

left

traces.

Here

I

way by

again trial

knew where

and

error.

We

I

was and we no

were

in the very

we made our way directly our base camp of Montsegur.

center of the Razes region, and from there

town I

hesi-

Bugarach Peak, the mysterious

to be a counterpart to

longer needed to find our

the

to

and the “Bougres,” meaning the ancestors of the Cathars,

the Templars

have both

wanted

to lose themselves in dense

and appeared

would never have expected

we made our way

tation,

I

then took secondary roads that threaded their

crossroads to the next, each of which

From one

sum-

climbed back into our car and had no problem finding

way through narrow dark

after the

of Quillan and then back to

to

have retained an ambiguous remembrance of that day. Just what

happened then? Had some indefinable shadows lurking above Rennes-leChateau and Rennes-les-Bains decided to accompany us on

this pilgrim-

age through a foreign world that was necessarily at the very border of the unreal and the impossible?

The discovery of

simply to recognition and knowledge of the be spent in the that

is

company

a country

visible. It

visible,

never limited

demands

that time

of the intangible, in the presence of everything

subtle yet forms the very soul of a region.

on the

is

we can comment upon

We

can report rationally

landscapes and monuments,

assign a value to the events that took place here or there

— but

we can

it is

much

harder to describe impressions, especially those born of an almost mystical contact

among

with the soul of beings and things.

We

could say that the heat

those sun-scorched rocks caused hallucinations and even actual

mirages.

We

could also point to the importance of the underlying myths

and legend that formed the foundation of our approach. But one thing remains certain, to

me

at least:

Rennes-le-Chateau and the Razes would

henceforth nourish a rich and fantastic world.

—

2

A

Fortified

Rennes-le-Chateau

is

part of a small region, the Razes, located in the

foothills of the Corbieres

Aude department on 1

Encampment

mountain range

the border of Roussillon.

The Razes

small mountains, plateaus, and deep valleys with, at

Aude

Valley,

toward which converge

begin in the mountains.

on the Aude

River,

Perpignan to the

There

a

is

Its

all

its

heart, the

the streams

most important town

and

upper

rivers that

at present

is

Quillan

Carcassonne to the north, and Foix to the west.

heavy Pyrenees influence here, but is its

this

landscape

climate, although the southern

not a destination. Over the

last

is

typically

wind ushers

cold temperatures during the winter. In principle the Razes transit,

a land of

is

forming a crossroads from which stray the roads to

east,

Mediterranean, as

end of the

at the southern

is

in

a place of

few years, though, tourism

notably trips starting from Montsegur to the so-called Cathar castles has sparked noticeable interest in people driven straight through the region.

mystery has drawn to curious, the skeptical,

paper

article

1.

is

is

would have

course, the Rennes-le-Chateau

and assiduous treasure seekers ever

picturesque and

beautiful countryside than for

[France

previously

remote spot huge crowds made up of the

on the church appeared

The Razes its

this

Of

who

in

35

better

somewhat dubious

divided into ninety-five administrative regions

— Translator]

news-

1956.

would merit being its

since a

known

known

for

reputation. In

as departments.

The

36

Site

of the Mystery

accordance with the saying that there

we should acknowledge

ever,

As we

never smoke without

is

fire,

how-

the reality of certain mysteries in the region.

shall see, the better part of these mysteries

is

connected to the Aude

countryside as well as to both the mind-set and the ancestral traditions of its

inhabitants. Certainly there

nothing surprising to be found there; in countless other regions, especially in

found

similar “mysteries” can be

are sometimes referred to as “fortified lands” containing natural

what

curiosities, architectural riches,

end. In fact, there are so tell

is

a story

must

many

and connections to both history and such connections that those

clearly establish

first

particular scene

its

—even

and a church.

around a

castle

capital of

an earldom

ticular role in the

a capital

is

a

is

It is

if

the tale

simple village of houses clustered

hard to imagine that

—even one of reduced

size

city. It

it

was once

—that played

Merovingian Dark Ages. Despite current

not necessarily a large

wish to

and space.

will turn fantastic, ultimately taking place outside of time

Today Rennes-le-Chateau

who

leg-

its

own

belief,

the

par-

however,

could simply be the residence of

recent historical times, a leader need not have

a leader; then, as in

more

been surrounded by

all his

people. Versailles, for example,

was

the resi-

dence of the king and his court but was removed from the true capital of

There was probably never anything more

Paris.

at

Rennes-le-Chateau than

one that included a number of dwellings

a fortress, albeit a well-equipped

around the count’s residence. This does not mean that there were no outposts in the surrounding area that were also fortified. In Merovingian times,

it is

likely that in the valleys there

were additional populated com-

munities where economic activities necessary to the survival of the group

took place. There were countless examples of merchant and artisan towns located center

and within proximity

to a

resources. Their location apart

the inhabitants of these

generally situated

with

this

The

much

to a

more

waterway or

fertile

on easy paths of communication

on

understanding that village’s position, is

—

we

in the event of

population

land or even mining

fortified area in

towns from seeking refuge

a height

of the horizon,

from the

fortified

no way prevented

inside the fortress

war or other

danger.

It is

should consider Rennes-le-Chateau.

high on a rocky promontory that dominates

certainly ideal, allowing for excellent surveil-

lance over the surrounding area. Furthermore,

it

is

—or

rather,

located on an important communication path (no one takes

was it

into

]

A account anymore). The

village, in fact, sits

Fortified

on the

Encampment

site

37

Roman

of the

road that connected Carcassonne to Catalonia by way of the famous pass

known

as the Pass of Saint-Louis,

which served

between Catalonia and France. But

a frontier post

for a long time as this ancient road,

which must have been constructed over an older

Gallic road,

is

no

longer visible today except for a few stray remnants here and there in the countryside.

We

can best grasp the importance

over a veritable eagle’s nest, must have had

way

this

town, perched

when we approach

it

by

of department road 52 out of Couiza. All the residences are in fact

on the

summit, situated below the

butte’s

was renovated considerably. during

castle,

which

is

very old but

The

the sixteenth century.

dominates the north side of the promontory, which

is

castle

most

the side

exposed to the attacks of possible enemies. Striking above

all is

the

grouping formed by the church and the property converted by Father Sauniere, which consists of the gardens, the Villa Bethania, and the

Magdala Tower overhanging famous

was

site

also well

now

the magnificent landscape. This

known

from the postcards

in Sauniere’s time

he printed of his “work,” but in his time no one talked about cursed treasure or jealously guarded secrets held by a mysterious priory.

The rocky platform supporting Rennes has an 1,540

and

feet,

largely

that are nestled here

and there

whose name

there. Farther

down

in

pockets on the plateau.

—

Casteillas

the valley,

—

the

Toward

as the Etroit d’Alet,

and ruined

we can

beyond some rounded is

the

hills,

2

the north are the

and a

castle of Coustaussa,

that overlooks the Sals River.

To

little

Aude

woods, and

perched

among

the south are

the rocks

By

evidence a sacred

who

site,

on a

woody clumps

tion of Bezu.

all

what

is

farther northeast are the village

which extends to the town of Granes

[The Alet

once stood

Valley and

Forest,

2.

below a

see

town of Esperanza.

up the Lauzet

Templars,

look

northwest are Couiza and Montazels, part of Father

Sauniere’s native area.

known

When we

signifies that a fortress

the outlines of the Pyrenees in the Ariege region,

Toward

about

overshadows the hamlets of the surrounding area

out over the countryside from the Magdala Tower, small village

altitude of

hillside

that

make

in the direc-

Bezu was the domain of

enjoyed a very special status that allowed them to escape

Straits.

— Translator

The

38

Site

of the Mystery

the persecution of Philip the Fair.

of Bugarach, which

about 4,000

is

tion of Rennes-les-Bains

number

The southeast

mark out

Maurine, Lavaldieum Sourde, and

To

feet in height.

le

wooded

hills,

are a

a narrow, sharply winding road:

Pas de

not help but bring to mind a past that

the east, in the direc-

a wall of

and hidden behind

of small hamlets that

dominated by the pech

is

still

la

Rocque

—

many

holds

their

names can-

mysteries.

This brief description provides some idea of the appearance of the

immediate area around Rennes-le-Chateau. Beyond describe.

It is

world of

a

its

own,

a closed world,

though

may have

seems he

it

is

it

hard to

and there are reason-

immense cromlech

able grounds for Father Boudet’s talk of an here,

this,

intentionally played

existing

on the confu-

sion between natural features of the landscape and rudimentary

human

construction.

The streets

of Rennes-le-Chateau

village

and the imposing mass of

its

picturesque with

is

The

castle.

dates back to the twelfth century and

its

narrow

oldest part of the castle

was

on the

built

of a

site

Carolingian (and perhaps Visigoth) fortress by Guillaume d’Assalit,

Damaged

the steward of the counts of the Razes.

was

the centuries,

it

who

over the course of

restored and renovated during the sixteenth century

was

to include four towers that flanked the walls surrounding an inner court-

yard. Until the Revolution the castle family, descendants of the Cathars.

Negri

d’ Abies,

of legend:

It

who

is

was

the property of the

One member

Hautpol

of that family, Marie de

buried in the Rennes cemetery, has become a figure

appears that her tombstone was,

if

not the starting point,

then an important element in the mysterious activities of Father Sauniere.

The garden to the cemetery

in front of the

in

Rennes-le-Chateau gives access

where Marie de Negri d’Ables

A

in its design.

church

what

buried and

central path cuts diagonally across

church door with the famous inscription are the

is

words attributed

it

is

quite

odd

and leads to the

Terribilis est locus iste.

These

to Joseph in the biblical text of the Vulgate, but

are they doing here

and what could they mean

the so-called Visigoth pillar (which

is

in this context?

To

actually Carolingian, as

the

left is

its

craftsmanship and decoration incontestably show) holding up a

statue of

that

Our Tady

was found

upside

down

,

of Lourdes.

inside the

The

pillar

is

in fact

church and placed

after being recut

and recarved

an old

altar stone

in its present location,

for the

Mission of 1891.

It

A originally

measured a

under two and a half

mate patty cross

more than

little

feet tall.

fitted at the

Encampment

39

now

a bit

a carving depicting a

gem-

Fortified

a yard in height

On its surface

is

and

is

end of a cabled molding and crowned by

an alpha and an omega, which are the symbols of creation of the divine infinite universe, the

beginning and end of

things, equivalent to the

all

famous ancient symbol of the ourobouros, the serpent

To

the right of the pillar

lar to the grotto of

Lourdes

is

a kind of false grotto

— and on the wall along

own tail. no way simi-

biting

—

in

its

garden path

this

is

a depiction of a standing stone reminiscent of a menhir. Others have

noted that

this

“menhir” can be seen

in the wall

Bethania Villa and the Magdala Tower. By

had something

mind when he

in

laid

Farther to the right of the pillar

descending from the

evidence, Father Sauniere

all

out

this

we

find a circular path that goes

garden.

around a Calvary cross inscribed with words that have inspired much analysis: Cbristus

cross that tive

had

its

A.O.M.P.S. defendit.

It is

a version of the inscribed

origin in the Occitan cross (which itself

was

a distinc-

symbol of the Volques Tectosages people of Gaul) and the famous

Celtic cross. Farther along

pool that was vandalized

toward the cemetery there

in

1979, and

beyond

just

is

it is

a crater-shaped

an

altar for the

dead arranged against the surrounding wall. The cemetery proper

is

entered through a porch above which Father Sauniere had engraved the

words pronounced by the

officiating priest

Augmenting

this inscription

a phylactery.

The

skull,

is

on Ash Wednesday

a sculpted skull over

which seems

corresponding to the number of cards

tarot.

This portal, which reveals extremely bad are,

by

all

in the

tibias

Major Arcana of

taste,

on

shows twenty-two

to be snickering,

teeth,

dead

two crossed

services.

and the

the

altar of the

evidence, a souvenir of those grand triumphal porches

that are the glory of the parish property of Finistere. Here, however,

we

search in vain for any sign of beauty or the least evidence of the grandiose.

Or was

Is this

the result of a lack of

their creation

The Rennes church, which is

a lack of artistic taste?

an act of derision? Whether we want them to or

not, these are the questions that

Magdalene,

means or

come is

to

mind

now known

in the

garden.

as the

the former castle chapel of the counts.

Church of Mary

The apse

the twelfth century, the time of the castle’s construction, but

dates to

was subse-

quently expanded and transformed, then finally restored and decorated

The

40

of the Mystery

Site

by Father Sauniere to meet

his needs.

It

must be

was

Sauniere’s arrival, the state of the property

Several

said that prior to

from

far

documents reveal the general decrepitude of

satisfactory.

this parish

church

long before 1885, the date Sauniere assumed the reins of office. For

example,

in

1883 the vicar general of Carcassonne made an urgent plea

to the Council of State for assistance to repair the building,

threatened to

fall

and emphasized the

into ruin,

of the village, lost

on

a high

fact that the

which

populace

and dry plateau, was too poor to assume

the costs of such work. Accordingly in his request he described “the

deplorable state of the sanctuary,

altar,

whose frames have been broken and went on it

carried

away by

to underline the danger this situation

seems that the

civil authorities, at

a hurricane.”

posed to the

We

can easily see

Sauniere, confronted with a sanctuary in ruins, did restore

it.

What

faithful,

He but

the beginning of the quarrels of the

turned a deaf ear to this plea.

laity,

and the two nave windows,

all

why

Father

he could to

could be more understandable or more honorable? The

circumstances of this restoration, however, were very strange and

its

result quite startling.

The welcome given every really

any

faithful

the immediate his

who

still

visitor

grimacing face, his eyes

he

is

His

knee

is

forced to hold.

ally holy. it is

left

The

right

is

disconcerting.

the horrible devil

is

at the

To

Asmodeus, with

—one has been replaced-— popping from

head and staring demonically floor.

enters the church (are there

attend this sanctuary?)

of the entrance

left

who

his

black-and-white checkerboard

bent beneath the weight of the holy water stoup

We

might well ask

hand of

the devil

is

if

the water

it

contains

is

actu-

closed to form a kind of circle;

said he originally held a trident, the kind the

demons

of hell used,

according to medieval folk imagery, to prod their victims into their ovens. As a rule such representations were placed just outside of

medieval cathedrals and churches, generally on the north (or sinister side, better to illustrate that the sole

was by entering famous fresco

means of escaping

infernal torment

the church. Perhaps Father Sauniere

inside the Kernascleden church (in

knew

Morbihan), or even of

the horrifying taolennou [paintings] that Breton missionaires, initiative of

of the

on the

Father Julien Maunoir during the Counter-Reformation of

the seventeenth century,

displayed to the faithful of remote rural

A parishes after having subjected

them

Fortified

Encampment

sermons and making

to terrifying

them attend equally evocative dramatic performances. That the forced to hold the holy water stoup

the Christian perspective. In the church of the devil

word

of

abyss as

is

it is

mous work of

Campeneac

Morbihan),

(in

emanates. All of this brings to mind Satan’s

and

richly

lyrically described

La Fin de

called

Asmodeus puts

Satan. Yet

it

by Victor

Hugo

fall

into the

in a

posthu-

cannot be said that the sight

at ease the visitor to Rennes-le-Chateau.

Fortunately, he

is

not alone at the entrance. Above the devil and the

stoup are four angels, each executing a part of the sign of the cross. the pedestal

we can

umph,” which

is

prop up the rostrum from which the

similarly obliged to

God

devil

an excellent idea, from

in itself

is

41

read the inscription “By this sign you will

On tri-

about Emperor Constantine, who,

recalls the legend

overcame

after seeing this inscription in the sky,

enemies and issued

his

an edict of tolerance that brought an end to anti-Christian persecution.

Along with the angels on haps

basilisks,

this pedestal are

two

assumed to be Beranger Sauniere’s donors are always preserved

the back wall of the church,

intriguing for both depicts Christ

uals

who

on

its

clearly

spilling

from

What meaning

is it

placed, there

is

details that

names of

is

the

sort

a fresco that

can be made out

this

should be given to

in

is it.

mountain of flowers

a partial clue

enthusiastic searches,

wheat are

this representation?

from the sack be the words of Christ

and everywhere, yet have not been underabout a “treasure”

buried somewhere in the region? This

many

the

which has no openings of any

At the foot of

spilling

that have spread here, there,

Or

all,

a grain sack that has burst; grains of

Could the grains of wheat

stood?

After

safely

a flower-covered mountain, surrounded by individ-

make out

it.

initials.

and the

naivete

are difficult to identify.

we can

which can be

letters B.S.,

in religious buildings.

and against which the confessional

It

are per-

mythical animals borrowed from a medieval bestiary, as

well as a circle surrounding the

On

two monsters, which

though

it

—one

that, of course,

last interpretation

rests

on no

is

has inspired

precise foundations.

Sacred texts and the illustrations of episodes recounted in these texts

appear here only with what all

in

is

generally called “artistic license.” Again,

that can be declared for certain

mind when he commissioned

is

that Beranger Sauniere

the depiction of this scene.

had an idea It

should be

42

The

of the Mystery

Site

added that the

details in this

in fact, consists of

ground,

and towns. Could

work

are especially irritating.

The back-

which we can

see villages

an odd landscape

in

be Razes as seen, fantasized, and revised by

this

Father Sauniere, or else a vision of a paradisial world in which Jesus,

through

his parables,

evokes the profound reality through the deceptive

appearances of a world threatened by the ironic eye of Asmodeus?

On is

nothing intrinsically surprising about

depiction of

a painting that, accord-

is

unverifiable witnesses, Father Sauniere himself created.

some

ing to

There

the opposite wall, beneath the altar,

Mary Magdalene. But

its

subject;

it is

simply a

has nothing to do with the Gospel

it

story of the resurrection of Jesus, nor even with the Provencal legend

about the Holy Balm. In

ments on her knees interlaced. She

some

tree

there

is

a

it

in a

we

see Saint

Magdalene clothed

cave with her hands clasped and her fingers

from

staring fixedly at the top of a cross fashioned

is

branches and stuck in the cavern

human

in rich gar-

skull,

Outside the cave

and

we can

a

little

farther

floor.

Next

back there

is

see a barren landscape that

to her knees

an open book. is

crowned by

sketchy ruins stretching into a luminous but stormy sky. The cavern entrance seems to be framed by stone blocks fallen from the wall. This is

Of

certainly a very strange painting.

mind

Christ’s

tomb, but what would

course, the cave can bring to

this skull

be doing there?

reminiscent of the cavern of the Holy Balm, but

more

It is

Mary Magdalene

also

has

the air of a rich aristocrat here than of a poor hermit. Interestingly,

the image of the skull reappears

church

itself,

on

Mary Magdalene

a statue of

as well as in the private chapel Father Sauniere

in the

had con-

Mary Magdalene,

structed in Villa Bethama. This depiction of

the

patron saint of the parish, must have been a matter of heartfelt importance to Father Sauniere. But

what could

this strange painting really

mean? As

for the other statues in the church, they

all

display a frightening

There are plaster saints similar to those that can be seen

artistic nullity.

everywhere: Saint John the Baptist, Saint Germain, and Saint Roch. But

why

are there

two

ted temptation objects

statues of Saint Anthony,

and the other of Padua (who

and causes), each standing almost

Here again,

one of the hermit

it is

is

who

resis-

the patron saint of lost

directly opposite the others

impossible that their presence

is

merely accidental.

It is

A

Fortified

Encampment

43

apparent that in positioning them opposite each other, Father Sauniere

compare them and

certainly intended that viewers bolic significance.

Given these oddities,

creating novels based

reflect

on

sym-

their

so surprising to see people

is it

on the “Temptations of Father Sauniere” and seek-

ing lost buried treasures in Rennes-le-Chateau?

There are

still

two more

looking at the altar

—

is

Saint Joseph

and on the

There would be nothing extraordinary about holding an infant Jesus.

I

for

is

it’s

this if

We

—when

the Virgin Mary.

each of them was not

any more

a notion that could hardly be

worth. 3

is

left

father, the other the issue of his

have already proposed one theory on

what

right

the

seems there are thus two Jesuses in Rennes-le-

It

Chateau, one the issue of his putative mother. Here

On

statues framing the altar.

heretical.

this subject that

find ourselves in a land

can be taken

where the Cathar

influ-

ence has played a strong role. The strong presence of the devil in this

church

may

be reminiscent of the belief of Cathars, at least the radical

dualists, in a principle of evil incarnated ter,

an “almost god” of

evil

who

by Satan, the creator of mat-

opposes the

God

of good.

almost be said, then, that the child held by Joseph on the ter

—

side of the altar

held by

Mary on

is

left

could

It

— or

sinis-

not Jesus but Satan, whereas the true Jesus

the right side.

To use even

is

further the theory of dual-

ism expressed by some Cathars, both of them, Jesus and Satan, are brothers, sons of

God

manifestations of a good and evil deity. this

one put forward by Franck Marie,

Why is

not? Another hypothesis,

equally interesting:

The

held by Joseph represents the masculine element, that which ent, visible,

held by

what

is

and external,

Mary

like the

ilar

why

placed on the

not?

We

left

should not overlook the fact that

and from which the divine word

side of the altar.

exoteric symbol that permits a sonorous

divine thought. But

3.

appar-

male sex organ. Conversely, the child

the rostrum, source of the exoteric is

is

child

represents the feminine element, the subtle element of

hidden. 4 Again,

emanates,

two

the Father, the sole Creator; they are the

on the

The

bell

tower

is

a sim-

outward manifestation of

right side of the church

is

the door leading

Jean Markale, Montsegur and the Mystery of the Cathars (Rochester, Vt.: Inner

Traditions, 2003). 4. F.

Marie, La Resurrection du

“

Grand Cocu ” (Bagneux:

S.R.E.S., 1981), 16-18.

The

44

of the Mystery

Site

more important, from

to the small sacristy and,

We

had constructed.

that Father Sauniere

there to a secret

room

should also remember that

the Stations of the Cross are arranged in reverse order in this church

(which

extremely rare), and that following the Stations requires

is

beginning on the

on the

of the church and ending

left side

Rennes-le-Chateau, then, everything

At

right.

arranged as though someone

is

wished to show us the importance both of not being taken

by appear-

in

ances and of following the external, exoteric path to eventually discover the secret, esoteric path.

Trehorenteuc

(in

Morbihan)

fully justified in this

A

there that has

door

on

is

the inside”

— appears

Mary Magdalene. visit to

the

on display the mysterious Stone of the

was discovered

actually a bas-relief that

is

church and which offers a

difficult challenge to

those

who would

in the inter-

has been claimed, without basis and with no proof, that this

It

it.

written on the door of the church of

— “The

church of

Knight. This “stone”

pret

is

Rennes-le-Chateau cannot leave without a

visitor to

museum

small

What

an extremely significant piece of evidence regarding the presence

is

in

the Razes of a legitimate Merovingian descendant, a son of Dagobert

(who, novel

we know,

—which

World,”

who

is

died at a very still

growing!

young

—concerning

famous upside-down

Carolingian

pillar

work dating

is

is

no more Merovingian than It

arcades.

a very

is

handsome

and depicting two

The horse of the

rider

on the

possible this rider

it is

because of the hairstyle and the folds

in the

left

may

be

garments that she

wearing. As for the rider on the right, like other representations of

this type

and perfectly characteristic of Carolingian

ing a spear

and holding

scene, a profane as

is

Visigothic.

seems to be drinking from a trough, and

woman

the future “King of the

to the eighth century

mounted knights beneath two

a

of this grew the serial

will be the recognized heir of the first dynasty, that of

the “hairy kings.” In fact, this bas-relief the

Out

age).

II

was

work

a

round

shield.

It is,

Sauniere

who

church, and

is

brandish-

hunting

that the artist sought to Christianize by adding,

biblical

stories

and the Tree of

and Grail legends.

discovered this stone while overseeing

it is

he

in all likelihood, a

proper, a grape representing the Eucharist

made famous by

art,

certain that

it

was one

It

Life

was Father

work on

the

of the constituent elements of

the chancel, the separation between the nave

and the

choir.

But what-

A ever the truth

may

resentation, the

century,

work

and

this

art

from

works of

be and whatever is

alone merits

45

said about this rep-

its

removal to the museum. Authentic

this site are rather rare.

more than

It is

may have been

Encampment

a splendid testimony to the art of the late eighth

Rennes-le-Chateau was not the region.

Fortified

site

of the

first fortress in

likely that the Gallic site

place called Le Casteillas, an

the Razes

would have been

enormous limestone mass

at the

that haphazardly

emerges from the rachitic plant growth and can be easily seen by look-

toward the southwest from the foot of the Magdala Tower. The

ing

name Le Latin)

Casteillas indicates a very ancient fortification (castellum in

and designates almost everywhere

Britain) settlements of

it

dog

appears in France (and in

rocky promontories in Celtic times.

It

evokes cer-

tain hill forts that are particularly plentiful in the southwest portion of

England.

If

Rennes-le-Chateau

almost certain), then

we should

the small rise separated

is

truly of Celtic origin (and that

concentrate our search in Casteillas, on

from the town of today by the curiously named

Stream of Colors, which forms a depression that is

is

is

difficult to cross. It

currently impossible to see anything there but rocks and vegetation,

though during the nineteenth century the existence of “three blow holes”

may

was

discovered. “In fact,” as noted by a geologist of the time, one

note “a kind of

Casteillas, as the

air that

lower region

lunker’s paradise” 5

treasure hunters

warm

is

seems to emerge from the

studded with

entrails of

galleries, a veritable spe-

—and, one might well add, a

veritable paradise for

and other fans of hidden mysteries. There have

also

been recent claims of the discovery of a column and the remnants of an extremely ancient portico. This information must be regarded with the customary reservations, because

known examples a

summit

if

compared with

all

all

the better-

of this architecture, this Celtic-style castellum

was only

encircled by ramparts consisting of a foundational layer of

dried stones

on top of which

a

wooden

palisade

was

erected.

The

“dwellings” inside would have been constructed in the same fashion. All that could be discovered there,

if

systematic excavations were to be

undertaken, would be various objects, weapons, and jewels. If

5.

we

leave Rennes-le-Chateau by the road that snakes across the

R. Bordes, Rennes-le-Chateau (Paris: Editions Schrauben, 1985), 30.

The

46

of the Mystery

Site

limestone plateaus,

we

tory and legend. This

are transported through areas charged with hisis

Coume Sourde

the

same name, which

lated hamlet of the

sometimes spelled come, appears so frequently

is

road,

named

after the iso-

Coume,

Celtic in origin.

is

simply the French and English combe, which

toponymy

in the

of the Hexagon. 6

It

comes from

a Gallic root

meaning “curve” but through semantic evolution has

mean

“a winding valley.” There are countless variations on this

come

to

Combourg and Combrit

theme, from Chateaubriand’s beloved Fimstere to the various trip

Chambons

in the Central Massif,

with a side

through Chambord (“the ford on the bend”), not to mention

Combes

many

that distinguish so

in

place-names. In this instance,

all

the

Coume

Sourde, according to the regional historian Father Sabarthes, means “sordid combe,” an allusion to the poverty of this area. But according

Doctor Gourdon

to a specialist in thermal spas, a arly

work

1874 on

in

this subject, the

who wrote

a schol-

region of Rennes’s subterranean

area contained “a basin limited to close to 5,000 feet” beneath the

town, which would assume an expanse of groundwater (no doubt

warm,

if

one

which would give

refers to Casteillas),

meaning of “Combe from which

a dull

this

place-name the

sound emanates.”

Why not?

But

another entirely Celtic etymology can also be offered here. The word sourde, in this case, siccus, “dry,”

would

derive

from

a Gallic root akin to the Fatin

which engendered the Gallic sych. In these circumstances,

Coume Sourde would

simply be “dry combe,” which corresponds per-

fectly to the characteristics of the countryside.

of having the last

There sis:

is

word

in

is

not a typical

Fongny and Montagne-au-Perche

site

name

ruins of an abbey of the Val-Dieu in the in the

that lends itself to analy-

for this region.

Reno

Orne

in all these cases there

Dei, “Valley of

name

6.

God.” The

is

region,

dates from the Christian era or

if it

Upper Foire region,

the area of

lie

de Sein proper.

— Translator]

refers to Vallis

determining whether

this

might be carried over from an

[The French often refer to France as the Hexagon because of

mean

find the

and the extremely

no doubt that the name

difficulty lies in

We

Forest located between

beautiful cloister of Favaldieu near Brioude in the

and

boast

matters of toponymy?

another strange and desolate

Favaldieu, which

Who, however, can

its

shape;

it

can also

A

Fortified

Encampment

47

older time. According to a local legend recorded before 1874, long

before the events relating to Father Sauniere, Dr.

Gourdon pursued

on the thermal groundwaters of the region and came up

investigations

with a curious hypothesis: There once existed “in

name was sometimes corrupted god Baal

One

fices.

into Bal-Dieu, a temple erected to the

tempted to believe that

is

founded by Phoenicians Spanish coast.” This

is

who

this

it

and

to

make

sacri-

temple would have been

created several colonies on the closest

not impossible; the Phoenicians might well have

advanced into the backcountry of the Mediterranean, the gold

whose

this place

which the inhabitants of the land gathered

in

his

if

only to exploit

mines that were once so plentiful there. But perhaps

silver

not necessary to go looking for a Phoenician god. Couldn’t the

is

name have been

a corruption of the Celtic Bel,

Belenos, meaning “Brilliant

One”

or “Shining One,” a nickname given

to different Gallic deities that have left

names—-most

an abbreviation of

numerous

traces in place-

often confused with the French adjective belt

It

should be

Coume Sourde were, for a while, Templars of Bezu, who enjoyed a very spe-

pointed out that both Tavaldieu and the property of those strange cial status, as

mentioned

earlier.

Locally the ruined castle sitting above the village of Bezu called the Templars’ Castle.

down

hands of the king’s men, and that

The legend goes on

said, “a long

the cemetery

office for the dead.

way

column of white shades” can be seen “leaving

7

their

former church, where they wish to sing the

Certainly this region cannot be found wanting in

of legends.

called the Ruins of

It

7.

there.

on the nights of October 12 and 13.” At that

But Bezu prompts other questions.

Albedun

still lies

from

and climbing up toward the ruins.” These are the dead

Templars searching for

the

this bell

it

to say, according to Father Mazieres, that “it tolls

a death knell every year it is

still

legend claims that these Templars cast

a well the silver bell of their chapel in order to prevent

falling into the

time,

One

is

is

First, the

Albedun on a general

staff

Castle of the Templars

map from

1830. The

is

name

incontestably of Celtic origin (Albo-Duno, “white fortress”).

can be found farther to the north, toward Rennes-les-Bains, in the

Abbe Mazieres, Les Templiers du Bezu

(Paris: Editions

Schrauben, 1984), 30.

The

48

Site

of the Mystery

Franco-Occitan form of Blanquefort, or Blanchefort, designating the ruins

was

of a castle that

famous Blanchefort

the birthplace of the

Albedun and Blanchefort are therefore two

identical

name “white

fortress”

pointed out, however, that the

out the entire territory of ancient Gaul, where

whether

fortified city, ory.

This

is

the former

it

Nor

“enceinte, wall”).

“white city”

is

easily

name

of Vienne

we

are

far

should be

common

is

through-

designated an ancient

(Isere),

once

known

as

mem-

Vindobona and bona,

“white,”

from myth: In popular imagination, the

8 confused with the “city of glass,” the marvelous

city

always placed at the beginning of

his-

of olden days (the realm of Faery

by people

tory) inhabited

It

flourishing, in rums, or existing only in

still

from which comes the Breton gwenn,

(vindu,

names.

family.

who

is

belong more to the Other World than to the

world of mortals. In Chretien de Troyes’s Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart, Guinivere

is

brought to the “city of Gorre (or Voirre, meaning Verre)

by Meleagant, another form of Maelwas, who, according to the most archaic Arthurian legends,

now

is

was king of

Glastonbury Tor

in

the Glass Tower, located

England.

Somerset,

Glastonbury, following a false interpretation of the

passed for the city of glass and even for the It

can also be noted that Bezu

for the savage beauty of

its

still

Isle

It

on what

known

is

name (which

is

that

Saxon),

of Avalon.

retains all

its

landscape as for the myths

it

—

as

much

evokes

—and

mystery

possesses just the right atmosphere for such “affairs” that have shaken the Razes not just over the last decades, but since the early

Contrary to what some authors maintain, however, impossible for the the

name Bezu

is

name Bezu

to derive

it

we

region, not far

Wales

in the

is

find a Bezu-la-Foret

from Gisors.

form of Bedd.

8.

from the

[“Glass”

(a Celtic

It

by the

and a Bezu-Saint-Eloi

in the

Celts.

Eure

also appears frequently in the country of

Its

meaning

is

ambiguous, though, for

it

root akin to the Latin betula) and “tomb,”

famous Grand Be of Saint-Malo, where Chateaubriand’s tomb

located. This

far

phonetically

extremely widespread in the names of villages and in

means both “birch” as in the

is

from Albo-Duno. Furthermore,

place-names throughout the domain once occupied Accordingly

Middle Ages.

is

is its

most current meaning

village of Tre-Taliesin, the

verre in French.

— Translator

in

Wales, where

we

find,

not

remnants of a dolmen called

A Bedd

Taliesin, the

Tomb

Fortified

was

of Taliesin. Taliesin

Encampment

49

a semi-historical, semi-

legendary bard of the sixth century. Local tradition claims that anyone

who same

sleeps

on

this

dolmen

will

wake up

madman

as either

or poet.

tradition exists in the Central Massif, in Pilat, not far

Rock. But with regard to the Bezu

called Merlin’s

by the Templars and the Cathars and should

we

still,

by

all

prefer the etymology of birch or

Templar ghosts would seem to weigh

is

it,

is

tomb, a meaning sup-

we

would imply

immediate

common

Sougraine alludes

village of

fact, the

name Granes,

is

built

who

second after the Gallic Mercury

in

name

on the agnomen, or

rather one of the agnomens, attested to during the Celtic Apollo,

like the

former name of Aix-la-Chapelle

(Aquae Granni, hence the German Aachen),

Gallo-Roman

era:

Caesar, in his Commentaries , placed

popular veneration. This Apollo

primarily the tutelary deity and initiator of healing springs, and a

with

a land rich in grains, yet apparently nothing

in the Vosges, as well as the

Grannus of the

its

find Celtic tradition intact.

granum, and that the name of the

could be farther from the truth. In

Grand

the fading

rituals.

has been correctly said that Granes has something in

to this. This

is

only partially present in the neigh-

boring parish of Granes. Yet here again

the Latin

site,

due as much to nature as to the historical and

legendary auras connected to

It

haunted

evidence, a sacred

This distinctive atmosphere reigning over Bezu and surroundings, which

so-

tomb? The legend of the

in favor of

and archaic

from the

in the Razes,

ported by the neighboring White Fortress, which evidently recollection of ancient beliefs

The

it is

is

as

god of medicine that Apollo entered Indo-European mythology before

being incorporated into a solar deity, in reality before usurping the place originally held by a solar goddess (Artemis for the Greeks, Diana for the

Romans). One thing

Grannus

him

relate

sacred waters.

certain: All the inscriptions

to medicine

and the healing of

so happens that Granes

It

Campagne and

is

est antiquity

is

—hot waters, as the name

and exploited

gious purposes,

illnesses

through

quite close to Bains-de-

Rennes-les-Bains, and that the subterranean region

beneath the Rennes-le-Chateau plateau thermal waters

is

mentioning

it

occupied by a large pocket of indicates,

known from

earli-

for medicinal purposes (and medico-reli-

goes without saying, given that in long ago times

medicine, magic, and religion were

all

connected).

The

50

of the Mystery

Site

Because the solar aspect of Grannus cannot be overlooked, the erence in the

name Granes

one of the most honored Celtic

to

deities cre-

may have

ates a counterweight to the alleged temple of Lavaldieu that

been a sanctuary for Bel-Belenos. In the healing of

sun com-

illnesses the

city of Bath, a

plements the water gushing from the earth. In England’s

dedication to the goddess Sul has been discovered on the

famous thermal spa of the Victorian era that was

Roman

ancient

clearly indicates her solar characteristics

ancient times,

when

if

we

seems that

it

are to believe the

his

many

was

a

of

site

goddess

this

were

god of medicine,

mythological variations on U

Irish grian,

sun”

theme. y

this

name Grannus most

from the same word that gave us the in the

of a

daughter played the principal healing role

should also be pointed out that the

found

on the

deity of medicine

female. Likewise in Ireland, even though there

Diancecht,

site

and makes reference to very

and the

the solar deity

built

The name of

(therefore British) baths.

ref-

It

likely derives

—the word also

shape of the heroine Grainne, one of the most obvious pro-

totypes of Isolde the Fair, the last medieval translation of this former solar goddess.

There can be no doubt as to the Celtic paternity of Granes; the

toponymy of

the Razes contains

detect the Gallic in the

we may

addition,

Saint-Julia-de-Bec,

name Rennes and

note the Gallic

word

in the

bee,

the village Artiques

root arto, meaning “bear.” Cassaignes

name Razes

meaning

—

derives.

cal cello,

The name

for the

which means “hard.”

Limours, and Lake Leman),

and

in the

ancient

name

is

In the

name

of

name through

its

See Jean Markale,

Gallic

“oak”

for

it is

(as in

Limoges,

word lemo, “elm,”

not hard to

make out

the

the alders.”

Razes that poses problems as

terrain as

a kind of

word

Limoux

recognize the Gallic

of the stream Verdouble,

a site in the

figuration of

9.

we

a

peak of Chalabre contains the radi-

,

is

a “point,” in

derived from the Gallic v/ord

Vernodubrum or “water course through

There

In

itself.

comes from the

cassano, “oak,” from which the current French

chene

We may

Celtic elements.

and the Coume de Bee, coume being likewise

The name of

Gallic term.

numerous

much by

the con-

by the origin and symbolic meaning of

its

haphazard sacred geography that we can begin

The Druids (Rochester,

Vt.: Inner Traditions, 1999),

69

ff.

,

A to perceive in this region.

which reaches

Does the

I

am

village take

its

name from

knows, though we do know

in the

feet in height,

if

we go by

this parish

a charter

from 889 that

by the abbots of Saint-Polycarpe

Carcassonne diocese. The value of these monastic charters

were quite

expanded

skillful

monks

is,

of

of the Middle Ages

forging of documents that confirmed or

in the

their privileges.

in this charter

Whatever the case may

be, the

under the Latinized form: Burgaragio.

name appears

We

find the

same

designating the same place in 1231 in the form of Burgaragium.

1500

In

village.

Nobody

the peak or vice versa?

course, always subject to caution, for the

name

and the

for certain that the village has been called

Bulgarach since the tenth century confirms the ownership of

51

speaking of Bugarach— both the peak,

thousand

close to forty

Encampment

Fortified

appears as Bigarach, in 1594 as Bugarai'ch, and in 1647 as

it

Beugarach.

noted that

Its

this

current spelling did not appear until 1781.

place-name

is

found south of Toulouse

Bourdeaux

not unique to this particular in

the

in the very close spelling

It

has been

site; it is

also

form of Bougaroche and near Bougarach. In any case, the word

appears only in what was once the Occitan domain.

What, then, Razes

site

Germanic

that

the origin of this

names?

it

radical burg

the Celtic duno)

But

is

It is

that

tempting to see

which designates

is it

as mysterious as the as a derivative of the

a fortress (the equivalent of

and which passed into the French language

term was never used

this

word

Occitan language. that has given us,

It is

more

among

in the lands that formerly

likely to

have originated

as bourg.

spoke the

in the ethnic

word

other words over the course of the Middle

Ages, bulgari, bugares, burgars, bougrais, and the modern Bulgarian.

We know so

—

the

that the Bougres or Bulgarians generally pass

as the direct ancestors of the Cathars.

name

10

We

— and

rightfully

should agree, then, that

of the peak of Bugarach refers to a place where, for a certain

unspecified period of time, heretics from the East found refuge. These heretics led

had a great influence over the region’s inhabitants and thereby

them

to

adopt so-called dualist ideas. Bugarach would therefore

have a direct or indirect relationship with the Cathar matter.

10. See Jean Markale,

Traditions, 2003).

Montsegur and the Mystery of the Cathars (Rochester,

Vt.: Inner

The

52

of the Mystery

Site

There

an obscure relationship between the pog of

fact

in

is

Montsegur and the pech of Bugarach. Fernand field of

top experts in the

Niel, once

one of the

worth

built a hypothesis

Cathar studies,

keeping. According to the very precise calculations taken by this

impassioned by the dualistic heresy, the

who was

road engineer

rail-

builders, or rather rebuilders, of

Montsegur around 1200 would have

consciously aligned the Cathar fortress on the average position of the sunrise:

[T]his east-west direction falls over the pech of Bugarach, the ter-

minating point of the Corbieres, which has an altitude that

Montsegur and

quite close to that of

same

To

as well.

a latitude, 42° 52', that

is

the

is

the extent they [the builders] followed their east-

west direction precisely, they would have seen the peak of

Bugarach standing out spurred, they

at

would have

the

end of

definitely

their

adopted

alignment. Thus

this reference

point

11 offered by nature.

In short,

opposite.

Bugarach was a kind of double of Montsegur, or

No

it

was

its

one can deny there was a correlation between the two

peaks, at least from the symbolic perspective and, as Fernand Niel said,

from a perspective that used the reference points offered by nature. sacred geography does indeed exist throughout the world, tainly be admitted that this

Relative to this,

it.

it

it

a gigantic cromlech, the

Razes region offers a gripping example of

see in the

if

Father

environment of Rennes-le-Chateau

code of which he claimed to hold.

There are coincidences that are no longer such when everything lies

together.

The

solar aspect of the castle of

be subject to doubt once the strange ing the rising

a

summer

solstice

11.

F.

to those

Niel, Les Cathares de

tal-

Montsegur can no longer

phenomenon

that occurs there dur-

has been witnessed. At that time the rays of the

sun enter the windows of the

room analogous

a

should cer-

should no longer be a cause for surprise

Boudet thought he could

If

fortress’s

mysterious medieval

“chambers of the sun” so

Montsegur

(Paris: Seghers,

1976).

hall,

plentiful in Celtic

A tradition

None can avoid comparing

12 .

New

spires at megaliths such as

England, and the Dissignac

Encampment

the ensuing effect to

Grange

Mound

Fortified

tran-

Stonehenge

in Ireland,

in Saint-Nazaire

what

53

when

in

the rising

sun of the winter or summer solstice strikes the center of the monu-

ment

may

13 .

But the neighboring Granes and Lavaldieu, the

of the Razes

mind

of a journalist looking for a story.

notion in no

way

us that this sacred geography

phenomenon hatched

not merely some

is

show

Whether you

landscape.

the rest

It is

visible realities It

believe or reject

exists,

and symbolic form, propped up by natural

intellectual

addled

in the

eliminates the observations that people have been

induced to make. Yes, the cromlech at Rennes really

and

which

well be an ancient sanctuary of Belenos and both of which are tied

to the presence of thermal springs,

this

latter of

—

—that

in other is

but in an

features of the

words, the interpretation of tangible

the imagination’s domain.

has been said that the pech of Bugarach was a landmark for

“extraterrestrials.”

The

idea has been floated that the sides of this

mountain house caverns where these

extraterrestrials hide out while

conducting missions on our planet. Taking advantage of

this idea of

hidden caverns, some have declared that the mountain holds fabulous treasure.

Why

or Delphi?

not, then, that of the Cathars, the

It is

always possible to invent

Temple of Jerusalem, and

stories,

it

seems that no

one has held back. Yet a century ago Jules Verne took a close in the

Razes and the Bugarach peak

Jules Verne

now know

is

left

coded messages

in all his

of pseudoscientific and fantastic adventure,

12.

I

kind of esotericism.

have given

Why?

in particular.

not only an author of novels for the young. Because

that he

in a certain

interest

this subject a

We

are also

works, concealed

we

are

aware of

aware of

thorough examination

in

his

we

in tales

his interest

membership

my book Montsegur and

Mystery of the Cathars. The Chamber of the Sun, or the Crystal Chamber,

is

in

the

an image

that appears frequently in Celtic legends, particularly in the story of Tristan and Isolde. It

should not be forgotten that Isolde represents,

form, an ancient solar goddess. The

Chamber

regeneration by sunlight takes place, especially

mer or winter 13. See also

in a fictionalized

of the Sun

when

is

the sun

and Christianized

a kind of sanctuary is

at the height of

where

its

sum-

strength.

Jean Markale, Carnac

et

Venigme de V Atlantide

(Paris:

Pygmalion, 1987).

The

54

Site

of the Mystery

a “philosophical society,” a

term used to designate an

hood, of course. Which brotherhood is

important

is

that Jules Verne

and the traditions lurking

in fact a little-known

brother-

in particular hardly matters;

what

perfectly familiar with the Razes

was

long before the

in this land,

which Father Sauniere was more or

initiatic

“

affairs ”

of

There

less the intentional hero.

novel by Jules Verne, published under the

title

is

of

Clovis Dardentor, in which the Razes and the peak of Bugarach play a

fundamental

role,

even though they are presented under the cover of a

very different region, exotic North Africa.

The

plot of the novel

is

centered on the hunt for a treasure hidden

We

somewhere on

the coast near Oran.

wordplay

Oran equals or en [“gold

here:

that the hero’s

can immediately detect the

in”

It

].

has even been thought

name, Clovis, evokes the Merovingian legend of the

Razes and that the name Dardentor can be read of which ure.

is

erotic but all of

Verne even goes so

Oran

the

Arabs,”

which immediately brings to mind the

d’Auran

in the

commune

The heroes of

of Quillan.

ways, one

to the hunt for treas-

which are connected

far as to call

in several

“Gouharan

of the

of

Gourg

village

the adventure, fur-

thermore, eventually find themselves at the Vieux Chateau, in the quarter of the Blanca [whites]. This last allusion

is

clear cut;

the ruins of the Blanchefort Castle. In the novel, near

there

is

Bain de

name

la

Reine [the Queen’s Bath].

of Rennes-les-Bains

was

les

Now, we know

end concerning Queen Blanche of

Castille. Jules

with a “light odor of sulfur,” which

mal waters of Rennes-les-Bains. The

One

final,

is

that the former

Verne even made sure

had

a “clearly salty”

characteristic of the ther-

absolutely convincing aspect of the novel

entire expedition, directs everything,

name

who

is

that the

takes charge of the

and knows the plan leading

highest peak in the region and thus exceeds all

to the

that Verne did not invent: Captain Bugarach.

There can be no possible doubt: The peak of Bugarach, which

tory landmark for

a leg-

similarities are curious, to say the

captain of the ship, an authoritarian figure

treasure, bears a

Kebir,

called the

comes complete with

to specify that the waters of the spring in his tale

least.

is

el

Bains de Rennes and that one of the

springs, actually called the Queen’s Bath,

flavor,

Mers

a small thermal spa (imaginary, of course) that

involves

it

all

others,

successful quests in the Razes.

is

At

the

is

the

manda-

least, that is

A what

Jules Verne

is

saying.

1

*

But whether

Encampment

Fortified

we

take this presence of

Captain Bugarach as mere geographic allusion or look for a sacred

onance

in

it, it is

55

nonetheless true that Jules Verne

telling us

is

res-

an odd

story that takes place inside a camouflaged Razes that the novelist

seems to

know

quite well.

Fundamentally these authenticity

no one can

“coincidences,”

verify,

pech of Bugarach exercises on

Razes landscape, serenity, its full

it

its

its

quest in the Razes, even

if

many

Bugarach

this quest

where the good

life

own. An indispensable element of the

great height a region that has experienced

inexplicable. Yes, “Captain”

its

only reinforce the attraction that the

share of historical events,

The good

whose

remains, despite everything, a haven of peace and

overlooking from

icent landscape

traditions

these

life

can also be found

is

of which remain confused and is

the master builder of every

simply the search for a magnif-

can be found. This village, with

in Rennes-les-Bains.

ancient houses and antiquated hotels, lost at the bottom of a lush green

valley traversed

by the

salty

What’s more, the virtues of

water of the Sals River,

its

is

a

charming

sight.

waters are recognized not only for healing

rheumatism, head colds, and other “catarrhs,” but also for simply restoring health to the overburdened

The most

and “stressed-out” people of our

interesting spring in Rennes-les-Bains

known, complete with wordplay, tion claims that

is

time.

one commonly

as the Bain de la Reine. Local tradi-

Queen Blanche de

Castille

was

mother of Saint

the

Louis and that she actually stayed in Rennes to take the waters. This far

from proved, but

it is

known

that,

is

shaken by the expeditions against

the Albigensians, Blanche de Castille did play a considerable role during the beginning years of the thirteenth century.

From

a strictly north-

ern French perspective, she could even be faulted for her excessive

indulgence of the heretics

Raymond

and

join the

VII of Toulouse,

camp

who was

ever ready to help

of the enemies of the king of France.

could be assumed that Blanche de Castille, at the time

when

the

It

famous

Trencavel sought to regain his earldom of Razes, had secret negotiations with certain Occitan lords regarding mysterious

documents that

book by Michel Lamy,

Jules Verne, initie et

14. For

more on

this topic, see the excellent

initiateur (Paris: Payot, 1984).

The

56

Site

of the Mystery

would have been stored

of Rennes-le-Chateau. This unveri-

in the area

one might guess, to

fiable part of the story has helped, as

fuel the

famous hypothesis of legitimate descendants of the Merovingians ing refuge in the Razes. But

also

it

means

that

it is

find-

not impossible that

Blanche de Castille visited Rennes-les-Bains.

The problem emerges when we note Queen) primarily designates

that the Reine Blanche (White

a mythological entity that

is

well

known

everywhere, but most particularly in the Pyrenees and their immediate surroundings. The White Queen, or the White Lady,

a translation of

and the White Goddess of ancient mythological

the fairy of folktales tales.

is

She often appears in riverside caves 15 that are located near springs,

which she

Could something

said to have caused to appear.

is

have occurred

similar

would not

at Rennes-les-Bains? In this case the springs

have been called forth by Blanche de Castille but instead would be from a

bygone age when

who bestowed in the valley

life

a

White Goddess

—

a healing goddess, of course,

and health with the waters she caused

—was worshipped

Reine and Rennes,

it

there.

As

for the

to

gush forth

homophony between

has been thoroughly played, multiplying the

mythological components of the theme. In

any event, we

know

that springs, especially those with recognized

curative properties, have been highly frequented places of worship since the earliest days of antiquity. There the springs of the Seine during the the goddess Sul

was worshipped

ditions speak of fairies

was

famous temple dedicated to

Gallo-Roman

in Bath,

who were

a

era.

As noted

earlier,

England. In Vichy curious

tra-

once the benefactors of the land. The

Gauls were perfectly cognizant of the use of thermal waters, especially because druidic medicine was one with the religion of druidism and the druids themselves were both priests and doctors (as well as things).

The Romans had only

to follow the

many

example of the Gauls, and

they renovated springs that were already in use.

They were

particularly

interested in saline springs because salt (especially in regions far

15.

Without seeking

Soubirous

in the

to cast

doubt on the appearance of

Lourdes grotto,

it

is

White Lady

Church and

and the numerous versions of the White Lady that are out the Pyrenees.

a

worth noting an astonishing

these “apparitions” that are recognized by the

other

from the

to Marie-Bernarde similarity

between

the faithful the world over

said to have been seen through-

— A was an indispensable element

sea)

lace

Encampment

Fortified

for the vital equilibrium of the

popu-

—and for that of animals. This explains the importance of the

mal establishments of Fontaines-Salees

ther-

Burgundy town of

the

in

57

Saint-Pere-sous-Vezelay, or even Salins in the Jura not far from the real Alesia,

which was a

fortress-sanctuary. There

is

Roman

on the ancient baths of Rennes-les-Bains, but the is

widely confirmed.

And once

word thermal

again, the

documentation

a lack of

presence there

implies worship

given to healing deities, Apollo in particular under the names Grannus

and Borvo

name Bourbon), and

(“boiling,” hence the

desses often presented in triads (the Three

also solar god-

Mother Goddesses), which

obviously brings us back to the traditional theme of the White Ladies.

The water of

the spring called the Queen’s Bath stands at about 41

degrees Celsius and contains a high is

amount of sodium

another spring in Rennes-les-Bains that

when we

consider the worship of

piety that

the

is

with some sulfurous elements

mixed

in.

The second name

Father Boudet, author of

La

name

in the

is

It is

called

intriguing

Razes and Abbe

Furthermore, in the legend of her

Mary Magdalene

is

connected to

also explains the painting beneath the altar

of the church in Rennes-le-Chateau. salty

it.

told throughout Occitania,

theme of the grotto, which

first

Mary Magdalene

Sauniere’s apparent understanding of

—but there

worthy of attention.

is

Magdalene or the Gode. Of course, the

either the

chloride

The Magdalene spring

—

also quite

in the literal sense of the

for this spring, the

Vraie

is

Langue

Gode,

is

word

very interesting.

celtique and, secondarily, priest

of Rennes-les-Bains at the beginning of the twentieth century, probably

came up with

the idea of rediscovering the Gallic language through the

English language here.

word god

(or

The word Gode seems

goddess ), which connection would demonstrate that

was placed under

spring

to the Irish

the

name

Boyne or the Vivian of Arthurian

tion

16.

F.

Why

is

Gode

as ‘to goad,’

tradition.

“[I)t is surprising to see that

Father Boudet, so quick to interpret every guage, transcribed

this

of a deity, a Fairy of the Waters similar

As noted by Franck Marie, however,

on.’”

quite close to the English

word by

meaning

did he avoid the translation of

Gode

the English lan-

‘to needle, incite,

as

urge

“God?” 16 The ques-

an interesting one. Franck Marie goes further by suggesting that

Marie, La Resurrection du

“

Grand Cocu’' (Bagneux:

S.R.E.S., 1981), 106.

The

58

Site

of the Mystery

the appellation of to

Gode

la

Bugarach but closely

famous Limoux Carnival

tied to the

during the

festivities that are

Limoux

Axat by way of

to

custom, specific

refers to a traditional local

in

which,

spread throughout the Razes region from

Alet, Couiza, Quillan,

can see processions of masked

and both Rennes, we

called

figures

fecos

and goudils.

According to Marie the fecos are “ones nauseous on wine lees" and the goudils are “ragpickers.”

The

goudil, however, represents the hermit

(man or woman) who

low

in a

lies

cave and appears in the world only

on certain occasions, namely during Carnival. Couldn’t recollection of the Celtic feast of

tries

Samhain on November

Day and

the Christian All Saints’

this be a

is

1

that

remote

became

highlighted in Anglo-Saxon coun-

by the carnival-like parades of Halloween? Couldn’t the goudil be

one of the in the

deities that the Irish called the

mounds

the earth

There

(megalithic

who

Tuatha de Danann,

lived

monuments) and emerged on the surface of

on the eve of Samhain? is

something unsettling about

this interpretation,

nected to the White Lady because the fairy

women

of the

con-

still

mounds, who

sometimes shift-shape into white swans, are extremely important

Under these conditions

ures in early Celtic mythology. interpret the spring called the

the

Mounds,

after she

humans but who, necessary for

life

Magdalene, who, call the

who

any

in

and let

Gode

tempting to

Woman

as the spring called the

awaits the propitious

them and

case, protects

health. So what, then,

us not forget,

it is

is

is

moment gives

them the water

whom we

Three Marys? Everything seems to be linked

of

to appear to

the connection to

one of those

fig-

Mary

currently

in this sacred

geog-

raphy of the Razes. But

this sacred

geography

appear. Fantastic novels

is

not as simple and precise as

on the Razes have been

built

it

may

out of totally

authentic elements. Accordingly, the White Ladies and other goddesses

could very well be no more than the redrafting of various Fedie,

who

facts.

Louis

remains an incontestable historian of the Razes, points out

a local folk legend that

would explain

the myth:

Once, some time ago, a queen of Spain named Blanche de took refuge

in the castle of Pierre-Pertuse (Peyrepertuse) to

dangers that threatened her very

life.

The governor

Castille

escape

of the fortress

A treated her with

all

Fortified

the respect due one of her rank

Encampment

and misfortunes,

and she passed her sorrowful days sometimes praying and sometimes taking walks

59

in the

chapel

in the countryside near the castle.

The

inhabitants of the neighboring villages worshipped her like a saint

and watched her from greater respect

when

afar with a curiosity blended with even

down

she went

the foot of the ramparts.

And

to the fountain that flowed at

there, seated

beneath an old weeping

willow whose branches leaned over the crystalline waters, she spent long hours emitting her plaints of exile and bemoaning her fate as

woman

a

One

without a husband and a queen without a crown. day, distracted by her painful memories, she let slip

her hand a silver goblet that rolled over the precipice and

much

later

by a shepherd

goblet, bearing the coat of

who

sold

arms of

it

from

was found

to the lord of Rouffiac. This

Castille,

was

in the possession of

the royal treasurer of the Fenouillede region 17 before the Revolution.

He

resided in Caudies and guarded

The

it

as a

most precious

relic.

18

historian continues his story, or legend rather, with the mention

of an illness that Blanche de Castille contracted, probably the famous scrofula. ried

by

waters.

To

and gain her

relieve her affliction

to the

litter

Locus de Montferrando

Hence the name given

to this spring

according to Louis Fedie. The problem this story

seems to have nothing

Perhaps

Louis.

this

cure, she

in

is

had

herself car-

et Balneis to

was

take the

the Queen’s Bath,

that the Blanche de Castille in

common

with the mother of Saint

queen was a chatelaine from the area and a

Spaniard. Local tradition no longer seems to distinguish reality from fiction,

much

and

it

seems that the story of Blanche refers to

older than the thirteenth century.

The mystery remains. And what do we make of Dr.

Gourdon, who,

in his research of

spelling for the

Madeleine

who

is

an alternative French

name Magdalene] simply comes from used this spring around 1871?

The region south

18. Louis Fedie,

the declaration of

hot springs in the Razes, claims

that the “source of the Madeleine” [Madeleine

17.

beliefs that are

of the Razes.

It

he Comte de Razes

What happened

also neighbors Roussillon. et le

a certain

diocese d’Alet (1880).

Miss

to the

The

60

of the Mystery

Site

myth of Mary Magdalene from

moment onward? There

that

Over the course of the

incontestable fact:

is

one

numerous Roman

centuries,

remnants have been found near the springs, particularly statues, some of which depict a feminine figure. Was this the goddess of the Rennes

was well known,

springs? This small thermal spa

for even in the four-

among

teenth century Rabelais cites in his Pantagruel that

the springs

name

frequented in his time there was a Liomons, an obvious alternate

Limoux. Because there are of course no springs

for

Limoux,

in

this

be a reference to Alet or Rennes-les-Bains. Did Rabelais personally

must visit

the Razes? Perhaps. According to Father Boudet’s testimony, an anthro-

pomorphic sculpture was removed from the springs it

from vandalism.

the sculpture

to protect

by the priest as the head of Jesus Christ,

Identified

Man]

of

speaks of menhir!). In

thoroughly confused.

1884 and

1884

had been found on rocks bearing the name Cap de

l’Homme [Head

in

in

a female

fact,

A

it

seems that everything

male head was discovered

head was found

been mixed together by

Boudet,

(the spelling of Father

storytellers.

in

in this

who

even

account

is

in Rennes-les-Bains

1889. Both of these items have

The female head

is

described as fol-

lows by the archivist Rene Descadeillas, the great demystifier of the Sauniere

affair:

“This sculpted head could be of cult origin

sents the face of a female deity jutting

water.

And

What

could be more

would be

in this case, she

common

in a

from

a

Lady of

the

Lake

form of sculptures.

In

Gallo-Roman, which the

Roman

is still

is

any

repre-

rock emerging from the

the deity of a spring or stream.”

Romanized thermal establishment

that dates back to the earliest days of Gallic prehistory?

the

if it

The myth

of

present and sometimes materializes in the

case, the craftsmanship of the sculpture

is

not surprising given that those in Gaul before

conquest never depicted their gods

in

animal or

human

form. This simply shows that Rennes-les-Bains was a place of worship at the

same time that

it

was

a thermal spa.

But the Magdalene spring and the Queen’s Bath are not the only springs that exist there.

and

five

which

is

The Rennes-les-Bains Valley has

hot-water springs

in all.

There

33 degrees Celsius and

Skinflints because of

springs there

is

its

is

is

also

cold-water

the Spring of the Gentle Bath,

known

as the Spring of the

reputation for treating leprosy.

the Fountains of Love,

five

Among

the cold

which has inspired more than

A one regional commentator to give

Encampment

Fortified

61

free rein to his speculations. All those

seeking to explain the importance of the Queen’s Bath from the time of antiquity are free to explore this choice terrain.

They

will find not only

water, but also obvious remnants of the prolonged use of the

site

and

longstanding sacred nature.

its

Yet spa.

should not be thought that Rennes-les-Bains

it

only a thermal

which Father Boudet reigned during the

also the parish over

It is

is

end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. This is

who

and is

who

the priest

thought himself both a linguist and an archaeologist

He was

studied his region from a curious perspective.

said, the discreet inspirer arid

mentor of

Chateau, Father Beranger Sauniere.

also,

it

his colleague in Rennes-le-

thus perfectly legitimate to take

It is

a look at his parish church.

We we

enter the church through a vault offering the distinct feeling that

are truly in a sacred place

which

lage of

this

church

and that

this sacred place includes the vil-

an integral

is

part.

sion of entering a bazaar where everything the case in Rennes-le-Chateau. Instead,

It

is

does not give the impres-

for sale, as

it is

is

unfortunately

truly a place of prayer, a

sanctuary that will never give anyone the idea that a “backward Mass”

could take place there. This its

site,

however, does pose some questions of

own. The parish church of Rennes-les-Bains has a complete simplic-

ity that

verges on Jansenist austerity.

affectation

and projects a sense that the

their sanctuary

And

it is

a

It

and periodically gather

good thing

communion with

anomaly,

is

and

it

communion with

in this

church

a curious detail: a painting of

cally speaking, but that has

Christ

there, maintain

in

are

proud of

good

the Hare,

it

Christian sanctuaries.

nature but also

It

is

that, while

mediocre value,

a Pieta, like those

was donated

who was

of the church. Christ

and

not an artisti-

proved to be quite mysterious. Entitled

found

in so

to the parish at the

many

the

other

end of the

eighteenth century by Paul-Urbain de Fleury, the local lord and of the Queen’s Bath,

repair.

Creation aspires.

all

something

definitely

is still

who

everything that exists in that great fraternity of

beings and things to which

There

local people,

to gather in a nemeton, a sacred ancient druidic

clearing in the middle of the forest, in in

has been restored without any

owner

considered to be one of the benefactors

Hare would

certainly not attract

any

The

62

attention

reversed

of the Mystery

Site

were not

if it

—copy of

of which

work composed

a

in

— and,

more important,

1636 by Van Dyck, the

Museum

in the Fine Arts

on display

is

somewhat modified

a

of Anvers.

hold forth endlessly on certain details of this painting, and

meaning, but what

ceals a special

have not failed to analyze

known

ting this be

with a tradition of secrets

The

that sincerity

is

from revealing

tiation.

But

instance,

how

can

we

we do not

if

in the

Razes

it

is

someone

their symbols. If

would

cer-

to others first because of self-interest,

valid only

is

pompously

if

it

has been

referred to as the path of ini-

find the central

first

let-

and falsehood are automati-

a given mystery, he or she

then because the solution to a mystery

achieved by following what

surely con-

with objects that are invested

difficulty

were to discover the solution to tainly refrain

could

answers have refrained from

any interpretation of

cally intertwined in

We

from every angle, but apparently without

it

publicly.

Treasure hunters

is it?

who found some

those

result, unless

it

original

chamber of

a

mound,

for

cross the stage of initiation or, in other

words, the entrance into a domain where obscurity, out of principle, rules as absolute master?

Every

visit to

the parish church of Rennes-les-Bains necessitates vis-

iting the adjoining cemetery. less

tormented than the cemetery

have been defiled, though in a

The

number

ing Christ

it is

site is

calm, peaceful, and definitely

Rennes-le-Chateau. Here no tombs

at

the story of a

tomb

here that

is

troubling

of ways. Again Paul-Urbain de Fleury, donor of the paint-

and

the Hare, figures into the story, this time in circum-

stances that are, to say the least, bizarre. Paul-Urbain de Fleury has

tombs

in this cemetery. In addition, the set of dates of birth

on these two tombs

inscribed that

what you

good”

will.

The questions

errors in the dates?

two tombs

is

Why

surprise.

By

all

it?

from one another. Make of

— “He

Perhaps

this raises are

two tombs

and death

it

constitutes a Rosicrucian

obvious:

for the

departed while doing

Why

these intentional

same individual? Which of

the real one? Every “quest” in the Razes definitely

passes here, and any

is

for the epitaph

—what are we to make of

signature.

these

As

are different

two

who

find the answers will be

rewarded by some

evidence the cemetery of the church in Rennes-les-Bains

not a neutral zone.

It

should never be forgotten that an ancient Gallic

sanctuary was located there long before the

Roman

invasion.

It

seems

A some

that even in the eighteenth century

Fortified

Encampment

individuals, as

63

shown by

the

Rosicrusican Paul-Urbain de Fleury’s two funeral monuments,

knew

what

up

They have

the real story was.

each of us to take the

test or, if

left

you

behind

its

imprint.

It is

to

prefer, the initiation. All the rest,

including the scholarly decoding of the true Celtic language by Father

Boudet,

is

only sensational literature.

The exploration of Bains,

the mysterious Razes does not end in Rennes-les-

though that place does present

geography that

is

itself

as the pivotal point of a sacred

sketched without showing

its

exact contours very clearly.

we head north before angling eastward in the direction of Mouthoumet, we first pass through the village of Serres. Tong before reaching Arques in If

commune

we find the hamlet of Pontils. Not far from here is an authentic menhir known regionally as the Peyro Dreto (Standing Stone). Finally we reach the Tomb of Arques. As Pierre Jarnac rightly said the

of Peyrolles,

in his magisterial

Despite

work on

great antiquity,

its

more

ence of a rectly, the

the affairs of Father Sauniere:

recent

Tomb

was placed

its

prestige has suffered through the pres-

monument

customarily called, though incor-

of Arques. This tomb, almost hidden by the trees,

on the edge of a peak

there

with a small bridge

level

crossing a stream, the Cruce, that has run dry now. ...

has the

It

appearance of a parallelepiped topped by a truncated pyramid

This

monument

ous commentaries.

has lent

It is

itself to

the

most diverse and

in fact a replica of the

tomb

truly deliri-

depicted by Nicolas

work

that

affair. It is

said

Poussin in his famous painting The Shepherds of Arcadia, a has been heavily embroiled in the Rennes-le-Chateau that Father Sauniere, while visiting Paris to have

documents he discovered

in his church,

made

19 .

someone decode the

a special visit to the

Louvre to study the painting and even bought a reproduction of all

evidence

it

is

the

painted by Poussin. it

was

built at the

tomb

in Pontils that

We know

is

a

it.

By

copy of the monument

through supporting documentation that

beginning of the twentieth century by a certain Louis

19. Pierre Jarnac, Histoire

Cazilhac, 1998), 400-401.

du

tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau (Paris: Editions Belisane

The

64

Site

Galibert,

of the Mystery

who

buried his grandmother in

Later, a

it.

new owner

of the

property, Louis Bertram Lawrence, an American, renovated the tomb.

The

actual landscape behind the

monument

resembles that seen in

enigma made more mysterious by the phrase

Poussin’s painting, an

inscribed

on the tomb

brings to

mind

in Poussin’s painting,

Et

in

the comparison certain authors have

Arcadia ego, that

made between

the

Razes and the Greek Arcadia. Lending further mystery to the enigma the river that winds through the Arques Valley, the Realses,

means “royal water.” (This the south.)

name

also the

is

is

the seeming correlation

in Poussin’s painting,

between the shepherdess depicted

resting her

a

moun-

It is

certain

hand on the neck of one of the shepherds, and the name of 20 tainous pass seen from the actual tomb: Col d’Al Pastre.

that Nicolas Poussin wished to depict this landscape. But

indeed the question.

tomb

We may

built at this location

ous and more or

less

which

of a large national forest in

another mysterious detail

Still

is

why? That

is

why someone deliberately had a around 1900. Are we really in that mysterialso ask

mythical Arcadia where the underground Alpha

River flows?

These coincidences were

name

all

of the village of Arques.

that It

needed to

I

has been seen as a derivative of area,

word

“arch,” but also “secret,” as in the

make

to

the

tomb and

start inquiring into the

arcane. This

the painting by Poussin (of

was enough

which a reversed

replica exists in England) the key to all of the mysteries in the Razes.

Unfortunately, up to the present no one has succeeded in deciphering the

meaning of the painting or the

inscription, unless those

successful have not boasted about risk being disappointed It

derives

from the Latin arx

“fortress,”

and

is

the village. There the

when

it.

As

have been

for Arques, the fans of secrets

they learn the real etymology of this name: (plural arces ),

a souvenir of a castle that is

who

nothing surprising in

same mountain the ruins of the

castle

which means “citadel” or

was once located

this; farther

Coustaussa

in or

near

west on the side of rise.

The toponym

Coustaussa comes from the Latin custodia, “guard” or “guard post,” a

provenance that

is

not belied in any

tion, for the castle literally

20. [This

way by

guarded the

means Shepherd’s Pass or Shepherd’s

its

geographical configura-

Sals Valley.

Collar.

— Translator

]

A The Christian town of

town

the Razes

Encampment

Valley,

between Limoux and

Couiza. The regional historian Father Tasserre described

God took

a basket of flowers in a delightful valley that

ing with

the gifts of nature.” 21

all

rounding landscape

doubt gave

The medieval

and perfectly maintained,

tastefully restored

is full

65

Alet, currently a simple, rustic

is

bottom of the Aude

nestled at the

Fortified

is

it

as “placed like

pleasure in enrich-

village,

which has been

admirable, and the sur-

of charm. Water gushes everywhere, which

The

this site its ancient reputation:

earliest

no

information avail-

able about Alet concerns a thermal establishment there during the Gallo-

Roman

era. It

is still

a

town of

waters, which contributes to

making

it

a

place heavily frequented by bpth tourists and visitors taking the cure.

The

village sits

on the

left

bank of the Aude and

is

bordered on the

west by a bend in the river and on the north by a stream called the Cadene.

These two natural defenses combine with ramparts that almost completely encircle the village’s houses six large streets in Alet, all

square.

One

and gardens

kind of pentagon. There are

in a

arranged in a star pattern around a central

of the streets connects the square to the north entrance of the

abbey, which occupied the area nearest the Aude. At one time another street crossed Alet

Porte Calviere

new

route

—

from north to south

until

1776, after the monks ceded part of their lands.

was then created

rating the village

—from the Porte Cadene to the

(the current

A

Departmental Road 118), sepa-

from the abbey and connecting to the seventeenth-

century bridge that allows access to the right bank. This bridge replaced

an older medieval bridge that had been located farther north.

The houses of Alet

are notable for their stylistic purity.

Those

fac-

ing the square have corbeled, half-timbered facades with sculpted

beams. In one of the narrow the

Romanesque House on

floor with

streets there

the rue

an entrance door

dows whose

and

wood and

six

lit

It

consists of a

ground

surbased arches, and a

by two magnificent win-

semicircular arches are supported by small columns with

leafy capitals.

tecture

one notable structure called

du Seminaire.

in sections

second story built of corbeled

is

It is

a very beautiful

and very rare example of

civil archi-

from around 1200.

21. T. Lasserre, Recherches historiques sur la

Carcassonne, 1877).

ville

d'Alet et son ancien diocese (Paris:

The

66

of the Mystery

Site

The abbey was once huge, but only fragments remain. The

cloister

has disappeared entirely, and the remainder of the abbey-turned-cathedral

nothing more than some protected ruins. The

is

the nave can

This

still

be seen on the north side, which

is

and part of

aisles

the best preserved.

where a door opens out onto what were once monastic buildings,

is

including a very

handsome

capitular hall.

Around

the remnants of the

Gothic choir, which was built when Alet became a bishopric in 1318

Romanesque apse remains almost

place of Limoux, the magnificent intact. It

opens onto the nave by

columns with illions

with

the apse

is

finely

part of the semicircular vaulting in

windows with

tion, the original

floral motifs.

This Romanesque chevet in Saint-Jacques

Romanesque abbey

of Alet

is

row

of

strikingly

de Beziers. In addi-

seems to have served as a

for Saint-Just in the city of Carcassonne,

model

interior splaying that

over a string course depicting a

and foreshadows the chevet

original

upon two

The lower

interrupted by deep-set

and ovals with

of a triumphal arch set

and abaci and decorated with mod-

rest at the height of the walls

pearls

way

capitals

worked

floral motifs.

in

though

its

renovation

has been subject to the influence of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. The entire edifice,

a

although belonging to two different eras and

remarkable

unity.

It

for both the daring of

styles,

has retained

stands out as a rich and powerful conglomerate its

construction and

its

abundant decoration.

It is

highly regrettable that this ancient monastery-cathedral has been subject to so

much abuse

likely be

at the

hands of time and men.

It

would otherwise

one of the most beautiful medieval religious monuments

Languedoc, which

is

not lacking in exceptional sanctuaries.

As consolation, however, we can

still

wander through

Often the remnants evoke a past whose presence can be keenly smallest stone

and the

Christian spiritual

in the

life

tiniest sculpture.

Alet

was once

the ruins. felt in

the

the center of

in this area of the Razes, for while the “affairs”

connected to Father Sauniere and Father Boudet seem to place a greater

emphasis on the pagan elements that preceded Christianity or on what has been improperly labeled heretical, there

is

always continuity

in beliefs

it

should not be forgotten that

and worship. Attempting to under-

stand Rennes-le-Chateau without referring to this abbey bishopric of Alet

would be

like

looking for a treasure lost in the deepest abyss of the seas.

3

The History of the Earldom of Razes

The earldom of Razes textbooks.

It

should

is

first

practically

be

made

unmentioned

clear that the

French history

in

Razes

is

located in

Occitania, a country that, before the time of Saint Louis, had nothing in

common

with the Capet kingdom, which emerged from the over-

throw of Frankish Merovingian usurpers and strove

empty Occitania of

factions united, to tity

and to despoil

materially.

it

textbooks of national

modest

It is

torical events that

was

it

all

it

fell

upon

comprises.

the

Roman

Pax Romana, and

troubled time

filled

and

spiritual iden-

surprising, then, that

history have ignored this

was more Spanish

partially incorporated into the

appear until the Visigoth

era of the

over,

we should

The earldom era, at the time

respect the his-

of the Razes does not

when Germanic

Empire. This, the textbooks as authentic

Capet king-

say,

documents show,

“bar-

was it

the

was

a

with palace coups, murderous wars, and a deca-

dence so complete that in

not at

(in fact, nationalist)

dom. While history cannot be made

barians”

cultural

territory located within a Catalonia that

than French before

really

its

relentlessly, all

it

prompts us to ask why

it

has been passed over

such complete silence.

But the earldom of the Razes, and thus the region of Rennesle-Chateau, did not wait for the Visigoths to arrive to establish as a cultural

and

territorial entity. In fact, the

67

itself

presence of megalithic

The

68

Site of the

monuments

— not

Mystery

Abbe Boudet’s imaginary cromlech but

menhirs and pieces of dolmens

most

ited

— proves that

this area

which

likely since the Paleolithic era,

is

authentic

had been inhab-

more commonly

regarded as the time of the cavemen. The geology of the area consists of heavily creviced limestone, and though there are no visible remains of these times, there

is

no doubt that the Razes provided

dwelling place for very ancient peoples. lore” in the pejorative sense of the

who

otherwise

fulfill

called temptations of

word

Abbe

Sauniere,

1

start wildly

cursed treasure of Rennes but have also

by presenting in a clear

intentionally surrendered

way

when

when

is

the

shown evidence

of their objec-

pieces of a dossier that have been

in

it

When

seeking to exploit a

order to disorient any potential

a tactic as old as the world, going

work

and

and foggily represented by others, thus allow-

necessary to thicken

it is

seekers. This

time

exaggerating

to demystifying the legend of

ing for the wildest kinds of speculations.

mystery,

authors,

population of the Razes. In these

Rene Descadeillas, who have contributed

tivity

when contemporary

is

better to refer to local historians such as Louis Fedie

is

it

this turns into “folk-

a valuable role as historians regarding the so-

their discussion turns to the ancient

cases,

Where

a peaceful

back

at least to the

of Thucydides caused Herodotus’s mythological

narratives (already filled with essential information) to

become

histories

that took pains to respect actual facts.

The nature.

first It

problem that

arises

is

both historical and linguistic

in

concerns the names Razes and Rennes, formerly Redhae or

Reddae, which no doubt have come from a of an author

(whom we need

common

root.

The words

not name) regarding these two words

may

induce us not merely to smile but to laugh outright: “The names Razes

and Rennes come from Red, god of lightning and storms, whose temples

were underground.”

How

could anyone have come up with such

an interpretation? The ground of Rennes

1.

I

am

is

riddled with caves, that’s

thinking here of Pierre Jarnac, who, in his book Histoire du tresor de Rennes-le-

Cbateau, presented some very convincing documents related to Abbe Sauniere and conducted an extensive inquiry into the serial-novel builders.

Razes and

his

May

sites

that have been shamelessly exploited by certain

Pierre Jarnac forgive

imagining of

its

me, but

his

evocation of the primitive

original Celtic inhabitants simply recycle

wildest fantasies of serial novelists

whom

some of

he quite frankly denounces elsewhere.

the

The History of the Earldom of Razes certain.

It is

— author, me remind you, work on the true Celtic language — believed that the Celtic Abbe Boudet

also a fact that

of a priceless

69

let

language could be explained only by modern English. Let’s also recall that at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Breton

Le Brigant, following

Tour d’Auvergne,

grammarian

Theophile-Malo Coret de La

in the footsteps of

grenadier of the Republic, declared in

first

all seri-

ousness that the low Breton dialect was the language spoken in Eden

long before the unfortunate adventure with the apple

names Razes, Rennes, and Red, god of lightning

mythology

And

if

the

former name Reddae did descend from

— a figure who

is

completely absent from Celtic

because in English Red also means the color red. But

it is

useless to “see red”

it is

we

—

its

tree.

when confronted by such

ineptitude. Instead

are going to take a snake’s-eye view of the situation:

We know

that

ophidian worship has been a great delight to the esotericists of every stripe

and that the megaliths have inspired numerous interpretations of

nature, notably in Carnac (in

this

England).

Morbihan) and Stonehenge

long procession of priests and

in fact, easy to visualize a

It is,

worshippers winding

among

(in

countless standing stones.

Why

Not

not?

even Hollywood has presented such an image. It

was by means of

“The name Reddae Aereda the serpent. stretches out.”

is

It

following explanation was found.

this that the

also related to the entity of the Gallic sun god,

comes from the term Her Red, racing snake who

would be extremely

It

sun god-serpent

in relevant

difficult to detect

any trace of

this

mythological documents, unless our only

recourse was to turn to the well-known Gallo-Roman representation of

Anguipede

the Knight of the

ing a monster with a

in the

shape of a warrior riding or

human head and

the

tail

fight-

of a serpent. But this

snake interpretation appears elsewhere: “The name Reddae comes from Aer-Red, the racing snake or mystical Wouivre.” The etymology tainly Celtic, as later

is

suggested by the Wouivre, the

became the Melusine of Poitou. As

“serpent,” but in

modern

Breton. So

how

provide an explanation for an ancient

for aer,

woman it

serpent

really does

could a modern Breton

name appearing

is

in

cer-

who

mean word

southern

France? The Gallic language, which must have been the tongue of the ancient inhabitants of the Razes,

few words from

it,

is

almost entirely

lost;

we know

thanks to Gallo-Roman inscriptions, glosses

only a

in certain

70

The

of the Mystery

Site

Roman

Greek and

ilous, therefore, to

manuscripts, and the study of place-names.

It is

per-

peremptorily declare meanings of Gallic words with-

out attempting to find their oldest versions.

But

we should

not

no shortage of pos-

the Celts established themselves in the Razes

speaking was raucous,” they gave Rith. In the

means “to

Welsh

cast or

throw with

form of Rhyd,

means

“free.”

We

force.”

two words

(rather than the dialect). still

this region the

As

in

for

discussing here.

and when

“their

name Rhed, Rhid,

Rheiddum means “spear” and

dialect

ble finding these last

the

is

two words we have been

sible interpretations for the

When

hold us back! There

let this

We would have a

the verb rhuid-il

great deal of trou-

in a dictionary of the

Welsh language

Rhid and Rith, they can be found under

Welsh, and meaning “ford,” or Rhydd, which

might have better luck with Rhed as the Welsh rhedeg

and the Breton redek, both meaning “to run” or “to flow quickly” a watercourse).

It is

in these latter

assumed Gallic root word rivers

terms that

red, a root that

we

we

is

also find in the

where we should focus our search

of Razes, Rennes, and Reddae. This radical red

name

of the Gallic Redones people,

department of

Ille-et-Vilaine.

2

who had

Redones

is

(as in

find the derivative of the

Rhine and Rhone, which actually are two fast-moving

This, in fact,

or

is

meaning

found

what

therefore “those

of the

rivers.

for the

also

settled in

name

is

who

in the

now

the

run” or

“the quick ones,” a description well suited to an adventurous people.

Because the Gallic word for “chariot,” reda, has also been confirmed, the Gauls could also be considered “those

who

travel in swift chariots.”

This etymology based on reda has not been regarded with indifference

by the fans of esotericism and astrology, and the Razes was

easily

turned into the Land of the Chariot, which also refers to the constella-

From

it’s

not too far a leap to envision the

Razes as a central region or kind of

terrestrial pole equivalent to the

tion of the Big Dipper.

Pole Star, with

all

here,

the analysis that goes along with this.

Whatever the case may

be,

it

is

probable that the names Razes,

Reddae, and Rennes come from Redones. The evolution of the French language eventually transformed

name Razes

2. [This

is

is

it

into

Rennes

as in Ille-et-Vilaine.

The

the result of the Occitan phonetic evolution of the word,

one of the departments of Brittany.

— Translator]

The History of the Earldom of Razes similar to

what took place

of Rennes

in Brittany,

where the modern Breton form

Roazhon, which corresponds quite

is

71

closely to Razes.

The

names Rhedae and Reddae

are merely different variations following

Celtic colonization in a land

where there was considerable blending of

different languages as a result of invasions.

had strong centralizing tendencies, Gaul ries

Under Roman

itself as

well as

all

of the ancient Gallic peoples were integrated into the

tration.

These

largest settlement often

of retaining

became

fairly large territories

its

original

which

rule,

the territo-

new

adminis-

civitates, “cities,”

whose

took the name of the people themselves instead

name. For example, the Rennes

took on the name of the Redones, whereas

it

was

in Ille-et-Vilaine

originally called

Condate, meaning “confluent.” Later, as part of the imperial structure, these cities

became

divisions that, as

dioceses,

which were then grouped

we know, remained

in provinces,

in the administrative apportion-

ing of the Christian Church. Within this system the smaller territories

remained pagi,

“countries,” 3

and

untouched by Romanization and in the current sense of the

to

their

generally

inhabitants,

later Christianization,

left

became Pagani

word pagans. The Razes corresponds

exactly

one of these “countries.”

Given the

domain of

fact that this part of the

the Gallic people called the Volques Tectosages,

priate to ask

what

role the

a significant distance

Armorican Peninsula. There

between these two groups.

exclude their influence on this basis;

from the Harz region on the other

all

groups, each of which retained there were later migrations: in

its

their

name

in the

in

Medoc

3. [In this

is,

after all,

should not, how-

and

came

in their west-

split into

two or more

name. In addition,

original generic

The Helvetians’ requested passage through

order to reach the sea

conquest.

We

side of the Rhine,

is

another proof of

Caesar’s pretext for invasion, which

Roman

appro-

the people of Gaul

ward march what had been one people may have

Gaul

it is

Redones played here when they were appar-

ently tied to their region in the

ever,

Languedoc region was the

One group

marked

this.

This was also

the beginning of the

of Helvetians, the Vivisci,

who

have

left

Vevey on the shores of Lake Leman, eventually ended up region,

where they became the “guests” of the dominant

use “countries” refers to rural districts.

— Translator

]

The

72

of the Mystery

Site

people they found there. The Atrebates,

who

could be found in both the

Pas-de-Calais (Arras) and England, also migrated through Gaul, as did the Osismi of the western

what

is

now

the

Armorican Peninsula, who could be found

Orne Department,

both Bohemia (that region takes

Arcachon, where they have Gablaes settled

in the

it

in

Exmes. The

name from them) and

left their

name

ended up

Bo'iens

in

the region of

at the Teste-de-Bwc/?.

Cevennes and could also be found

in

in

The

Gavaudun

(Lot-et-Garonne), in the land of the Nitiobrigi. Such small groups were either

absorbed by the peoples of the host countries or tolerated as eth-

and made

nic units

into vassals.

been the case for the Redones Corbieres, in the vast

who

domain of

We know almost nothing Razes. No doubt there was

Something of

this

settled in the

nature must have

western part of the

the Volques Tectosages.

about

this Celtic

period of history in the

below Rennes-le-

a castle in Casteillas

Chateau to keep watch over the plateau and especially the ancient road

came from

that once

Peninsula by

way

the north

and made

it

way toward

of the famous Pass of Saint Louis.

that this mountainous, forested,

(though

its

was located

at a

can also guess

and somewhat out-of-the-way region

comfortable altitude) was a choice

druidic worship. Yet because the Celts before the

constructed temples and did not sculpt in stone, their original sites

We

Roman it is

difficult to locate

with precision. The lack of archaeological finds, how-

druids, did not engage in a vast Celts

site for

conquest never

does not imply that the Celts and particularly their

ever,

the Iberian

amount

priests, the

of activity here. After

were excellent metalworkers, and even though the mines

Razes are not profitable significant.

The same

abundant springs

is

at present, they

were once both

all,

the

in the

common and

true regarding the “medicinal waters” of the

in the region.

The Redones of ancient Reddae must

have contributed, to the extent of their means and

talents,

to the

grandeur of the large confederation of the Volques Tectosages, assuredly the

most powerful people of the Occitania of

mix

as well. After

all, isn’t it

their era.

Legend enters the

said that certain survivors of the expedition

of the second Brennus in Greece and Delphi (the others having formed the

Galatian

kingdom

in

Asia

Minor) had managed to

settle

in

Occitania, where they buried the treasures they pillaged in Greece, especially the

famous “cursed gold” from the temple of Delphi?

The History of the Earldom of Razes

It

was

121

in

B.C.E. that the

Languedoc that

still

to arrange their

supremacy over

its

Romans made

73

appearance

their

in a

bore a heavy Celtic imprint; The Romans, seeking all

of the Mediterranean’s shores, plied

waters in confrontations with the Phoenicians,

supremacy. This was also the time

when

the

who

first

contested this

vague invasion

attempts by the Germans appeared. The Cimbrians and Teutons, peo-

who were

ples

incontestably Germanic but were heavily influenced by

common names provide the proof of this), were stopped by Marius in what is now Provence. The occupation of southern Gaul became necessary to ensure the security of the Roman state. Little by little, moving in from the coast, the Romans won the interior lands by

the Celts (their

them

either reducing

who

over peoples

to small islands of resistance or keeping

did not inspire their confidence or exploiting

rather,

having their slaves exploit

in the

Occitan Midi. In

—was

capital. This

created. is

Gallia Togata,

why from would be

camps

—the numerous gold and

silver

— or

mines

way, at the impetus of the proconsul

—

in other

words, a “conquered

terri-

Narbonne (Narbo-Martius) was designated

The Romans never establish

this

Romana

Domitius, a Provincia tory”

watch

its

the time of Augustus’s reign this part of Gaul, called the Narbonnaise.

occupied a country. They were content to

totally

at strategic sites

and reconstruct the

existing paths into

roads suitable for vehicles and for allowing an entire army with arms

and baggage to move quickly from one place ated

Romanized

who were

to the foreground,

elite

Roman

of a conquered people, such as the druids

forbidden to teach), pushing their

and practicing

so-called Gallic temples date

merely

also cre-

centers chiefly through founding schools (to gradually

reduce the influence of the in the Razes,

They

to another.

religious syncretism.

from

this time,

own

ideology

The numerous

though they are

really

temples that haphazardly absorbed the Celtic deities and

incorporated them into the somewhat disparate pantheon characteristic of the

Roman

Empire. Having thus “squared” the terrain, the

could permit themselves to go ever farther so that Rome, both (cities)

and urbs (towns), was

This tactic

is

in

in civitas

truly the center of the world.

very visible in the Razes. There are virtually no

remnants on the plateaus. There Chateau. But

Romans

the

is

more vulnerable

nothing places

Roman

—that

is

in

Roman

Rennes-le-

to say, in the

The

74

Site of the

Mystery

“bolts” or paths of communication that are the valleys, such as Alet the

Roman

presence was

felt

more

Romans

Rennes-les-Bains because the

was

strongly. This

also true of

appreciated the benefits of the

Roman conquering, the Razes became Roman fashion but retained its archaic

thermal springs. In the process of a pagus:

It

was governed

character and It

was

at the

sions, that the belief of

Reddae.

own

its

lifestyle.

Roman

end of the

Empire, with the

Razes emerged from obscurity. This

numerous It

in

was

historians that the Visigoths

is

the basis of the

founded the

who, unlike the Romans,

the Visigoths

great inva-

first

city of

an indelible

left

imprint on this territory, though this fact has unleashed a series of

unsupportable assumptions. In truth the Razes was no more Visigothic than the

rest of

Septimania, those seven Occitan lands that distin-

guished themselves during the Merovingian era. The fact does remain,

however, that the “fortress” of Reddae certainly appears to have been if

not founded, then reorganized and expanded by the Visigoths.

But

just

where was

Chateau? This

what some

is

fortress

was

we know

Casteillas.

that the original location of the

Next, the situation of the

surface area do not allow for a city as populous as

have been.

It is

Rennes-le-

In

are desperate to have us believe, but noth-

ing could be less certain. First,

Rennes

of Reddae?

“fortress”

this

site

and

Reddae appears

its

to

claimed, based on local tradition, that Rennes had a for-

midable enceinte wall, but no remnants of

modest substructures, have been found. possessed two castles, which

is

far

it,

It is

except for some extremely also claimed that the

town

from being proved, and that

it

included two churches, one dedicated to Saint Peter and the other to Saint

There

John is

(the latter

no mention, however, of Mary Magdalene’s name.

stated that the is

town numbered some

strictly impossible,

this

was

located

almost certainly being the seigneurial chapel).

and seven butchers’

true, then the fortress of

somewhere

surveillance post

else.

on

Then where was

thirty

has been

thousand inhabitants, which stalls.

The

Reddae would by

fact

is

that

if all

necessity have been

Rennes-le-Chateau would have been only a

the road

from Carcassonne

to Iberia.

the location of this formidable fortified city that

documents suggest was on the same Carcassonne?

It

scale as the actual citadel of

Logic would suggest that

Limoux was

its

location.

The

The History of the Earldom of Razes

name Limoux It sits

in the

suggests an ancient settlement dating from the Celtic era.

bottom of

a valley,

easy to expand, and easy to tainly could

where a

fortress

would be easy

have lived there. This does not mean that the seigniorial

from the confusion caused by the word

precise site

— such as the

Empire and long

after,

city of

the

etymological sense, which citizens.”

to build,

Thirty thousand inhabitants cer-

fortify.

residence could not have been located in Rennes-le-Chateau. arises

75

Never

Carcassonne

city: It

would

it

designates a

moral entity

a

that of the Latin civitas, or

in ancient times

error

— but during the Roman

word designated only

is

now

Our

in the

“community of

have been possible to confuse

— a community of law and such a grouping together of of one ethnic group — and a town, or urb Latin, perfectly situated

city

as

citizens

in

a precise location

defense. Lor the

among

city,

and

truly a place of habitation, activity,

in

and group

same reason, there could be no possible confusion

town, and

citadel,

arx in Latin, which was the equivalent

of the medieval castle fort and could be located either inside or outside a city or town. In his

work Le Comte de Razes

et le diocese d’Alet,

pulls out all the stops in his attempt to

le-Chateau. His imagination

when he

is

show

that

Louis Ledie

Reddae was Rennes-

stronger than his eyesight, however,

claims that “the fortified enceinte occupied the entire plateau.”

But perhaps because he realizes that

this assertion

is

somewhat

strange,

he goes on to add, “However, large spaces remained unoccupied on the perimeter.” These

empty spaces may well have

existed during the Gallic

castrum was never a town, only a temporary

era, but, in this case, the

meeting place, a place for assembly, exchange, and also protection during times

Visigoth

“hollowing the example of

of war:

cities,

even

when

they were

special allocation, forming

sites

in

Carcassonne.”

was divided

towns, the

of war, remained true to their

one or two towns inside the enceinte of

town, one or two citadels within the

found

Roman

He pursued

into three quarters,

still

citadel.

An example

a

of this can be

this idea, declaring that

Reddae

recognizable in the village, and that

“the fortifications surrounding the citadel of Reddae have not completely disappeared.”

Given that the entire plateau must have included

surveillance posts at various times, the opposite prising. Yet

how

are

we

would be more

to believe that Rennes-le-Chateau,

sur-

which had

76

The

of the Mystery

Site

only two hundred inhabitants in 1709 (some

homesteads), could

fifty

have had thirty thousand during the Visigoth era, some twelve centuries earlier?

During

this era the

the former Gaul,

and people were widely scattered

urban centers, which are

many

population was not great in the territory of

people. This

laid

as a rule.

Only

large

out for easy supplying, could hold that

definitely not the case for the dry plateau of

is

Rennes-le-Chateau, incapable of supporting the needs of even a reduced

population on located

on the

did exist, that

own and

its

in

comparison to other centers

plains or in the liberally watered, fertile valleys. is

certain,

and though

sand people, a number that

of present-day

Limoux

it

was not inhabited by

certainly exaggerated,

is

nificant population. Therefore, site

poor

quite

it

it

Reddae

thirty thou-

did have a sig-

could only have been located on the

or perhaps Alet or Quillan.

Whatever the actual location of Reddae may have been, the Visigoths did surely invade the Razes and turned

reorganizing the region as

who had

if

to have

it

in reserve.

it

into a kind of

When

lair,

King Reccared,

recanted Aryanism (the Visigoths were Aryan Christians,

don’t forget), wished to reorganize the bishoprics of Septimania and

proposed naming a bishop for Reddae, the bishop of Carcassonne until that time

opposed him, because dependencies and

this

size of his revenues.

Reddae had been one of

nomination would have significantly reduced the

Then, by an ironic twist of

during the reign of King

Wemba

fate

perform

his functions

that these

fueled

flee

and seek refuge

many

later,

who

forced the

Redda, from which he might It

must be noted

Aryan and Orthodox Christians have

speculations that were quickly transformed into legends.

This was also the time

when

a large

immigrated to the Razes, where, especially in Alet.

architecture

in

over the whole of his diocese.

quarrels between

some time

680, the Episcopal seat of

in

Carcassonne became occupied by an Aryan bishop

orthodox bishop to

his

Today we can

it

number

of Jews fleeing persecution

seems, they were

see

some

warmly welcomed,

traces of their presence in the

and ornamentation of the abbey. This, of course, became

the starting point for another story having to

do with the ancient Jewish

origin of the Merovingians, in particular the “legitimate” root stock

hidden by the Carolingian usurpers who, as the Razes!

we know, sought

refuge in

The History of the Earldom of Razes

The

certain extended presence of the Visigoths in Rennes-le-Chateau

had other region.

effects

on the legendary history

in fact

It is

historical legend

Rome

brought

had divided among themselves and

Titus

carefully hid

it

is

in a secret location in

same treasure that the

and Vespasian would have brought back from the

sack of Jerusalem. So here

Chateau

this

who accompanied Alaric back much of the treasure they

the Razes. This treasure would, of course, be the

Romans under

—of

claimed that the contingents

and sack of

in his capture

— or

we

are,

having come

full circle:

Rennes-le-

holding a treasure in some mysterious cave or grotto.

not necessarily consist of gold and jewels, but

is

more

likely

It

does

made up

of

documents of primary importance because they concern the end of Jewish independence and the “sect” of Christians. This legend, which

may

be merely a distortion of certain facts (why wouldn’t the Visigoths

have brought back valuable objects and documents from Rome?), was not overlooked by those who, during Sauniere’s

life

but especially since

1956, have exploited the theme of the odd “millionaire priest.” likely that

due to to

keeper of “secrets,” which the Vatican wanted

buy from him so that they might be kept This

is

smoke without

the fire,

way

which

is

treasures or

why

for better or

—even

all,

never

in the

at first glance

Razes of

earlier

from

may appear holes that we it

worse?

whose conversion, all

if

constructed of black

The Visigoth empire represented odds with

is

the Visigoth history of the region,

documents that were stolen several centuries

incredible. Isn’t history, after

particular,

from unhealthy public

on the possible presence

Jerusalem, should not be ignored

fill

safe

grown. But then again, there

stories are

especially everything touching

strive to

is

he was in contact with the most zealous occultists of his day

his position as the

curiosity.

It

a threat to the Franks, Clovis in

albeit obviously opportunistic, set

him

at

things Aryan. Political interests and religious interests

always go hand

in

hand, as would be shown again

in the thirteenth-

century Albigensian Crusade. The Crusades not only offered the opportunity for eternal salvation; for some, they also contributed to a

temporary, terrestrial happiness.

More

enterprising

cynical than the other Frankish leaders, Clovis

through either ruse or hired after the job

was done)

killers

to prevent

more

and primarily more

saw

to their

removal

(who were executed immediately

them from becoming obstacles

to his

The

78

Site

of the Mystery

personal ambitions. After concluding a treaty with the lone powerful

remaining on the

authority

Church

of the

soil

Roman Empire

late

— he attacked the Visigoths, defeating Alaric

II

—the

near Vouille in

1507. This triggered a rush of Franks immigrating to the south, where they could easily take possession of domains and sinecures.

On

their

arrival at the Pyrenees, they established a kind of protectorate over all

of Occitania, but

seems the Razes escaped their covetuousness, no

it

doubt because the Franks considered short, the Visigoth presence

still

Chateau and the surrounding It

was during

to be of

it

little

importance. In

endured for some time

in Rennes-le-

area.

the troubled Merovingian times that the “marginal”

nature of the Razes was thoroughly confirmed. In

region

this

fact,

remained outside the incessant internal wars waged wholeheartedly by the descendants of Clovis,

who were worthy

heirs of their ancestor,

experts in every kind of crime, yet nonetheless immortalized in French

who

history textbooks by authors

Tours’s chronicles the “lazy kings,”

now know what last

all

who to

make

ily

4

who

in specially outfitted carts

The

fact

is

these kings were

thanks to the palace mayors, the formidable fam-

of Pippin d’FIeristal,

those

We

of the ridiculous stories that allege that these

so they could enjoy a well-deserved nap: into nothings

Gregory de

have been the delight of French academics.

Merivingian monarchs were transported

made

to read

through. Then arriving on the scene were

way

the

managed

never

who were

preceded them. To

just as cruel

and more cynical than

this piece of history

legend of a descendant of Dagobert Pippin’s orders. This descendant

is

II,

has been grafted the

who was

said to have

assassinated

found refuge

on

in the

Razes, where he had a family, which therefore makes him the ancestor of an authentic Merovingian line this

whose

offspring

legend has been spun with the help of

“secret

illicit

documents” that have miraculously

still

exist.

Of

course,

genealogies and alleged

— and anonymously— been

deposited at the National Fibrary in Paris.

It

is

part of the

myth of

Rennes-le-Chateau and the mystery of the cursed treasure. The fact remains, however, that under Carolingian domination, the Razes would

4.

[This

is

Faineants.

more

an untranslatable pun on the French name for the “lazy kings,” the Rois

“Made

into nothings”

literally translated as

is

faits neants, a

“made nothing.”

homonym

— Translator]

of Faineants that

would be

— The History of the Earldom of Razes continue to exist in that same marginal land that

its

is

79

chief distin-

guishing feature.

with his

contrast

In

Charlemagne took

a

predecessors,

keen interest

though,

To keep himself

the region.

in

appears that

it

informed of events there, he sent the bishop of Orleans, Theodulfe, as

The bishop reported

his envoy.

form of

in the

poem on what

a

seen, citing for the first time the cities of Carcassonne

should note that he refers to them as

cities [cites]

making Carcassonne and Reddae more or

would be independent of

Charlemagne had good reason to keep

who had

Razes. “Saracens”

and not towns

less equal.

in their region

were not Arabs

Of

at all.

from the Iberian course, contrary

There were never

to conquer nearly the entire Mediterranean basin in

enough Arabs

centuries’ time.

known

can easily

close surveillance over the

Peninsula were constantly threatening Septimania.

nique

We

[villes],

the Carcassonne seat.

spilled over the Pyrenees

to popular opinion, Saracens

As

is

well

known,

the

Muslim Arabs

two

practiced the tech-

They began by subjugating

as telescoping:

We

and Reddae.

understand the Razes clergy’s insistence on the creation of a bishopric that

he had

their nearest

neighbors and converting them to Islam, then sent them to continue the

same task

away.

in regions farther

It

can be certain that the Arabs

defeated by Charles Martel in Poitiers were essentially Iberians accom-

panied by some Moors

—that

same was

who

true of those

to say,

is

Maghrebi [North

Africans].

ceaselessly infiltrated Occitania

The

and who

at

times invited a martial expedition on behalf of the emperor and that of his vassals

which was

who were most

built the great epic of the

Charlemagne which he

Though Saracens

directly involved. This

truly

is

was

the basis

chansons de geste

in

on

which

portrayed as the great defender of Christendom

was

—engaged

in a merciless struggle

with the Saracens.

they do not resemble Arabs, what can be said about the is

that they symbolize all the pagans

opposed

to the task of

converting Europe to Christianity, which the Frankish emperor was

undertaking with the explicit accord of the papacy. Charlemagne, wishing to turn the Razes into a kind of citadel to keep

prevent

Muslim

raids,

region, bestowing

Razes was born.

named

upon him

watch and possibly

a trustworthy individual to

the

title

of count.

govern the

Thus the earldom of the

The

80

The

Site

of the Mystery

was

first earl

a

most notable individual, William of Gellone,

leader and

great military

a

devoted a large part of his

After having

of conviction.

Christian

a

to successfully fighting the Saracens,

life

William of Gellone came to spend

remaining years

his

at

Saint-Guilhem

whose construction he had ordered. Part

of the Desert, an abbey

Carolingian and part Romanesque,

remains one of the most hand-

it

some examples of Occitan abbeys. William of Gellone died, shrouded in the scent of sanctity, hence his canonization vox populi and the attribution of his

name

to the monastery.

William of Gellone

is

claimed by some to have been a descendant

of the Merovingians through the son of Dagobert refuge in the Razes and

said to have

is

This overlooks the fact that the

than William of Gellone. son,

if

It

first

who had

taken

the daughter of the count.

count of the Razes was none other

also overlooks the fact that

Dagobert

IPs

he truly escaped the Carolingian assassins, would have been a

very young child

when he

arrived in the Razes.

nothing can be firmly concluded, family tree was It is is

wed

II,

known

seems that William of Gellone’s

it

somewhat “rearranged”

true that this holy

man was

as the cycle of Garin de

Here again, although

to serve the needs of the cause.

what

a figure of legend. In fact, in

Monglane

in the

chansons de

geste,

he was the model for the extraordinary figure of William of Orange, called William of the Short

Nose

means

(curb nez, not court nez, which

“hooked nose”), protector of Louis the Pious and great destroyer of Saracens.

The

cycle of Garin de

Monglane incorporates

real historical

elements into a mythological framework from a clearly archaic tradition (as revealed by the

William

Indo-European

(Guilhem/Guillaume)

Saracen Orable,

who becomes

of

social structures within

Guibourc, forms a kind of fantastic duo is

comparable

to the ones

by Charlemagne and Roland, Arthur and Gawain, and

sons of their

Celtic tradition (with the

sisters,

which

This

Orange, husband of the former

with his nephew Vivien (Vezien) that

and nephews of

it).

all

formed

those kings

nephews being, of course, the

signals a matriarchal line of descent).

William of Gellone’s destiny, both

real

and imaginary, was thus

quite amazing! In addition, he contributed to an event of considerable

importance for the Christian West by aiding

Aniane

in his

his friend Saint

Benedict of

reform of the original Benedictine Order, established three

The History of the Earldom of Razes

81

centuries earlier by Saint Benedict of Nursia, through integrating into

elements from the rule of Saint Columba, the Irish saint the restoration of Christianity

on the continent. This

who

to follow the

command

all

helped in

led Louis the

monks and

Pious, son of Charlemagne, during a large gathering of

abbots in Aachen in 817, to

it

the monasteries in the empire

reformed Benedictine Order.

Shortly before this time, an abbey had been founded in Alet under a

name

course. IV,

that

was

rare at that time:

still

The charter of donation

Lady.

It

was was

dates from 813 and

count of the Razes, though, as

monastery charters from

this era,

of the error mentioned in

it:

The

Our

is

it is

Benedictine, of issued by Bera

the case with the majority of

quite suspect, especially because

charter places the monastery under the

pope’s protection, something that never occurred before the end of the tenth century.

The construction of

the abbey did take place, however,

and the counts of Razes took pains to ensure

the

it

means

to exist.

A

century later Alet was part of a kind of monastic confederation under the aegis of the

famous monastery of Saint Michael of Cuxa

of the Canigou. In 993

Abbot Garin controlled

at the foot

Saint Michael of

Saint Pierre of Mas-Grenier, Saint-Hilaire, Pierre de Lezat,

Lady of

Alet.

Upon

Cuxa,

and Our

the death of Garin, this confederation dissolved in

998, at the time of the development of the Cluny Order, which would contribute to another reformation of the Benedictine monasteries, the

most

significant to occur before the rise of Saint

Bernard and the new

Cistercian Order.

William of Gellone gave the earldom of Razes to one of

his sons.

There were accordingly several generations of counts named Bera protected the Razes until 870.

On this

date the line of succession passed

into the

hands of the noble house of Carcassonne,

number

of years,

its

after

a very important center

and the meeting place of

all

all, it

even claimed to

which enormously increased itable pilgrimages

made

its

own

in Alet

con-

a fragment of the True Cross,

prestige as well as the

there. In

remained

the lords of the sur-

rounding area. Meanwhile, the development of the abbey It

which, for a

ownership was disputed between the counts of

Carcassonne and the counts of Barcelona. Throughout

tinued apace.

who

number

of prof-

1090 the Saint Polycarp abbey

fell

under the control of the abbot of Alet, and on June 16, 1096, the abbey

The

82

of

Site

Our Lady on

there

of the Mystery of Alet received a visit from Pope

II,

who came

Toulouse and Carcassonne. This gesture demon-

a visit to

strated the pope’s

Urban

sudden

development of the monastery

interest in the

on the banks of the Aude. In

1067

Ermengarde

Countess

Carcassonne and the Razes to her

sum

Barcelona, for the

her

sold

relative

over

sovereignty

Raymond-Beranger, count of

of one thousand ounces of gold. Catalonia’s

ownership of the region would have certain consequences for the status of

orders, in particular the branch of the order of the

some monastic

Templars established

in Bezu,

which would not be under the sway of

the king of France, Philip the Fair, but the count of Barcelona, allowing

A

it

would remain

in the sphere of

to escape French royal persecution.

period of obscurity then began for the Razes. This was the time

of the Cathars in Occitania. This group of '‘heretics” had spread with

amazing speed, benefiting from the strong support of

local

lords.

Religious problems mirrored political difficulties; the Occitan nobles

knew

full

well the ambitions of the northern French, particularly the

Capet family. The Occitan Midi has always been a land of heresy and protest, as

though these were integral parts of the Occitan mentality.

Catharism, which very

first

fertile soil for its

appeared

in

blossoming

in

France in the Troyes region, found Occitania and more particularly in

the region of the former Septimania (including the Razes).

At it

Razes had fallen to the rank of viscounty. In 1194

this time, the

was under

the

flag

of

Raymond Roger

Trencavel, viscount of

Carcassonne and Beziers, a hero of the Albigensian Crusade basely betrayed by in his city of

of revolt.

As

Simon de Montfort and perished

Carcassonne a boy, he

raised in his court

in

dark dungeon

1209. His son quickly picked up the torch

had been entrusted

where swarmed

heretics of all stripes

in a

who was

who had

— and

this

to the count of Foix

was no

only one thing in

secret to

common:

a

and

anyone profound

hatred for the French and their king.

For while the prevailing heresy of the time was that of the Cathars, there were quite a few others. dissident churches,

Never has any time been

and strange

cults

— some

openly diabolical

twelfth and thirteenth centuries. While the Inquisition

ated to fight with both

word and

fire

as rich in sects,

was

—

as the

officially cre-

those respectfully called the

good

The History of the Earldom of Razes

men

in the countryside

was

also to check the rising tide of various resurgent

and Dualists

in the ecclesiastical courts,

ditions unfolding over Christian Europe. Tolerance

a time

when

in fact

no one knew what

syncretic tra-

was not an option

and the major

“There

no salvation possible

is

works of the time show

outside the Church!” Yet artistic and literary

many

—though

an equal number of

deviations from orthodox belief

heretics

were

There

is

left

to rot in prisons or

an explanation for

were burned

Roman

its official

was completely unheard of

relativity

refrain of the time was,

in

Catholic Church nothing

could cast doubt on the word of the Scriptures and those of

commentators. The principle of

task

was. All discussion was impos-

it

Roman

from the perspective of the

sible, for

and

its

83

at the stake.

Catholic aggressiveness: The

Cathars as well as a certain number of other sects were casting doubt

prominent and necessary role of the

as to the

on

erable situation for a system based classes: those

who

prayed, those

who

priest.

This was an intol-

a society divided into three

who worked.

fought, and those

Furthermore, even though the clergy was not only uneducated but also often living in wretched conditions, at least in the poorer rural regions,

never before had the Church been richer in worldly goods.

Church were

to

go along with the Cathars,

served no purpose,

it

would

cut

who

the

claimed that the priests

from the abundant resources

itself off

procured through the performance of worship and obligatory Fear gripped the orthodox Occitan clergy due to the at the onset of the thirteenth century

If

rise

tithes.

of Cathar ideas

combined with the ambition and

bitterness of the northern nobles, ever ready to enter a struggle to the

death

if

they might win some lands. This fear

was obviously masked by

the crusade against heretics of any kind as well as the Occitan nobles

who had

the gall to side with such miscreants. Cathar Occitania

destroyed in the

name

of a

God who

is

never

the material interest of the king of France It is

this

wrong and

and

in the

was

name

of

his vassals.

impossible to turn a blind eye to the injustices and atrocities of

Albigensian Crusade, which overturned the rights of

all

humans;

contradicted Christian charity; satisfied a most monstrous egotism; and

amounted

to spiritual

and cultural genocide and,

blessed by a papacy that did well by the

overlook the massacres of Beziers.

It

whole is

finally,

pure hypocrisy

affair. It is

impossible to

impossible to excuse the

The

84

Site

of the Mystery

“sadism” of Simon de Montfort and the also impossible to

remake

least of his

refrains of his killed his

own

was brought up on

companions father,

it is

history.

Thus, Trencavel the younger went to of Foix, where he

henchmen. But

As

in exile.

he could not

live at

the court of the count

the anti-French

and anti-papist

a victim of the intolerance that

listen to these refrains indifferently.

Despite his young age, he loudly declared his desire for vengeance and

swore to whoever would

listen that his life’s

quest of the heritage stolen from

him

—that

is,

purpose was the reconthe earldoms of Albi and

Carcassonne and the viscounty of the Razes, which was a region especially

dear to his heart.

Trencavel

He was

a curious figure.

is

not a typical adventurer

those that were plentiful in this troubled time, but of Grail quester, a knight these characteristics that

the real

model

against windmills.

some have not

instead a kind

It is

fact,

however,

is

because of

hesitated to claim that he

was

and king of the Grail accord-

version of the Perceval story by

Eschenbach. The sad yet

tilts

for Perceval, the discoverer

German

ing to the

who

was

like

that the

Wolfram von

young Trencavel was not

born when Chretien de Troyes introduced the figure of Perceval

in

the Arthurian epic in 1190. Perhaps the opposite occurred: Perhaps the

young Trencavel had known about the work of Chretien de Troyes (generously completed and expanded by skilled writers of the early thirteenth century),

who

who

fulfilled his

sought to use as his heroic model a fatherless boy

vengeance against

his father’s

murderers and became

the king of an ideal kingdom.

As official

save Alet.

was buried

for actual history, while Trencavel

guardian, Bertrand de Saissac,

what remained

to be saved,

had

who was

in his

dreams, his

desperately striving to

difficulties in the

Razes, mainly in

Following the death of Pons Amiel, abbot from 1167 to 1197, the

monks

of

Our Lady

of Alet had elected as his successor Bernard de

who was

already the abbot of Saint Polycarp. Bertrand de

Saissac rushed to Alet

and seized the new abbot, ordered the body of

Saint-Ferreol,

Pons Amiel disinterred and placed upon ordered the

won

monks

to hold a

new

his abbatial throne,

election.

and then

The monks, seemingly

either

over to his position or out of fear of him, did not dare refuse. They

chose a certain Bozon,

who

hastily sent a large

sum

of

money

to the

The History of the Earldom of Razes archbishop of Narbonne to gain both this

his

approval and

85

his blessing of

coup. But Bernard de Saint-Ferreol, the dispossessed abbot, spent

his time instituting ecclesiastical

violent act

proceedings and

had occurred. Bertrand de

“good men,” did not

trust

let it

be

known

that a

Saissac, himself a partisan of the

Bernard de Saint-Ferreol,

whom

he deemed

too “orthodox” and overly devoted to the papacy.

The

affair

would drag on

for

some

On

time.

July 21, 1222, at the

council of Puy-en-Velay, the pope’s legate, Cardinal Conrad, nullified

Bozon’s election and ordered the It

would be

monks

to leave the

and placed under the

secularized

abbey immediately.

direct authority of the

metropolitan archbishop of Narbonne. But the

monks who had

ported neither Bozon nor the coup that put him in power

sup-

made an

appeal to the pope. Gregory IX appointed two abbots to examine the

was restored

request for adjudication and eventually the abbey

monks, who hurriedly

elected a

new

to the

abbot. By then Trencavel

was

occupied by concerns other than keeping watch over the abbey of Our

Lady of fully

Alet, for he could not return to his

recovered from the

domains. The abbey never

crisis.

Trencavel soon became the heart and soul of the revolt of the faidits,

which was the name given to the lords who had been stripped of

their lands as a result of the prosecution of heresy.

to

win them back.

In

1239 and again

in

1240, at a time

and

severe repression of the Cathars, Trencavel

Termes,

who

still

The

faidits

when

prepared there

was

his vassal Olivier de

held the Corbieres, the Temenes, and the fortresses of

Queribus and Peyrepertuse, launched expeditions that were more akin to guerrilla raids than military operations.

They operated

and Trencavel, who was welcomed everywhere immediate successes.

He

Trencavel had received promises of aid from

Raymond

as a liberator,

had some

did not follow up on them, however, which

allowed his adversaries to regroup and react.

of Toulouse.

incrementally,

VII

was known

to be

It

seems, moreover, that

Raymond

on the

VII, the

count

side of the heretics,

but was in a very delicate position; by dint of his hesitation, he did not intervene in time on behalf of Trencavel, and the situation turned sour. Olivier de a vigorous

Termes made

his

submission to the king of France following

French counteroffensive

— he was no

doubt bought by the

Capets and betrayed Trencavel outright. The result was checkmate.

The

86

Site

of the Mystery

Trencavel then had to

make

his official

submission to the king as well,

but his lands were not returned. Brooding about his dark designs, he

hoped

resolved to stay in Aragon, where he

money

listeners as well as

resume the

to

The Razes was now occupied by

to find

some understanding

fight.

the troops of the French king,

devoted themselves to an all-out hunt for heretics.

were plenty to be found

had seen the creation of rate

in these isolated

there

mountains! The year 1225

Cathar diocese

a veritable

God knows

who

in the

Razes sepa-

from the Cathar diocese of Toulouse and entrusted to Benoit de

We know that Cathars did not recognize who were more or less preaching brothers.

Termes, a relative of Olivier. a priesthood, only

deacons

(The prefects within Catharism were not priests but rather believers attained the highest level of spiritual development and

who had

administered only the consolamentum.) ecclesiastical organization.

repression

—they

Nor

did they see any value in

For the cause, however

had been forced

to

set

who

—mainly to confront

up a kind of clandestine

counter-church with a hierarchy and leaders

who were

given the rank

of bishop. There was, then, a Cathar “diocese” in the Razes, and because

Cathar worshippers were many,

and find refuge

this hierarchy

managed

to limit arrests

in inaccessible places.

In the Razes, oddly enough,

an alliance with the Cathars. As

it

seems that the Templars concluded

we know,

the Templars were solidly

established in the Rennes-le-Chateau region.

Some were

located in

Campagne-sur-Aude and Lavaldieu, dependencies of France, and others,

who were no doubt more

powerful, had a fortress in Bezu and were

dependents of Aragon. According to documents that reliable but

do

would seem

to have concluded

ily,

who owned

accord

is

testify to a certain

in

1209 with the Aniort fam-

almost the entire region of Rennes-le-Chateau. This

said to have consisted of the fictive cession to the

What

be none too

de facto status, the Bezu Templars

an accord

the Aniort family properties that ity.

may

this clearly says

in this instance the

is

Templars of

were open to seizure by royal author-

that the Templars willingly aided heretics,

Cathars of the Razes.

We

should note that they acted

almost identically during the previous century with respect to the Jews; a

document

the Razes

explicitly states that in

who owned

1142 the

fairly

numerous Jews of

lands had turned them over to the Templars as

The History of the Earldom of Razes tenant farms. These seemingly unnatural alliances

some, yet

it

took any part tainly

be surprising to

should be understood that the Templars had always played

ambiguous

a fairly

may

87

role in the Albigensian Crusade. In fact, they never

There are

in this war, either directly or indirectly.

cer-

grounds for suggesting that the Templars were the secular arm of

the Cathars,

whose

religion forbade the use of

Why

weapons.

not?

Whatever the case regarding armed support, the collusion of Cathars and Templars seems to have been

The Templars

conducted operations

clearly

1156 they elected

region. In

fully operational in the Razes. in

man named

grand master a

as their

mysterious

this

Bertrand de Blanchefort. Contrary to what some have declared without verifying their sources, however, he

was not

a

member

of the Blanchefort

family of the Razes. Bertrand de Blanchefort, grand master of the Order of the Temple,

was from

be no doubt about

this.

well-known family

a

But

precise

in a veritable

— to work

this

time the Templars of Bezu

German workers

colony of

in the area’s mines.

Guyenne. There can

not prevent him from giving the

this did

Razes very special attention. During brought

in

The

— smelters, to be more

mines of the region were quite numerous but not very because they had been heavily exploited during rather confusing, though,

and not miners, to

as

question the

Furthermore,

French

or,

why

is

workers

more important, Occitan?

who

Under such circumstances

We

It

who knew

rich, largely

What

times.

is

on smelters

are therefore obliged

Germans were asked

these

hire foreign

use foreign laborers

Roman

that the Bezu Templars called

would have been expected. “work”

and gold

lead, silver, copper,

not a

to

perform.

word

of either

seems that the intention was to

could not speak to the local inhabitants. it

is

understandable that so

many

legends

have spread concerning Rennes-le-Chateau’s buried treasure, secret mines, or gold guarded by the devil, not to mention

its

hidden treasure

of Delphi, treasure from the Temple of Jerusalem, or treasure of the

Templars or the Cathars. Indeed, include the

why wouldn’t one

of these caches

Holy Grail?

The mysterious work of

the

Germans

whom the Templars

employed

and the apparent collusion between the Templars and the Cathars obviously bring us back to the Albigensian Crusade and the unresolved mysteries

it

has presented.

It

is

now

established that the negotiations

The

88

Site

of the Mystery

between the Inquisitors and the

Roger de Mirepoix and surety of

Ramon

Bains.

is

It

last

Ramon

defenders of Montsegur, Pierre-

de Perella, were conducted under the

d’Aniort, lord of Rennes-le-Chateau and Rennes-les-

also accepted that following the escape of four prefects

charged with transporting the famous “treasure” (whatever days before the capture of Montsegur, a

eral

Mountain

and the Cathar valuables were

cess

a

know

to let the besieged

man who was

Given

all

was hidden,

The noble and

all

that the operation

safe.

envoy to

these circumstances,

“treasure”

tinies,

a special

it is

was

fire

As

it

Ramon

lit

it

was) sev-

on Bidorta

had been

a suc-

happens, Escot de Belcaire, d’Aniort, lighted this

fire.

reasonable to assume that the Cathar

at least initially, in the depths of the Razes.

families of the Razes at times acted out their strange des-

were more or

less in

league with the “heretics.” After

1231 the king of France entrusted Limoux and the Razes to the seneschal Pierre de Voisins, a minor noble from the ile-de-France and a

companion of Simon de Montfort. His most urgent task was mantle

all

the fortresses in the region, but later, oddly enough, the

seneschal’s grandson, Pierre

II,

made dogged

even saw to the building of Rennes Castle. later time.)

to dis-

efforts to rebuild

(It

them and

was renovated again

at a

Following the disappearance of the Cathars, the majority of

nobles regained their holdings and hastened to refortify those structures that

had been dismantled, foreseeing future troubles and possible future

heresies as well as the need to reckon with the bandits of

all

kinds

who

lurked in the area. For example, a band of Catalan brigands invaded

Rennes-le-Chateau and pillaged the

castle, the

church, and numerous

homes, thereby bringing about the ruination of the

A

long time had passed, however, since the Trencavel family had

renounced

all

their holdings in the Razes.

French and betrayed by his ing an

village.

ambiguous

his struggle. In

own

objective, the

1247 he ceded

France, Fouis IX.

He

still

people

Harassed by the northern

when

they saw he was pursu-

unlucky Trencavel decided to abandon

all his

managed

rights to the

Razes to the king of

to pull out of

it

rather well:

It is

claimed that Saint Fouis was quite upset with Trencavel and wished to imprison him, but Blanche de Castille defended him with

demanded indulgence good Christian

much

zeal

and

for this impenitent rebel that the French king,

that he was, did not display to his enemies. Certainly

The History of the Earldom of Razes

Blanche de Castille did

Razes

trail

compromise. Did Trencavel

in this

if

know

a secret, or at least

that could lead to a secret? Let’s not overlook the fact that the

name Blanche de even

she could to dispossess Trencavel of the

— and she succeeded— but we must ask what was the currency of

exchange of a

all

we

Castille

is

linked to a spring in Rennes-les-Bains, yet

take into account the well-known legend of the White Lady,

we might

guardian and protector of the springs,

denying any grounds for

which

this affair in

still

hesitate before

a nonnegligible role

played by Trencavel. Wasn’t Trencavel a Cathar himself? really searching for?

What would

What were

questions episodes In

any

it is

also a

dence

it

way

in

building

stories

in its entire business

murky

have held a

—joined

by two of

fairly

with the Cathars. By

— Geraud,

their cousins,

Simon de Montfort. They were

com-

all evi-

all

Othon, Bertrand, and

were violently opposed to

excommunicated, of course, and

their castles confiscated, but shortly afterward, curiously

excommunications were

lifted

and part of

to their possession. D’Aniort Castle

was

their

enough, the

domains were restored

slated to be razed, but at the

Louis IX sent a messenger to countermand that order.

short time later

showed him

zones.

the side of the heretics at the time of the crusade in

was on

moment

just

with multiple

of shining light into certain

1209. The four d’Aniort brothers

Ramon

And

find in his church or elsewhere? Posing these

case, the d’Aniort family appears to

promising position

he

the Templars of Bezu looking for?

can be quite helpful

— but

was

What was

Colbert be looking for later in these same places?

what did Abbe Sauniere

last

89

Ramon

d’Aniort was received by Saint Louis,

a courtesy that

was

quite exceptional

and somewhat

A

who dis-

concerting, considering the role he had played as both rebel and ally of heretics.

Why

the king?

party?

We

this indulgence, or at least these retreats,

Was

on the part of

he motivated solely by a desire to pardon the guilty

might well wonder what price was required from

Ramon

d’Aniort in order for him to purchase his pardon, for everything in politics

who are later canonized. As we Ramon d’Aniort know?

has a price tag, even for kings

asked of Trencavel, what did

All the mysteries of the Razes

seem

to crystallize

family as well as the descendants of Pierre de Voisins,

have

around the Aniort

who was

entrusted

with guardianship over the territory to Trencavels detriment. The

The

90

of the Mystery

Site

on very good terms with the Templars and

Voisins were also

lowing the persecution triggered by Philip the

made arrangements Spain.

good number of the

to help a

whom we

Philip the Fair himself

It is

Fair,

later, fol-

one of the family fugitives escape to

find visiting the Razes in

1283, before he assumed the throne, though he was merely accompanying his father, Philip the Bold, son of Saint Louis,

Languedoc

The king stayed

region.

the lord of Rennes

at the

home

on

through the

a trip

of Pierre

II

de Voisins,

and guardian of the whole of Razes on behalf of the

kingdom. The purpose of Philip the Bold’s

trip

was

to obtain the benev-

some of whom, because of the com-

olent neutrality of the local nobility,

plex ramifications of feudal power, were vassals of the king of Aragon.

He wanted

to take

some precautions

wage against Aragon; thus

to

his

was

view of the war he was planning a very

good explanation

for his

de Voisins. Yet he took advantage of this sojourn also to

visit to Pierre

Ramon d’Aniort, who,

visit

there

in

along with his wife, Alix de Blanchefort, and

younger brother Udaut d’Aniort, warmly welcomed the monarch even seems that a solid bond of friendship was formed at

and

his son.

this

time between the future king of France and Udaut, with Philip sug-

gesting to

It

Udaut

had other ideas This

visit

that he

in

become

his

comrade

in

arms. Udaut, however,

mind. Fie wished to become a Templar.

could not be any more suspect or strange.

Two

of

Ramon’s

uncles had been diehard Cathars, and the d’Aniorts had always stood to protect the “heretics.” Alix de Blanchefort faidit

was

the daughter of a

noble and the sworn enemy of Simon de Montfort. The designs of

a king, however, are often impenetrable.

of this

visit

was

It is

possible that the purpose

to arrange a marriage. In fact, Pierre

III

de Voisins, a

widower, subsequently wed Ramon’s cousin Jordane d’Aniort. In

way

up

the

two

families

this

were united. But to what end? To keep watch over

the d’Aniorts through the Voisins or to rehabilitate the d’Aniorts?

Ultimately, the Templars found themselves beset by unfortunate cir-

cumstances. As

we know,

they were hounded

all

over France at the will

of Philip the Fair, hauled before ecclesiastical tribunals, and finally, after

some strange confessions

— not

all

of which were extorted by violence

they were condemned, 5 and the Order of the Temple disappeared,

5.

For more on

this subject, see

Vt.: Inner Traditions,

2002).

my book The Templar

Treasure in Gisors (Rochester,

The History of the Earldom of Razes

absorbed into the Hospitaliers of Saint John of Jerusalem. But secution by Philip the Fair’s

henchmen and

91

their per-

minion Nogaret did not

his

extend beyond France’s borders. The Templars, though not spared totally,

were absorbed into other kingdoms, and we know that many of like

those

of Bezu, benefited from a special status that temporarily sheltered

them

them, forewarned in time, were able to escape, while others,

from

all

persecution.

had shown

In an Occitania that least

orthodox kind of doctrines,

the purification of bodies

it

ever willing to support the

itself

was necessary

to ensure, along with

and minds, an increased surveillance of souls

and consciences. This was why

in

1317 the French pope of Avignon,

John XXII, on the advice of the king of France, which he was obviously obliged to take, action

would provide

made

the decision to create

means

a better

to isolate

new

dioceses. This

problem areas and also

provide a slight check to the omnipotence of the metropolitan arch-

bishop of Barbonne and the bishop of Toulouse.

New

bishoprics were

Saint-Pons de Thomieres, and Saint-

thus established in Limoux,

Papoul. Immediately the pope received a violent protest from the nuns of Prouilhe,

who,

for

more than

the religious establishments of

a century,

were paid

Limoux and

significant fees

the surrounding area.

by

The

papal decision threatened to ruin them, and because they had such influence over the archibishop of a revocation of the bull that

Narbonne, he obtained from the pope

had created

a seat in

however, did not abandon his desire to establish a

Limoux. The pope,

new

bishopric in the

Razes. In 1318 he created the Episcopal seat of Alet, which explains

how

the

Abbey

of

Our Lady

the last Benedictine abbot,

of Alet became a cathedral. Barthelemey,

became the bishop of Alet shortly

This was the beginning of a It

was too small

new

life

for the old

to be a true cathedral, but

the addition of a Gothic choir,

the village of Alet

Romanesque

was extended on

some of which remains. At

was transformed

thereafter.

abbey.

the east with

the

same

time,

into a veritable small city surrounded

by ramparts and provided with a new parish church, Saint- Andre, which still

exists

until the

on the southern

side of the abbey.

The

French Revolution, though of course

difficulties before that time, especially

which the cathedral was

it

bishopric of Alet lasted

experienced

its

share of

during the Religious Wars, during

pillaged. In the sixteenth century, the Episcopal

of the Mystery

92

The

Site

seat

was

in the

hands of the Joyeuse family, and the bishopric

was then an abbey-bishopric, with abbot

—was

the bishop acting as both bishop

new

In

cathedral church oriented

monks.

to south in the former buildings of the

of the Benedictines,

1637

a

was

it

and

Bishop

definitively secularized. In the seventeenth century,

Etienne de Poverel decided to create a

from north

— which

In

memory

called Saint Benedict Cathedral.

young bishop named Nicolas Pavilion took control of

the

Alet diocese, from which position he played a significant role. Along with

and the abbot Jean

Saint Vincent de Paul

and seminary of Saint-Sulpice

founder of the church

Ollier,

he was the driving force of the

in Paris,

famous Brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament, upon which plenty of remains to be shed. There are

still

of the

Holy Sacrament

XIV under was an

ties

connecting the Brotherhood

to the family of Nicolas Foucquet, the superin-

who was

tendent of finances

known

judged and imprisoned iniquitously by Louis

conditions that are obscure, to say the

incredible

megalomaniac

was unable

of pressure that he

light

who had

least.

Nicolas Foucquet

means

at his disposal certain

to turn to his use

and which were

ulti-

mately used against him. Shortly after his imprisonment, his victorious adversary Colbert ordered that excavations and document searches be

undertaken

in the Razes.

was seeking

to exploit the

plateau that might

still

coincidences in this

had

Why? The most

reason

is

have had some value. But there are

affair,

that Colbert

few gold mines on the Rennes-le-Chateau

and those

discreet investigations

a direct relationship to “the secrets

row an

realistic

known by Mr.

far

too

seem

many

to have

Foucquet,” to bor-

expression of the time. That combined with the mysterious

letter

from Nicolas Foucquet’s brother concerning Nicolas Poussin, painter of the

famous Shepherds of Arcadia, only increase the shadows that

the Razes.

Whatever the truth may

be, Nicolas Pavilion,

lie

over

bishop of Alet,

along with the other members of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament, strove to aid Foucquet, as

was

the king’s desire.

Foucquet matter

None

6.

spills

And whether we

like

it

or not, the Nicolas

over into the Razes. 6

of this stopped Nicolas Pavilion from attending to

For more on

this, see

Pygmalion, 1989). In the Iron

which spared him from simply being put to death,

Mask, or

it

Jean Markale, La Bastille et Venigme du I

Masque de

work

Fer (Paris:

develop the hypothesis that Nicolas Foucquet was the

at least

“one of several

Men

in

Iron Masks.”

in

Man

in

The History of the Earldom of Razes

his diocese. in Alet

He

on the advice of Saint Vincent de

aware of the

young

created a seminary for the instruction of Paul,,

who,

priests

becoming

after

intellectual poverty of the clergy of his time, displayed the

greatest zeal in finding a

way

to

remedy

During the

it.

entire time he

held the bishop’s chair, Pavilion had frequent contact with

who was

93

Abbot

Ollier,

himself the founder of the seminary of Saint-Sulpice. Given

these circumstances,

why

is it

surprising to encounter so

much

specula-

tion about the subtle relationship that existed between the church of

Rennes-le-Chateau and the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris? But times change. The Razes slumbered in a kind of torpor, as

wrapped

in a

summer

The few dominant

mist. Certain incidents did occur,

families

who seemed

though

watch over

to

if

discreetly.

this territory

almost fiercely witnessed their financial strength shrink over time. The aristocracy this

In

was no longer what

it

used to be, and land, especially that of

scorched region, no longer took in the kind of revenues

1422 the

once did.

it

heiress of the Voisins (and thus of the d’Aniort family),

Marcafava, married Pierre-Raymond d’Hautpoul, heir of one of the oldest

and most

illustrious families of Occitania.

The founders

been named the Kings of the Black Mountain, a indicative of their propensity “to their

mountain

title

that

of his line had

was somewhat

go underground” and to mock from

fortresses the legal authorities

who

claimed they should

submit to the laws. At the time of the Albigensian Crusade, they obviously favored the “heretics” and found themselves stripped of their castles

and

were

lands. In short, in the fifteenth century the Hautpoul,

worthy representatives of those

faidits lords

imprint on the Cathar region and

Hautpouls

who would

later

its

become

who

left

still

such an indelible

immediate surroundings.

It

was

the

the lords of Rennes-le-Chateau.

In 1732, long after the troubled affairs of the reign of Touis XIV,

Francois d’Hautpoul married Marie de Negri d’Ables, rights to the inheritance of the d’Aniort family

owned

this family’s archives.

who

and who,

it

also

had

appears,

Francois d’Hautpoul and Marie de Negri of them, Elisabeth, lived and died a

d’Ables had three daughters.

One

spinster in Rennes-les-Bains.

The second, Marie, married her cousin

d’Hautpoul-Felines, and the third, Gabrielle, married the marquis of Fleury,

who

seems to have been a member of various secret

most notably the Freemasons and Rosicrucians.

societies,

The

94

of the Mystery

Site

When

for the succession of their parents to be settled,

came time

it

Elisabeth quarreled with her sisters concerning the allotment of prop-

them

erty, refusing to give

that

it

the family papers

and

was dangerous (we may wonder why!)

ments and that

would be more appropriate

it

distinguished which were family

Perhaps

could

this

mean

titles

to consult these docu-

and

to “have deciphered

and which were not

that the Hautpouls,

family, possessed in their archives

on the pretext

titles

at

all.

to the d Aniort

full heirs

documents that were not the family’s

but which they held for safekeeping and no doubt did not have the right to dispose of as they

what

We

we can

— but to whom? That

agree that is

it is

we

know

will never

possible they were

the real question.

must further take note of the very strange story whose events

took place a

whom

quite obvious that

fit. It is

these papers were, but

compromising

full

century

1870.

later, in

It

appears that the notary with

the Hautpoul-d’Aniort family papers were stored refused to turn

them over

to Pierre d’Hautpoul, descendant of this illustrious line,

would be

pretext that

it

documents.

What

dote?

saw

are

terribly

we

to

Some have imagined

marked with

of this obviously unvenfiable anec-

among

these

documents were genealogies

the seal of Blanche de Castille, proving the

the Merovingian dynasty. She

ing her stay

imprudent to relinquish such important

make

that

on the Razes

nobility of the region,

in

on the

would have signed

permanence of

these genealogies dur-

exchange for the submission of the principal

which would explain her extreme indulgence of

Trencavel and the d’Aniort family.

It is

impossible to confirm such an

assumption, however, because the notary never passed on these docu-

seems that the theory of the per-

ments and no one has ever seen them.

It

manence of

smacks not only of fantasy but of

the purest

From one until

the Merovingian dynasty

form of fraud

as well. All of this

coincidence to the next

we end up with whatever

it is

church when he was renovating

was then claimed be

to be

— and

we

is

— the “treasure” of Blanche de

in fact, quite irritating.

are buried ever deeper in shadow,

that

He now

it.

is,

Abbe Sauniere discovered

actually did find something,

in his

which

even more strenuously claimed to

Castille.

But what treasure

is

this?

At the time of the disagreement between Elisabeth d’Hautpoul and her sisters, just before the Revolution,

someone did know of

the exis-

tence and perhaps the contents of the mysterious documents:

Abbe

The History of the Earldom of Razes Bigou, priest of Rennes-le-Chateau. Antoine Bigou was the a priest

hood, as

who had

in

also served in Rennes.

1176 he succeeded

Rene Descadeillas

Once he had

nephew

of

joined the priest-

Rennes-le-Chateau, enjoying,

his uncle in

“the respect and esteem of his parish-

tells us,

Marie de Negri d’Ables was

ioners.” At this time

95

living

an impover-

ished existence with her daughter Elisabeth d’Hautpoul in the Rennes

where she died

castle,

in 1781.

She was buried in the small cemetery

behind the church beneath a tomb that bore the inscription that has since received serious study, especially recently, for

been defaced by Abbe Sauniere, though tion contains mistakes that have

we may

drawn

derniers seigneurs

and

in his

ask why. The inscrip-

the attention of cryptogram

Rene Descadeillas* says again

fans, but as

appears to have

it

in his

work Rennes

et ses

Mytbologie de Rennes-le-Chateau, there

is

nothing surprising about these errors. “In these remote villages of the seventeenth century education was not widespread and the person

knew how

to handle the chisel

was carving

.

.

.

was ignorant of

the letters

who

and words he

Cutting another stone and carving another epitaph

were out of the question. This work was not

free,

and we know that the

Hautpoul[s] of Rennes were not very rich.” Yet this does not negate the provable fact that Abbe Sauniere inventoried this tomb of Marie de

Negri d’Ables and then made sure the stone disappeared

why was

in

1906

— but

he getting mixed up in this?

Following the death of Marie de Negri d’Ables, Abbe Bigou contin-

ued to take an active already assumed to there

is

for the

came

a

nephew With

to the

this

the arrival of the Revolution, however,

wide array of troubles, including those triggered by the

Civil Constitution of the Clergy.

Legislative

and

to discontinue fulfilling that func-

Bigou truly knew the contents of

how Abbe

strange family’s documents. there

the role of proxy for the Hautpouls,

some extent

was no reason

tion. This, then,

Hautpoul family matters. His uncle had

interest in

On November 29,

Assembly declared that

new government would

all priests

1791, a decree of the

who had

not given an oath

be suspected of revolt, would have their

pensions taken away, and would be exiled or punished with two years of detention. Before this edict, on February 20, 1791, the oath but coupled

it

Abbe Bigou swore

with such conditions that

Considered henceforth a refractory

priest,

it

was

refused.

he soon saw himself on the

The

96

Site

of the Mystery

verge of being deported per the law of August 26, 1792. During the

first

days of September that same year, however, he slipped clandestinely over the Spanish frontier, as did the majority of the refractory clergy of that region.

At

this

He

time Antoine Bigou was seventy-three years old.

from

his diocese in Sabadell (in

found lodging with several other

priests

the province of Barcelona) or

immediate surrounding area. This was

its

where death found him on March 21, 1794.

Abbe Antoine Bigou, who ject of the

documents

in the

ing place close to a century later

Abbe Bigou made objects

of the sub-

keeping of the Hautpoul family, died

taking his secrets to the grave.

exile,

knew much

in all likelihood

Is this

show

in

truly so certain? Events tak-

that before leaving the country

sure to conceal in the Rennes church valuable cultural

and currency belonging

into exile. This stash

is

to

him

incontestably

that he could not take with

him

what Abbe Sauniere discovered

during the restoration of his church. But this

still

leaves the mystery of

the possible manuscripts that were allegedly found in a hollow pillar

holding up the

The

altar.

made

inventories

in

1793 show that

none of what was hidden had been found. This was result

and the subsequent

sale of objects of

nothing. We should note that the same

and

if

was

our time the “treasuries” of

in

extremely beautiful precious objects,

which was

ing them,

all

it is

to the greater

a disappointing

worship brought true for

many

in

its

face.

torpor.

The

At

this

Industrial

churches can boast of

owing

to this practice of hid-

good of our

cultural patrimony.

Age had begun, and

were outside the new centers of

The plateaus of the Corbieres,

grown with

fell

back

time wealth was no longer measured by land surthe Razes escaped that furious

blaze of activity that characterized the nineteenth century. that

almost

most parishes then,

After the Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, the Razes into

in fact

vegetation, the

activity

the valleys that

towns

in

The lands

were quickly forgotten.

had quickly became over-

which the houses slowly crumbled

because the owners could not afford to pay for the necessary repairs: All of this

remained slumbering peacefully

Political

lenged.

7. Pierre

New

in the mist of the past.

regimes succeeded one another as each found ideas

itself chal-

were spreading, but because the multiple channels of

Jarnac, Histoire du tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 114-15.

The History of the Earldom of Razes

97

communication automatically distorted them, no profound changes occurred.

The Razes merely became one of those regions

ever mentions and

which serve

to shelter a kind of

human

that

being

no one

who

is

on the verge of vanishing. Hence the dilapidation and great dissolution within a society that no longer knows what will become of it. The old families tried to survive

the species,

knowing

that everything

—poorly, more often than not— well that they

full

would have

much longer and commoners who had been

would not

to be sold to the

mutation of

this

last

enriched by the sale of national properties.

There was one exception, however: the Hautpoul family, heirs to the d’Aniort over

whom

hovered the shadow of Trencavel.

It

should

be remembered that Gabrielle* d’Hautpoul de Blanchefort married the

marquis Paul-Fran^ois-Vincent de Fleury, a figure

home

at

Enlightenment and a member of so-called philosophical

whom,

Several children were born to this couple, one of

in

the

societies.

Paul-Urbain de

Fleury (born in 1778), had the good fortune not only to survive this hunt of former aristocrats but also to earn a considerable fortune under strange circumstances. This the properties his

and

He

ties.

his wife’s families

then

who was August

—the Rennes

7,

wed

is

It is

in a

is

home

fifty-eight

who

in this

when

new

Merlin the magician

buy back

an immigrant

society.

He

in the

died on

cemetery

has two tombs, one of which bears the

while doing good,” an obvious symbol of

the dates carved

Two tombs

upon them

definitely a disconcerting land.

does elsewhere. Until

to

as national proper-

and was interred

Rosicrucian organization.

excessive, especially

it

he

“He has departed

membership

means

—that had belonged to

and which had been sold

1836, at the age of

The Razes as

castle, in particular

nonetheless perfectly at

inscription

the

a representative of the fallen nobility,

of Rennes-les-Bains.

his

was how he found

this time,

who had

the

it

was

for

one

man

are incorrect.

Nothing happens here

figures like

King Arthur and

honor of multiple tombs. Would

Paul-Urbain de Fleury therefore be part of the lineage of one of these mythological characters and, more significantly,

tempted to think

so.

who have long been a part of Western Europe the human collective unconscious? We may be

But

we should

not overlook that in

all

these lost

regions, as one generation takes the place of another, traditions remain as

if

they constitute the essential structure of

reality.

While we can

The

98

Site

of the Mystery

indulge ourselves with a detailed nomenclature of anomalies, oddities,

and anachronisms that can there

is

easily be seen in such regions the

a great risk that the task will take a long time.

there been such interest in the Razes

Chateau and Rennes-les-Bains? There tinguishes the history of the Razes Really,

is

him

then, has

in Rennes-le-

from other regions of to say about

priest of Rennes-le-Chateau,

that the scandal erupted.

over,

nothing that substantially

Yet in 1885 an ecclesiastic native to the region,

was named

Why,

and particularly

no one should have anything more

Sauniere,

world

and

dis-

this kind.

it.

Abbe Beranger it

was through

Part 2

HE

WHO

BRINGS

SCANDAL

—

4

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

It

was

summer

the

Corbieres

that

of 1885.

down

looks

The heat was over

Aude

the

Republican government was expediting

intense in the part of the

its

Valley.

In

Paris

daily business in an

the

atmo-

sphere of torpor and expectation. The ministers had only a single idea in

mind: to get back to their

districts,

not only to take a vacation but

also to properly prepare the voters to reelect

them by

a comfortable

majority in the coming elections scheduled for October. Tife

was larly

was good

for the servants of the Republic. Their sole difficulty

getting reelected.

because of the

Here the future was not always

Roman

certain, particu-

Catholic Church. Thanks to the Concordat,

not only did the clergy receive seventy-five gold francs a month, but they were also permitted to criticize as they pleased the policies of those

who were

governing. This

feeds you.”

great one,

None

of this

their churches at least

and

it

if

the

first

hand

that

Napoleon, the

ill-advised idea of concluding such a pact

was necessary

their presbyteries,

on the surface,

drawn up

truly a case of “biting the

would have occurred

had not had the

with the pope. Thus

was

for there

to support the ecclesiastics, repair

and do them

was no

a

thousand favors

lack of very subtle plans being

to contrive the separation of

Church and

State.

There was

even thought of seizing the property of the clergy, something achieved

by a good number of sovereign authorities elsewhere, more or cessfully. All this

is

less suc-

simply to say that during the year 1885 anticlerical

campaigns were multiplying among the Republicans and that these campaigns often found

a favorable

echo

100

in the

Aude, which as every-

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

one knew was a

leftist

101

department, a red department, ever ready to

fol-

a revolt or a heresy. Wasn’t this the land of the Cathars,

low the lead of after all?

At

Monsignor

man

creet

time the Episcopal seat of Carcassonne was held by

this

Felix Billard,

in love

with

whom

justice.

witnesses described as a good, dis-

all

He had

recently

Rennes-le-Chateau, the rotting parish that

appearing despite the poverty of sun,

and which brought

in

its

still

named

new

a

managed

priest to

to avoid dis-

inhabitants and the harshness of the

nothing for the bishopric. The inhabitants of

Rennes did not have a reputation for being fervent Christians; even rumored that some of them indulged

something that was not so rare overall

it

was

in the practice of sorcery,

in the

Carcassonne diocese. But

because the town had to have a spiritual leader, Monsignor Billard had

who was thirty-three years old and still the region who understood the local men-

recently assigned a priest there full

of illusions, a native of

tality

and who

for several

minor parish of no

in a

and

native of Montazels family. His

interest.

a

It

suffering

from melancholy

This priest was Beranger Sauniere, a

member

of an honorable and fairly well-off

younger brother was also a

authorities.

religious

months had been

would be

all

priest,

but of the kind to alarm

to the greater

good

if

Abbe

Sauniere found himself back in his natal mountains, where he would be

from the bad influences he might be subjected

sheltered

brother whose daily

life, it

to through his

was guessed, did not conform

to

what was

expected of an ecclesiastic.

Thus,

full

of joy and trusting in his future,

arrived in Rennes-le-Chateau

was

a familiar sight, for

the region, with ate

cool

brown

a hot

resembled

day

all

in

June 1885. The village

the other villages he

knew

in

houses holding up each other in an attempt to cre-

havens from the torrid weather. The colors of their

Romanesque a

its

it

on

Abbe Beranger Sauniere

tile

that

roofs, determined by age, ranged

from a bright red to

combined with the color of the moss withering on the

tiles.

“This village,” writes Louis Fedie, a witness of this time, “offers

large

empty spaces

face.

Neither time nor the efforts of

shape of

this

that take

up almost two thirds of the plateau’s

man

have changed

rocky mass that, cut and carved

in the

cone, dominates the plain in every direction.”

in

sur-

any way the

shape of a truncated

He Who

102

Brings Scandal

Abbe Sauniere would have

nest he

on

sense of pride

felt a

He would

dominating position.

a

universe and master of the elements. Wasn’t this

made

do

to

in the service of

From

his arrival.

God and humanity?

this eagle’s

be observer of the

what

was

he, a priest,

Certainly, he

had some

weaknesses: some health complaints and a weak heart of which he was aware. But he was young, and this ailment did not prevent him from looking

—even

staring

it

was not only

proof of

at

He was

passed close by. well

—

women,

sensitive to feminine

was

a desolate site:

no panes of collapsing

—

the building self if his

window

set in.

may

His

is

its

needs. For

was

to his church.

to cave in.

There were

was on

the verge of

vault

—and the dilapidation of the

rest of

Beranger Sauniere asked him-

interior.

not have sent him here for penitence and not as a

promotion. Such case occurred frequently

which

first visit

The

frames.

he thought so

matched that of the

bishop

quite

The roof was threatening

glass in the at least

charm and knew

without eating and drinking.

But disenchantment rapidly It

who

The body has

for aesthetic reasons.

this, try to live

younger ones

especially the

just as deft at giving

in the

out punishments as

Holy Roman Church, it is

rewards. But what

grave sin could he have committed? His faith was sure, as he had

on many occasions. He was scrupulously devoted

to his

shown

work. Could

he have been paying for the sins of his brother? Whether this was true or not, he asked himself this question. After leaving the church he went

on

meant

to the presbytery

to serve as his

too appeared on the verge of collapse, suggesting that the com-

ment,

it

mune

of Rennes-le-Chateau, which

was obliged

upkeep, was instead devoted to the devil ics

who

its

sorry fate, and

rying

it

truly

to

—

to ensure the church’s

in this instance, the anticler-

wished to see the Republic abandon the Holy Church to

who would

even take potshots at the ambulance car-

its fate.

In reaction to the

mune, Beranger a

home. Another disappoint-

felt

a

dominant

leftist political

reawakening of

his

tendencies of this

monarchist impulses.

com-

He was

Republican only to the extent necessary for those resolved to accept

a fait accompli. all else,

But

tradition

in his family, tradition

was

the Church.

Who

was everything

— and above

could defend the Church

the monarchy, the sole regime that could

still

if

not

safeguard the alliance

between priesthood and empire and harmonize the relationship

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

103

between the sacred and the profane? Abbe Sauniere told himself that he

would change what he found before him. He was

a fighter. Despite his

weaknesses he was physically resourceful and basically

God and

wished for change and made the commitment before to contribute to cese.

He

making

was not

his family

would show

all

.

no one had ever been held back by

was

In this instance the devil

to conjure

— but

away

the

He

devil*.

.

a

little

man-made

time and a

and

well

a defeat

his

bishop

knew

that in

and no one had

or devil-made.

even imagined that

it

knew

would be

the

the faithful at the door of the

in a terrible position of inferiority,

of holy water, which everyone

He

.

himself

present, but Beranger Sauniere

who would welcome

devil himself

church

With

He

in the entire dio-

these peasants

the soul of a slave. Patience

ever been bested by adversity, whether

how

most beautiful

perfectly capable of achieving this.

felt

great deal of energy, he that his

his parish the

intelligent.

knows

holding up a stoup

full

the devil cannot touch without

Was the devil looking for him? Beranger Sauniere knew how to make him bow down. Aren’t there folktales everywhere, after all, that tell of the great saints of this world who have

experiencing great suffering.

1

forced the devil to erect buildings, bridges, and even cathedrals with-

out having to give anything in exchange because the devil can always be “conned” by those

attach himself to

this)

it

and make

essential to find the

The went

are pure of heart? So Beranger Sauniere’s

was made. He had been given an inhospitable

decision

became

who

first

task

was

in search of the

and

it

the

means

most beautiful rock imaginable.

mayor town

to register himself (his salary official

commune was

about the sorry

is

notably the case

that Saint Tugdal dral in

made

one night and

in

Treguier

(in

state of the

church

complaints only by say-

would look

later at

make

what could be

Cotes-du-Nord), where local legend maintains

a pact with the devil,

in return

his

depended on

not rich and did not have the means to

the necessary repairs, but that they

This

It

to reach this goal.

and presbytery. The mayor could respond to

1.

He would

to get the situation in order. Sauniere therefore

to belabor the

ing that the

rock.

who was

to build

him

a magnificent cathe-

could take possession of the souls of

those

all

who

died

between High Mass and Vespers the following Sunday. But Saint Tugdal immediately began singing the less

first

chant of Vespers as soon as High Mass was over.

variations on this theme.

1

here are count-

104

He Who

done.

He

Brings Scandal

advised the

new

priest to take

of the parish’s inhabitants. In this

with a

woman

way

up temporary lodging with one

Sauniere found

of the village and ran up

room and board

some debts

at the grocer’s

2 because he had not yet received his wages and his savings were meager.

The summer passed sities

—that

is,

quietly. Sauniere tried to deal

he cleaned out

all

the debris that

with basic neces-

had accumulated

in the

church and asked the devoted parishioners to do the routine house-

work.

One

He

fine

managed

therefore

day he received a

visit

priest of Rennes-les-Bains.

an honorable place of worship.

to present

from

his closest colleague,

Abbe Boudet,

Boudet approached Sauniere with an

air of

condescension; he was sure of himself and slightly self-infatuated, as

though he was holding confidential information. He convinced Sauniere that some of this information was intended for the priest of

Rennes-le-Chateau, but that he, Boudet, would dole

it

out piecemeal on

the condition that Sauniere prove cooperative.

What

kind of cooperation did he mean?

It is

a real mystery.

old tomcat Boudet refrained from confirming anything; he to

make

The

sly

was content

suggestions and give advice to his colleague. Sauniere,

who was

younger than Boudet, was impressed. Boudet’s stand-out reputation preceded him:

He was

a scholar

who had

published journal articles and

even books and who, moreover, was connected to very influential people

who were

quite capable of providing the funds to undertake the

restoration of the

Church of Saint Mary Magdalene

How

Chateau. Sauniere began to ruminate.

was

it

from Rennes-les-Bains could have such influence?

conform to what to grasp

him.

his elder told

what he was being

It

that a It

in

Rennes-le-

modest

priest

was important

was even more important

told in such sibylline terms. In short,

to

to try

what

we have here is Abbe Sauniere ’s first temptation. It would not be the last. Abbe Boudet had invited his young colleague to come visit him in At

the parish of Rennes-les-Bains.

horseback, or by cart.

It

was

this

a long

time people traveled by foot, by

way between Rennes-le-Chateau

and Rennes-les-Bains, and unlike Abbe Boudet, not everyone had the

good fortune

2.

I

am

There

is

to

own

recounting the

a cart. Nevertheless,

Abbe Sauniere legend

no need to say that the

reality

here as

Abbe Sauniere managed

it

was completely

to

has been contrived since 1956. different.

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

make

his

way down

in Rennes-le-Bains.

complete change from the wretchedness of furnished with paintings and a bookcase

was

would normally be served only on

Abbe Boudet’s

peer,

any more attention.

How

such a

lected so

life

attention? Sauniere

It

there

was

a

was handsomely

Abbe Boudet

Though

cook

a

not have been very pretty and

age. Beranger Sauniere didn’t

who

pay her

at that time minis-

447 inhabitants (which does not mean 447

many books and

the display that Boudet,

may

of creature comforts?

well-to-do family. But this

own.

of books, for

full

could Abbe Boudet,

tered a population of only faithful), live

his

special occasions.

servant

had long ago reached canonical

The presbytery

and Sauniere was given a meal that

a distinguished intellectual,

without

from the neigh-

into the valley, thanks to a peasant

borhood. Here he was

105

How

could he have col-

beautiful objects? Perhaps he

was not

somewhat

the case. So cynically,

came from

a

what can we make of

brought to

wondered what kind of place

this

his colleague’s

was. After

all,

both Abbe Boudet and he were only modest servants of poor parishes.

The

priest of

Rennes-le-Chateau wondered what was the source of the

affluence of his colleague in the valley.

Boudet

clearly refrained

excite his curiosity,

he too, after

He

Sauniere’s weaknesses

try priest.

was

all

just as

much

magnificence.

who was welcomed warmly enough

who

cer-

amount of condescension. Now, one

pride.

He knew

leisurely

of

that one day or another he

and that he ought

A storm of emotions was raging in the mind

Boudet,

he could to

his envy. Sauniere told himself that

to return Boudet’s invitation

a hundredfold.

him, but he did

could treat his visitors with

but also with a certain

would have

telling

and consequently

the poor relation,

felt like

tainly,

all,

from

to return

of this coun-

extended his display of wealth

Boudet was the image or incarnation of the tempter

it

whom

.

.

.

Balzac

described in Le Pere Goriot, wearing the features of Vautrin. Sauniere

could have read the book while course, for Balzac

version of souls.

spheres that

was

It

still

in the seminary,

but secretly of

blacklisted as a craftsman specializing in the per-

was obviously forgotten

Honore de

Balzac,

in the higher ecclesiastical

worthy student of the Oratorians of the

College of Tours, had described in his Louis Lambert the states of the soul of a to

young man who was prey

mention

spiritism. Finally,

to the

demons

of spirituality, not

Beranger Sauniere cast aside his literary

He Who

106

Brings Scandal

recollections; they incited a disturbance that

He

similar to the ado-

by the description of the Jewish beauty

lescent agitation once inspired

Esther Gobseck.

was too

what Boudet was

listened to

him, which

telling

blended with these temptations very welcome considerations about the local oddities, strange rocks,

and caves that held

His

secrets or treasures.

host ended by saying that certain people were firmly counting on

Sauniere to perform a mission that could be entrusted to him. Sauniere

was astonished.

How could a poor country priest such as himself be able Boudet

to serve the designs of the powerful people of this world?

sured him that in often the

It is

the

everyone has a role to play and no one

life

most humble who are promised the greatest

words of the Gospel, “the

first will

Beranger Sauniere no longer

useless.

destinies. In

be last” and vice versa.

knew where he

stood.

The servant bus-

around him and poured after-dinner drinks. His head was spinning.

tled

He wished the

is

reas-

he was back up on the plateau, where he was sheltered from

somewhat shady

he really in his

delights

Boudet was proposing. After

know about Boudet?

It

was

said that he

seal himself

study for days, where he would consult old grimoires.

said that he

surely not the

Good

proachable priest and a person could

without having to

fortify

closest bistro. But

why

priest,

was asked

also

hand, looking for

God

Lord. True, he was an

irre-

in

listen to his

It

sermons attentively

him- or herself beforehand with a drink

at the

the insistence to Beranger Sauniere that he, the

to complete a mysterious mission? Sauniere even-

tually returned to Rennes-le-Chateau in the cart of the peasant,

had waited patiently for him. Back sleep of the just,

The summer

it

seems. But the devil had his eye on him.

died. Elections

took place

in

October 18, Abbe Beranger Sauniere addressed

two

tiers, as

his

polls

rather disconcerting.

He

praised the fact that the

satisfactory results but indicated that victory

occasion he invited the parish

ones attending Mass

—to exert

—that

is

said

their

power over

was

had provided

was not complete.

—who were

on

congregation in the

first tier

women all

usual,

opened on

Magdalene Church of Rennes-le-Chateau, and what he

the right choice”

who

in his village that night he slept the

October 4 and October 18, 1885. But before the

Saint

up

was

wandered the countryside, maps

knows what but

new

would

what did

all,

On

this

obviously the only their

men

to

“make

to say, to convince the ill-informed electorate

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

During

to vote for the defenders of religion.

his address he

107

made com-

ments that have been scrupulously reported: “The Republicans, they are the devil to be defeated; they are to be brought to their knees beneath the weight of religion

and the baptized. The

ous and with us!”

It

was

church was already

visible,

famous

inscription:

“With

as

if

the ornamentation of the

Was

you

will be victorious.”

victori-

Magdalene

So what was

there something in the excellent wine

Abbe Boudet had given him? This

that

is

complete with the devil Asmodeus and the

this sign

eating the priest Sauniere?

sign of the cross

is

just

one more mystery

in the

Razes, where customary logic does not always seem to apply. In

with

this

hand

inopportune sermon, Beranger Sauniere was openly biting the

was granted

that fed him, for his mo*nthly salary

French

fact,

state,

which was

to

him by

the

as Republican as could be.

This sermon, in fact a political speech that he had no right to make,

was an

assault

on the detachment he was expected

servant. His aggressiveness against the Republicans,

to observe as a civil

who were

seriously

contemplating action against the clergy in 1885, was equaled only by his lack of awareness.

He was

not reactionary right.

It

Aude

in particular,

preaching the vote for the conservative

so happens that the Occitan Midi at that time,

was veering

what we might today

if

to

what was then

called the red

and

The Radicals triumphed almost

call pale pink.

everywhere, and Sauniere, as a priest of a parish supported by state funds,

was denounced

to the

asserting electoral pressure.

against Sauniere.

He was

Aude

It is

prefect for inciting disorder

certain that the law

and the

rules

and were

caught in the wrong. The Aude prefect could

only conclude that he was guilty and sentence him to a salary suspension,

which was put through immediately by the Ministry of

Poor Beranger Sauniere! Later he would be suspens a bishop, but for the

This

situation

Monsignor the

moment was

Billard clearly

his salary

serious,

for

understood

annoyance named Abbe Sauniere

small seminary in Narbonne.

was suspended by the this

of

money

at that time.

was protected by Monsignor

priest

and

in

by

his

own

his prefect.

had no resources.

an attempt to remedy

to the position of professor at the

Most important, however, was

Sauniere of two hundred francs out of his

sum

divinis

Cults.

own

his loan to

pocket, a considerable

Should we believe that Beranger Sauniere Felix Billard?

He Who

108

Brings Scandal

Here the story reaches new heights, and the versions, their details

and conclusions, are

all in

agreement on one point: Abbe

Sauniere was manipulated by Monsignor Billard,

bishop of Carcassonne, but also an eminent sect.

The purpose of

ments hidden reestablishing

was

this sect

who was

member

on the throne of France

not only

of a mysterious

to rediscover a treasure

Rennes-le-Chateau

in

differing in

and docu-

order to use them toward

in

a legitimate representative of the

meaning the Merovingians, who were themselves

original dynasty, to

an even more prestigious dynasty, no

by

way

of Jesus and

Mary Magdalene.

who had

Sauniere, a native of the region,

Monsignor

delicate mission.

3

less

than the House of David

was

It

heir

the poor abbe Beranger

been chosen for

this

him

Billard could not leave

extremely

in need, for

Sauniere had found himself in this situation as a result of obeying his

ambiguous words of Abbe Boudet,

orders, albeit those conveyed by the

who was

himself an influential

member

of this

As we know, quarrels between various

same

sect.

authorities

do not

last long.

After a period in which each side displayed intimidation tactics, a

promise was

1886 the Aude

finally reached. In July

the punishment

prefect, feeling that

had been long enough (and no doubt having had enough

of the pressures put

on him

to

end

it),

withdrew the suspension and

restored Beranger Sauniere’s administrative duties, along with his stipend.

The

priest

“In triumph”

women

could is

now

stretching things quite a

in the parish

less so.

a person

who were accustomed

Here again within

known

needed to be

of

all

enemy

bit,

however. The few

to his preaching

were

voted Republican, were

was

a foe of circle dances,

of democracy and one

who

they were to avoid future problems with the

prefecture as well as the bishopric.

were profoundly

whom

their walls

to be an ardent

set straight if

monthly

return in triumph to Rennes-le-Chateau.

delighted, but their husbands,

much

com-

anticlerical,

The people of Rennes-le-Chateau

which they had been proving

since the

time of the Cathars. They would keep the priest under surveillance while giving him to understand that they would accommodate him on points that icy during

3.

Again

this

would not offend anyone. This would be

Abbe

is

the municipal pol-

Sauniere’s ministry.

the story,

and not

historic fact, that

I

am

citing here.

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

He had

But Sauniere did not return empty-handed from Narbonne. the considerable

amount

of three thousand gold francs at his disposal, an

was generously given

that

widow

the

sum

of the count of

French throne

who

109

him by

to

Chambord,

a legitimate pretender to the

lived in exile in Austria.

thought to the words of Abbe Boudet,

it

Chambord,

the countess of

Sauniere ever gave

If

seemed he had proof

now

that

highly placed individuals expected something of him. Curiously enough,

according to the documents at our disposal, the total cost for the most

Magdalene Church proved

urgently needed repairs at the Saint

2,797 francs. The coincidence

Abbe Boudet and with

too perfect to be fortuitous. By

is

the blessing of

Monsignor

Billard,

to be

way

of

Abbe Sauniere

seemed to have been given a mission to accomplish something he may not have grasped

was

entirely, yet realized

know how

aged Armagnac: “There

believe at first hearing, but

was

a fortune in

is

when

we might

vow

to

begin to be interested.

exactly

is

make Rennes-le-Chateau

what Sauniere

the

in fact

drawn up

in

Of course,

if

you

work did,

other option

for the parish

remembering

this restoration.

his

diocese.

The laws

way that when it was seen that neither commune could act, it was up to the parish

such a

the church council nor the priest to act.

What

most beautiful parish of the

Beranger Sauniere had his hands free for

were

you

a packet of three thousand francs falls

there than to order the urgent restoration

church of Rennes? This

for

it

the spell of

These are the kinds of words we might not

to catch it.”

into our lap, then

Though he could

may have been under

not recall certain words of Boudet, he his colleague’s

essential.

the

commune

of Rennes

was too poor

to under-

take even the smallest kind of construction work, and the church council

had only

priest.

a small

sum

at its disposal,

bequeathed to

Sauniere therefore assumed almost

the gift that the countess of

concerns were the missing dilapidated),

and the

altar

Chambord

window

all

it

by a former

the repair costs, thanks to

sent his way. His immediate

panes, the cathedra (which

was

(which was threatening to collapse). To

address these concerns he turned to craftsmen and settled on prices and job schedules with them. It

was

at this time that

he received a

presented herself to him on behalf of

visit

from

a

young

Abbe Boudet. She

the priest of Rennes-les-Bains had asked her to

told

come look

girl

who

him

that

after his

He Who

110

Brings Scandal

needs so that he could This

tions.

fulfill his

ministry under the best possible condi-

had been working

girl

as a hat

maker and her name was

Marie Denarnaud. 4 Sauniere, who had moved into the presbytery

after

“plugging up the holes,” accepted Marie Denarnaud as his servant, but the presence of this young, fairly attractive

amount

woman

caused him a certain

of understandable torment. Thus, several days

Denarnaud went from being

a

modest servant

later,

Marie

to being the mistress of

the robust and spirited priest of Rennes-le-Chateau. She remained in this role for the rest of her life,

to

whom she

devoted

mitted against

all

proving an exemplary

her time

—despite the

acts of infidelity he

For as was often repeated

her.

in the region,

sin.

5

In addition, the

brother, the Jesuit rejected by his brotherhood, a notorious relationship,

him.

Of

what

course,

com-

Beranger

Sauniere was “hot-blooded,” and Marie Denarnaud was not the

cause him to veer onto the path of

man

fidelity to the

first

example of

who would soon

to

his

live in

provided some kind of encouragement for

a beautiful love story

it

makes,

this passionate

adventure between a modest parish priest and his young servant.

Obviously she was not of canonical age, meaning the age required by

who cared about this in common saying goes, “A priest is

ecclesiastical rules. 6

After

all,

as the

But

Rennes-le-Chateau? a

man

just like

any

other man!”

So Abbe Sauniere had

exuded it,

a

set

somewhat sulfurous

though,

why

was

later but

Beranger. After

an entirely invented episode. This possible

has not been proved

creators. But that’s just

The members of

not of chastity.

took the 6.

vow

It

how

household

uncommon Abbe Boudet, who

understanding that had

all,

liaison

why

—which would have begun

is

quite regrettable for our story’s

the lay clergy, including parish priests, took a

was

the

couldn’t Marie

it is.

members

of the regular clergy, therefore,

vow

of celibacy but

monks and nuns, who

of chastity.

[Meaning the age required to be mistress to

woman.

this

— between Sauniere and Marie Denarnaud owes absolutely

nothing to any introduction by Abbe Boudet, which

5.

if

no one complained about

his delight at the fine

grown between Marie and

is

odor. Because

increasingly in contact with

seems to have expressed

This

a household, even

not continue and even openly display this

liaison? Sauniere

4.

up

— Translator]

a priest, usually the age of a

postmenopausal

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

Denarnaud be

a

pawn

— and

one of great importance

—

111

game

in the

played in the parish of Rennes-le-Chateau? In the world of make*

believe, female spies

inspire a

and

secret agents

somewhat murky

become Abbe

respect. In fact,

Sauniere’s mistress,

She was a dedicated, poor

still

it

was

enjoy great success and

Marie Denarnaud did

if

at the orders of a higher-up.

but she was ultimately well rewarded,

girl,

for Sauniere subsequently left all he

owned

Here

to his servant/

more

is

food for thought for those more sensitive souls. This unexpected love affair did not prevent Beranger Sauniere from

pursuing his work.

owner of

He came

an agreement with the municipality, the

the sanctuary, don’t forget,

struction.

The members of

reconstruction of the est

to

and voted

and

set

up the

relationship between the

modest subsidy

mayor and

who

the mayor. This nuance

abandoned

in return

large his desire to see France

divine right.

made

The sermons

and

The

the priest, strained at the onset, to

make

things pleas-

efforts not to be disagreeable to

was huge, though,

his reactionary ideas

in the public inter-

at the priest’s disposal.

became much more amicable. The mayor strove ant for the priest,

phase of con-

the municipal council realized that this

Mary Magdalene Church was

to provide a

first

still

for Sauniere

had

in

no way

displayed before the world at

become once more

a

monarchy

of the priest were very clear:

to the old medieval distinction of three classes,

They

ruling by

all

referred

which oddly enough

corresponded to the famous Indo-European tripartition revealed by the

works of Georges Dumezill. This

tripartition

was common

to all the

peoples of Western Europe, and medieval Christianity incorporated

it

admirably.

To

7.

This

get his projects off the ground, Beranger Sauniere did not hesitate

is

absolutely true. At his death Sauniere

Denarnaud’s name. Under these circumstances, leaves

all his

owned

why

nothing. Everything

was

in

imagine a scene in which Sauniere

earthly possessions to his beloved servant?

The

reality

is

much more

prosaic.

Following the seizure of church property and the separation of Church and State, not

in the interest

of any

member

of the clergy to

own

personal property.

to figureheads or organized associations, such as those established by the

hold their property

—a practice that

is still

relevant today.

to seize the property of the clergy today, there

bers of the clergy

own

Marie

If

Many

it

was

resorted

law of 1901, to

by chance the State decided

would be nothing

to seize; officially

mem-

nothing (outside of salaries and personal family possessions).

— He Who

112

Brings Scandal

good word

to carry the

to certain individuals

had made. For example, he persuaded Bot

who

8 ,

lived in

a cafe

whose acquaintance he

owner by

name

the

Luc-sur-Aude and had a good deal of

of Elie

free time, to

attend to the most critical construction on Saturday afternoons and

Sundays.

He

boy named

also secured the help of a fourteen-year-old

Pibouleau, a native of Bezu. With his unqualified but devoted manual

Abbe

labor,

Why the

Sauniere began to turn the interior of the church upside down.

was

on the

interior of the

church when

most urgent work concerned the roof and windows? The answer

very simple:

an

there this ardent focus

Abbe Boudet had

interest in

Sauniere

let

know

that those

It

would be

the result of whatever he dis-

covered here that would enable him to undertake other, profitable searches,

him

les-Bains

which some

in high places

were

and not the

priest of Rennes-le-Chateau.

never undertook a step without the advice of his colleague

who

much more

essentially expect-

make. Definitely the master builder was the

to

took

Rennes-le-Chateau wished the priest to essentially con-

cern himself with the inside.

ing

who

is

priest of

Rennes-

Beranger Sauniere

—or the order, who knows

lived in the valley below. This

was no doubt

because Boudet had promised him great wealth that would allow him to transform his parish

whispers

of Marie

— unless we should consider the more discreet

Denarnaud.

momentous, and while

“Pillow talk”

sometimes quite

is

the locals generally accepted that the priest

sleeping with his servant, people were beginning to take

umbrage

was

at the

exceptional importance young Marie was assuming. Every time anyone

went

to visit the priest, he

had

to first

go through

Mane

Denarnaud;

she seemed to be acting as the boss not only of the presbytery but even of the church. Tongues were wagging. People were wondering these two, along with Elie Bot

and they imagined

to

whomever would

8.

—which

kinds of odd scenarios.

lend an ear that priests of

of practicing magic white!

all

and the young Pibouleau, were

—white

or

black,

Kabbalah and

in this matter.

but

really

up

Some would remind

kinds had the reputation black

more

often

than

increased the parishioners’ respect for their pastor on

In certain versions of the story, Elie Bot

the

all

what

as a

man

is

portrayed as a Jew holding the secrets of

linked to a mysterious priory that

was

pulling

all

the strings

The Abbe Sauniere Legend the one hand, but also increased their fears. Because

known

for sure,

was

it

on

better to be

his

good

113

could never be

it

side rather than suffer *

curses of inexplicable origin. true that the priest often remained alone in his church.

was

It

People doubted that he was there only to pray.

was sounding

the walls

and

and other coatings to

ter

What Saint

and find out what might

try

He was hoping

this place

evidence Sauniere

He

The

from Maison

and

the old one decisive

Monna

moment was lift

at

in

altar.

way

it

that the

he succeeded

around which were

rolled

hand.

pillar,

discovery, however,

an expert

One

day,

altar stone,

when

new

terra-

he was working

he noted that the

was hollow and

filled

with

wooden

left

the time of the French Revolution, before he

on the places that

ferns.

spools in front

could decipher them. This

Sauniere think:

Abbe Bigou, had

must have been other hiding

pillar,

could not read. Only a paleographic

in ancient script

made Abbe

cessor from long ago,

a

documents proved incomprehensible; they

in script that they

archivist or at least

to begin the

some parchments. He unrolled them

witnesses, but the

were written

He knew

something

went

that his prede-

in this

church at

into exile. Surely there

He began pursuing his work, conappeared hollow when he tapped them. He places.

even enlisted boys of the village to help him in his task.

One Sunday those

after

who were

him on

Mass Abbe Sauniere asked

nice treat as a reward.

the inside.

On

his choir boys, at least

nine and ten years old, to perform a small job for

the following

it

was now necessary

Sauniere fished inside and pulled out two or three

centrating

if

Thus he ordered

Toulouse, and

up the

famous pseudo-Visigothic

two

knew

clear out a space for the new.

with his two assistants to

of his

beneath them.

some help from

led him, with

told himself that the best

renovation was to replace the old

move

that

layers of plas-

— a very human hope—thereby to leave

where destiny had

the Episcopal authority.

cotta altar

lie

that he

he would be able to transform the sanctuary and adorn

it,

mark on

the

all

Magdalene Church was hiding something and

as he pleased.

to

was thought

and was sanding away

could he be looking for? By

in finding

his

floor,

It

Thursday

On

after catechism,

promising them a

that day Sauniere locked the church

the floor of the nave, not far

from

from the choir walk,

He Who

114

Brings Scandal

iron bars were arranged near a single large flagstone,

been freed from the floor around

its

tried to lever

began to pay over a

up. Finally everyone’s

it

The

off:

which allowed several

little,

Unfortunately

was dark,

it

ing the nave. Because

we

saying: “Listen,

and

selves,

was

flagstone

in four

it

The

entire circumference.

and the boys pushed the iron bars under the and

which had

sides of the flagstone

good

will

and

They

lifted slightly.

efforts

shifted

it

steps of a stairway to be seen.

was

despite the sunlight that

illuminat-

was now noon, Sauniere thanked

will stop

priest

Go

working.

the boys,

out and amuse your-

hours come and get your treat ...”

And

that

is

what happened. 9

But the boys had time to see that at the bottom of the oule, a large pot,

and that

inside

it

pit there

was an

were shining objects that looked

like

gold coins.

Of

course,

no one knows what the

priest did

more than

he

twelve and four.

It is

ration of the underground room. carried

it

ments.

He

He may

away. never

is

floor,

him what long

all

over the centuries, and

it

unearthed the pot and

it.

As

for the flagstone that

had

known today as the Flagstone of the adjoining museum of the Rennes church. the village that the priest

No

had found

one, however, asked

The inhabitants of Rennes-le-Chateau had

that hiding places

objects of value.

of

tongues wagged nonstop.

the treasure was.

known

thorough explo-

it is

displayed in the

and

a

have discovered other objects or even docu-

The rumor quickly ran through a treasure,

made

He would have

made any mention

been pried up from the

Knight and

likely that

between the hours of

was

had been fashioned throughout the area a sure bet that

Some were even found,

some of

these caches held

but their discoverers

made

sure

not to alert the crowds, preferring to keep their discoveries to themselves

and cash them

in discreetly

when

the opportunity presented

itself.

Thus, no one was about to reproach Sauniere for doing what any one of

them would have done

in his place. Several

days

later,

with the help

of Elie Bot and several others, Sauniere began to clean out the location

9.

Testimony collected by Pierre Jarnac and published by him

de Rennes-le-Chateau, 140-45.

in his Histoire

au

tresor

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

of the high

altar.

On

covered.

Here another oule

the pretext that

it

was time

workers and again remained alone Beranger Sauniere’s these discoveries, it

had taken

with shiny objects was

to eat, the priest sent

dis-

away

the

in the church.

was turned completely upside down by

life

which did not occur through happenstance. Certainly

a long time

through

and

trial

searching in the correct locations. clues

filled

115

but he was always

error,

He must

have been given some

— and who better to supply him with these than

Abbe

his colleague

Boudet, in the name, of course, of that mysterious brotherhood that hid

behind the priest of Rennes-les-Bains? Of intrigued Sauniere the

what

the treasures,

most were the manuscripts, though he was

pable of reading and understanding them.

informed him of

all

his various finds,

point that the story veers in

He

inca-

thus sought out Boudet,

and asked

his advice. It

is

at this

murkiest and most suspect direction.

its

Abbe Boudet began by congratulating his colleague on the excellent work he has achieved and revealing to him that the “treasure” he has unearthed

can keep

is

his

compensation,

his “salary” to

for himself so that his sanctuary

it

some

degree,

might benefit from

he warned Sauniere that he would have to be careful.

an agreement with the municipality so that

The town could not

dishonest actions.

part of the “treasure”

was

to

and that he

it

He

would not accuse him of

refuse the agreement because

go toward repairing a communal prop-

Boudet asked Sauniere to entrust them to

As

him

for the time being so that he could try to decipher them.

sent his colleague back to Rennes-le-Chateau, telling

soon be giving him other instructions Sauniere actually did inform the

10.

A number

took place

in

manuscripts.

him

that he

mayor

Why

was not

until

He

especially

1893 that Sauniere was

did he wait so long? There

fact,

would have been so long

The discovery

with the famous

in advising Sauniere to

Abbe Boudet

however, that Boudet had the rep-

utation of a scholar and prided himself on his archaeological knowledge,

asked him to examine them. In

from the

principle

in Paris

it

emphasized

not a shred of proof that

is

had knowledge of these parchments. Given the

sible that Sauniere

would

of his discoveries, though

of inconsistencies can be noted in the story at this point. it

then

10

and obtained an agreement of

1886 but

He

.

seems that he downplayed their importance. the manuscripts

But

should strike

erty.

for the manuscripts,

it.

this case

we may

it is

question

have them deciphered

not impos-

why Boudet

in Paris.

116

He Who

Brings Scandal

municipality allowing him to

Meanwhile, the

offer for them.

continued. In 1887 the

months

sell

new

later stained glass

the nave. Sauniere then

them should

there ever be any sort of

interior refurbishment of the

was

terra-cotta high altar

was

installed in the

installed

windows

had the walls reinforced.

church

and two

of the choir and

Finally,

he placed an

order with Giscard Statuary of Toulouse for a bas-relief, intended for the entrance door, embellished by a statue of

The work was

saint of the church.

Mary Magdalene, patron 1891 and that same year

finished in

Sauniere asked authorization from the municipal council to enclose at his

expense the public square adjacent to the church so that he might

was given with

erect a religious statue there. This authorization

conditions:

always be

The key

to the

door that allowed access to the square must square was

at the municipality’s disposal, for the

land open to

all;

certain

communal

not give the priest any

further, the municipality did

property rights to the places that had been renovated.

Beranger Sauniere wasted no time. The so-called Visigothic stone

was moved and Lourdes.

On the

stone

become

all his

was carved Mission 1891 and on

parishioners,

numerous

On June 21,

clergy

diction of

all

this

were

capital

1891,

of

in the pres-

area,

to preach the Mission

performed the inauguration and bene-

the church’s exterior renovations

orthodox than

its

from the surrounding

and Father Ferrafiat of Limoux, who had come for a week, Beranger Sauniere

Our Lady

a support for a statue of

words penitence, penitence.

inscribed the

ence of

cut to

What

could be more

pious display? The priest of Rennes-le-Chateau

began to be known throughout the region for

his incessant activity

on

behalf of his sanctuary, and no one had any complaints.

But what of the manuscripts? Sauniere had not forgotten them.

Boudet had confessed

his inability to interpret

them, so Sauniere had

taken them back. Because the mayor had asked him to entrust them to the town’s archives, the priest provided the story, for

it is

him with copies

quite obvious that Beranger Sauniere

—

at least this

is

would have been

incapable of making suitable reproductions of something he did not

know how

to read.

his bishop,

Monsignor

On

the advice of Billard,

Abbe Boudet, Sauniere sought out

and explained the problem to him. The

bishop considered these documents with great that three might have been prayers

interest. It

seemed

to

him

and that the fourth could have been

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

a fairly complicated genealogy, but

Monsignor

was not

Billard

117

a paleo-

graphic archivist and ultimately was also unsuccessful in decoding the

documents. Next, of course, Sauniere should have turned to a qualified expert.

The

simplest solution

would have been

to visit the Departmental Archives

of the Aude, where they surely could have found a specialist in this ancient

But no, Monsignor Billard refused to consider the archives of the

script.

men who were much

Aude. They were run by anticlerical. It

was impossible

to entrust

them with documents

be used in their propaganda to promote the

ments might have held

much

better to keep

He

Abbe

nection to

would be

Bieil

gave him a

by the name of Ane,

seller

documents

Ane had

a

laity.

After

Bieil,

that he go to Paris to find letter

all,

were dangerous to divulge.

them among themselves. Monsignor

Abbe Sauniere

suggested to individuals.

secrets that

too Republican and thus

It

would be

Billard therefore

more trustworthy

of recommendation to a strange book-

who produced

religious

books and had a con-

the director of the Saint-Sulpice Seminary.

and

give

him an opinion.

nephew who was studying

ized in ancient languages

Abbe

In addition, the bookseller

for the priesthood

and who

Billard,

who was

having secured the

special-

and everything having to do with cryptography.

This nephew, Emile Hoffet, could be of great assistance to

after

these docu-

able to take the county priest under his wing, examine his

at leisure,

Monsignor

that could

Abbe

Sauniere.

definitely extremely considerate of Sauniere

priest’s

commitment

to leave his parish for three

weeks, gave him fourteen hundred francs to pay not only his travel and

room

expenses, but also those incurred in his investigative work, includ-

ing any expenses incurred for transcription of the manuscripts.

This attitude on the part of the Carcassonne bishop clearly indicates his great interest in the

parchments unearthed by Abbe Sauniere

11 .

But the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau knew quite well what to expect of Billard, for

Abbe Boudet had

revealed to

him

the existence of the secret

brotherhood to which allegedly the monsignor belonged. Sauniere had been awaiting instructions; he

left

11.

There

now

here they were.

With no

further delay,

for Paris.

isn’t a

shred of evidence to confirm this discussion between Sauniere and his

bishop, nor are there any documents concerning the mission entrusted to the Rennes-le-

Chateau

priest.

He Who

118

Brings Scandal

hard to imagine Abbe Sauniere alighting from the train

It is

middle of Paris

in the

old-fashioned cassock, prey to some very under-

in his

standable misgivings. Paris was truly a foreign world to him, especially

time

in a

when

poor country

the people

priest

Abbe Sauniere found

home and promised also told

him

was

it

from the provinces a

rarely traveled. For this

world apart. Nevertheless, on

the bookseller Ane, to introduce

him

to

who

eral days. Indeed, Sauniere did see

gave him lodging at his

Abbe

that his nephew, Emile Hoffet,

Abbe

his arrival

Bieil the

would be

He

next day.

arriving in sev-

and showed him the

Bieil

parchments. The director of Saint-Sulpice waxed enthusiastic over these

warmly thanked

precious documents and

the priest for

son to show them to competent and discreet people.

coming

He

in per-

also told

that he could place complete trust in Emile Hoffet to successfully plete the delicate task of transcribing

him

com-

and interpreting them, and he

advised Sauniere to entrust him with the documents so that Emile could

them

give

a detailed

he

specialists that

Abbe Sulpice,

examination either by himself or with the help of

knew

do not

Bieil,

forget,

was

the director of the Seminary of Saint-

and thus the remote successor of Abbe Jean

Saint-Sulpice

and an

influential

Holy Sacrament

of the

well.

member

Ollier,

founder of

of the all-powerful Brotherhood

in the seventeenth century.

and Nicolas Pavilion, the bishop of Alet, shared

Because Abbe Ollier

a tight-knit relationship,

and because the decoration of the Church of Saint-Sulpice echoes that of Rennes-le-Chateau,

back

we

at the beginning

At

this time,

find ourselves once

and Abbe Sauniere was

and the bookseller Ane’s shop were

is

We

in the Razes.

spiritualistic activity.

The

famous

differ-

Parisians, Saint-Sulpice

at the center of

least that

are

in familiar territory.

toward the end of the nineteenth century, when

ent groups blossomed around various

and

more

an intense religious

can be said about these groups

that they were not very Catholic. In fact, they could be openly labeled

occult. Here, then,

sphere that he

may

we

find Beranger Sauniere plunged into an

not have foreseen but which would reveal

atmo-

itself to

be particularly favorable to him. In truth,

all

temptations of

many

guises,

of this

is

somewhat

Abbe Sauniere"

unsettling, for here

truly began.

some of which were

The

quite pleasant

devil

is

where “the

came cloaked

in

and hardly conformed

The Abbe Sauniere Legend with the medieval image of the enemy.

It

119

was Emile Hoffet, who pur-

sued his studies not at Saint-Sulpice in Paris but in Lorraine,

who

considered to have been the person responsible for introducing

is

Abbe

Sauniere to the occult milieu of that time. This “Father’ Emile Hoffet

(who was not

yet a priest)

a curious figure.

is

decoding old grimoires; taking an interest

life

He had

in

more or

ences; primarily devoting himself to intensive studies of

and “angelic”

ternal”

When

usually under the seal of secrecy.

had put together an extraordinary to the present

viduals,

who must

as there

is

day

open only

is

all

over the world;

odd messages,

None can deny

which

few rare and privileged

who

have provided proof of their

that there

is

Did he

really

he had entrance into

all

found himself perfectly

at

home

fully

inspiration?

and apparently

them.

in

taking into account the fact that

been constructed around

was Hoffet

it

together,

(to Sauniere’s benefit)

the role of the “introducing brother” in the worldly

occultist salons to

To

can be confirmed that

and Sauniere got along famously

the Sauniere matter, Hoffet

mer-

have a religious voca-

the circles of that decadent era

case, according to the story that has

who assumed

it

indi-

a Hoffet mystery just

Who was his

tion? All of these questions go unanswered, but

any

greatly coveted but

an Abbe Sauniere mystery, and the figure of Hoffet

secret society did he belong?

In

is

to a

deep interest for more than one reason:

what

“fra-

he died in 1946, Emile Hoffet

library,

be ecclesiastics and

intellectual honesty.

its

numerous

“infiltrating” the intellectual elite in order to spread

which

less secret sci-

and other associations whose true

societies

purposes can never be distinguished but which exist

and

spent his entire

to bring the country priest. “His

which he hastened

conversation was always interesting

.

and

.

.

Passionate and impassioned dis-

cussion went on long after the after-dinner drink and coffee were served,

with an unsettling note that disturbed the strait-laced atmosphere of the right-thinking gatherings.”

12

Thanks

introduced to the very closed

Debussy and other Jules Bois

shed.

He was

is

to Hoffet, Beranger Sauniere

circle of Jules Bois,

was

where he met Claude

celebrities of the time.

another person on

friends with

all

whom much

the symbolist poets

12. Jean Robin, Rennes-le-Chateau, la colline envoutee (Paris:

light

remains to be

and with those who

Guy

Tredaniel, 1982), 24.

He Who

120

would

Brings Scandal

become known

later

as the Decadents.

sects of the Illuminati, the Rosicrucians

persuasions, which did not prevent

with clearly

“Satanic"

books such

him from being

and Le Satanisme

nues,

enough.

He was

famous

also

invisible,

13 .

He was

L’Au-dela

Magie, the

et la

the guru of a

though not necessarily

tendencies,

he Monde

as

also frequented the

and the Freemasons of various

“black" and destructive sense of the word eral

He

titles

group in

the

the author of sev-

incon-

et les forces

of which are revealing

for his participation in several affairs that

provide a good illustration of the world Abbe Sauniere encountered during his stay in Paris, at least

if

we

believe those

who

have invented

the Sauniere myth.

One

of these affairs

is

particularly interesting for

the duel between Jules Bois

The motive

was

mistress. Together they

and magic

occultist, Stanislas de Guaita.

whom

founded

set

he

made both

a kind of bizarre

up shop with

his disciple

community

and

in

his

which

a theology guaranteed to cause

even the most radical Christians to tremble. Here

Chaumeil described

in

the

passion for a nun of La Salette,

sexuality

involvement

mad and sordid adventure of Abbe orthodox priest who had become deranged by his

for this duel

Boullan, a perfectly

and another

its

how

is

Jean-Luc

this “affair.”

Occultist and friend of Maurice Barres, the marquis Stanislas de

Guaita, had accused another occultist, priest

He

should be

It

called together a “tribunal” to

known

that Satanism

the Christian ritual. In the

is

in the

and the Shadow

not necessarily an erotic-obsessive perversion of

mind of authentic

Darkness where he

redeemed and renewed, god. To some extent

while the origin of tion.

—

Through

myth of

it

evil

is

in

Satanists,

it

does not involve blaspheming

is

the original

a kind of reversed

god and God the Father

Catharism. The victim

(metaphysical and otherwise)

Jules Bois’s Satanism

will return

consists of glorifying

God and who,

enchained, represents for his adepts the hope of a world

the King of the World,

ows, but

it

other words, Satan unjustly dethroned by

for Satan is

to black

condemn Boudan and

for pleasure, as vulgar atheists are apt to do. Quite the contrary,

the Being

a defrocked

and friend of Huysmans, of having devoted himself

magic.

13.

Abbe Boudan,

who

we can is

is

to be

found

is

is

the usurping

the Fallen Angel

in this divine

also see the broad lines sketched

usurpa-

from the

subject to the cruelest imprisonment in the shad-

one day to restore balance to a universe gone mad. Mythological

justifications are not lacking in Satanist doctrines.

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

was

the result

a

men

“magician’s duel” between the two

that

“One evening Guaita modeled

Barres reported in these terms:

121

a

small

wax

figure that he pierced with a needle to enchant the

priest,

who

used the secrets of the Kabbalah in his

priest, in response, cast a spell

blind. Guaita

was

shock,

took

cast

his

on

through a return

spell,

whose death put an end

priest,

Abbe

the battle.” In fact,

on January

ing been struck in

some inexplicable manner. Immediately

3,

The

make him

his adversary’s eyes to

measures, and the

back upon the

evil designs.

1893,

to

Boullan died, havJules

Bois picked up his journalist’s pen and wrote, “I have been told

Marquis of Guaita

that the

lives in fierce solitude, that

ulates poisons with great science

and marvelous

certainty,

he volatilizes them and directs them through space.

without incriminating anyone,

ing,

the causes of this death.”

As soon

that

is

he manip-

some

and that

What I am

light

ask-

be shed on

as the article appeared, Stanislas

de Guaita sent his witnesses to Jules Bois. 14

It

goes without saying that none of this took place under normal

two

circumstances. Jules Bois had

and deadly, before arriving

accidents, both of

at the duel.

Two

without result and honor was thus saved. All

which were bloody

bullets this

is is

were exchanged to illustrate that

Beranger Sauniere found himself at once in a strange milieu. But didn’t similar affairs take place in the faraway Corbieres, right in the middle

of the department of the In fact, as a priest

Aude?

Abbe Sauniere was

magic practices that were valleys.

It is

not

formidable one

and more

went on

known

—was

if

me

and

if I

it

currency in the mountains and

reserved for certain priests

resistant than others, but he

in the

aware of certain

he was an exorcist himself, for this role

who were

—

stronger

was not unaware of what

really

hamlets of his parish and the surrounding area.

The Aude has always been ards,

common

still

necessarily

a receptive land for magicians

will not be the

bishop of Carcassonne

who

and wizwill belie

declare that the forbidden arts (at least those forbidden

14. Jean-Luc Chaumeil,

Le Tresor du

triangle d'or (Paris: Lefcuvre, 1979),

104-105.

He Who

122

when

Brings Scandal

the Inquisition thrived) are

Abbe

where.

more

evidence here than else-

in

Sauniere, child of the region

who,

may

it

be said

was

so close to the people, could not have remained

unaware

majority of sorcery

performed back-

wards, and

the folklorists, for

all

dance of backwards prayers

women

only religious

rites are

rites

that the

want of exorcists, 15 have an abun-

in their files as well as stories of old

walking the path of the Stations of the Cross backwards

while muttering inaudible threats. 16

We

should not forget that Abbe Sauniere placed his so-called

down and

Visigothic pillar upside

No

backwards.

path of the Stations of the Cross

his

doubt he never forgot what united the

rustic sorcery of

Razes with the distinguished magic of the Decadents, the

the

Symbolists, and other “initiates’

drawing to

Even

of

if

Paris while the century

and

Abbe Sauniere was not were

his friends

—sometimes dangerously—not whose

striving to

to

a

of hacks and

more or

— for the moment,

manipulate psychic

played very bold positions on matters of

Church

in their

own

those

Maurice Leblanc

less influential

Emma

muses such

as

Calve, mistress

Society, the Rosicrucians,

the Lreemasons (Scottish Rite), and individuals

all

invis-

at least. This very stylish high society

had connections with the Theosophical

ness for “heretics,” for

well

Around Claude Debussy,

Georgette Leblanc and the beautiful opera singer of Jules Bois

full

mention those subtle and

secrets they claimed to hold.

swarm

knew

naive and

Stephane Mallarme, Maurice Maeterlinck, and

crowded

was

he found himself somewhat intimidated by fashionable

that Jules Bois

ible forces

High

a close.

Parisian gatherings,

forces

1

who

spirituality.

of

it

dis-

There was a weak-

interpreted the texts of the official

way. The works of

Huysmans have shown evidence

moving within

and

this.

Remy

The

de

latest

Gourmont and

snobbism was

to

take part in magic sessions, preferably black ones, and even authentic

15.

More on

this subject

can be read

a seventeenth-century ecclesiastic,

in Traite des Superstitions

with an introduction by Jean-Marie Goulemot

Editions du Sycomore, 1984). 16.

J.

Robin, Rennes-le-Chateau,

by Jean-Baptiste Thiers,

la colline

envoutee, 144.

(Paris:

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

123

black Masses. Wagnerism was newly discovered and dreams were spun

from the ambiguous

Bayreuth.

liturgies of

was- Parsifal that excited

It

who had

the imagination, especially that of the privileged few

chance to go to Bayreuth, for

Wagner,

until

the

1914, by the express will of Cosima

opera was not allowed to be performed anywhere

this strange

Vincent d’Indy, however, composed a Pervall, a sort of French

else.

remake of

Parsifal,

ogy

while Claude Debussy, haunted by the legend of Tristan,

fully,

obligingly

and Reyer created a Sigurd that displays

listened

the

to

first

of Maeterlinck’s

drafts

his tetral-

Pelleas

et

Melisande. The Middle Ages was being rediscovered not in the grandil-

oquent way of the Romantics, but

who decoded

Symbolists,

Paris architecture the

the

in the

most arduous

famous “noodle”

more

texts

style,

way

subtle

of the

and even imposed on

which

only a revised

is

and corrected Neo-Gothicism. So

it

was

to the fin-de-siecle salons that Emile Hoffet dragged

Beranger Sauniere.

And

the

the star of these soirees that

little

priest

from Rennes-le-Chateau became

went on interminably. Why?

wondered what was expected of him, but he did not revelation: Highly placed people

would counsel him

expectations in exchange for which he

would

forget Boudet’s to

this,

and the

entire villge of Rennes-le-Chateau.

Abbe Sauniere

fulfill

certain

receive a fortune.

not that Beranger Sauniere loved money, but he needed the church

Fie confusedly

It

was

to embellish

it

When

he recalled

listened with his fullest attention, seeking to pene-

trate further the fine allusions others

made

in his presence.

In fact, he listened so attentively that the bewitching voice of

Emma

Calve penetrated

much more

deeply than expected.

Calve was one of the greatest sopranos of the day, whose talent,

Emma in the

words of her contemporaries, was incontestable. She was the darling of the latest salons and

had her sing some of Bois.

Now,

when

it

was

tied

by friendship to Claude Debussy,

his melodies,

though she was the mistress of Jules

Jules Bois’s intimate acquaintances

came

who

to esotericism, hermeticism,

were never innocents

and magic. Did

Emma

Calve

belong to that mysterious brotherhood whose shadow always hovered over Beranger Sauniere? Her real surname was Calvat, which she

changed for euphonic reasons. She was Calvat, the shepherdess of La Salette

a distant cousin of

who was

Melanie

the heroine of those

He Who

124

Brings Scandal

fraudulent appearances of the Virgin 17 that so greatly helped the reactionaries of the mid-nineteenth century.

Emma

Beranger Sauniere quickly became the lover of she been lightning struck by the

Was

priest”?

man

she called “her

Calve.

little

Had

provincial

she acting on the orders of Jules Bois to better circumvent

and influence Sauniere? Both answers are possibly correct and are not contradictory. Subsequently,

was even claimed

Emma

that the soprano

Calve visited Rennes-le-Chateau.

was

able to buy her

dream

It

castle in

her homeland thanks to the priest’s generosity, and that she bore

Sauniere a child, but there

is

obviously not a shred of proof to support

these claims.

Despite their

from

his

affair,

mind, and

remind him of

it.

if

Calve did not drive the

priest’s

he did forget, she would have been the

When

mission first

to

had been examined by Abbe

the manuscripts

and Emile Hoffer, Sauniere presented himself to hear the two

Bieil

experts’ conclusions.

no

Emma

He was

told that three of the manuscripts were of

interest but that the fourth

exceptional.

—that mysterious genealogy—was quite

The two then proposed

keep the manuscript and that

would allow him

else

could he have done?

would

in return they

to find a lost treasure.

He

felt

give

The

him

certain clues

priest accepted.

What

caught in a trap from which he was

unable to extricate himself. Furthermore, he had

who

They would

a deal to Sauniere.

made

He

his choice.

wishes the end wishes the means, and his objective remained to

embellish and glorify his parish of Rennes-le-Chateau. It is

definite that the experts he consulted

sages of the manuscripts and provided

How in the

we

can

had explained certain pas-

him with

a course to follow.

otherwise understand Sauniere’s infatuation with lurking

Louvre

Museum toward

time he had never

shown any

the end of this stay in Paris? Until that

particular taste for painting. Nevertheless,

he often could be found in the gallery housing Nicolas Poussin’s painting

17.

The Shepherds of Arcadia

During

a

resounding

trial,

and Jean-Marie Vianney, the

was

this

was not

the staging of these appearances

the only

was

all.

work he

judicially recognized

priest of Ars, received the confession of a

declared that he had seen nothing at saintly priest of

— and

shepherd

who

Sickened by the uproar caused by the sham, the

Ars traveled to Grenoble to lodge a complaint with the bishop there.

politely requested to return

home and keep

his

mouth

shut.

He

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

He was

sought.

fascinated by a painting by Teniers and eagerly wished

an anonymous portrait of Pope Celestin

to find

125

the end of the eighteenth century.

We

V who

ruled briefly at

5

must wonder why.

Ultimately, not content with merely viewing the paintings, he acquired

reproductions.

It

was The Shepherds of Arcadia

vate his research, as

if

there

a clue that his initiators

know

did not

was

was something within

seemed to most motithis painting,

had recommended that he examine

attentively.

identical to the

one painted by Poussin.

It

—by the seventeenth-century

when

But might he have

painter.

to

life

imprisonment, Louis

and did not

known

that

rest until

it

XIV

was part of

initiated a search for this paint-

his private collection?

could of course be said that Beranger Sauniere, whose goal was

It

refurbishing his church as best as he possibly could,

tion there for ordering the

own monument. At

works of

art that

Louvre had no

The

effect at all

on Sauniere’s

to eduinspira-

the glory of his

which he favored the

would seem

it

draw

to

would be

the sight of the horrors with

Magdalene sanctuary, however,

was seeking

museums, and

cate himself in one of the world’s best

Saint

—or imag-

Nicolas Foucquet, protector and admirer of Poussin, was con-

demned ing

He

sat before a

landscape that was physically the same as the one represented ined

perhaps

then that on the Arques road not far from his parish there

tomb almost

a

that

that this visit to the

aesthetic sensibility.

remained decidedly strange from

village priest’s stay in Paris

beginning to end because of both the people he surrounded himself with

and the

activities to

conviction that sidered

him

all

to be

which he devoted

the

his time.

Henceforth, he had the

famous people he knew took him seriously and con-

an important man.

What

could be more comforting?

Beranger Sauniere eventually took leave of his hosts. The separation with

Emma

Calve was melancholy, but Beranger savored the

incomparable happiness to be found priest, ital.

won

the favors of one of the

They did promise

knew in

had

that

in the fact that he, a

most

visible

to see each other again,

Marie Denarnaud,

his faithful

poor country

women

in the cap-

and of course Beranger

and kind servant, was waiting

Rennes. Onward!

Abbe Sauniere could eagle’s nest; he

regain without regret the solitude of his

had not been duped. At the

price of a

few

lies

he

He Who

126

would

Brings Scandal

need to soothe the anxieties of Monsignor Billard,

still

would be

as Beranger Sauniere did not need

A

lusty fellow such

any help getting

his foot into the

same, to exchange a genealogical tree for the key to

stirrup. All the

a treasure

parchment and

greatly surprised at the absence of the

already regretted his letter of recommendation.

18 .

.

,

Whatever the case may

Beranger Sauniere had at

be,

last

ning to sincerely like him, although they thought him a

must have

felt

a

Of

his stay in Paris?

joy.

course

he mentioned the opera singer

Emma

Of

Did she

— but the say,

when

Calve. Sauniere did not have a

com-

anxious around the armpits, as they

little

begin-

bit eccentric.

course Marie Denarnaud also greeted his return with great

pepper him with questions about

returned to

who were

Rennes-le-Chateau to the great joy of his parishioners,

priest

who

pletely easy conscience with regard to his parishioners, his bishop, Marie,

and himself, life

for he never forgot that he

did he deny his priesthood.

When

it

was

a priest

comes

and obtaining possible forgiveness from God,

They

faithful do:

confess.

certainly not Boudet,

Who

who was

was Abbe

and

no time

at

to easing their conscience priests

behave as

Sauniere’s confessor?

some shady

his partner in

in his

dealings.

the

all It

was

Was

it

his brother, Alfred Sauniere? Surely not, for confessions are neither given

nor heard between family members. While Alfred Sauniere himself abreast of

some

things,

it

may have

kept

was because he was both Beranger’s

brother and an accomplice in the famous scandals that would later erupt

concerning corrupt Masses. What’s more, he himself hardly provided a

good example of

a priest

beyond reproach.

who seem

There are two clergymen

to have received the confi-

dences and, no doubt, the confessions of Sauniere.

Abbe Eugene Grassaud, who was Lycee secret

in

Perpignan

—and

—to

a professor at the

which Sauniere went

who became

the priest

first

One

Abbe Grassaud

man, both good and

18.

J.

left

erudite,

frequently,

Robin, Rennes-le-Chateau,

la colline

almost

in

of Amelie-les-Bains, then of

behind the

whose

was

Louis de Gonzague

Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet in the Perpignan diocese, which the Razes.

of these

memory

library

was

close to

of an enterprising

was abundantly furnished

envoutee, 25.

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

with books and manuscripts of

kinds.

all

He

127

and

also strove to repair

embellish the churches in his charge. Furthermore;

.

.

.

the bonds of friendship between

Grassaud were never the

rumors that

never scared to

the elder

was faced with

all

by the bishopric inspired. Sauniere was

his trial visit his

when

even

colleague in Amelie-les-Bains, a courtesy

canon often returned very willingly whenever he had

that the

enough

belied,

Abbe Sauniere and Canon

free time. After the

death of his friend Sauniere,

Canon

Grassaud did not spare any pains to help Marie Denarnaud through

life’s difficulties.

19

It

was

to

Eugene Grassaud that Abbe

Sauniere gave a gilded silver chalice around 1893. 20

Where might

have come from? Probably from the cache

this chalice

Sauniere found in the Rennes-le-Chateau church, the famous treasure

hidden by Abbe Bigou.

Another

priest,

who

confessor, as well as his elderly cleric

who was

much closer, may have been Sauniere’s confidant: Abbe Gelis, priest of Coustaussa, an lived

still

of sound

mind and who would be murdered

several years later under very mysterious circumstances. There

is

a

strong possibility that on his return from Paris, Beranger Sauniere went to confess to his colleague in Coustaussa.

The somewhat “Satanic” atmosphere his Parisian

He

that

certainly

sojourn was beginning to weigh heavily upon him.

thing to hold for safekeeping faith,

it

activities.

Profiting

Abbe

On

this

Gelis with some-

— some documents, perhaps? In complete

seems the answer would be

In Rennes-le-Chateau,

odd

lot to say.

had enveloped him during

occasion might Abbe Sauniere have entrusted

good

had a

yes.

Abbe Sauniere devoted

himself to

some very

from construction work undertaken by the

municipality in the cemetery, he had a wall erected around, which

included the famous portal that can

19.

P.

be seen there today. After

its

Jarnac, Histoire du tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 334-35.

20. “This is

still

is

a piece

carved and

with no great commercial value.

in perfect

a Maltese Cross,

condition, but

it is

It is

(P.

and

only gilded metal. At the foot of the chalice

formed by four green enamels, can be

from the eighteenth century.”

a superb piece, certainly,

seen. This chalice dates at

most

Jarnac, Histoire du tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 336).

He Who

128

Brings Scandal

completion he often locked himself into the walled cemetery at night. But what was he doing there? By stones; in fact he to find?

It

had been given

particularly hard

was moving tomb-

evidence, he

the cemetery’s tombs.

can be assumed that he undertook

the clues he

worked

was defacing

all

in Paris in

What

did he hope

this labor as a result of

exchange for the genealogy.

He

on the tomb of Marie de Negri d’Ables, Lady

of Hautpoul and Blanchefort,

who

died in 1781.

The tomb was

built

from two flagstones, of which the upright one was the work of Abbe Bigou. ible

The

lady’s epitaph

number

tions.

A is

this stone

had been carved with an incred-

of mistakes, which has not failed to

some Greek

Latin inscription with

horizontal stone; It

on

it

letters

Abbe Sauniere spent considerable time

scratching out the inscriptions that had been carved a

can be read on the

remains incomprehensible.

incontestable that

must have had

prompt some ques-

good reason

for this

upon

this

tomb.

He

— but he did not know that the

carved writing had already been recorded by a conscientious archaeologist; indeed,

it

was reproduced

in

1903

in the bulletin of the very seri-

ous Archaeological Society of the Aude. Sauniere, therefore, went to a great deal of trouble for nothing,

which might be seen

these inscriptions represented something very important tial

as proof that

—even essen-

—to him. No doubt these were the very keys that allowed him to

direct his nocturnal

The

and quasi-clandestine searches.

vertical flagstone

was

inscribed as follows:

CT GIT NOBLe M ARIE DE NEGRe DABLES DAME

DHAUPOUL De BLANCHEFORT AGEE DE SOIX ANTE SePT AND DECEDEE LE XVII JANVIER

MDCOLXXXI REQUIES CATIN

PACE

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

Above

this, after

the initials

P.

S.

and

129

was carved

in parentheses

PRAECUM. All of this is quite mysterious and lends itself to much analysis. A vain attempt has been made to portray as clumsy or igno-

—

who carved this stone quite a stretch, for even the date is incorrect. When he was attempting to decipher this inscription, Beranger Sauniere did not know he would suffer rant the seventeenth-century worker

a fatal attack of illness

on January

17. Curious, isn’t

it?

one applies to the text formed by the anomalies and connected

If

found within the text

to a key

known

itself a

decoding method that

Vugenere Method), and

to cipher experts (the

if

well

is

one dou-

by the “knight’s tour,” another method requiring a chess-

bles this

board, a clear text can be obtained that does retain a sibylline aspect: “Shepherdess

key peace 68

Daemon

no temptation that Poussin Teniers hold the

— by the cross and the horse of God this

very comprehensible, but

is

Beranger managed to “decipher” the inscription cause for great rejoicing. In

brought to Abbe

Bieil

fact,

it

ables

was

it is

when

must have been

it

one of the same messages that he

and Emile Hoffet and

of this proved that the research that

this

guardian at noon. Blue apples.” 21

cannot be said that

It

complete

I

still

was pointing

had

at his disposal. All

in the right direction

and

urgent, then, to eliminate anything that might put undesir-

on the scent of something

to

which they had no

right.

Because the

mysterious brotherhood had given him the mission to follow his search to

its

conclusion, Beranger Sauniere

was ready

to

do take any measures

to eliminate the others.

Furthermore, Abbe Sauniere held the key to in

order to get to

starting

the

T in

from the

its

true meaning,

first

anomaly noted.

the place of the I in

from that

spot,

it

it

ci git

this text.

was necessary

[here

lies]. If

M. Lamy,

knew

a diagonal

a diagonal line

will inevitably reach catin [trollop],

Fortunately, Sauniere

draw

that

Now the first anomaly is assuredly

seems an unpleasant description of the noble

21.

to

He knew

which

woman

is

drawn

certainly

lying

there.

that under certain conditions, particularly

Jules Verne, initie et initiateur, 68.

— 130

He Who

when

it

appears where

tions,

is

a

word

the

Brings Scandal

should not, the

it

cat in did not necessarily

was no longer

in the

in the family’s

name

meaning

a catin,

Tau

home

mean “whore,”

He was

but could

but had been

moved

cairn

—that

determine

Of ible

a

tomb

a megalithic

is,

just

all,

what

mean

“cav-

and beneath

it

is

when

also a “cavern,” especially

was and where

it

was

steps

it is

legible

Roman

REDDIS and CELLIS. On

a

were to

located.

characters.

Above

it

illeg-

were the

Sauniere could read praecum In the middle a .

On the

arrow separated two groups of two words each.

vertical

T

Poussin’s

course, the other flagstone also held an inscription, albeit in

initials P. S.

a

instead into

him of

mound. The most important

this cairn

Greek characters and

that

This consideration along with the mention

of Poussin and the Shepherdess obviously reminded painting, for after

knew

was no longer

of the Hautpoul (as there

22

also

thus able to grasp that “the treasure

in the inscription),

a “cave .”

in esoteric tradi-

He

code that means “treasure” of some kind.

“cavern,” or “uterus.”

ity,”

or the

T,

the right were

left

were

REGIS followed by ARCIS. The

words were quite confusing because they could not be read continuously.

The word

or the Razes; the

“king”; cella,

meaning Rennes

reddis might have a connection with Reddae,

cellis is

word

regis

certainly the genitive of rex,

is

a plural ablative, therefore

it is

“cave,” or “underground hut”; and the

arx, “of the citadel .” 23

Make

of

what you

it

meaning

a preposition of place, of

word

will,

arcis

is

the genitive of

but Sauniere could have

it

only as confirmation of what had been whispered to him in

Paris: “in

Rennes, in a cave of the king’s citadel.” The treasure of Blanche

viewed

de Castille

is

not far from

this,

or

it

might be that of the “lost king,” the

fabled descendant of the Merovingians. This figure

make an appearance

in the

was

just

beginning to

adventures of Arsene Lupin, the character cre-

ated by Maurice LeBlanc, friend of Jules Bois and brother of Maurice

Maeterlinck’s companion, Georgette LeBlanc. Beranger Sauniere did not greatly

comprehend

In the cemetery he

this story of lost

had made

Merovingians, but

it

did not matter.

a discovery of great interest.

His quasi-clandestine nocturnal investigations

and disruptions

earned him the disapproval of the inhabitants of Rennes, however

22.

Interpretation

Chateau 23.

The

made by

(Paris: Belfond,

Jean-Pierre Monteils, Le Dossier secret de Rennes-le-

1981), 61.

authenticity of this flagstone

is

a subject of great controversy.

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

They admonished

especially that of the municipal authorities.

who

in turn

believe

became angry,

yelling,

have the right to defend

I

131

the priest,

“When someone treads on my myself!” He eventually came

turf,

I

an

to

accord with the town, which meant he could continue his excavations in the cemetery. But this

Aude

sent a petition to the

When

Rennes

the inhabitants of

prefect to alert

him

and they

to their priest’s activities.

are not at

all

happy about the work being carried out

cemetery, especially under the present circumstances. are removed, as are the tombstones, repairs. his

furious,

they did not receive a response, they sent in a second petition that

“We

read:

made

24

and none of

The

in the

crosses there

this alleged

work

is

for

Nothing was done, hQwever, and Sauniere continued to pursue

nocturnal and somewhat macabre explorations for a long time.

But these were not the only tion.

and hike through the mountains with Marie Denarnaud

To those who asked him what he was looking was picking pebbles

that he fact,

Sauniere to attract atten-

For entire days at a time he would pace around the outskirts of the

village side.

activities of

for,

at his

he responded

to use in constructing a Lourdes grotto. In

he was often seen returning during the evening, bent under the

weight of apparently

full sacks.

Sometimes when

the direction of Rennes-les-Bains, he

Boudet,

who was

his

would happen

walks took him to run into

in

Abbe

involved in archaeological explorations that included

recording the position of certain rocks or discovering a rupestrian

an ancient cross buried

inscription or

projects kept

throughout France and the

Then an extremely The following

article

Carcassonne, dated

horrible crime

24.

An

-

All in

wounds

authentic

rest of the

all,

Sauniere’s

world.

serious event took place not far

can be found

November

5,

in

La Semaine

from Rennes. religieuse

de

1897:

was committed sometime during Sunday night or

Monday morning result of

2

him constantly busy but did not prevent him from writing

to individuals

A

in the brush.

in the

Coustaussa parish. Abbe Gelis died as the

suffered to his head

and

document presented and published by

lay in the presbytery’s

P.

Jarnac, Histoire du tresor de

Rennes-le-Cbateau, 151-53. 25. In reality

some of

it

it

seems that Sauniere went hunting.

to his parishioners as gifts.

He brought back much game and

gave

He Who

132

Brings Scandal

kitchen, bathing in his

own

blood.

.

.

.

There

is

ture concerning the murderer’s possible motive. ers

no lack of conjecMystery

still

hov-

over this sorrowful event, although the public prosecutor and

working with

the police are

those responsible.

Abbe

most laudable

a

was

Gelis

a pious priest

in his every action all the gentleness of

down

effort to track

who

reproduced

nature appropriate to a

minister of Jesus Christ.

As mentioned Gelis,

born

in

earlier,

seems that Abbe Jean-Antoine-Maurice

it

1827, was the confessor and confidant of Abbe Sauniere.

Indeed, Beranger Sauniere

was overwhelmed by

news and, along

the

with a large crowd that included the vicar general and

gymen, attended the funeral So of

what happened

just

Le Midi

libre,

we can

many

other cler-

services for his unfortunate colleague.

to

Abbe

Gelis? In the

October

3,

1976, issue

read an extract from the 1897 inquest

files

con-

cerning the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate priest’s murder.

The precautions

that were taken betray an incredible presence of

mind. The kitchen, following such havoc, was put back into perfect order,

enough

with no trace of footprints. The murderer was

to avoid three large pools of blood.

of evidence found outside.

On

the

two minuscule drops of blood sin,

who, without leaving

alert

There were no traces

first floor, in

Abbe

Gelis’

room,

attested to the passage of the assas-

the slightest bloody imprint, forced the

lock of a traveling bag that contained various papers and docu-

ments belonging to the steal items,

priest.

The murderer opened

the bag not to

but to search for something. In fact 683 francs’ worth

of gold and notes were found in the priest’s desk and 106.90 francs

were found

in his dresser. Stranger

body had been

laid

out on

its

still

was

the fact that the priest’s

back toward the middle of the room,

with the head and face in a normal position and the hands folded over the chest. There was but one mute witness to this bloody tragedy,

which was committed

priest did not

smoke and hated

for

no apparent motive. While the

the odor of tobacco, an entire pack

of Tzar brand cigarette papers were found floating in the second

pool of blood near the window.

On

one

leaf,

written in pencil,

were the words Viva Angelina [Long Live Angelina].

The Abbe Saunter e Legend

133

What did Beranger Sauniere think of all this? No one will ever know. Did he who was working so hard on decoding messages understand the exact meaning of Viva Angelina written on a cigarette paper? Beranger

Sauniere did smoke, though he should not have because of his heart con-

knew much more about

matter than he cared to

dition.

Perhaps he

say. In

any event, no one ever asked him a thing about

this

it.

In the days fol-

lowing the discovery of the crime, the authorities arrested the victim’s

nephew, a good-for-nothing

who was

always short of cash and had been

harassing the aged priest with his incessant demands.

else.

something and

Abbe

who

Gelis’s killer

left

We may wonder

—a

whom

this

definitely

smoker who was looking for

behind a message

for

was quickly

on the night of the murder he was

established, however, that

somewhere

It

—was never found.

message was intended. This was

probably what Beranger Sauniere was wondering as he headed back up

month

to Rennes-le-Chateau during that sad

Abbe Sauniere was not involved In

of

in the affair in

November 1897,

any way. Unless

.

.

for .

as the expression goes, other fish to fry. His

any event, he had,

plans were grandiose in nature and he refined them every day on paper,

ordering construction here and there and supervising what he could

when

time allowed. Thanks to his obliging brother,

who had many

worldly acquaintances due to his collection of mistresses, he did not forget to ask for

Masses from the more well-to-do. The donors responded,

and Beranger Sauniere took advantage of for that

was

his passion, or, as

This was the time his financial affairs.

ble of all

managing

regional,

we might

when he began

As the

it

to begin collecting stamps,

say today, his hobby.

seriously concerning himself with

child of a peasant family, he

his holdings.

He opened

was

quite capa-

accounts in banks that were not

which can appear surprising

for a

modest country

priest.

who are very good at spotting who will be the most profitable.

Bankers, however, are discreet individuals the

most

attractive clients

—that

is,

those

Sauniere trusted banks but did not put

all his eggs'

on one

basket.

It

was

claimed that he had an account in Austria and even that he went to

England twice.

All that

is

known

for certain

is

that his

main bank was

in

Perpignan, which he visited often under strange circumstances.

When he left, he never said where he was going. He would down to Couiza, where he caught the train for Carcassonne. And

travel after?

He Who

134

We now know

Brings Scandal

that he often

modest Eugene Castel

went

to Perpignan,

where he stayed

Each time that he was absent

hotel.

in the

for several

days, though, he wrote letters in advance, mainly addressed to the bish-

which he would have posted over the following days by Marie

opric,

Denarnaud. This disconcerting behavior could not help but prompt

among

questions

He was

a

good

all

who knew

priest,

him, but his parishioners said nothing.

very understanding, and in addition to

all

the

renovations he had obtained for the church and the village, he devoted

much

time to those in abject circumstances and did what he could to

ease as

much

as possible the

problems of those

he had a very good reputation

among

in need. In other

his flock,

words,

and despite some tem-

porary differences with the mayor on some minor matters, he got on quite well with the elected municipal officials of Rennes-le-Chateau. All

was noted when he

of this

inaugurate his It

new

invited his bishop,

that his time

had not been wasted. Frescoes, the

Stations of the Cross, the statue of

room

Billard, to

church.

was apparent

stained-glass

Monsignor

windows, the new

Asmodeus,

statues of the saints,

altar, a rebuilt sacristy

(with a secret

serving as a storage area), a renovated rostrum, a beautiful

confessional

—everything was

the presence of

all

in place.

the inhabitants

During that memorable day,

could only congratulate him for his achievements. really

in

and clergymen of the region, Abbe

Sauniere gave a homily praising the merits of charity.

what he

wooden

We

The monsignor

can only wonder

thought of the bizarre decorations installed through the

pains of the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau, though that according to the legend,

rious brotherhood

Billard

was part of

the myste-

whose name Sauniere never dared speak aloud.

Abbe Sauniere had he had certainly

Monsignor

we must acknowledge

certainly fulfilled his mission in his parish,

and

From

this

fulfilled

it

with regard to other individuals.

time on he launched himself into sumptuous expenditures that were not all

intended to further good works.

It

was

as

if

Magdalene Church had suddenly found himself

immense

He

in

possession of an

fortune.

started by buying the lands that lay to the west of the church,

or rather purchased

was

the priest of Saint

in her

them through Marie Denarnaud,

name, though

it

was he who

actually paid.

for everything

On

this

newly

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

villa,

which he would name

Mary Magdalene. Then

he had the walls next to

acquired land he built a neo-Gothic

Bethania in honor of

where he

the presbytery extended to the edge of the promontory,

planned to construct a neo-Gothic tower intended to be office

and to be called the Magdala Tower, again

saint of the parish.

his library

all.

honor of the patron this construction,

—now renovated—

and the Magdala Tower he

and arranged. Between

set .up a veritable

Villa Bethania

park, with pools, beds of

and even

rare flowers, shaded allees, greenhouses, an orange grove,

small zoo. As he

was

a practical

etable garden there as well.

which has cost

man, he did not neglect

was

It

his servant, a

lion gold francs, the priest,

which he liked

who had

arrived fifteen years earlier with-

very grand style.”

live in

to appear

Certainly he received Masses and justifying his luxurious daily

He

domain,

poor hat maker, the bagatelle of three mil-

course, he published postcards portraying his in

a

to plant a veg-

a veritable paradise: “In this

out a penny to his name, began to

graphs

in the lone

Aside from the construction, the priest saw to

that green spaces were planned

Of

and

of his faithful servant.

Yet this was not it

in

While awaiting the completion of

he continued to reside in the presbytery

company

135

domain

and which he sold

gifts,

—photo-

at a profit.

but nothing that came close to

life.

acquired a rich library and a collection of 1,000,000 stamps,

brought in a bookbinder and photographer, and bought extremely expensive furniture and tableware. Everything was

made

to order

and, quite often, revealed a taste for luxury that bordered on extravagance.

We

saw, for example, a service of crystal glasses; Sauniere

had them manufactured

in

such a

way

lightly in a certain order, the glasses

The table

priest of

that

when

they were struck

played Ave Maria! 26

Rennes-le-Chateau also entertained a great deal. His

was open not only

to the

few colleagues

who

cared to

make

the

climb up the plateau the better to denigrate his architectural and decorative fantasies, but also to distinguished guests

26. J.-L. Chaumeil,

Le Tresor du

triangle d’or, 109.

who

normally would

He Who

136

Brings Scandal

hardly be expected to take the trouble to

mountain

who

parish.

but

visited,

nificently.

seen,

The

many

This was

recalled a very beautiful

such as Dujardin-Baumetz,

Chambre

as

Maurice Leblanc; and

who was

sang mag-

artists

and painters

Aude

also a representative of the

des deputes, a Freemason, and temporarily the under-

secretary of state for the fine arts.

noted

woman who

Calve, of course. “Gentlemen” had also been

no doubt writers such

in the

priest of a

populace was not very familiar with those

local

Emma

modest

the

visit

A handsome

—Jean Orth— but few knew that

in reality

foreigner

was

also

he was Jean-Salvator

of Hapsburg, cousin of the emperor of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

He

visited quite often

and Sauniere treated him with great esteem. The

two men sometimes held though by

all

private discussions that lasted for hours,

evidence their relationship was based more on business

than on friendship. This, however, did not stop Orth from taking part organized in Villa Bethania.

in the fashionable gatherings Sauniere

For

it

was

in the villa that

he received his guests. Marie Denarnaud,

a splendid cook, gave orders to

some second-rate

servants hired for the

occasion and prepared savory feasts that allowed the guests to appreciate great

French cuisine, especially that of Occitania.

We

do not know

whether Marie Denarnaud might have been seized by the temptation to

add

a

was

visiting.

little

rat

poison to the soup on those evenings

Marie Denarnaud was

the

man

ity,

presence, and generosity. She

her

in her life

mouth

modest

and probably completely dominated by

knew when

devoted to

spirit, entirely

it

his author-

was necessary

to keep

shut and swallow certain resentments that threatened to

compromise

knew

a

when Emma Calve

a situation that, after

well that the soprano

all,

was not so

disagreeable.

would never take up residence

there, but

Had

she heard

she held against Beranger the gifts he gave the singer. talk of the large

Marie

sums of money that Sauniere had rained over

Emma

Calve, funds that permitted her to buy the castle of her dreams in the

Aveyron and (even nastier gossip) to priest of

raise the child she

had with the

Rennes? People are so wicked!

People, of course, lend only to the rich. Bankers also arrived to visit

Beranger Sauniere. it

Was

to help his “savings”

it

for the loans he asked

them

to give

him or was

grow? Nasty tongues offered that he fed

gers to his ducks. Regardless of the truth of this,

what

is

ladyfin-

certain

is

that

The Abbe Sauniere Legend he overlooked nothing

book

November

for

no. 1031; 45

when

it

1 testifies:

liters at

came

2 francs = 90 francs. 50

almost historic, vintage). 33

33

of Malvoisie. 17

liters

as his account

“one cask of Martinique rum

(perfect, liters

and drink,

to food

liters

of

liters

of

rum

in case

of muscatel.” 27

was

liters

invitation to

Monsieur the abbe’s during

It

Haut Barsac white wine.

definitely this “Belle

But didn’t the flashy luxury of their host

ABS

at 2.35 francs

of golden quinine tonic wine. 55

Banyuls. 12

137

good

liters

to receive

of

an

Epoque.”

—who perhaps eased

his

conscience by thinking of the precious nard that Christ in Bethany

had allowed Mary Magdalene

to use in anointing his feet

—have

the scent of scandal to the bishop of Carcassonne, that poor

Monsignor

Billard,

to

largesse

kingdom? He displayed great

to Sauniere’s priest

whose previous

had opened the doors discretion

left

our

Did he think that

construction and gatherings.

his

and

Sauniere had acquitted himself with his tribute to the glory of

heaven by restoring that

much

— before

his

church

—

his first concern, let’s

concede him

launching into profane construction? This

is

very hard to believe, given that the very “Italian Renaissance” style

employed by the

priest in this instance

plethora of artisans hired at his

and,

How

more important, any

own

through the support of a

expense lacks discrimination

sense of taste. 28

could an Austrian archduke, a famous Parisian opera singer, and

other important figures tolerate the visible a strange

of the

work

of Beranger Sauniere,

and disparate work that we might say was struck by the Angel

Odd?

But times change. Monsignor Billard grew old, and in the of his

life

He was Beausejour, who

tion for being very tolerant. Assuredly, Sauniere

ing his nomination in

1902 that

27. J.-L. Chaumeil, 28.

J.

Robin, Renne

Le Tresor du le

Chateau,

did not have a reputa-

must have thought dur-

this individual

brotherhood. In truth, he would soon learn

was not part

of “our”

this at great cost to himself.

triangle d’or, 109. la colline

month

replaced on the seat of

he was practically powerless.

Carcassonne by Monsignor de

last

envoutee, 27-28.

— He Who

138

The diocese

what

Abbe

not.

is

when he assumes

working and

Sauniere’s behavior did not seem to

comply very

and

it

see for himself

accustomed to Episcopal palaces that were

comfortable than rural presbyteries, but a hierarchy.

is

new

a

infinitely

more

the same, there are limits

a simple country priest

If

Monsignor de Beausejour waited

Abbe Sauniere

all

who knows where

than a bishop,

lifestyle

what

Monsignor de Beausejour

the evangelical teaching of poverty.

certainly

and there

his position in the is

to travel through

much with was

thing a bishop does

first is

Brings Scandal

it

assumes a grander

might lead to next? 1905, however, to offer

until

parish. Sauniere bluntly turned

down on

it

the

pretext that he could not leave the parish where his interests held him.

The bishop eral

insisted

and summoned the

summons, Sauniere

tificates.

bishop

Then

in

hid, each time

1909, realizing the

named him

priest of

abbe Marty to replace him

priest to hear him. Despite sev-

producing phony medical

will of his subordinate, the

ill

Coustouge

in the Corbieres,

phe for Sauniere. He obviously refused

earlier parish.

It

was then

new

as

the role of poor priest he

moral potential with both

whom

parish

Calve,

had attained

his parishioners

Was

and the “strangers” with

he happy?

No

would spend

man. Instead, she belonged erhood that pulled the

him appropriately

sure to treat

enamored of

lover, as a Beast

one knows.

his Belle.

How

strings.

pawn on

a chessboard,

the visible stage. So

Neither

help him.

when

It

we

Emma

was up

to

days with

as a transfixed

Emma

Calve belonged to no one

and

to that mysterious broth-

to her public

with Herculean strength, which

ficulty.

company

his

could she consider Beranger any-

thing but a pawn, though a very sympathetic pawn, to be sure

only a

women

like.

— a pawn

But Beranger Sauniere was

and the game masters were absent from

find the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau in

nor those

him

his

a high degree of ease as well

to enjoy an endless stream of peaceful days in the

who made

was

right for Beranger Sauniere.

of his mistress-servant, and from time to time

Emma

—which

was more important than

had gone

he had an unusual relationship.

He appeared

nomination

his

that his real hardships began.

Until this point, everything

From

and rushed an

Rennes-le-Chateau. This was a catastro-

in

actually a promotion, for his

cer-

who were

to find his

way

behind her

out of his

some

dif-

lifted a finger to

difficulty.

After

he was ordained a priest, he swore obedience to his bishop.

all,

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

He

Sauniere was of another stamp, however.

perament of a

ments and certain to

make

secrets.

use of them.

but he did not ing

Furthermore, he

slave.

know

knew

The problem was

He had

did not have the tem-

that he held certain docu-

know how

that he did not

a veritable nuclear

the instructions for using

Monsignor de Beausejour, who wished

139

it.

bomb As

at his disposal,

a result of oppos-

empty Rennes-le-Chateau

to

of his presence (no doubt the bishop had his reasons), he stepped outside the

law

— and as everyone knows, “outside of the Church, there

no salvation.” Sauniere soon had the sad experience of one of

his so-called friends

such great expense would trary,

they did

all

whom

He was

and not

he received at his Villa Bethania at

make any

effort

on

To

his behalf.

the con-

they could to sink him and reduce him to nothing.

They no longer needed him now, had been intended

this,

is

for him.

for he

He was

had

fulfilled the

mission that

out of service and out of the game.

thus abandoned. Only the unconditional devotion of Marie

Denarnaud saved him from

despair.

Monsignor de Beausejour, bishop of Carcassonne and

legal repre-

sentative of religious authority, being unable to dislodge

him from

Rennes-le-Chateau, sought to attack him through his weaknesses.

These did not include Marie Denarnaud. That kind of arrangement was so

common

in the clergy that

no one could decently hold

against him,

had not created any scandal among

especially given that the situation

around him and that Our Holy Mother Church was not

those

besmirched by

it.

No,

indulgences, the equivalent of of the

what was once

selling

there

Masses and

called simony,

from the

famous Simon Magus.

The plan behind

the accusation

was

quite simple: Beranger Sauniere

had undertaken construction work that cost

him say where and how he acquired such his disposal.

him

the bishop of Carcassonne attacked

where he was weakest: He accused him openly of

name

it

We

a great deal of

significant

money. Let

sums of money

at

can see that the attack was not a direct one, but was

nevertheless one that could not be ignored.

The

priest

had to account

for himself before his hierarchical superior.

As

the bishop expected, Sauniere did not precisely explain himself.

He

simply presented rows of numbers that meant nothing, for he was incapable of proving the origin of the funds that he attributed to generous

;

He Who

140

Brings Scandal

donors, an attribution through which he incriminated himself, making himself guilty of canvassing, not only in the diocese but elsewhere as well, for

in the eyes of the

honorariums for Masses. Beranger Sauniere,

Episcopal authority, was

not

if

guilty,

then at least greatly compro-

mised. All that Monsignor de Beausejour requested of him was a

justi-

fication for his extravagant expenditures.

Of

course, he clearly

felt

that Sauniere

would never be

able to jus-

them. Sauniere then came up with a statement whose rough draft

tify

we’ve had

in

our hands. 29 For the church construction work alone, he

admitted 193,000 gold francs. This was a considerable sum. In that time a French ambassador earned only forty thousand francs a year. But Sauniere was cheating; examination of his bookkeeping (which he

made

sure not to include with his statement)

showed

that he spent

fif-

teen times that amount, 30 which does not include any of the cost of his

is

The bad

constructions. 31

civil

more than evident

faith of the

here.

Beranger Sauniere was thus found ily

Rennes-le-Chateau clergyman

guilty.

At

first

he was temporar-

suspens a divinis the bishop simply wished to give him a warning

new nomination. But as was his right, Sauniere made an appeal to the court of Rome, where this kind of affair could drag on for years. In addition, he claimed he could not move out and make him accept

his

of the Rennes-le-Chateau presbytery and the municipality sided with

him, claiming that the location worked for Sauniere and no one

else.

Apparently the priest of Saint Magdalene Church was well liked by parishioners, even by those In

who

1913 Beranger Sauniere

did not attend church.

— by occult means, perhaps? —won

29. Since Sauniere’s time, the different statements drafted by

(and unpaid)

bills

his

—have been gathered and published

him

in part in

—

in particular, the

two important

his

paid

parallel

works: Le Fabuleux Tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, by Jacques Riviere (Nice: Editions Belisane, 1983)

and Historie du tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau by Pierre Jarnac

published). These authors dedicated themselves to remarkable investigations, results

There cision.

30.

I

match, taking into account the quite understandable divergences is

no need

to repeat their

The photos published

leave

it

to Jean-Luc

31. Jean-Luc Chaumeil,

work, which

in these

is

two books

notable for both are

triangle d’or, 110.

and the

in interpretation.

patience and

documents that speak

Chaumeil to take responsibility

Le Tresor du

its

(self-

its

pre-

for themselves.

for his contention.

The Abbe Sauniere Legend case in the court of

Rome. Monsignor de Beausejour returned

offensive, however,

and demanded the

141

to the

obedience. This time,

priest’s

because war had broken out, the atmosphere had changed completely.

Suddenly Beranger Sauniere was no longer paying obliged to borrow money. Nothing

wicked tongues chimed archduke resurfaced,

in,

was going

his bills

and was

anymore. The

right

of course, and the figure of the Austrian

at least in conversation.

The

civil

authorities sus-

pected Sauniere of indulging in espionage and maintaining relations

with the enemy.

It is

obvious that his relationship with the archduke of

Austria (since proved to be an absolute fact) constituted a serious

charge against him. Sauniere was considered an agent

information to the central empires. has ever been proved

espionage

now

is

Sauniere affair

Of course, nothing about

—and nothing

will ever be proved, for

when

banished from consideration

— but

it

was

who

said that the

passed

his actions

any idea of

comes

it

to the

Magdala Tower served

as

an

observatory for enemy spies and that some of them hid in the “secret

chambers” of

Villa Bethania.

Thus we next

find Sauniere in the defendant’s chair. In truth, he

defended himself so clumsily that he gave credence to every slanderous

word

said of him. In

1915 he was suspens a

which meant he no longer had the perform Mass

duties, to

who

in public, or to confer the

did not live there. This in no

from attending the built

still

no one had the plicity of the

The

a

new

priest,

serials written

though

prevented the townspeople

gardens, and the

had had

Magdala

Marie Denarnaud) and

presbytery, with the official

municipal authorities, was

Here the various

Some

way

villa, its

Sauniere and not to the official priest.

tions.

now had

private property (belonging to

right to evict him.

all,

holy sacrament of

services that Sauniere held in the chapel he

beneath Villa Bethania, for the

Tower were

once and for

right to exercise his ministerial

the Catholic Church. Rennes-le-Chateau

one

divinis

It

still

was

legally rented to

com-

Beranger

a curious situation.

about Sauniere go

in different direc-

say that Beranger Sauniere and Marie Denarnaud traveled

across Occitania in search of money, even selling blessed medals to

wounded priest

and

soldiers being treated in hospitals. Others maintain that the his servant hid

often. Others

out

in their

domain and avoided

show Sauniere using every means

leaving

it

too

at his disposal in the

He Who

142

Brings Scandal

attempt to have his position in the church to say that Beranger

and Marie were hounded more and more by

creditors. Fortunately,

if

we may

war was going

say so, the

servant

made

Since iety,

for

Magdalene Church

it

in

did not have a friend or relative at the Front?

his loyal

Who

“who

did not

died for

country”? In Rennes-les Bains, Abbe Boudet was growing old. The

tumult of war did not affect him, but

although the war was

still

stopped and no one

home

of his family. In 1915,

knew what might happen articles

not far from Rennes-le-Chateau, Abbe

He summoned

still

to his colleague’s side.

What

did the

30, 1915, Henri Boudet gently

left this

stories of soldiers

In Axat,

Boudet

Beranger Sauniere,

As might be expected, no one witnessed

It

next. Anxiety

and the

on furlough, generally the convalescing wounded.

God and

He

going on, the Germans had been momentar-

was known only through newspaper

coming

declining.

remote rural regions of the Aude, where the war

ruled, even in these

approaching.

was

his strength

resigned his post and retired to Axat,

ily

ex-

France had been gripped with great anx-

include in their immediate entourage at least one person his

The

through the storm relatively unscathed.

1914 every family

who

Rennes-le-Chateau and

in

their

on, and the

recovering of debts was not the chief concern of the courts. priest of Saint

concur

officially restored. All

his

felt

which was

who wasted no

two of them

hour

last

time in

discuss then?

their conversation.

On March

earth, apparently at peace with

himself.

was

matically.

at this point that

He

his suppliers.

Beranger Sauniere’s fortunes changed dra-

abruptly paid off his most pressing debts and reimbursed

He

regained his taste for

making ambitious

plans.

a canal system that

wished to improve

He wished

life.

Now full

of hope, he started

to furnish Rennes-le-Chateau with

would bring clean water

into every house.

living conditions in the village

and

He

to build a large

tower on the east side of the town that would balance the Magdala

Tower and from which he could preach wished to

listen.

Of

put in his orders and Just

these there

made

what happened

to

his

the

who had no doubt. He

good word

would be many, he

to all those

down payments.

prompt

this

turnabout? The simplest expla-

nation for this “resurrection” relates to

Abbe Boudet. Perhaps

before

dying he entrusted Sauniere with the great secret that the priest was

still

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

lacking.

Was

143

an inexhaustible treasure or important docu-

this secret

ments? Calculations can allow us to make brisk progress here: The fact

man

remains that in 1916 Beranger Sauniere became again the

was-— a man of boundless ambition, ready build things

more

to

perform great

he once

feats

and

beautiful than any of his earlier achievements to

ensure that he would be remembered for a long time to come. This

would be

revenge against Episcopal authority, for while he had

his

quarrels with the bishopric, he

had

in

no way renounced

his faith

and

continued to hold Mass in his chapel, most often in the presence of the faithful of

who

Rennes,

preferred to forgo the official

Mass performed

by a priest they did not accept. Until the end, Beranger Sauniere

remained “priest” of Rennes-le-Chateau.

The year turned

who had

on Abbe Sauniere’s wish all

the

and

still

erected in

itors.

monument was

list,

communes in

He worked on

fit

list

of those

erected that

memorial to the dead similar to those

a

his plans while waiting for the time to realize

on January 17

the threshold of the

He was

was now

of France. Beranger Sauniere

carried into his

them

date on the tomb-

(recall the

stone of the marquise d’Hautpoul) an illness took

was crossing

had not been

condition. His powerful build impressed his vis-

concretely. Nevertheless,

ered.

The

on.

died for their country grew longer every day, and soon on the

Rennes-le-Chateau square a

sixty-five

The war dragged

to 1917.

him down while he

Magdala Tower, and he never recov-

room

in

the presbytery,

and while

Beranger suffered, Marie Denarnaud anxiously sent someone in search of a doctor.

He had known

he was

ill

for

some

time, but

had always pretended

otherwise. Several days went by, and then he asked Marie to bring a priest. It

was Abbe

to Rennes.

He

Riviere, the priest of Couiza,

who made

closeted himself in Sauniere’s room.

conversation rather, went on for a long time.

came down from

the village, he

The

When

was pale and

the climb

confession, or

the Couiza priest

livid. It

has even been

claimed that he remained laid out for a long time before recovering his peace of mind.

What

have entrusted to

frightful secret

his ears?

It is

might

his colleague

also claimed that at the

Abbe Sauniere

moment

of his

death, the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau had uttered this mysterious

name

in the

presence of Doctor Courrent: Jean XXIII.

It

was

also claimed

He Who

144

Brings Scandal

that he received

Extreme Unction only conditionally two days

after his

death, before being buried in the small cemetery bordering the church

he had loved so well.

We

will never

them

or entrust

about

know

The dead take

the truth.

Abbe

conversation with

his last

Abbe

to the confessional.

their secrets with

Riviere never said a

them

word

Sauniere, but after the priest’s

death on the night of January 22, 1917, tongues were wagging at top speed,

only about his funeral arrangements. Through the efforts of

if

Marie Denarnaud, he was allegedly placed on of his

villa

and clad

man

tional

was even

through

robes sporting crimson

in rich

crush of visitors from

all

over,

whom

coming

to

pay

final

homage

to this excep-

scandal had arrived in Rennes-le-Chateau.

a black crepe veil

Following the somewhat pagan ceremony

woman whose

—Emma in

It

face

32 Calve, of course!

which the

visitors tore the

from the robe of the deceased, the townspeople carried Sauniere’s

coffin into the church, his church, priest’s

tomb was

When the

where Abbe Riviere

for his

will of the deceased

bank accounts, no

Denarnaud, trapped

was

in her grief,

read,

never

memory

revealing any of his secrets.

It

was

it

name

was discovered he owned of Marie Denarnaud.

left Villa

Bethania. She led a sad

of Beranger Sauniere without ever

on gold.

then

If so,

why

did this old

die destitute in 1953, in such financial difficulties that she sell

her property to Noel

there the rest of her

life? If

there

Corbu

had

was not

so tenacious that

it

now

32. Jean-Louis Fournier has his television film

on

F.R. 3,

by Jean-Michel Thibaux.

really

the case, that this

been gold coins underfoot,

web

more honest.

have to

of invention has been

a

remarkable job of transferring

L’Or du Diable

[Devil’s

fiction, of course,

but

this to the screen in

Gold] (1989), based on two novels is

no more absurd than

has been said and written seriously about Beranger Sauniere. it is

We

passes for historical reality.

done

It is

was

in return for the right to live

she should have been able to profit from them herself. believe that this

As

often said that she repeatedly told

the villagers that they were walking

forced to

The

them has ever been found. Marie

trace of

existence there, living in the

woman

officiated.

erected against the wall of the sanctuary.

nothing. All his properties were in the

to say

There was a

tassels.

said that a barouche brought a beautiful

was concealed behind

tassels

a throne in the large hall

I

all else

would even go so

that

far as

The Abbe Sauniere Legend

Yet there

There are

is

the

Church of Mary Magdalene

Villa Bethania

Rennes-le-Chateau.

and the Magdala Tower. There

Beranger Sauniere’s shadow

between truth and

in

is

present everywhere.

fiction to be

found

in this

145

is

the fact that

Where

is

the line

absurd though highly

instructive story?

There grafted

is

a Sauniere myth, but

upon an inner

reality,

no myth

even

if

it

exists that has

not been

difficult to see that reality

through the fog of the imaginary. There was a Sauniere mystery, no

doubt about

it.

Who,

then,

was

this

uncommon

individual?

5

Who Was Abbe On

June

1,

Sauniere?

1967, the vicar general Georges Boyer published a

fairly

long article in La Semaine religieuse de Carcassonne under the “Clarification

and Warning.”

It

includes this particularly notable

title

line:

For several years our old Razes has periodically become the theater of disappointing searches, impassioned excavations, and sensational publications.

The

wave

epicenter of this tidal

appropriately enough, in Rennes-le-Chateau, where centrically over

it

is

located,

extends con-

Coumesourde, Rennes-les-Bains, the plateau des

Fees (Las Brugos), Blanchefort, and

Campagne

sur

Aude

—

in short,

over this Visigothic center rich in history but even richer today in legends and a wealth of apocryphal documents. unhesitatingly that a treasure olis

is

It

is

declared

hidden there in an ancient necrop-

and that the bishop of Carcassonne knows of the existence of

this necropolis

of the

but refuses to disclose

fortune

—and

the

gamut

secret.

expenditures

Rennes-le-Chateau, Abbe Sauniere, a rich

its

who

—of

.

a

.

.

The explanation

former priest of

died in 1917, stretches in

of assumptions, from the profits of wartime espionage

to the discovery of a Visigothic, Cathar, Templar, or royal treasure.

After

all,

the hunt for treasure

is

and the work of the imagination tion

— does

a healthy,

if

not profitable, diversion,

—even that of an unbridled imagina-

not justify some kind of warning in a religious weekly,

which, by nature, should be peaceable. The quote continues: 146

Who Was Abbe Until then,

was permissible

it

to smile. But after that point

been no longer possible to hold our

now

we

1

heard

and

sacred to us,

we

.

.

it

to have

it

clearly

names

to be used for dubious or

.

easy to see that by like

we wish

not allow them to be attacked

will

will not allow their

commercial ends

Whether we

is

preceding that

in the

unjustly

now

has

have a whole bundle of proof and presumptions. Because the

reputation of our priests

It is

it

long inquiry

silence. After a

147

Sauniere?

or not,

its

very nature the subject

Abbe

is

a delicate one.

Sauniere, devoted priest that he was,

belongs to history, and history belongs to everyone. The main

objective

becomes knowing what any given person anyone can force the

a display of total bias,

is

facts

trying to prove. In

and documents to

deviate support to one view over the other, depending desire

is

to

on whether the

whitewash Sauniere against certain accusations or to exploit

the personality of this unusual priest to the extent of claiming that he

had sold

his soul to the devil.

domain and

in this

that

it

We

have to accept that confusion reigns

can be quite

difficult to separate the reality

of the events from the sometimes absurd interpretations that have been

made

of them. Given, then, that a Sauniere “mystery” really exists, an

made

attempt must be

if

not to solve

this end, the first thing to

who Abbe

just

do

is

it,

then at least to explain

to learn, based

on

reliable

should not be overlooked.

He was born

April 11, 1852. Astrology’s devotees

documents,

in

is

a reality that

Montazels, near Couiza, on

would be

able to deduce

—why haven’t they done so already? —that Sauniere was an

The

To

Sauniere was before legend took hold of him.

Beranger Sauniere was a native of the region. This

this

it.

chief characteristic of this sign

obstacles headfirst, even

if

is

a subconscious desire to

from Aries.

ram

into

the consequences can be quite onerous.

Beranger was the eldest son of an honorable family: His father was then steward for the marquis de Cazemajou and the manager of the flour mill

1.

—that

The bishopric

is,

he held an important position, especially in that era.

released a portion of the

documents from

sequently published and analyzed in Jacques Riviere’s

Rennes-le-Chateau

Cbateau

in

in

castle’s

1983, and

in Pierre Jarnac’s

this inquiry,

which were sub-

work Le Fabuleux Tresor de

book Histoire du

tresor de Rennes-le-

1985. These two books form the essential foundation for any objective study

of the case of

Abbe

Sauniere.

He Who

148

The land

Brings Scandal

Couiza Valley

in the

rich

is

oldest families of the region a family

The

irrigated.

The Cazemajous

of pastureland and orchards.

full

and well

and are cousins of the Negri d’Ables.

members. Consequently,

its

is

are related to the

devoted to the Christian cause and could count

and nuns among

valley

many

It

was

priests

can be declared that the

it

Sauniere family, although commoners, albeit not run-of-the-mill ones,

shared the same conditioning.

became

We was

priests:

Two

of Joseph

Saumere’s children

Beranger and his younger brother, Alfred.

should also examine the era during which Sauniere grew up. This

the time of the Second Empire.

The noble

families of the Occitan

region and their “supporters” voted en masse for Louis-Napoleon out of fear of the Republicans

were Catholic by

and

especially the Socialists. Here, individuals

tradition, principle,

and conviction, and those who

shared this view could not place any trust in individuals who, under the influence of Jewish bankers

and Freemasons of every

stripe,

were apt to

betray the interests of the Church. Following the disaster of 1870, most 2 of those in Occitania were, of course, anti-Communard, praying for the

transformation of the young Republic into a monarchy with, at a

man worthy

of the rank

and incontestable legitimists

who

—

in this instance,

monarchy of

head,

Henri V, count of Chambord

heir of the legitimate line, for in

believed in the

its

Montazels people were

divine right

and damned the

Orleans pretender to Hell. They could not forgive him for being the

descendant of Philippe Egalite, a well-known regicide and grand master of the Freemasons during the years that preceded the Revolution. This

why a

Masonic order

well.

made concerning Beranger

the accusations

We know

Sauniere ’s membership in

are not only ridiculous, but completely unrealistic as is

it

the checkerboard pattern of the floor of the Saint

Magdalene Church that has given is

rise to that

opinion, but anyone

a partisan monarchist in favor of the legitimate line

mentalist Catholic; the

pope from

his

is

it

could not be otherwise.

is

also a funda-

When Napoleon

III

papal states by means of Italian intermediaries,

quickly explained that the deed

2. [This refers to the Paris

Commune

drove it

was

was motivated by an agreement between

that took control of the capital

and established

popular government following the debacle of the Franco-Prussian War. The

was bloodily suppressed by

who

the Republican

government of A. Thiers.

a

Commune

— Translator]

Who Was Abbe the former Badinguet 3

Sauniere

149

and those diabolical Masons who wished

to per-

Napoleon

vert the world.

had shown hypocrisy

III

he

in this matter, for

was, as we know, personally dependent on the Carbonari.

It

was

to

conciliate the French Catholics that he pretended to aid the pope.

Fortunately, Pope Pious

X

condemned

the bush, he

soon appeared, and without beating around forms of democracy as counter to the

all

who

designs of God. There were the producers, the warriors, and those pray. This

is

the

famous Indo-European

Middle

tripartition that the

Ages raised to a position of honor and which corresponds to the Divine

Of

Plan.

course,

always possible for someone

it is

ducer to become a

member

who

starts as a pro-

of the sacerdotal class. In fact, this

is

what

Beranger and his brother Alfred did. This life

is

the ambience in

which the young Beranger was

raised. All his

how

he would remain loyal to his monarchist convictions, no matter

reactionary or paternalistic they were.

work he wished

explaining the priest

must be the engine of

tual plane.

In

Why

It

also goes a long

to accomplish in Rennes-le-Chateau:

on both the material and the

society

would Beranger Sauniere want

1874 Beranger entered the

large

Alfred had been ordained, a year illustrates that

earlier,

to attain the goal he

years old and

spiri-

to be anything else?

study. After his brother

he was ordained a priest in

way

he had some difficulty making his

through and that he was clearly not of exceptional

managed

had

set for himself.

was named Vicar of

A

seminary of Carcassonne,

where he pursued the appropriate course of

1879, which

way toward

intelligence. Yet he

He was

twenty-seven

Alet, with a salary of nine

hundred

francs a year as established by the law governing the concordat realized

between Church and

He showed to

combine

himself to be a devoted priest and never missed a chance

his duties

with humanitarian actions, by either seeking to

give or having others give a constant with

fortune,

it

State.

Abbe

money

to his neediest parishioners. This

Sauniere: Although he

was accused of amassing

must be acknowledged that he always planned on using

others. This

is

was

it

a

for

obviously quite a paternalistic tendency, which conforms

completely with the behaviors of the aristocratic class of the time. The

3. [This

is

Napoleon

Ill’s

given name.

— Translator

He Who

150

Brings Scandal

implications of this system are immediately apparent: the French populace in a state of

who

those

They maintain

dependency upon the Church and

have concluded an alliance with

it

—

words, the

in other

monarchists and the right-wing Republican parties

who were

always

ready to rally to the Royalist cause. Sauniere’s attitude, which he shared

with a good number of his colleagues, was obviously a result of his education in the

When

shadow

the priest

streets of Alet.

of an aristocratic family.

had some

He was

free time, he liked to stroll

man

a

through the

of the country with a large build and

seemed to exude strength and health. He loved to go out and “take the

and was always interested

air,”

in

what he might

of his favorite paths led around the

He

remnants of the monastery.

monument and was

see

on

his walks.

One

rums of the old cathedral and the

regretted the

bygone splendor of the

sorry that Viollet-le-Duc had decided against

restoring this edifice in 1862. Sauniere could also often be seen before the

tomb

of the former bishop of Alet, Nicolas Pavilion, the friend of

Vincent de Paul, sioned

who

—extremely rare

also gave charity to the

time

in his

poor and had envi-

— both the participation of women

and the education of the

the spreading of the gospel

in

rural populace.

Sauniere often pondered on the example given by the twenty-ninth

bishop of Alet, and

when he took

Rennes-le-Chateau, he vision.

Might he have

made

matter

every attempt to put into practice his

recalled the

troubadour Uc de Saint-Circ

—that claimed that

it

responsibility for the parish of

ambiguous words of the Occitan

—words

related to a completely different

was through

Perhaps his thoughts had turned, even

Woman that one attained God?

at this early age, to the strange fig-

Mary Magdalene. After all, it was she to whom turned when he needed someone to bring the news

ure of

the resurrected

Jesus

to his disciples.

Over the course of these “archaeological” promenades, Beranger Sauniere met an individual

who

Rennes-le-Chateau

though he turned the

affair,

has received scant notice in the whole

down. This meeting may have been an life,

of a

man

life

work he accomplished.

one pointed out the importance of these meetings

as mysterious as

upside

essential influence in Sauniere’s

or at least justification for a part of the

Why has no

priest’s

Abbe Sauniere? This

individual

in the life

was Henri

Dujardin-Beaumetz, a painter whose works have not been passed

down

Who Was Abbe to posterity, but

who

He appeared

ties.

himself had a decisive affect on Sauniere’s activi-

later as a

favored guest at Villa Bethania.

Henri Dujardin-Beaumetz was born profession, he could not earn a living politics.

He became

151

Sauniere?

in

from

1852. Though an his paintings

a general councilor for the

1889, he was elected deputy.

He took an

Aude,

artist

by

and so entered after

active role in the

which, in

Chamber

of

Deputies and later rose to the position of undersecretary of state of fine arts. is

of

Dujardin-Beaumetz was a member of the Radical party and, what

most important consideration

here, a die-hard Freemason.

a curious friendship that linked these

and

legitimist

who was

a monarchist

scrupulous of his duties; the other was anticlerical, which

— a man who was ready to

san of laity and combisme. 4

And

lasted until the death of

What

his

fight for the Left, a parti-

Dujardin-Beaumetz

in

1910.

to talk about?

They discussed

hid his opinions and neither

mind, but they also

is

yet neither betrayed the friendship,

men have found

could these two

politics, of course, for neither

changing

was

ready to fight for the Right, a sincere believer and priest

not to say atheist

which

two men. One was

It

likely discussed art

was

close to

and archaeology

as

they strolled together through the ruins of the Alet abbey. Sauniere was

completely ignorant on this subject. Before the modern era,

was given priests.

in seminaries to

This

is

the reason

developing the

why

so

many

artistic sensibilities

village priests

statues at bargain prices to antique dealers

little

This

is

and replaced them with the

why, before the time that buildings were

listed as historic

monuments, countless

of future

have sold beautiful

horrible Saint-Sulpician plaster statues that are the disgrace of tuaries.

thought

priests

murdered

many sanc-

classified

their churches,

transforming sanctuaries of prayer and beauty into conference

Beranger Sauniere listened to what the painter had to to hie

PYnhnatinnc nn the vprv

rirh

and

say,

halls.

5

and no doubt

and vprv svmhnhr ornamentation of

He Who

152

this

Brings Scandal

venerable and neglected sanctuary that quarrymen continued to dev-

astate with the permission of the administration, despite the protests of

Dujardin-Beaumetz.

No

doubt Sauniere pondered the great necessity of

giving people concrete examples and images of the Christian doctrine,

even

bore an unsettling aspect. As a

these examples sometimes

if

Freemason, Dujardin-Beaumetz knew such symbolism and taught the

young

vicar certain keys. This

But a

On

ever.

man

is

not a matter for debate.

such as Beranger Sauniere does not remain a vicar for-

June 16, 1882, the new bishop of Carcassonne, Monsignor

Felix Billard,

named

Sauniere priest to serve the parish of Le Clat, in the

deanery of Axat. This was a village of some 282 inhabitants, perched

on the edge of

looked out over the magnificent landscape

a plateau that

quite poor

The parishioners were

of the Sault region.

and supported

themselves by breeding mules. This was hardly a desirable posting, but Sauniere behaved appropriately, keeping in

He remained

said that Sauniere

It is

refrained from saying for

discover just

books

in

what

his desire to

and leave behind some architectural

the fate of the populace his passage there.

mind

had

improve traces of

there for three years in great solitude. a passion for books, but people

what books, and no one has ever been

his library held. Surely

it

have

able to

held sacred texts and also

Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. But Sauniere was no intellectual;

he was instead a village in Axat,

man

of action

—

While

a builder, not a meditater.

in the

he probably suffered patiently, knowing that one day or

another he would be given a parish worthy of him. In

1883 important news made

the death of the count of

its

way

to Le Clat: Sauniere learned of

Chambord, who was

the legitimate pretender to the throne of France,

by

his followers.

It is

the tricolored flag,

tion of those

known

and

his

who would

We know

Duke

who was

of Bordeaux,

called

otherwise have accepted his return to the throne.

was

heir.

From then on

the sole pre-

the count of Paris, an Orleans.

that during that

these

monuments

monuments

to the

still

V

obvious disdain for the people alienated a por-

same year Royalist committees, which

were particularly active and benefited from rather anonymous erected

Henry

that his intransigence, his refusal to accept

Yet he died in exile in Austria, without an tender of Capet origin

also

memory

exists in

of the count of

largesse,

Chambord. One of

Sainte-Anne d’Auray

(in

Morbihan),

in

Who Was Abbe the addition to the basilica that

was

erected

and reactionary

ple of the triumphalist

the

art

in

honor

a characteristic

exam-

on during 1883

which

of the patron saint of the Bretons, and

is

153

Sauniere

—or rather pseudo-art—of

Catholic Church of the end of the nineteenth century. Other

famous

Coeur

—and

aesthetically horrific

in Paris;

Notre-Dame de Fouviere

Ars-sur-Formans Salette

Ardeche). There

in

and the painful-to-see is

this style are Sacre-

Lyon; the

new

basilica of

hideous basilica of Notre-Dame de

(in Ain); the

Isere);

(in

—expressions of

basilica of

la

La Louvesc

also the basilica of the turncoat

(in

who remained

nonetheless a devoted extremist, Saint Francis-Regis, the “apostle” of the “repentant” Protestants, and, finally, the zenith

and the very pious

artists

of Lourdes.

The

umph.

Its

and reactionary Christianity of Pious

intransigent

traces can be

all

Notre-Dame

Grillot de Givry, the basilica of

canonized for the needs of the cause) was

(since

denounced by

found

in the

midst of a

X

tri-

Dreyfus Affair and in the machi-

in the

nations of Leo Taxil over the Freemasons, as well in the overly famous

“Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” This fake document, duly recognized as such today,

prompted the

wreaked havoc

first

tually lead to the

in earlier fundamentalist milieus

manifestations of an anti-Semitism that

would even-

crematory ovens of Nazism (which some intellectuals

who today confuse history and ideology deny ever existed). What characterizes these monuments and churches is not taste,

only bad

but also something that could be described as a systematic chal-

lenge to beauty. Everything in just a

and

shadow

thus terror.

product of

It

them

of the image of a

artistic sensibility

bogeyman

and

this tendency.

deity

It

was

his

was not very developed, he

ological views with the advice he

His lack of

ugly, formless,

who

and grandiose, with inspires respect

and

should be emphasized that Beranger Sauniere was a pure

this era

blame him

is

entirely for the

bad

was

own

culture. Because his

strove to conciliate his ide-

given. This

is

why

it is

difficult to

taste that prevails at Rennes-le-Chateau.

artistic sensibility left

him open

to influences that included

those that completely contradicted his personal positions.

Whatever the truth may be about lations,

and

artistic

specu-

He

visual-

Beranger Sauniere dreamed of something grandiose.

ized himself at the faithful

his intellectual

head of

would come

a

new Lourdes, where

countless crowds of the

to worship not him, but the religion he represented.

He Who

154

Brings Scandal

Unfortunately, Monsignor Billard did not offer

He was

his plans.

motions:

offered Rennes-le-Chateau.

He moved from

Was Monsignor

It

Billard trying to get rid of

when someone

sibility

of a

is

named

way

sented as a promotion but in reality

some kind of vice, the

Roman

to pursue a course that

a

is

he

is

offered the responhis talents to a

to another parish because

which

is

conforms to that which

—the newcomer

is

is

pre-

failed ini-

to be extremely poor or

not always very

Catholic Church wants

—

move

punishment for certain

the nature of

Usually, after an apprenticeship

manage

one of 298.

or another. Such a

The new parish customarily turns out

The hierarchy of

to

to

of people. There are cases, however, where a clergyman

he displeased his superiors in one

stained by

form

the tiniest of pro-

more important parish where he can bring

served a parish as vicar or priest

tiatives.

in the

serving a parish has per-

satisfactorily for a certain period of time,

number

to realize

him? The promotion does

formed

who

was

282 inhabitants

a parish of

indeed seem strange. Ordinarily,

larger

means

the

discharged from the parish of Le Clat, but

was

of a promotion

him

its

6

spiritual servants

expected of a

is

clear.

a trial period in a place that

priest.

difficult

is

given a position that suits his aspirations as

common good. But it does not seem that this was the case Sauniere. He found himself in a new parish equivalent to

well as the

for

Beranger

his

though perhaps more

first,

6.

I

have personally witnessed a case of

familiar

Given

is

that of

his age,

Abbe Henri

and

after

Gillard,

having

to administer than his previous

difficult

this nature.

whom

I

The example with which

rightly consider to be

fulfilled his duties as vicar in

two

my

I

am most

spiritual father.

parishes,

where he

dis-

pleased both the incumbent titleholder of the parish as well as the bishop of Vannes, on

whom

he depended, he was

named

rector of Trehorenteuc (in Morbihan).

What was

seemingly a promotion turned out to be only a snare because the parish, numbering no

more than one hundred most

difficult to

locally as the

inhabitants,

was not only

the poorest in the diocese but also the

administer both temporally and spiritually.

“chamber pot of the diocese.”

No

It

was

actually

known

need to say that Abbe Gillard met the

challenge and transformed this modest parish into one of the most important centers of spiritual

and secular pilgrimage currently existing on the peninsula. But

reflection, that this

independence and Gillard’s

promotion was actually

spirit

of initiative. For

the republication of several pamphlets that

Helias,

Yann

Brekilien,

book

punishment

more about

book Les Mysteres de Broceliande

Personally assembled by him, the

a

for

this, see

(Paris: Ploermel,

Abbe

seems, on

having shown too

much

my

Abbe

introduction to

1983), which consists of

Gillard published while

also includes

and Charles Le Quintrec.

it

still

alive.

commentaries by Pierre-Jakez

Who Was Abbe

155

Sauniere?

charge and without the merit of being more prestigious. This state of affairs

brings

up the problem of Monsignor

bishop of

Billard,

Carcassonne and hierarchical superior of Abbe Sauniere.

It

should be

noted that originally only bishops were considered Christ’s true heirs and therefore the only ones eligible to give sacrament. later

was only during

It

development of the Church that the bishops delegated some of

powers to those “charged with the mission”

word

cure [priest]) to

their

meaning of the

for rural populaces the apostolic

fulfill

they, for lack of time, could

(the actual

work

that

not fully realize themselves.

This brought Beranger Sauniere to Rennes-le-Chateau. His

impression must have been one of disappointment: the middle of a barren mountain. parish,

“enriching”? Every parish has

its

for

from

this

bad

dioceses.

The

—would have

took care

state

—the repair of the church and depend on

to

So work he would, while recovering a legacy

win

its

number. The stingy salary allotted by the

the presbytery, for instance

a hole lost in

was long-standing: The populace was

of the priest’s basic needs, but anything else

trying to

was

first

being difficult and hardly

for

good dioceses and

reputation of Rennes-le-Chateau in

It

What could he have hoped

which then had a reputation

poor and few

the

left

by

his

own

efforts.

his predecessor

and

the support of the local church council, in charge of admin-

istering parish property,

and the municipal

who

authorities,

are the local

sponsors of a state body controlled by the Ministry of Worship.

The poverty of Rennes-le-Chateau and

the state of dilapidation in

which he found the church and presbytery determined Beranger Sauniere to this

act. If

something needed to be done, he would do

“something” was out of the ordinary and marginally

respect to the laws of that time.

good

evaluating

to recall the unfavorable situation in

arrival in Rennes-le-Chateau.

tions did not help matters.

Monsignor

Billard

Though

and recovered

“failure to maintain his duty to

legal

Sauniere,

forced out, he

very

it is

his

elec-

was protected by with the reestab-

we saw earlier, was suspended show detachment.” To whom

for his

did he

appearing on the blacklist of the

Republican regime: the intervention of

who was

if

with

which he was plunged on

his position as priest

his rapid reintegration after

Dujardin-Beaumetz,

Abbe

even

His loud and ill-timed stance on the

lishment of his salary, which, as

owe

When

it,

much

his in

friend

the

Freemason

favor in Paris, or that of

He Who

156

Monsignor times?

No

Brings Scandal

Billard, his bishop,

who

could also have a “long arm” at

one knows and no document offers answers to

There

are, then, the fierce desire

he displayed to restore the church;

odd association with Marie Denarnaud;

his

this question.

the

incomprehensible

indulgence of his bishop; the excavations in the church and the discov-

tombs

ery of something; the defacing of

in the cemetery; his

wanderings

on the stony plateau; the discussions with Abbe Boudet; the confidences

made

he gave and confessions he the

humble country

ments

to

Abbe

Gelis; the

priest into the great feudal lord; his actual achieve-

with people foreign to

in the village; his definite relationships

region; his repeated journeys

astoundingly rich

(all

lifestyle; his

tions; his unsettling

metamorphosis of

proved except for

this

his trip to Paris); his

continuous support for monarchist posi-

and controversial refurbishment of the church;

exchanges with the archduke of Austria, quarrel with

(this is indisputable); his

who was known

as Jean

his

Orth

Monsignor de Beausejour, who

succeeded Monsignor Billard to the Carcassonne

seat; the accusations

of trafficking in Masses that were lodged against him; his clumsy

defense of himself; his refusal to explain the true origin of the funds at his disposal; his

of

Rome;

temporary disgrace and

his definitive ouster as

first

suspens a divinis; his relentless desire

to stay lodged in Rennes-le-Chateau; his

beginning of World

War

I;

and

finally his death,

hovers over his

last

number

the display of

lie

more grandiose and onerous

until

managed

and

1953. All of this raises a

in areas of significant

Beranger Sauniere was a secretive sharing confidences, and he

death of

(did he receive absolution or not?),

Marie Denarnaud

of problems that

at the

which was quite sudden, the mystery that

moments

the strange attitude of

temporary poverty

his return to strength following the

Abbe Boudet, complete with plans;

rehabilitation in the court

shadow.

man who was

to convince

little

inclined to

Marie Denarnaud

to

keep quiet about him after he had stepped into the beyond. This she did, thereby respecting the wishes of the deceased, to

been, in one

way

whom

or another, blindly devoted for her entire

she had

life.

In the

photos taken of him (which he subsequently published as postcards and

He

customarily had these pic-

and Marie Denaraud taken

in front of Villa Bethania,

sold at a profit), Sauniere liked to strut. tures of himself at the

Magdala Tower, or

work and showed

in his

convoluted gardens.

the assurance of

He had

pride in his

someone who has nothing

to lose,

Who Was Abbe even

in

Sauniere?

157

matters that could prove harmful to him. In a word,

Abbe

Beranger Sauniere was a secretive and discreet

man

whose deepest

This

reality

difficult to single out.

is

all his life,

why

is

and one

it is

impor-

tant to meticulously scrutinize the areas in shadow. Paradoxically, they

shed light on the personality of Beranger Sauniere and give

may

rise to

considerations that are completely different from those in the story that

was

up around him forty years

built

after his death.

SHADOW OF MONSIGNOR

THE

Too much emphasis has been placed on

BILLARD

the “complicity” that might

have united the bishop of Carcassonne and the priest of Rennes-leChateau.

It

has even been said that while the bishop

hardly glorious posting,

priceless value to the

Monsignor

if

why choose

Monsignor

likely

hidden there, prob-

toward Sauniere has the advantage of Sauniere over someone else?

Some peo-

— but

on whose

was

acting

on orders

his

archbishop or from the Vatican

that are both ingenious

and opaque have suggested that

orders? Did he receive

Minds

the priest with

before his exile to Spain. This explanation of

ple maintain that the bishop

itself?

most

that were

Billard’s attitude

being logical. But

to this

not a treasure, then at least documents of

Church

Abbe Bigou

ably by

was because he had charged

it

a secret mission: to find,

named him

Billard

was

them from

acting in the

name

of a mysterious brotherhood

that supervised the Sauniere operation. There for this explanation, however.

It

is

no pressing evidence

appears normal for the ecclesiastical

hierarchy to take an interest in documents concerning the Church, and

even to be ready to place these documents in a secure location (for

it is

not good to publicize everything). Nevertheless, this hypothesis of collusion faith,

on

one that no more casts doubt on the honesty, good

and Christian

his

ceeded

have

a valid

is

subordinate

zeal of

Abbe

in his mission,

let

it

Monsignor

Sauniere. is

the priest act as he

Billard than

this,

the bishop

financial affairs.

hurls

To reward Sauniere

opprobrium

for having suc-

conceivable that Monsignor Billard would

saw

fit

in the

the building of the original structures he

Yet to do

it

renovation of his church and

had created

would have had

in his

imagination.

to shut his eyes to Sauniere ’s

He Who

158

Brings Scandal

true that

It is

Monsignor

always

Billard

Sauniere free to accom-

left

whatever he wanted to undertake. While he

plish

ornamentation of the church and

at the bizarre

show.

let it

seems that he saw

It

priest to present

That

parishes.

is

decoration only the desire of a

in this

There

all.

from neighboring

his

nothing intrinsically shocking about the

is

is

depicted in submission, fulfilling a role

he detests: holding up a holy water stoup. There

we may wonder how Monsignor

Indeed,

surroundings, he never

its

something that would distinguish

devil at the entranceway, for he

this.

may have been shocked

is

nothing heterodox

in

might have been

Billard

able to reproach Sauniere for displaying such an eloquent symbol.

Whether

it

in

is

good

taste

Monsignor

aesthetics of

The argument

that

is

another matter entirely

Billard

— but perhaps the

matched those of Abbe Sauniere.

Monsignor

Billard entrusted Sauniere with his

mission on behalf of a mysterious brotherhood

is

based on the fact that

following Billard’s replacement as the head of the diocese by Monsignor Beausejour, circumstances changed and the defendant’s seat.

It is

Abbe Sauniere found himself

not far to travel from there to claiming that

Monsignor Beausejour was unaware of there

is

in

his predecessor’s dealings. Yet

nothing that prevented Monsignor Beausejour from sharing the

same outlook

as his predecessor. In reality, however, during Billard’s

final years in his post the

sor naturally

wanted

atmosphere had became too

hand and

to take things in

lax.

His succes-

restore order to the dio-

he was no doubt deeply shocked at Sauniere’s overly visible

cese;

display of

what was

called his fortune.

dience to his bishop even rights

made

The

if

A

priest in a diocese

owes obe-

he can, in certain cases, take advantage of

available through canonical law.

attitudes of

Monsignor

Billard

and Monsignor Beausejour

appear perfectly comprehensible. Nothing whatsoever gives any basis to the accusation that

Monsignor

weird game. Furthermore, there

was involved

Billard is

in

some kind of

not a shred of evidence that he

belonged to some sort of brotherhood that worked in the shadows, and it is

dishonest to claim otherwise. While Sauniere gave his bishop doc-

uments that he had discovered found some

—

in

in his

church

doing so he was only

— for

it is

fulfilling his

certain that he

duty as a

Likewise, Monsignor Billard, by hiding these documents, filling his

duty as a prelate. All the rest

is

mere

story.

priest.

was only

ful-

Who Was Abbe

159

Sauniere ?

THE SHADOW OF ABBE BOUDET There were friendship

No

definitely

numerous contacts and

and mutual respect between Abbe Boudet and Abbe Sauniere.

one would dream of denying

the basis of the claim that

terious secret brotherhood

Sauniere’s searches

But

it.

who

personally manipulated by

obviously was a

and the

and achievements. This story

book on

assertion

Regarding the

and overseer of supposedly sup-

is

perfectly concrete:

The

first

assertion:

It is

his passions,

even

if

is

an

Abbe Boudet’s account books.

involves

that

The second

the true Celtic language.

lifelong interest in local history

were

is

of the mys-

Boudet’s fondness for archaeology and linguistics, and the

publication of his unverified

member

on-site instigator

ported by two pieces of evidence, one of which

Abbe

has been used as

this friendship

Abbe Sauniere was

the priest of Rennes-les-Bains,

first is

on

a relationship based

incontestable that

Abbe Boudet had

a

and archaeological explorations. These

his efforts

were amateurish

rative sense of the term. Unfortunately

—

for

him and

in the

most pejo-

for everyone else

he wrote and published his appalling book on the true Celtic language, the ineptitude or naivete of belief that the

to

work was

set

which

down

borrow an expression dear

The second fied

is

so

enormous

in code, in a

that

it

has fueled the

“language of the birds,”

to fans of esotericism.

piece of evidence

—the conditional

is

would be

imperative here.

serious

It is

if it

said that

could be veri-

Abbe Boudet’s

account books indicate that from 1885 to 1901 the priest of Rennesles-Bains gave francs,

Marie Denarnaud the fabulous sum of 3,679,431 gold

which would invalidate any discovery of treasure on Sauniere’s

part as well as demolish accusations that he trafficked in Masses. But

what would be this fortune

the reason for such generosity?

intended to support?

It is

What

secret mission

clear that this assertion

was

would

lend credibility to the theory of Sauniere’s “manipulation” as well as the discreet but effective presence of a mysterious brotherhood behind the figure of Boudet, for

such a

it

is

not imaginable for a single second that

sum could have come from

try priest. Assertions like this

the personal account of a poor coun-

keep perpetuating the

Unfortunately, this bit of information

is

by one man, Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair

story.

provided only one time and in his preface to

one of the

160

He Who

Brings Scandal

reprints of Boudet’s

La

Vraie

Langue celtiqued

Saint-Clair clearly seems to have been,

who

the one

inspired the story built

hard to take him at

is

still

exist at the family

his

Now

Pierre Plantard de

not the creator, then certainly

if

up around Sauniere since 1956.

It

word, especially given that Boudet’s papers

home

in Axat.

No

one has yet come forward to

verify the authenticity of these rather strange “donations.”

Henri Boudet was born

All of this calls for thought.

November gence, he

was

his studies

When

16, 1837.

the vicar of Quillan noted his keen intelli-

sent to the seminary of Carcassonne. There he excelled in

and obtained a degree

He was

in English.

and served two parishes before being named

He remained

Bains in 1872.

moved back

Axat

to

a quiet, simple a

good

(of

priest

life

who

and

mother and

No

sister.

slightest hint of

I

in his past.

lost

Abbe Boudet was

He was born

Edmond

Boudet’s grand-nephew,

touch with his

it

“certainly not as

into a petty bourgeois family.

Boudet, 8 was the notary in Axat

Aude).

in the possession of

still

is

(in

can be seen that Abbe Boudet earned sub-

from lands he owned

Because Henri Boudet’s ever, inventions

led

memories the picture of

and never

close to his family

have viewed, one of which

stantial revenues

He

country parish!) for archaeological and

in a

poor as some have implied.

In the deeds

parishioners’

a notary.

scandal sheet ever noted any transgressions or the

mystery

His elder brother,

who was

and

retired

never neglected duties, although he used his free time

He was

work.

when he

there until 1914,

left in his

ordained a priest

to the post at Rennes-les-

to live with his brother,

which there was plenty

linguistic

Quillan on

in

were called

jointly

with his

sister.”

appeared too simple and clear

life

for,

sometimes

at the price of

9

cut,

how-

an incredible

dishonesty. This accounts for the testimony (false, of course) given by a certain

Abbe Courtauly regarding an

Pierres gravees

7. Paris:

Vraie

Langue

Edmond, who was

celtique.

much commentary on 9. P.

a collection attributed (falsely, of course)

Editions Belfond, 1978.

8. It is this brother,

La

du Languedoc,

edition (false, of course) of Les

Edmond

the potential

famous map found

the author of the

Boudet’s signature at the bottom of the

wordplay

there:

It is

alleged that

Jarnac, Histoire du tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 278.

sulted the

Boudet archives, had found any reference

Denarnaud, he would not have

If

to the

failed to share his discovery.

it

at the

map

end of

has inspired

conceals a message.

Pierre Jarnac,

famous

who

“gifts” to

con-

Marie

Who Was Abbe to

Eugene Stublein, a

tury,

did

from the end of the nineteenth cen-

local scholar

who was said (falsely, of course) to be an in fact know Sauniere and Boudet in

archaeologist. Courtauly

youth.

his

He was an

extremely conscientious priest as well as a very original and seeker.

He

died in his native village close to

of seventy-one. In 1966

—that

is,

161

Sauniere?

two years

Limoux

in

1964

at the age

—

his alleged

after his death

preface graced the false collection of Pierres gravees de

tireless

Languedoc and

included some outrageous remarks. Here are a few examples:

In

1908

spent

I

Chateau.

two months

was barely

I

at Sauniere’s

eighteen.

was

It

home

in Rennes-le-

a splendid location but

extremely drafty. Sauniere was remarkable. With his help

I

com-

10 pleted a small painting in the Rennes’s church.

There was a big fuss with Boudet.

He

left

Rennes-les-Bains in

May, 1914. He had had some problems with the His manuscripts were destroyed before

bishopric.

his eyes, his

n .

.

.

book Lazarus

was burned. 12

Rescaniere, diocesian missionary, took over as priest of

Abbe

Rennes-les-Bains in May, 1914.

He

tried to shed

some

light

on the

Boudet-Sauniere matter, but one Monday, toward one or two in the

morning

—

no

trace of

whom

it

was February

found dead,

still

But there

more.

is

1,

1915

—he received two

visitors

has been found since. That morning he was

dressed, lying

on the

floor.

13

10. Courtauly did in fact help Sauniere restore the painting of

Mary Magdalene beneath

the high altar. 11. This

is false.

12. False.

Boudet never wrote Lazarus and

burned. But sion to the in

Aged and weary, Abbe Boudet was only thinking of

in

order to

Holy

make

his

retiring.

manuscripts were never destroyed or

the story exciting, there

is

a great

need to make an

allu-

Inquisition, which, although long vanished, remains unfailingly present

everybody’s mind.

13. In reality he died of a heart attack, but this story.

was too prosaic

a detail for a sensational

— 162

He Who

Brings Scandal

Boudet, depressed, was in Axat; he decided to write the bishopric

on March 26, 1915, about Rescaniere, 14 but when the delegate from the bishopric arrived on Tuesday, March 30, 1915, Abbe Boudet had

just died a very painful death.

day he had received

With

excerpt

this

a visit

we

Over the course of the

from two men.

are definitely in the middle of a mystery novel,

or a “whodunit.” During the Middle Ages, people

would have con-

cluded that these two men, obviously in black, were devils sent by Satan. Here, the preference

is

to say nothing about them, implying that

they belonged to that mysterious brotherhood, or even a rival group that wished to take possession of secrets held by the clergymen.

was

that the author

twenty years Sauniere of

earlier. if

it,

Why

Gelis

some

not embroider on the theme and accuse

need be? Wasn’t

who had

Sauniere,

murder of Abbe

inspired by the actual

seems

It

it

true that after Boudet’s death

been experiencing financial

denly solvent and launching

new

projects? All

is

difficulties,

was sud-

contrived as

if

some-

one wished to besmirch Sauniere and Boudet for the obvious purpose 15 of increasing the aura of mystery hovering over Rennes-le-Chateau.

What can

be salvaged from

all

of this?

The answer

is

simple:

Nothing. Abbe Henri Boudet and Abbe Beranger Sauniere were two colleagues and neighbors

who found agreement on many

on the very legitimate love they each

ticularly

region, a place they wished, each in his

known

own

points, par-

for their native

felt

fashion, to praise

as widely as possible. Sauniere leaned

toward the

and make

visible

monu-

ments and construction that had the power to attract a large crowd of

Boudet worked more

pilgrims.

praise in the

command

From

he

is

at

our disposal, nothing con-

the inspirer of

some kind

Abbe Beranger

of mission

of a string-pulling, ghostly brotherhood in

no trace of

There

15.

For the details concerning

unwillingly

documents

said to have paid for

14.

is

the

Abbe Henri Boudet was

whom

Sauniere,

silence, preferring to present his

form of a book, which contributed to available informa-

tion about the Razes.

firms that

in

on the

some kind of

this letter.

— made to play

this

manipulation and the role Abbe Courtauly was

in the basest

sor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 268-78.

of circumstances, see

P.

Jarnac, Histoire du tre-

Who Was Abbe game. To those

who

who

is

who

the story,

tell

it is

game

a

in

163

Sauniere?

which no one knows

or what anyone’s deep and true motives are, just as in the

Gothic novels of English authors at the end of the eighteenth century.

The shadow

of

Abbe Boudet, while

le-Chateau, has nothing unsettling or diabolical about the purposes of fiction, but that

simply

is

how

it

—too bad for

it is.

SHADOW OF THE COUNT OF CHAMBORD

THE

Following his “exile”

in the small

cumstances discussed

earlier,

seminary of Narbonne under the

Abbe Sauniere regained

on July

parish of Rennes-le-Chateau

1886, with,

1,

if I

three thousand gold francs in his pocket, donated to

Chambord. She was

of

and Rennes-

exists over Sauniere

it

the

widow

cir-

possession of the

can put

him by

it

this

way,

the countess

of the self-styled Henri V, legitimate

pretender to the throne of France, who, through his shilly-shallying and his reactionary intransigence

had caused the

restore the Capet-Bourbons.

It is

whose old

statue

Anne d’Auray

is

probable that

currently rusting at the

Breton

affairs?)

—

this

this

is

a

like,

represented something for

Abbe

Sainte-

who pompously called hima colorless figure of

Chambord, whatever he was

the count of

V

Capet-Bourbon doing mixed up

king without a crown

no breadth. Nevertheless,

pseudo-Henri

basilica erected to the

Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux, was

self

attempt to

bend of the road from

monstrous

to Brech, in front of the

glory of the Breton patron saint (what in

failure of every

Sauniere,

who had

really

been piously and

monarchistically raised in a family of bourgeois peasants pledged to the

gloomy

clericalism of the aristocrats at the

Gloomy

clericalism

the debacle of

was held

1

is

the exact term for these circumstances. After

870, for which the usurper Badinguet, alias Napoleon

responsible,

it

was necessary

resent the French elite to regild the

the hands of the Reds

XVI and tected

16.

abandonment of

Napoleon Bonaparte,

that

it

a

III,

claimed to rep-

arms of this poor France delivered into for the regicide of Fouis

who

pro-

Revolution. 16

The

the country to the Freemasons,

worthy

was Lucien who “created”

the lodges of France

in the milieus that

—and to exact payment

Napoleon Bonaparte was not himself

known all

the

end of the nineteenth century.

a

heir to the

Freemason, but

the

his brother

Lucien was.

It is

emperor on 18 Brumaire, with the help of

and Navarre and the complicity of the European lodges.

He Who

164

Brings Scandal

monarchist faction that

from

still

hoped

drew

support

its

papacy that was more antipopulist and reactionary than any other

a

The pope did

in history.

he could to correct the situation of “this

all

Eldest Daughter of the church,”

None

to govern France

of this

is

who had cowardly

offered as a joke; this

religious reality of France at the

from which the

was

end of the nineteenth century

had been the ignominious defeat

at Sedan.

(whom

it

had posed

a

France

There had been the capitula-

had been happy

the “Royalists”

to French society.

—

had been amputated. There

support once upon a time). There had been the ble threat

and

the actual social, political,

territories of Alsace-Forraine

tion of the emperor-usurper

betrayed her mission.

Commune and

to

the terri-

There had been warnings from

Heaven: The Virgin Mary had already warned the French of the dreadful awaiting them

fate

they

if

succumbed

the

to

satanic

charms of

Republicanism, and especially democracy, which were the worst snares of the devil. In 1846, in Salette-Fallavaux, a

ment

in the

commune

of the Isere depart-

who

Grenoble diocese, the Virgin appeared to two children

were shepherds, Maximin Giraud (who

and who ended

the priest of Ars,

Calvat, cousin of the soprano

later retracted his story before

an alcoholic) and Melanie

his life as

Emma

Calve, the so-called mistress of

Beranger Sauniere. Calve was the real mistress of a certain number of

known

esotericists

and

The name Fallavaux means Could

this

famous

Satanists, including the

Jules Bois.

“false valley,” or even “vale of lies.”

be telling? During the course of a later

which she was

trial in

defended by the Freemason lawyer Camille Pelletan, a future cabinet minister

and exalted

aristocrat

nized” as the author of these apparitions. There this contention.

Famerliere was “recog-

named Constance de is

nothing dubious about

Constance de Famerliere had indeed acted on the orders

was then

of the legitimist and fundamentalist monarchist fringe that trating French society

that the ends justify

he declared that

17. [In

it

means, even

all

John XXIII, who was secret” of the Salette,

and seeking to restore the Ancien Regime.

far

A

was

a

century

later,

said

when Pope

from being stupid, became aware of the “third

which was divulged only

monument

after a long period of time,

r of stupidities.

September 1846 the Virgin Mary was said to have appeared to two children,

Maximin Giraud and Melanie them

deceit.

It is

infil-

Calvat, at La Salette, France. She

was

said to have given

secret prophecies, including the restoration of the Catholic faith in Protestant

countries.

— Translator)

Who Was Abbe The aim of the

was

Salette operation

to terrorize the faithful, even

doing so required manipulation and staging. 18 The talist,

monarchist fringe thought

it

165

Sauniere

worth

if

fundamen-

legitimist,

their while to lay

on

it

War

a bit

in

1870.

Their plan referred back to the Paray-le-Monial (Saone-et-Loire)

affair,

thick following the tragic events of the Franco-Prussian

where on June 16, 1671, two centuries

earlier, a

Margaret had a vision of Christ coming toward

nun named

her.

His heart was bleed-

and he told her that France would be saved from

ing

dedicating

French, the

and

trines,

rise of

its

to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

itself entirely

unionization, the

Mary

Sister

enemies only by

The

defeat of the

penetrations of Marxist doc-

first

especially the temptation gripping certain Christians to sup-

port social democracy 19 would

all

lead to an extraordinary reaction

orchestrated by representatives of the legitimist pretender.

new form

After this, Paray-le-Monial became the very core of a religion, a nationalist religion

whose

canticle “Save, save France, in the

can be found

refrain

name

this

worship of the Sacred Heart (and

it

its

became necessary legitimate

Commune

odious

had permitted the French

communists and

the

“Saint”

Marx

this instance,

it

capital to escape

inspired by the devil, or at least his usual

(who read

socialists

the

18. This in age,

was deemed appropriate

to

Why,

hill

19. This

Sangnier.

deceits are

prompted the

Not

a

mon-

basilica, like

who would

fund

the faithful of course, through a skillfully organized

no way prevents

more

henchmen,

dominate Paris with

of Montmartre. But

la Sallette

from currently being

and from making a profit (one of the primary

that the

from the

in preference to the other four canonical scriptures). In

wedding cake on the

this basilica?

Adolph

Gospel according to

ument. Thus was erected Sacre-Coeur, that papier-mache a giant

to

monarchy)

into other regions, mainly Paris, for thanks to the slaughter of

Thiers, Providence

famous

of the Sacred Heart ...” Paray-

le-Monial was in the provinces, however, 20 and

expand

in the

of

a place of frequent pilgrimIt

seems

France, inspired by

Marc

virtues of a pilgrimage site).

denounced, the greater the success of such birth of the Sillon

surprisingly,

it

movement

was condemned by

the

in

a place.

pope before going on to become the

core of the Christian Democrat party. 20. Currently Paray-le-Monial ditional pilgrimages, but even ist

groups of

whose

fairly

is

experiencing increased activity not only because of tra-

more because of

the concentration there of fundamental-

obscure purpose and members of the “charismatic” movement,

true objectives

and somewhat

secretive financing are

no

clearer.

He Who

166

Brings Scandal

subscription drive, but

Monsignor

500,000 gold francs on

the count of

Chambord, who bestowed

undertaking while his supporters traveled

this

throughout France, repeating everywhere that “France its

enemies only by devoting

Now

itself entirely

saved from

will be

to the Sacre-Coeur.”

1885, two years after the death of the count of Chambord,

in

Beranger Sauniere returned to Rennes-le-Chateau with three thousand gold francs that were a

gift

comparison to the 500,000 francs donated

quite a small gift in

Sacre-Coeur of Paris, but

and of what

from the countess of Chambord.

is

very revealing both of Sauniere

s

is

for the

intentions

Keeping

certain fundamentalist milieus expected of him.

the proportions, the comparison

mind

'

was

It

worth making. Funding

in

for the

Sacre-Coeur would be covered by the sale of postcards for the more direct appeal for donations

modest subscribers and by individuals

and associations.

have here the model used priest

from wealthy

Now what did Beranger Sauniere do? “We but in more modest fashion, by the

later,

Beranger Sauniere to build his various constructions and fund his

restorations.” 21

It is

legitimist Sauniere

Chateau into

and

quite certain that the sincerely fundamentalist

remembered

a pilgrimage site

all this.

and

He

sought to turn Rennes-le-

a place of grandeur.

bas-relief of the church, placed there in 1897,

In

Rennes the large

is

of Christ with a Sacred Heart, like the statue placed

on

Villa

Bethania in 1902. The obsession in 1885 had been the freeing of

France from the Republic but

we saw

the

outcome of

the elections

Aude: to deliver France through penitence 22 would also be

in the

23 the sense of his Mission.

Instead of embroidering esoteric themes about

would be which

better to place

it is

him and

22.

J.

Riviere,

Do

context in

possible to explain him: that very distinctive context of the its

openly expressed monarchis-

Le Fabuleux Tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 57.

Our Lady

of Lourdes placed

upon

the

upside-down “Visigothic”

tament to the Mission of 1891. J.

it

not forget that Sauniere had had “penitence, penitence" carved beneath the

statue of

23.

Sauniere,

his convictions in the very

beginning of the Third Republic, with

21.

Abbe

Riviere,

Le Fabuleux Tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 57.

pillar

—

a tes-

Who Was Abbe tic

tendencies and the intolerance of

Rome toward

transformations of traditional society. Without

cannot be explained. This shows

how much

167

Sauniere f

the innovations

this,

and

Beranger Sauniere

stronger the

shadow

of the

count of Chambord loomed over Rennes-le-Chateau.

The problem

lies in

widow

contact with the next,

how

knowing how Sauniere was

able to establish

of the pretender to the throne of France and,

he maintained his close connections with the monarchist and

fundamentalist milieus. Tlere a

new shadow

emerges, that of his brother,

Alfred Sauniere.

THE

SHADOW OF ALFRED

SAUNIERE

Beranger’s younger brother, Alfred, certainly had a greater learning than he himself did.

brother and, what elitism

and

is

He became

more, with the

insistence

on accepting

for

gift

a priest before his elder

Jesuits,

who

are

known

for their

into their order only those with a

may have been blessed with endowed when it came to those

strong intellect. But while Alfred Sauniere intellectual gifts, he

was much

regarding the priesthood.

He

less

well

quickly became the talk of the

which gave

the scandalous liaisons he arrogantly exhibited, assertion trial

— as Beranger recognized

—that the

priest of

town

for

rise to the

bishop during his

in a letter to his

Rennes-le-Chateau quite often ended up paying

the penalty for the misdeeds of his younger brother.

While Beranger did pay for his brother,

it

for his brother, however,

seems, facilitated his labor on

Beranger was only a modest country

priest,

many

Alfred

an honorable reverend father with great standing that era, a brilliant debater tive to

women.

It

role

and

was

tit

for tat,

occasions. While

was

in the

a “gentleman,”

high society of

and man of the world who was quite

attrac-

so happens that during this time (the end of the nine-

teenth century), though intellectual

it

women may not yet have won

aristocratic circles especially they

the right to vote, in

still

played a deciding

through their counsels as well by the connections they made among

members

of this worldly society in which they often figured as muses.

Alfred did introduce his brother to a certain Marquise of Bozas. At that time Alfred was, according to the standard expression, her “latest

conquest.” era

He had good

when sponsorship

of

relationships with those in high society, in an

good works was regarded

positively, as

was

He Who

168

Brings Scandal

regularly attending religious services with great

Having

a lover, selected

from among

pomp and

artists, intellectuals in

ceremony.

good stand-

even the clergy worthy of frequenting, was also socially accept-

ing, or

able. This represents a certain corruption of society, but the era lent

to that magnificently.

itself

The end of

when good bourgeois

beginning of the twentieth was a time

would weep hot young

girls

the nineteenth century

tears every time a singer

condemned

bemoaned

to prostitution, but

who

and the

Catholics

the misfortunes of

at the

same time

rele-

gated their maids to garrets with no heat or running water, of course leaving

them exposed

Although this did

fully

by

all

kinds of rogues.

aware that the “good” society of

his

time was rotten,

to the temptations offered

not stop Beranger Sauniere from profiting from

ing his brother for introductions to environments he

dared venture into on his own.

It is

during

it

and from ask-

would never have

period of Sauniere ’s

this

life

that he solicited certain well-off families for donations that could help

modest church and transform

him

restore his

that

would draw hundreds of

pilgrims. His

his parish into a sanctuary

was not

a vision of another

Sacre-Coeur. Others could take care of that. For Beranger to exploit Saint

crowds and and

fill

his brother

the vaults.

was

in the Gospels. This

It is

“proxy.”

Sauniere explained to his bishop about the

It

what would

attract

between Beranger

gifts

Later,

when Beranger

he had received, he had

about some of them. “High” society appreciates discretion.

can be certain that Alfred Sauniere served as intermediary between

Beranger and the countess of Chambord.

was

such a brief

background during 1885-1905. Alfred

revealed himself to be an excellent

to keep quiet

is

certain that the alliance

at play in the

was enough

who makes

Magdalene, the Mary Magdalene

and mysterious appearance

it

It is

infinitely likely that Alfred

also responsible for introducing Beranger to certain scenes that gladly

described themselves as esoteric

—not necessarily Parisian

that nonetheless wielded great influence planes. This

would explain

A

valuable clue

is

political

and

but ones religious

the alleged relationship between Beranger

around

the occultists grouped

on the

circles,

Jules Bois

and

and Claude Debussy.

provided by the duties held by Alfred Sauniere

the Chefdebien family of Zagarriga.

He was

in

in fact the tutor to this

noble family and was forced from his position because of an indiscretion

about which nothing

is

known. Yet

Alfred’s sojourn with the Chefdebien

family clearly appears to have been the cornerstone on which the

Who Was Abbe Sauniere ily?

myth was constructed. But who,

The name

know

no doubt the Frenchification of

Penmad, which

translation of

Narbonne

is

in fact,

is

the

name

is

Sauniere

the Chefdebien fam-

a Breton

name.

certain

that the

is

It is

the

of a Breton family exiled to

in the eighteenth century for unspecified reasons.

for

169

What we do

head of the family, the marquis of

Chefdebien, was in his time a Freemason of high degree.

The marquis, an honored counselor of

the Scottish Directory of

Septimania, would have dutifully frequented the Lodges of the

Rhine area, when he was lished in

1770

was not

the sole

With

a History of

domain

Masonry. But

in

in

1780

a

new

rite,

seat in the Philadelphia

its

literature,

which he produced a

his father, the viscount of

founded

and had pub-

in garrison at Strasbourg,

even esoteric,

creative

work.

Chefdebien of Aigrefeuille, he

the original Rite of France,

which had

Lodge of Narbonne. At the famous

Masonic convent of Wilhemsbad he defended the theory according to

which the Templar Order

existed in secret,

still

its

leaders being

none other than the famous “Unknown Superiors” who allegedly guide the destiny of Freemasonry. tors,

He hoped that these

occult direc-

keepers of alchemical recipes to which the medieval Templars

owed

their

immense wealth, would agree

to forming a relationship

with the Masons that would attempt to resurrect the association in the secrecy of the Lodges.

So here

it

is.

It

24

took a long time for the connection to be made

between Abbe Beranger Sauniere and

more or

less

later, after

bits of

a

“mysterious brotherhood”

linked to the Templar Order. Others

Abbe Sauniere was dead and

buried,

would remember

it

which shows that these

information cannot be absolutely confirmed. Nevertheless,

it

remains a fact that standing behind Abbe Sauniere are the unsettling

shadows of these Illuminati

secret societies, the heirs,

and the Angelic

Society,

more or

less,

of the Bavarian

which developed over the eighteenth

century in parallel (and in shared understanding) with Freemasonry.

These

24.

J.

societies picked

up considerable steam

Robin, Rennes-le-Cbateau:

la colline

in the nineteenth century,

envoutee, 60-61.

He Who

170

Brings Scandal

mainly with the Romantics, and had their crowning successes around

1900 with the triumph of the Rose+Cross and the Theosophical

many

not to mention the as

de

Stanislas

Bois,

Jules

sects

whose hierophants were such Guaita,

Society,

individuals

Claude Debussy, and Maurice

Maeterlinck, and whose great idolized priestesses were Annie Besant,

Renee Vivien, and

Emma

druidesses of the

de Sein. These models were revised and corrected by

the symbolist

Moreau and

lie

and decadent poets

and

from

this vision,

his relationship to the

by painters such as Gustave

as well as

those of the Vienna school

their roles as revealer

directly

Calve after the models of Velleda and the

initiator.

who

The

sought to restore to

figure of

Emma

women

Calve emerges

but the demiurge was Alfred Sauniere through

Chefdebien family as well as to other families

equally committed to this fin-de-siecle style of hermeticism, occultism,

and esotericism. Alfred Sauniere,

who no doubt wished to know more

of the secrets of those families he frequented,

cuted

man

hunted and perse-

He incurred the wrath of his superiors and was Company of Jesus. 25 He was also eventually excluded

families he

financial benefit living in a

a

all his life.

excluded from the

from the

was

than he should

had exploited and despoiled

and found himself more or

common-law

He died there may perhaps

in

less

for his intellectual

defrocked

in

and

Montazels,

relationship with a certain Marie-Emilie Saliere.

1905, leaving few behind to

mourn

This

his passing.

explain the letter Beranger Sauniere sent his bishop,

which he complained of being made

Monsignor de Beausejour,

in

for the sins of his brother.

“The

priest of

to atone for the sins of his brother,

who

Rennes-le-Chateau

is

to

pay

expected

died too soon.”

way of putting it: “died too soon.” This expression is quite ambiguous. Had Alfred died before he was able to explain his true attitude and motives? Or else should we read it to mean that That

is

a bizarre

Beranger was nothing without his brother, Alfred? these questions.

the

shadow

The

letter

contributes

little

We

to shedding

any

light

upon

of Alfred Sauniere that continues to hover over his brother,

the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau.

25. [The

cannot answer

Company

of Jesus refers to the Jesuit Order.

— Translator]

Who Was Abbe

SHADOW OF EMMA CALVE

THE Of

all

Abbe

that has been said about

Emma

great opera singer

171

Sauniere

Calve

is

Sauniere, his “liaison” with the

not the smallest of contributions to

the construction of a fine love story set against a backdrop of espionage

or manipulation. Yet however necessary this relationship

invention of a good story,

necessary to

it is

know whether

have corresponded to Beranger Sauniere’s real

ally

In fact, there

between

Emma

is

may it

be to the

might actu-

life.

not a single shred of proof concerning any liaison

Calve and Beranger Sauniere. The entire assumption

based on that famous

trip to Paris

he allegedly

made

is

following his dis-

covery of the parchments inside a hollow

pillar of the altar in the

church of Rennes-le-Chateau. Yet no one

even capable of providing

the specific year in

The

or 1893?

which he made

truth

that there

is

Beranger Sauniere ever making Actually, Paris to have

it is

not

Church

comprehension.

It

all

this journey.

it

in

1888, 1891,

any evidence for

this trip to Paris.

that absurd that Saunere might have traveled to

authorities

would be

examine the documents that

logical, that

add the anecdote about Monsignor

to

make

to

Abbe

own

Was

also a lack of

is

to

the journey, giving Bieil,

is

him

and paying the

is, if

Billard

the letter of

travel

pains had not been taken

commissioning the

and expertise expenses out of

had access to other means of investigating these parchments

we

priest

recommendation addressed

pocket. As bishop of Carcassonne, Monsignor Billard

course,

resisted his

his

would have

—

unless, of

accept the ridiculous theory that the bishop belonged, either

tangentially or directly, to the invisible brotherhood. Let’s

assume, however, that out of curiosity, the bishop of

Carcassonne authorized

some

specialists.

his

Why would

subordinate to

show

these parchments to

he send Sauniere to the director of the sem-

inary of Saint-Sulpice and his entourage rather than to a paleographic archivist

who

vations?

Would Monsignor

could translate and transcribe the text and share his obserBillard

and Beranger Sauniere have

dis-

who shared monarchist and then we must also assume that

trusted a paleographic archivist, even one

Catholic opinions? the

If this

were the

two clergymen already knew,

manuscripts contained.

It

case,

at least generally or broadly,

can be seen that by following

this line

what

the

of reason

He Who

172

we

Brings Scandal

will inevitably be forced to accept the existence of a secret society

that did not

certain

who were

of those

assume

Let’s

Abbe

want

documents

to

go astray or end up

hands

in the

not members of the brotherhood.

on the part of Monsignor

a certain naivete

Billard

and

Sauniere. Let’s assume that this journey actually took place and

was paid

for

through Sauniere’s agreement to return with three parch-

ments instead of

four.

It

seems that there would be some traces of

this

journey, whether at the bishopric of Carcassonne, in Sauniere’s personal

there

is

no such

trace.

will raise the objection that the

Some, of course, Carcassonne

is

celebrities introduced to Sauniere. Yet

works of the

papers, or in the

under no obligation to present

dossier, that Sauniere

had no need

to

mention

his

all

the

bishopric of

files

from

this

journey in his records

(even though he kept excellent records of everything he did), and that

because the people he met in Paris were naturally inclined to secrecy, is

normal that they should leave no trace of

reasoning

The his

when someone wants

to

this trip. All

make up

of this

it

handy

is

a portion of a story.

sole elements that lend credence to Sauniere’s trip to Paris

encounters there with the group of intellectuals

who

and

gravitated

around Jules Bois are certain novels by Maurice Leblanc and Jules Verne’s Clovis Dardentor.

No

one has ever claimed, however, that Beranger

Sauniere met Maurice Leblanc

Maeterlinck. Pelleas et Melisande is

certainly a symbolist

strongly initiatory. But

work

that

or

certainly a

is

extremely rich symbolically and even bit far to

have been inspired by the Sauniere Pelleas (the Fisher

Golaud

Debussy, whose

affair,

consider this major

even

if

Beranger

is

King from the Grail Romances), Jules Bois

(the cuckold),

she nevertheless

“Merovingian” drama.

is

going a

it is

Georgette Leblanc and Maurice

and

Emma

would have

Calve

is

brilliantly.

work was thoroughly permeated by full

to

viewed as is

seen as

cast as Melisande, a role that

interpreted

meticism, gave Pelleas et Melisande the

work

It

Maeterlinck and

this fin-de-siecle her-

power of their

genius. But did

they really need the unfortunate Sauniere to reach this point? Clearly, novels such as L’lle

aux

U Aiguille

creuse [The

Hollow Needle] and

trente cercueils [The Isle of Thirty Coffins]

have plots that can appear unsettling when

around Abbe Sauniere.

L Aiguille

by Maurice Leblanc

we know

the story built

up

creuse involves the treasure of the

Who Was Abbe kings of France that cliff

full

is

173

Sauniere

supposedly hidden somewhere near Fecamp in a

that can be found only by completing an entire initiatory journey

of

pitfalls. L’lle

aux

trente cercueils goes even further, involving the

Secret of Secrets, a sort of philosopher’s stone (or kind of Grail) of

Bohemian kings interests

power and glory and which

that can bestow

an adventurer

who

greatly

claims to be of royal blood. Fortunately,

Arsene Lupin, a gentleman thief but also a good and gallant Frenchman, appears on the scene to reestablish order to a certain degree and see that the guilty get their just desserts. All of Arsene Lupin’s adventures revolve

around

this

same theme, which,

if

of the quest for the Floly Grail in

you think about all its

The correspondences between Jules Verne’s novel Clovis

literary, artistic,

Parzifal. This

is

no

was

that Verne lar to the

and eso-

Wagner

name a

of

Dardentor are much more

its

member

capital,

of a

secret to anyone.

intriguing.

Bugarach,

more or

is

less secret

is

Abbe Sauniere claim

that he

stay in Paris. In reality, Jules Verne

The

so-

camouflaged

a

significant.

We know

“brotherhood” simi-

Rose+Cross and the Masons, but not even those

created the story of

and

the Renne-le-Chateau affair

North African country described by Verne

Razes, and the

his

The

frequented by Maurice Leblanc had a passion for

and were particularly obsessed with

called

than that

less

shapes and forms, including the

variation of sangreal, or “royal blood.” teric circles

no

it, is

met

who

have

Jules Verne during

had no need of Beranger

Sauniere to be familiar with the Razes and Rennes-le-Chateau. already visited the area and, while there, was

He had

made aware of

certain

Abbe

local traditions concerning a lost treasure. This fact indicates that

Sauniere had no need to go to Paris to learn that astounding claims

were made about a very ancient hoard hidden somewhere even a tomb near Rennes-le-Chateau.

It

in a

was even Punchinello’s

cave or secret.

Neither Maurice Leblanc nor Jules Verne needed to rely on Beranger Sauniere to construct his fictional intrigues. To the contrary, the far

more

recent creators of the Sauniere story

through not only the basement

level of

who

—

the

word

rifle

Rennes-le-Chateau but also the

to their fictional narrative. After

assumed that Abbe Sauniere read

has been

have had to

novels of Maurice Leblanc and Jules Verne to lend weight of nobility

it

all,

why

— and appreciated

—Jules Verne’s Clovis Dardentor? This may

— and

letters

couldn’t

it

be

in every sense of in fact

have been

He Who

174

Brings Scandal

where he discovered the famous “key” that allowed him the treasure, then something.

Claude Debussy,

Emma

least of all,

or,

if

not

hard to see what useful purpose was

It is

into the story Emile Hoffet,

met by introducing

to find,

Abbe

Calve.

It

Bieil, Jules Bois,

can be definitively

was never recognized

stated that the beautiful soprano

in Rennes-le-

Chateau during those times when Beranger Sauniere was treating guests in a lordly manner. There were

more than enough

his

beautiful wives

of notaries and doctors in the region around Dujardin-Beaumetz.

Emma

shadow over

Calve’s

more than an

airy

phantom

Sauniere’s head

that the slightest

is

definitely nothing

wind could

dissipate

and

destroy.

SHADOW OF JEAN ORTH

THE There was one

He had been is

mysterious figure lurking around Abbe Sauniere.

fairly

labeled the Foreigner but called himself Guillaume. There

no doubt that

was John-Salvator of Hapsburg, son of Leopold

this

imperial prince of Austria, royal prince of

grand duke of Tuscany. Proof of

this

for as Pierre Jarnac notes, the abbe, chist

from the time of

his arrival in

is

any of the

anticleric.

He

provided by police documents, a fundamentalist

monar-

Rennes-le-Chateau, had become the

who was

a fervent Republican,

never missed an opportunity to denounce

priest’s activities that

appeared bizarre to him.

that the presence of the Foreigner excited

which

Bohemia and Hungary, and

who was

pet hate of Doctor Espezel of Esperanza,

Freemason, and

II,

It

so happened

Doctor Espezel’s

curiosity,

led to a police inquiry. Their investigation quickly revealed his

true identity,

which they transmitted to the Deuxieme Bureau, 26

called for in such cases.

These

visits

as

was

occurred in 1888, 1889, and 1890.

But never again after that time. In fact, because of his

profound disagreement with Emperor Franz-

Joseph, John-Salvator of Hapsburg eventually renounced his

even his Austrian nationality.

name

of Jean Orth,

1890 he

26. [This

set off

was

the

on

He had become

name

a simple citizen

borrowed from the name of one of

a long journey

titles

and

by the

his castles. In

from which he never returned (though

of the intelligence service of that era in France.

— Translator

]

Who Was Abbe this

does not

mean

that he lost his

life). It is

175

Sauniere

certain that

Orth came to

Rennes-le-Chateau for three years in succession and spent time with

Abbe

Sauniere.

Of

The archduke’s shadow

is

thus perfectly real.

course, the authorities very politely asked Jean Orth to explain

They had

the reasons for his sojourn. resentative of one of the

most

a right to

illustrious

—was doing

who had renounced

his title

ileged regions of the

Aude department.

know

just

what

Europeans families in

a rep-

—even one

one of the most underpriv-

He

claimed that while traveling from Italy and Spain, chance had

led

him

to Couiza. There

itously led

Sauniere.

him

to Rennes,

He was

ha took the wrong road, which

fortu-

where he had been introduced to Abbe

traveling incognito, he told them, in search of a

27 refuge for himself and his family.

His answer held up and he was allowed to come and go as he pleased.

We can question, however, the famous stroke of luck that brought the archduke to Sauniere ’s presbytery, countess of

Chambord

—an

him

parish priest and sent

just as

Austrian, in

we might question how the fact! knew of this modest

—

three thousand gold francs for his

Chance does not explain everything;

it is

duke came to Rennes-le-Chateau, he had But raising these questions

obvious that

if

good works.

the fallen arch-

a valid reason for doing so.

not the same as answering them. The

is

mysterious shadow cast by Jean Orth keenly excited people’s imagination, at first

because the locals had trouble understanding what business

a lordly gentleman

had

in their

out, a fairly long time

peared, 28 yet the

town. By 1914, when the war broke

had elapsed

memory

he had

left

since the

archduke had disap-

behind had not faded. Tongues

began to wag about the odd relationship that brought together the priest

and an Austrian (thus enemy)

prince.

From such

a place

it

was

only a small step to accusing Sauniere of being a spy in the pay of the

Jarnac, Histoire du tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 355.

27.

P.

28.

One

tradition,

which has nothing to do with Rennes-le-Chateau, claims that Jean

Orth took advantage of

name

in

America.

Why

a

shipwreck to disappear and build a new

not? For

more on

mysterieux d'un archiduc: Jean Orth

this subject, see

(Paris, 1959).

life

under another

Maurice Paleologue, Le Destin

He Who

176

Brings Scandal

Central Empire.

among

can hardly be doubted that Doctor Espezel was

It

who howled

those

Magdala Tower had been upon?

artillery fire

mous sums

It

built to

support

was rumored

money

of

charge the loudest.

this

It

was

said that the

But what would

artillery.

this

had received enor-

that Sauniere

and the

for selling information to the Kaiser

Austrian emperor, which would explain his expenditures. Yet no one

wondered

just

what

on

the priest might have been spying

region with no military value.

Some

suggested that Sauniere provided a

house where German or Austrian spies could find

safe

as artists

—painters,

remote

in this

in particular. Clearly the

shelter,

sumptuous

passing

feasts of Villa

Bethania had not been forgotten!

So

was

it

the

shadow

was responsible

of Jean Orth that

Abbe

charges of espionage so readily hurled against be admitted that with

exposed himself to

all his

his critics

more or

less

there to Perpignan. But while

one of

is

his banks, the

just as easy to believe that

on

we know on

Veuve Auriol

It

must

clandestine travels, Beranger

When

and excited imaginations.

the train to Couiza, he did so simply to go

least

Sauniere.

for the

to Carcassonne,

and from

reliable authority that at

et ses fils,

he used his

he took

was

in

Perpignan,

visits there to

go

it

farther.

Perpignan was an important transit center that would have allowed him

documents pub-

access to any destination he chose. In fact, thanks to lished by the archivist

affluent

Rene Descadeillas, we know that Sauniere

and charitable individuals

Beziers to solicit donations.

in the regions of

Nothing about

although according to certain testimonies,

London

now

be laughable,

mysterious, however,

appears he

may have

vis-

Now, while these accusations of espionage may during World War I they gave rise to harsh criticism,

which must have contributed

his

it

is

Narbonne and

twice. 29

ited

Saint

this

visited

to the disgrace that struck the priest of the

Magdalene Church of Rennes-le-Chateau when he was

tried

by

bishop for canonical infractions. Beranger Sauniere’s behavior,

29. This detail

comes from

a confidence of

Marie Denarnaud.

sor de Rennes-le-Chateau (page 356) gives a detailed

Sauniere could not absent.

The

list

fulfill his

shows many such examples

ever, that those periods

funerals)

duties to the parish, until

list

P.

Jarnac’s Histoire du tre-

of the periods of time

when

which of course suggests that he was

1909. Jarnac takes pains to note, how-

during which he did not perform services (baptisms, marriages,

were not necessarily times of absence; though

have been during these times.

if

he was away,

it

could only

Who Was Abbe which many found incomprehensible, would

easily

177

Sauniere?

have caused him

problems, but did so especially during wartime. 30

any

In

was

case, the relationship

between Jean Orth and Abbe Sauniere

a business relationship, according to all the evidence.

duke’s

visits

The

arch-

corresponded to the years when Sauniere was making

No

doubt he sold some objects to Jean Orth. But

his

if this

first

discoveries.

was

the case , might they not have been objects connected to Austria

Of

course, nothing

is

known about

There was talk of a crown

crown

—could

these objects.

Were they

jewels?

have been a royal or imperial

it

Why

that once belonged to the Hapsburgs?

not?

The

objects

Abbe

Sauniere found in his church were those hidden in the church by

Bigou before he went into

Hautpoul

family.

It is

exile

—surely

known, however,

objects

that there

belonging to the

was

a connection

between the Hautpouls and Austria. Perhaps the objects were impor-

documents that the Austrian family needed

tant

possession.

No

one knows for

back into

to take

their

which means that everything

sure,

is

imaginable. People have even gone so far as to speak of a precious cup that might be the

Holy

Grail!

It

true that

is

no one ever saw what

Beranger Sauniere found, and he refrained from ever speaking about to anyone, except, of course, to those to

of his searches. Jean Orth

He

he could

sell

the results

number.

this

could serve to explain the origins of Abbe Sauniere’s fortune.

The shadow of

30.

was one of

whom

the archduke

is

quite heavy indeed.

should point out some information that Pierre Jarnac provides in a footnote on

I

page 362 that comes from an

article in

Midi

(February 13, 1973).

libre

Monsieur Espeut, who had consulted Sauniere’s personal papers around 1930, regard to the charges of spying that he

The

first:

was authorized

to

make two

Baron von Kron, head of the German Secret

domain might not have been an

enemy

state secret:

a

said with

revelations.

if

Abbe

Sauniere’s

was proved. The second

certainly touches

upon

a

At that time, the mother superior of a convent close to Rennes-le-Chateau

German nun. She was

Pierre Jarnac

at the

the kaiser’s

was even more

Prouilles.” All of this speaks

encountered

certain

between Germany and Spain for

ideal relay station

agents. But of course nothing

A

Service, lived in Barcelona

during the war. The Deuxieme Bureau wondered, after the war,

was

it

own

sister

.

.

.

specific, saying that

“this

monastery was that of

volumes about the Sauniere mystery and the

beginning of World

War

I.

difficulties

he

He Who

178

Brings Scandal

THE

SHADOW OF THE DEFILEMENTS

When

Beranger Sauniere began the transformation of his church, he

made

discoveries perhaps by chance, although information seems to

suggest that Sauniere had long this

is

known what

not a serious concern; after

from

their hiding places.

The

for.

was

it

real question

his

duty to remove them

whether Sauniere had the

is

can be

right to sell these objects for personal profit. Yet here, too, he

forgiven, for he restored the church

and he constructed buildings not

only for his personal use but also as a retirement (which, of course, he himself

embezzlement by tions, but

would one day

home

be).

for aged priests

When

accused of

he openly displayed his charitable inten-

his bishop,

we know

Yet

objects were prudently hidden

all, if

by Abbe Bigou during the Revolution,

he was searching

that there are gaps in his accounting: There

was

a

huge imbalance between the enormous sums he spent and the rather

minor

receipts he agreed to

A much more

acknowledge.

serious matter, however,

ments he was responsible for if

many

the

shadow

in the parish cemetery.

Aude

only in the petitions sent to the

spent

is

of the defile-

Here there

is

proof,

prefect, that Beranger Sauniere

nights turning the cemetery upside

down and

defiling

tombs, not to mention scratching out inscriptions on the flagstones of

Not merely

the marquise d’Hautpoul’s tomb.

wishing gossip, these actions were quite tain problems, not so

were rather

elastic),

much from

a matter of legends or

This obviously raises cer-

real.

the perspective of morals (Sauniere’s

but from a consideration of the exact object of his

search and his choice of specific tombs. In a word, Sauniere

he was looking for

The tively

ill-

— and he wanted to find

prevailing sentiment today

view Sauniere’s clandestine

among

it,

no matter what

those

activities

is

knew what

who

it

cost.

are trying to objec-

that he discovered the sep-

ulchers of the ancient lords of Rennes inside the church, and that as a

some of them

result of selling these finds, or It

is

at least,

also believed that he gave to several people

he

made

—one

of

his fortune.

whom was

thought —some of the jewels he unearthed. But —what he had discovered that he did not dare —or was unable

Marie Denarnaud

it is

to sell

sell

in the cemetery.

This assertion, however,

The obsessive nature of

also

calls for

some consideration.

Sauniere’s excavation of the marquise

d’Hautpoul’s tomb and the tactless act of erasing

its

inscriptions are

Who Was Abbe

too flagrant to be aspects of a single episode. To the contrary,

much

seems that if

179

Sauni'ere

we pay

this

tomb might be

strict

attention to

at the very heart of the

it, it

allow

will

it

—indeed,

mystery

the elements of the puz-

all

zle to fall together.

The Hautpouls,

as the lords of Rennes,

were

clearly in possession of

certainly

would

have inherited the documents of those families that married into

theirs.

all

the ancient

As

the one

documents

who was

Abbe Bigou was

and they

relating to the region,

responsible for the burial of objects and documents,

the family’s confidant.

testably at the very heart of

all

The Hautpoul hoard

Sauniere’s discoveries

and

is

is

incon-

consequently

the source of everything imaginable about the objects or alleged docu-

ments that Sauniere would have

unknown

purposes, even

if

sold,

exchanged, or even kept for

simply as a secret bargaining tool that could

guarantee him immunity or the assurance of being

The vandalism of the tomb

left

alone in peace.

of Marquise d’Hautpoul, Marie de Negri

d’Ables, could have even greater significance than previously thought. is

certainly connected to the donation of the countess of

surprised that

no one

discusses this connection, for

it is

Chambord.

I

It

am and

quite evident

plays an essential role in the whole affair of Sauniere. In fact, “this singular donation to the priest of a remote village

the

Upper Aude Valley

who

is

greatly disconcerting,” remarks Jacques Riviere,

offers three explanations for

request Sauniere personally

—to

time

majority.

made

it.

The

is

first

explanation consists of a

of the pretender’s

wit, the elections of 1885,

The second

from

when

that the donation

widow

at a difficult

the monarchists lost their

was

a sign of the countess’s

gratitude to Sauniere for his loud and brazen display of his legitimist

opinions. In both cases the intervention of Alfred Sauniere

been key, It

is

know

for, as

we know,

would have

he had extensive contacts inside the aristocracy.

We

the third explanation that deserves our extra attention.

that the countess of

in her heart for the

French,

Chambord was Austrian and had

whom

she

deemed

little

frivolous, fickle,

love

and

loyal to the great values of the past. But she:

.

.

.

was not unaware

that the parish of Rennes-le-Chateau

was an

ancient Hautpoul fiefdom, and the Hautpouls were no strangers to her. In fact, in

1834 an Hautpoul-Felines was tutor

to her husband,

dis-

He Who

180

the

Brings Scandal

young Henry

down

all

V.

The marquis Armand d’Hautpoul had turned

recompense

and

for this teaching post

testified

on several

occasions of his esteem for the duke of Bourdeaux. Notably, he traveled through

London

in

all

of

Germany with him and

visited

him again

in

1843. 31

So these are the pieces of the puzzle collected from the Hautpouls.

What

confidences might

tender? Could

it

Armand d’Hautpoul have

be that something of great importance to the legitimate

French monarchy was located

much

shared with the pre-

in

Rennes-le-Chateau? This provides a

better explanation for the donation to Sauniere than does the grat-

itude of an Austrian countess

who

despised the French. Might the dona-

him

tion have been for the purpose of helping

the defilement of the

tomb

find something? In this case

of the marquise d’Hautpoul

would simply be

the execution of a mission entrusted to the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau

by the royal family, rather than an act of vandalism. This explanation also has the merit of accounting for the

by Jean Orth, the

visits

fallen arch-

duke, and the negotiations he would necessarily have held with Sauniere. It

is

an attractive hypothesis, one that

is

not at

absurd and

all

allows us to better understand Beranger Sauniere’s bizarre behavior, especially given that he never relinquished his legitimist opinions. Thus,

without needing to go so far as imagining that what Sauniere discovered was the will of Blanche de Castille,

we can

still

consider that what

he found might have been essential documents concerning the French

monarchy,

its

origins,

and

its

authentic legitimacy.

It

may

be recalled

that Blanche de Castille displayed a relentless desire to dispossess

Trencavel of the Razes and did everything she could to place at the earl-

dom’s head

men whom

indulgence toward the

There

on

is

she could trust, while

title

holder

who had

indeed a mystery in the Razes

a state secret, but there

is

still

demonstrating great

been stripped of his

rights.

—one that indubitably touches

no need

to invent false

genealogies in order to present a convincing case of

its

Merovingian

existence.

Could the shadow of the defilements performed by Abbe Sauniere in the

Rennes-le-Chateau cemetery merely cover an imperative for

cretion concerning a matter of great importance?

31.

J.

Riviere,

Le Fabuleux Tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 47.

dis-

Who Was Abbe

THE We

SHADOW OF THE TRAFFICKING OF MASSES

should remember that during the entire period in which Monsignor

was bishop of Carcassonne, he never asked Abbe Sauniere

Billard

account for

and expenditures.

receipts

his

Beausejour took over, the

priest’s lifestyle

than two hundred inhabitants.

a

When Monsignor

that this removal of Sauniere

was

save his priest from becoming

compromised by shady

from

At

this

It is

him

logical to think

necessitated by the bishop’s desire to financial deals

and

tainting the other clergy in the diocese.

time France was no longer under the concordat regime; the

Combes laws Priests,

in

A certain amount of oversight of Sauniere

promotion that would take him away from Rennes.

to keep such a scandal

de

which numbered no more

exercised discreetly, followed by the suggestion to give

initially

to

appeared excessive to him

relation to the obvious poverty of his parish,

was

181

Sauniere?

of 1905 had instituted the separation of church and state.

whether of a parish or simple

vicars,

were no longer

to

them

a living by appealing to the faithful,

who,

vants and were no longer paid any salary by the state. to figure out

how

to

make

civil ser-

It

was up

according to the logic of this system, were the priests’ “customers” for everything concerning spiritual

merce here, for no one riages,

and

enterprise,

burials.

is

life. It is

necessary to use terms of com-

obliged to buy Masses, baptisms, church mar-

The Catholic Church became merely another

though with one

slight

private

advantage that would eventually turn

out to be quite positive: All buildings of worship and presbyterial

resi-

dences were taken over by the government, in this instance the municipal

governments (and by the

involved, in keeping with It

was thus

honorariums

its

state

when

historic

monuments were

role as guardian of the national patrimony).

the responsibility of the faithful to pay their priests with

for every

Mass and other

sacerdotal services. This

triumph of economic liberalism exalting

Combes laws went

into effect, priests

receive gifts. This gifting

who

free

enterprise.

was

a

Before the

did enjoy a salary could

still

was indeed necessary because church upkeep

was expensive and municipal

authorities often required a bit of persua-

sion before opening their purse strings for this purpose. Before 1905, then, priests after

1905

still

this

appealed to the generosity of their congregations, but appeal became a

vital necessity.

Hence, there existed

He Who

182

Brings Scandal

ecclesiastical rules

whose broad

as baptisms, marriages, first in

in effect. Services

and funerals are subject level to

such

to a certain set price,

avoid any abuse or unfair

Masses that are requested for various purposes are paid accord-

ing to the principle that is

remain

still

each diocese, then on a national

pricing.

priest

lines

labor should be salaried.

all

The

officiating

thereby transformed into simply another worker or employee.

Again, though, to avoid any unfair practices the bishops of

all

dioceses

have specifically ordered that priests refer to the proper authority of

honorariums for saying Masses.

their dioceses every time they receive

In fact, there

demand

is little

Masses

for

in

some

an almost

parishes, while in

number of

others, mainly pilgrimage sites, there

is

requests. In the interests of fairness

and equality (Republican

have

Church),

infiltrated into the

priest

have enough income to

What

could be more normal? In

one parish

leged. This

is

way

this

in

and

a high

wage

is

demand

thus provided to

abnormal

gifts either for their

Masses

at

little

Masses but rather

is

redistribution to

all

for specific purposes by

A minimum livevery member of the clergy. No one should

in

what

indigent

is

priests

members

it.

it.

essentially a perfectly honest

and

bal-

have never been forbidden to accept

personal use or to do

ored expression would have

good works,

as the time-hon-

These involve giving assistance to the

of the congregation, including covering the

costs incurred by worship. Here, too, If

for

in others that are less privi-

Masses demanded and bought

anced system. In addition,

more

priesthood.

guarantees every priest, whether active or retired, at least

It

find anything

concern that every

fulfill his

one Mass daily and the honorarium that goes with ing

ideals

by the bishopric to those with

same diocese or

not trafficking

priests of special

the faithful.

in the

a matter of

live in dignity

will be redistributed

demand, whether

is

it

limitless

all is

consistent

and

perfectly

fair.

abuses do occur in specific instances, they are considered infractions

of canon law.

These principles are

still

valid today 32

tain “simplistic” anticlerical critics

32.

It

should be specified that today, as a general

dead are no longer subject to fixed feel

is

took

right according to their

fees.

means.

The

and

it

would be good

if

cer-

this into consideration before

rule, the requests for

individuals requesting

Masses

for the

them pay what they

Who Was Abbe

183

Sauniere?

33 While there are sometimes scanattacking the “wealth of priests.”

dalous exceptions, they only prove the general

rule:'

The French

clergy

overall live quite modestly while fulfilling their priestly duties in often difficult conditions.

Having

34

said that,

it is

now

said

addressed Monsignor de

Abbe Beranger Sauniere

Beausejour’s accusation that

Masses.

we

high time

trafficked in

has been asserted that the bishop of Carcassonne would have

It

—the

conditional

always mandatory in such cases

is

accusation was merely a pretext.

It

—that

this

was primarily because Sauniere

refused to leave Rennes-le-Chateau that

Monsignor de Beausejour

insti-

tuted canonical proceedings in 1909.

The

issue

Two

is

complex one:

a

essential points

emerge from examination of the ledger of

abbe intentionally doubled the actual revenues

receipts. First, the

from the collection boxes

welcomed

salaries of the family

church as well as the

installed in the

35 In reality, this false to Rennes.

accounting masks the trafficking in Masses he had been perpetrating

33.

I

can personally

During the 1950s,

come and go lost

none of

as

I

I

testify to a

of cases that should inspire pity in this regard.

spent quite a bit of time in the presbyteries of Brittany, where

pleased.

their faith

I

and

saw

priests

who,

the rector of

I

could

had

despite living in deplorable conditions,

fulfilled their priestly duties in

moving memory of

ticularly

number

complete honesty.

Iffs (in Ille-et-Vilaine),

a parish

I

have a par-

famous

for the

who lived in complete want. I also remember the rector of Nostang (in Morbihan) who lived in a kind of dank and unhealthy basement with no comforts whatsoever. He wore the sad smile of those who know that life on earth is but a transitory moment in an incomprehensible eternity. would like to take a moment here to pay homage to these modest and good priests. And magnificent stained-glass

windows

of

its

church,

I

I

have not yet mentioned the rector of Trehorenteuc,

and

stale

church.

bread because he put

Where

is

the author

conditions in which 34.

1

want

sider the

familiar

much

all his

who

money toward

will dare write a

I

have put forth.

enough with the

lived

on hot sweetened water

the restoration

and decoration of

tell I

those

am

who

not at

issue to avoid getting

his

nonpolemical book on the wretched

of the French clergy live at this beginning of a

to take advantage of this to

arguments

who

accuse

all

me

new millennium.

of anticlericalism to con-

“knee-jerk” anticlergy and

hung up on appearances and

I

am

to direct

discussion to the most essential considerations. 35. This refers to the

Denarnaud

family,

which speaks volumes about the exact nature

of the relationship between Beranger Sauniere and Marie Denarnaud.

He Who

184

1896

since

Brings Scandal

Sauniere always declared that he had never enriched

36 .

.

.

He acknowl-

himself with the honorariums he received for Masses.

edged

in

1911 the

in his defense that

them among in

There

And

he collected these honorariums to redistribute

a certain

number

doubt

what does it

it

mean

would be more

whom he named

to the bishopric.

obviously fraud here, but does

precisely

No

of priests

unknown

1910, were deceased or

is

Masses 37 but claimed

reality of these requests for

to traffick in

fitting to

What arguments

but who,

39

concern trafficking in Masses?

it

Masses?

speak of Sauniere ’s actions as

“beating the bushes.” The specific purpose of his “fish” for Masses.

38

many

No

did he rely upon?

that emphasized the distinctive worship offered to

trips

was

to

doubt those

Mary Magdalene

in

Rennes-le-Chateau, given that she was the patron saint of the parish.

many

Beranger also wrote requests,

letters

in

which he repeated the same

which allowed him to put together

various countries. While the priest of the Church of

was condemned

for having

engaged

stamps from

a collection of

in “trafficking”

Mary Magdalene around 1905, we

should not overlook that the system had been in place ever since his arrival in

Rennes-le-Chateau or that he was aided

in

“beating the

bushes” by his brother, Alfred.

Nothing

is

known

of the understanding they shared concerning

what

should be called “beating the bushes” for donations, but whatever the arrangements were,

Each played writing to

it

cannot be denied that

it

was

their roles to perfection. Sauniere spared

numerous

and charitable

souls.

religious

I

no

effort in

communities and countless well-off

To those he knew

to be

poor he sent

ing for old stamps, ancient post cards, pious images,

36.

quite effective.

letters fish-

and so

leave to the author of these lines the responsibility of his judgment,

forth.

which

I

per-

sonally contest most energetically. 37.

Through small advertisements (mainly

visits

in

Les Veillees des Chumnieres) and personal

he solicited specific Masses from the rich and pious, especially those with monar-

chist tendencies. This

is

a

proven

fact;

he was creating propaganda for his parish.

38. In doing this he substituted himself for his bishop, a transgression of canonical law. 39.

J.

Riviere,

Le Fabuleux Tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 135.

A

bird’s-eye

view of Rennes-le-Chateau. In the upper central portion

of the photo, the Magdala Tower and, immediately to

its

right, Villa

Bethania can be seen.

Abbe Ber anger Sauniere

Marie Denarnaud

The

Visigothic pillar inside of

which Sauniere discovered

the mysterious parchments

The holy water stoup held up by

the devil

at the entrance of the church

Asmodeus

The Magdala Tower

The Shepherds of Arcadia, by Nicolas Poussin

The tomb near Arques that modeled

is

said to have been

after Poussin’s painting

Who Was Abbe To those he knew

185

Sauniere?

to be rich he wrote letters soliciting aid for *

rebuilding “a ruined church” and for constructing “a retirement

home

and disabled

for aged

priests.”

He

in fact relied very

little

on

the classifieds, preferring to personally prospect for his clientele

through correspondence or repeated mailings that would not be sent in vain. 40

The problem

was

raised by the bishopric

the fear that the priest of

Rennes-le-Chateau was simply depositing in the bank the honorariums for these

Masses and was never celebrating them. Indeed,

forced to celebrate

all

the

Masses

for

both night and day. But he

else

we know, among

other priests

even those outside of the diocese. In addition,

celebration of a Mass. There sation that he

was

is

it is

him more than

that Sauniere ’s benefactors gave

he had been

which he had received honorari-

ums, he would have been doing nothing divvied up this money, as

if

whom

he knew,

always a possibility

normal price

the

for the

not a great deal of support for the accu-

trafficking in Masses. Because the bishopric sought to

bend Abbe Sauniere to

its will,

41 the prosecuter of the Officiality lodged

The

three complaints against him.

first

was

rariums for Masses and had done so for

that he trafficked in hono-

many

years, especially after

1896. The second was that he had used these honorariums, at least parto realize his restoration

tially,

Chateau. The third and

who had

final

and construction work

in Rennes-le-

charge was that he disobeyed his bishop,

forbidden him to “beat the bush” for Mass honorariums.

on

In fact, based

his

account books,

it

clearly

seems that Abbe

Sauniere collected some fifteen hundred to two thousand gold francs a year.

This in no

way

begins to explain the expenditures he

made

or the

construction he undertook. Ultimately, this accusation was dropped by the bishopric because

doubt.

It

it

could not be proved beyond the shadow of a

must be admitted that with

his

clumsy attempts

at defending

himself and especially with his refusal to reveal the origin of the funds

40.

P.

Jarnac, Histoire du tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 338.

Sauniere’s notebooks can be found in this text, including the

wrote and those

who

Numerous

lists

facsimiles of

of those to

whom

he

responded. This allows a better idea of the incredible amount of

correspondence he put together during 41. [Eccesiastical court.

— Translator

his

life.

He Who

186

Brings Scandal

he had received,

Abbe Sauniere only aggravated

the Officiality responsible for conducting the

from

tion for his removal

by

trial.

This

his post at the parish of

which he appealed

—

in fact,

his

own

at the presbytery

still

He

position.

brate

Mass and

Mass

in his private

which gave him

services in public,

hard to

know what

and conscience, but

self guilty

full latitude

Canon law

can vary

in

is

fairly

all this in his

quite certain that he did not consider him-

when he used

luxurious

the donations he received for

and the Magdala Tower, which were

complex when

it

in

fact,

even

comes

each ecclesiastical province with regard to cer-

(in

Breton

it is

which includes

Dol and Saint-Malo), Saint-Brieuc (and Treguier),

(as well as

Quimper (and Leon), and Vannes,

Sauniere

to the attribution of parishes to priests.

tain cases. Accordingly, in the current ecclesiastical province of Brittany,

Rennes

if

(which public rumor no doubt

lifestyle

each diocese and even

the dioceses of

and

42

intended to function later as a retirement home. In live a

their priest

Beranger Sauniere thought of

it is

of embezzlement

appeared to

to say

.

the construction of Villa Bethania

It

no longer

chapel at Villa Bethania. The local residents contin-

always remained faithful to him

42.

lived in

still

—while

ued to attend these Masses, for they were quite fond of

soul

a period of

holding the post of parish priest and being forbidden to cele-

officially

It is

divinis against

Rome. His removal was followed by

to

one that was as ambiguous as

Rennes-le-Chateau

the explana-

is

Rennes-le-Chateau

roundabout method, namely the suspens a

a rather

flux,

his case in the eyes of

the officiant of an ordinary parish, called the rector

person ), cannot be transferred without

his consent,

which

is

not the case

for the holder of a deanery, the deacon/priest. But in the ecclesiastical province of

Narbonne, of which Carcassonne Sauniere could be

moved from

is

a dependency, this distinction does not exist.

the parish of

a certain point in the trial, Sauniere, playing

post as priest of Rennes-le-Chateau.

accept this resignation.

If

life

in

on the

it,

his consent.

subtleties of

The bishop did not

he had accepted

Sauniere was tenured for

Rennes without

fall

This

is

why,

canon law, resigned

into the trap

priest to

decamp from

he would have implicitly recognized that

that position.

The

least that

can be said

strictness of canonical law, ity.

The

priest

Masses” was a makeshift attempt to force the

his parish.

with

its

There

is

is

and compelled to

strictly

that that

recalcitrant

always a large gap between the apparent

corollary obedience to the bishop, and concrete real-

from the lay clergy retains some of

for the regular clergy, in

his

and refused to

Monsignor de Beausejour could not do very much of anything against Sauniere and the charge of “trafficking in

at

which every monk

is

his

autonomy, which

is

not the case

closely subordinated to higher authority

observe the Rule. In any event, the case of Beranger Sauniere

must have given nightmares to Monsignor de Beausejour.

Who Was Abbe

Sauniere?

187

exaggerated to a considerable extent), he never lost sight of the fact that

he was there to

fulfill

which others would It

in

would seem,

Masses

—a

mysterious one, perhaps

— from

profit.

then, that the

shadow

by Sauniere’s trafficking

cast

quite a thin one.

is

THE No

a mission

SHADOW OF ABBE

one talks about the matter of Abbe

Gelis.

GELIS

Apparently most place

it

outside of the events concerning Beranger Sauniere, but further exami-

nation shows that

it

cannot be merely an epiphenomenon. The priest of

Coustaussa knew Abbe Sauniere quite well;

know

know

is

Abbe

if

for certain that

priest of

could not be otherwise,

were part of the same deanery. 43 Of course,

for they both ble to

it

was Abbe

Gelis

Sauniere’s confessor, but

Abbe Sauniere spent time with

Coustaussa was aware of some of

Gelis

are

left

it

into the

we do

and that the

his colleague’s “affairs.” It

therefore impossible to consider the priest’s mysterious

out introducing

impossi-

it is

framework of the Sauniere

murder with-

story,

even

if

we

with only conjecture.

Regarding Gelis,

November

it

is

first

necessary to

the

recall

facts.

On

1897, the abbe Jean-Antoine-Maurice Gelis, priest of

1,

Coustaussa, seventy-one years of age, was discovered murdered in the kitchen of his presbytery. His killer the crime remain

who was

unknown. Near

was never found and the victim,

who

the motives for

smoke and

did not

repulsed by the odor of tobacco, an entire packet of cigarette

papers was found.

An

inscription

on one of the papers

read: “Viva

Angelina.” This might be the promising start of a good detective novel.

known of the tragedy for certain is that earlier that Abbe Gelis, who by nature was very suspicious and lived clois-

All that

evening

is

tered behind locked doors,

had received

43. As a general rule, the priests of the the deanery has

a late-night visitor. Because the

same deanery

most often corresponded

(since the time of the

to a civil canton) are expected to

meet on a

homes

of various

regular basis. These meetings generally took place over a meal at the priests,

each of

whom

Concordat,

hosted by turns depending upon a

priest’s activities

and other

cir-

cumstances. During these fraternal agapes, priests exchanged news and discussed the religious

life

of the deanery.

He Who

188

Brings Scandal

entrance door had not been locked again, received a visitor he

other than this lage

had the

well

and that

But

who

could

visitor.

it

to have been

was determined

murderer would be none

have been?

No

committed by someone the

was not

that theft

one

priest

in the vil-

knew.

Abbe

the motive: All of

who was

savings were found intact. His nephew,

would

his

information to give the gendarmes, but the crime

slightest

was assumed It

knew

can be assumed that he

it

Gelis’s

held for several days,

wasted an opportunity to pocket whatever

certainly not have

turned up, for he was chronically short of cash and was constantly

badgering his uncle for assistance. But on the night of the murder he

was somewhere a

murder

The

else,

which removed from the

list

the heinous crime of

money.

for

mentioned another very important piece of

police report

mation. “The body had been arranged in the center of the

infor-

room on

its

back, head and face in a normal position, hands folded over the chest, like a figure

on the

of a tomb.” This suggests that the murderer

lid

He took

not a run-of-the-mill criminal.

pains after the act to place his

victim in a dignified, even religious posture, as

may have

respect that he

was

if

he was expressing the

held for the person he had just murdered.

Strange.

There was no assassin

went

theft.

Unless

.

.

According to the police report, the

.

upstairs to the abbe’s

room

(as if

he were familiar with

the premises). There, while taking infinite precautions to leave

no

trace

of his passage, he “forced the lock of a travel satchel that contained var-

and documents belonging

ious papers essential:

is

“[T]he murderer opened the satchel in search of something.”

Of course derer

to the priest.” This next point

there

is

was looking

was looking to be able to

for

not a single clue to help identify just what the murfor,

Angelina.”

it

must

certainly be admitted that

must have been extremely important

commit such

calm and confidence Finally,

but

there

a cold-blooded crime

in

what he

order for him

and then display such

in his search.

is

What was

the

inscription

the

meaning of

on the this

cigarette

message and to

paper:

“Viva

whom was

it

addressed? Altogether these are the elements of a mystery that no one has been able to solve and, as ularly dreadful

we may

shadow hovering over

imagine, which creates a particthe Sauniere affair.

Who Was Abbe Under such dreadful circumstances,

it

is

189

Sauniere?

normal to ask questions.

Because the “elimination” of Abbe Gelis, a priest beyond reproach

whose

life

good around him,

to doing

Was

had been without incident and whose vocation was dedicated not normal.

is

Gelis the keeper of a secret or

provided justification for

this

It

surely conceals something.

documents whose possession

crime? Did anyone benefit from his

disappearance from the scene? The inquest revealed that his murderer

knew

the abbe

and the premises. The crime appears

to have

been premeditated, though the motive was not money, but the recovery of documents.

What might

The murderer was, however, him out

like the

these

documents have held?

respectful of his victim’s

recumbent figures

body and

laid

44

in Christian sepulchers

.

.

.

People are free to embroider as they wish on this diverse array of

Coustaussa

facts.

is

only a mile and a half as the crow

le-Chateau. During the time priest of the parish of

when

was

Gelis

flies

from Rennes-

priest of Coustaussa, the

who

Rennes-le-Chateau was Beranger Sauniere,

devoted his time to strange pursuits,

He

discovered buried objects and

documents, defiled the sepulchers of the parish cemetery, and established relationships with people

whose

beliefs

were foreign to

his religion. This

adds up to quite a number oddities. Perhaps the message Angelina” to

left

behind by the murderer was some sort of rallying

“Viva

But

cry.

what? Could the shadow of the mysterious “brotherhood” that has

so often been connected to

Abbe

Gelis?

adds

this

Abbe Sauniere

“The mystery remains

somewhat

following this event, at this point that

who

intact,” says Jacques Riviere,

perfidious remark:

Abbe

also have been hovering over

“We cannot

Sauniere’s behavior

help but note that

seemed

different.

It

was

he devoted himself to his municipal construction

45 through the investment of significant sums of money.”

It

Gelis

seems there are two pieces of information that add up:

was

unknown person wished

to take

himself (and succeeded), warning through his message that

].

Abbe

the keeper of certain secrets (which the rifling of his satchel

appears to prove). Second, an

44.

First,

Riviere,

45. Ibid., 146.

Le Fabuleux Tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 145-46.

it

was

them

for

better to

He Who

190

Brings Scandal

obey, under pain of death, the mysterious brotherhood in the Razes.

Having received the message, Abbe Sauniere no longer excavated the

tombs but devoted himself

to

municipal construction, which he

his

claimed was charitable in nature. Or, in another scenario, the assassin was

him

seeking to take possession of the final piece of a puzzle that could lead to a complete

there

and

understanding of

full

secret. In this case,

its

nothing whatsoever to support such an

is

murderer might be Beranger Saumere himself.

an

insult to the

memory

illogical declaration, the

raising such a possibility

of this priest? Similar questions have been asked

The ambiguity of Sauniere ’s

before.

Is

although

attitude

is

such that an outright cate-

monstrous accusation

gorical rejection of this

is

impossible. Beranger

Sauniere might have been, then, not only a prevaricator, an embezzler

(why not that

and

a swindler?),

and Masses

were never performed, but also a murderer capable of doing anything

to achieve his ends

—that

one had entrusted

to him.

find

a trafficker in both stolen objects

it

impossible to

is,

the mission he

What

is

we know

that

town

also the

wash Sauniere completely

and jewelry the priest

hounded Sauniere

It

all his life.

is

in the

From

not appear imme-

precise testimonies

the tutor Jamet,

who was money

what? About the finds

Church of Saint Magdalene? About the

Although Jamet has been recognized

we

that

has been proved that Beranger paid him in

defilement of tombs in the church’s cemetery? entirely?

that some-

clean of the accusation.

to keep silent. But to keep silent about

made

upon or

affair that did

someone was blackmailing him: clerk.

fixed

so deplorable in this story

There was a consequence to the Gelis diately but instead

was

priest’s

Or about something

else

as being perfectly odious (to

the extent that his descendants changed their name), he does cast a fairly legitimate

shadow over

well-built, strapping

Yet there

is

the generally reassuring image of Sauniere as a

man who was

nonetheless incapable of hurting a

nothing more deceptive than appearances.

truths behind the tutor’s blackmail of stantial

sum? Let he who

is

without doubt cast the

46. Personally, from the bottom of

circumstances, although fited

it

Abbe Sauniere

my

fly

What were

46 .

the

to the tune of a sub-

first

stone.

heart and soul, as people are apt to say in such

might seem that the murder of Abbe Gelis could have bene-

the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau,

I

absolutely refuse to believe that Beranger

Sauniere was capable of such a criminal and monstrous deed. In spite of his faults, Sauniere was good, and demonstrated that quality on numerous occasions. This personal conviction, but

I

am

unable to support

it

with any proof.

is

my

Who Was Abbe It is

true that while

no one can

sation of murdering his colleague

191

Sauniere?

clear Beranger Sauniere of the accu-

Abbe

Gelis for extremely obscure rea-

sons having to do with the “treasure” of Rennes, neither can anyone

prove he committed

shadow

of

Abbe

this

abominable

Whatever the case may

MARIE DENARNAUD

According to contemporary opinion, Beranger Sauniere

from Marie Denarnaud, who forms with him,

handsome couple Just think about

have been

What

in the imagination, a

with his sweet Marie. As for

in love

divulge the secrets of a

It is

inseparable

Sauniere gave her everything he owned!

it:

in love

is

that tugs at the heartstrings of people everywhere.

faithfulness to his

have been

be, the

Gelis hangs quite heavily over the Sauniere affair.

SHADOW OF

THE

act.

man

to

whom she

what devotion!

her,

memory! What constancy

He must

in her refusal to

had devoted her

life!

She must

with Beranger.

shadow

true that the

of Marie

Denarnaud

is

entwined with that

of the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau. In fact, the priest himself did

could to bring

tographed

this

in the

all

he

about, even going so far as to have himself pho-

company

of his “servant” in the gardens of Villa

Bethania and then publishing the photos as postcards. But at the risk of disappointing those

who

have been nostalgically imagining a relationship

similar to that of Tristan

and

Denarnaud and Beranger Sauniere may not have been True enough, loans are made only to the

had a reputation brother, Alfred,

what’s more, a

between Marie

Iseult, the relationship

and

rich,

for “hot-bloodedness.”

it

Without

all

that

appears that Sauniere a doubt, however, his

was “hot-blooded,” even though he was

member

of the very honorable

seemed.

it

a priest and,

Company of Jesus,

or Jesuit

Order. Should his bad reputation extend to the Jesuits as a whole?

Beranger Sauniere complained so often about paying for the sins

and transgressions of

When

relationship with

Marie Denarnaud.

there

no proof of an amorous

is

strictly

Denarnaud and

was given

his brother that little scrutiny

the priest of the

all is

said

and done,

liaison

to his in fact,

between Marie

Church of Mary Magdalene.

No

one

has ever been able to put forth a definitive claim that Marie was the mistress,

companion,

or, if

you

prefer,

concubine of Beranger Sauniere.

He Who

192

Brings Scandal

must be admitted, though, that there are strong grounds

It

suming that the two did have a relationship of

who

hires a fairly

—

monies

is

—who was

young servant

A

this kind.

for pre-

country priest

also pretty, according to testi-

A

only laying himself wide open to suspicions.

twenty-four-

year-old female servant in the presbytery will cause tongues to wag, that for sure,

there

is

4'

especially given that Sauniere

a great willingness to

tell

stories

was

where

a resident of Occitania,

about

priests

who

sleep with their

some even

servants. Occitan folktales are full of stories of this sort,

is

bor-

dering on the scatological and impertinent. 48 In Occitania people say a priest is

is still

seen in

man and

a

this.

has the right to act just like other men.

Their main concern

is

that their priest “not

too black and white” with regard to others

who

make

“sin”

No harm

everything

and that he be

women from whom he receives confession. why not find some mutual understanding? In

morally flexible toward the

And

this

being the case,

Rennes-le-Chateau no one ever complained about the parish

ambiguous

are

some

and when Sauniere was hauled up before the

situation,

bishop’s tribunal, he

was never

faulted for living with

things that the bishopric has to ignore,

Denarnaud. There

however

Sauniere’s case, doubts about his relationship persisted,

more reason

that

it

priest’s

was never addressed. Let Sauniere

real they are. In

which was

sin;

it’s

all

the

his business,

provided he doesn’t cause a scandal. 49 But unlike his unfortunate brother, Alfred the Jesuit, Sauniere never caused a scandal in this area.

The to

story of

how Marie Denarnaud, who came

Abbe Sauniere (whether

or not she

was

to offer her services

sent by

Abbe Bigou) and

47. Normally a female servant in a presbytery must be of canonical age forty-five to fifty years ing;

it is

simply very

minimum. This

realistic, for a

rule

woman

is

— that

is

to say,

not based on moral or theological reason-

of canonical age

is

not at great risk of giving

This circumvents any possible scandal as well as the practical consequences con-

birth.

cerning the raising and educating of a child. 48. For

more on

1984

1987 by

to

this subject, see the excellent

GARAE

Les Contes licencieux de

books published

(Groupe audois de recherche /’

et

in

Carcassonne from

d’animation ethnographique),

Aquitaine and L'Anneau magique, works

we owe

to

Agen

native and folklorist Antonin Perbosc, a contemporary of Sauniere.

49. Recall the scene in Moliere’s Tartuffe

when

the

worthy representative of the Party of

Devotees, meaning the Brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament (Saint Vincent de Paul, Ollier,

and Nicolas Pavilion), gave a

causing a scandal

is

not sinning.”

brilliant

Abbe

sermon on the theme “sinning without

Who Was Abbe immediately ing

— but

it

is

with the “great man,”

in love

fell

is

At the beginning of

utterly false.

beautiful

bytery in

what must be described

comfort.

tive to

whom

family,

was not

It

knew

he

would help him crown The Denarnaud ple: the

both in

work was completed, he

renovation and repair

until

When

the

lived in the pres-

as rather precarious conditions rela-

1892 that he

invited the

Denarnaud

well, to Rennes-le-Chateau, for this family

his

works with

success.

family, natives of Esperanza, consisted of four peo-

mother, the father, a daughter, and a son. The son and father were

The daughter,

skilled artisans.

1868

in Esperanza.

whom

they

moved

Sauniere in fact

would speak of

it

named Marie, was born

She was twenty-four years old

Rennes-le-Chateau to help her mother

him

and mov-

his stay in Rennes-le-

Chateau, Sauniere moved in with a charitable parishioner. initial

193

Sauniere?

the

when

“maintain”

Denarnaud family

she arrived in

the

presbytery.

into the presbytery.

meaning they lodged with

as a family of “hospitality,”

in return for a rent that in this instance consisted of repair

ovation work. Later father and son

left

He

to

work

in

and

ren-

the factory in

Esperanza. Marie’s mother soon followed them, effectively leaving Marie alone with Beranger. Seen from this angle, the story less

romantic.

exist

Of

between the

ily lived at

course, there priest

is

is less

novelistic

and

nothing to say that a liaison did not

and Marie, even during the time when her fam-

the presbytery. Yet there

is

no proof of such

and written proof that Sauniere

a single clue. What’s more, in the receipts

gave the bishopric at the time of his

trial,

a relationship, not

he

made

sure to note the salaries

he claimed to be giving Marie Denarnaud and her mother.

Whether or not she was

his mistress,

Marie Denarnaud remained

with the priest and acted as his confidante until his death. She held a boundless admiration for Abbe Sauniere, and seemed ready to self for

him

if

he

demanded

it.

Her devotion

kill

her-

to the priest even after his

had confided

death

is

impressive. She never betrayed a single secret he

to her,

50

respecting the law of silence to the end, satisfying herself

now

and then only by saying that the inhabitants of Rennes-le-Chateau

walked on gold and knew nothing about

50.

The only time she betrayed

place to the

new owner

Sauniere had cleared

it

of the

without

it.

Perhaps, though, these were

the priest’s confidence

was when she revealed

home, Noel Corbu.

was empty, however.

telling his servant.

It

a hiding

No

doubt

He Who

194

words of

Brings Scandal

derision.

Marie Denarnaud died poor and impoverished.

order to survive, she was forced to

sell

her house in return for a

annuity and spend her old age with the family of the she had

made

life

new owner, whom

her sole legatee.

She was a strange individual, entirely

In

devoted to the

man

in her

this

life,

who was

big-hearted servant

happy

to

remain

in his

shadow and

perpetuate his memory, and discovered to be the incumbent owner of everything the priest had bought and constructed.

have been quite an extravagant situation for her priest’s mistress. In

if

course, this

certainly

would

she had not been the

her receipt of the priest’s fortune, there

most stubborn imaginations;

excite the

Of

no

is

material to

been

effort has

spared to create a beautiful love story out of what after

all

might have

who no doubt shared esteem and affection for each other as well as an uncommon love. Marie Denarnaud’s shadow is particularly moving, especially when been only a perfect understanding between two individuals

it

tomb

lingers over the

of

Abbe

Sauniere.

There are many shadows, some murky, others so pellucid that they evaporate in the

air’s

opaque and more

movement. There are some, though, that remain

resistant to the storms that should carry

Who

was Abbe Beranger Sauniere?

who

could give us that answer.

good nor wholly time

when

that

matched

evil.

was

it

He was

difficult to

No

It

would be

doubt the

them

off.

a very clever individual

man was

neither wholly

a priest convinced of his mission during a

be a priest and have political convictions

religious convictions.

Was

he a megalomaniac? Surely he

was, but for the worthy cause of leaving behind something that would

remind others that he had lived while doing good. a Rosicrucian or a

He was

Freemason, as has been said too often by those

fantasize about the bizarre decoration of his church. lated?

He had

for

Why,

it.

then,

is

there so

much mystery around

this

he manipu-

man? Why,

espe-

much

noise

following his death, has there been so

his alleged activities?

try priest,

Was

who

neither the mentality to be used nor the character to stand

cially in the forty years

about

certainly not

Why was

Beranger Sauniere, a modest coun-

changed into a hero of a legend?

Despite himself and because of circumstances, Sauniere embodied a

myth, and

in

order to be seen, myths, like gods, must incarnate in theo-

phanies that give fuel to the dreams of those ing the truth.

who

are desperately seek-

6

One

Can

Train

Hide Another wf

In January

1956 three

Villa Bethania, the

Magdala Tower, and

in the very serious journal articles

was

on Rennes-le-Chateau, with photos of

articles

La Depecbe du Midi. The

a complete item in

a pillar of the high altar,

of course the church, appeared

itself:

title

of one of these

“With one blow of

Abbe Sauniere brought

his

pickax to

to light the treasure of

Blanche de Castille.”

The

die

was

cast. In the

publications, both regional

own

articles

and national, made certain

on the mysterious case of

enough here to slumbered

ally

weeks and months that followed, other

restore

life

to publish their

a millionaire priest. There

to this lost corner of the Aude,

at the wind’s pleasure

take a few days of vacation in

its

was

which usu-

without inspiring anyone even to

healthful environment, free

from pol-

lution, let alone to visit in search of treasure. It is

nalist

curious to observe that while he

found

it

worthwhile to write the

was

alive,

tiniest

not a single jour-

column about Abbe

Sauniere’s discoveries or bizarre construction. Also interesting

from the time of the cles in

who

priest’s

is

that

death in 1917 to the appearance of the

arti-

1956, no one besides Marie Denarnaud and the parishioners

retained a poignant

had discovered

memory

a treasure.

It

of

him had mentioned

would take

who

thirty-nine years for tongues to

loosen and pens to start scratching. There

195

the priest

is

food for thought here,

He Who

196

Brings Scandal

went

especially given that the Sauniere affair ultimately

original

beyond

far

its

framework, spreading throughout Europe by way of newspa-

per articles, so-called documentary films, television broadcasts, and finally

books with large print runs.

Odd, you say? But you don’t know the

an

common affair

just

how odd

it is.

.

.

.

This

is

reply that has applied perfectly to the Sauniere affair (and

it is)

ever since that

memorable January

1956, thirty-nine

in

years after the death of Beranger Sauniere and three years after the

Of

death of Marie Denarnaud. his or her

own

liking,

more

a great deal

course, everyone interprets the facts to

and there are those who took the

Some have proclaimed

to the story.

who

shadows. These

in the secret.

We

might ask

why

had already been working

Chateau have grown singularly

work with

there are

who work

for a long time in

they waited until 1956 to emerge, or pretend

shadows

to emerge, for since that year the

In addition to the

Then

have simply kept score, and those

last

and added

their skepticism

for all to hear, earning the snubs of the true believers.

both the indifferent,

bait

thicker.

newspaper

a pickax, the year

that hover over Rennes-le-

articles

concerning Abbe Sauniere’s

1956 witnessed three events that may have

gone largely unnoticed by the general public, but which eventually took

on great importance

was published entirely

in

Geneva by Editions des

unknown

Book of Constitutions Commanderies de Geneve, an

in the affair. First, the strange

publishing house. Next, there

was

the deposit at the

Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris of a study on the Merovingians by a certain Henri

Lobineau (who turned out to be

totally nonexistent),

along with genealogies that threatened to overturn

all

current knowl-

edge on those remote times. Last, at the prefecture of Haute-Savoie, located in Annemasse, and as defined by the

Law

of 1901, there

was

the founding or “declaration” of the Association of the Priory of Sion.

Those who declared were Delaval, three iar to

Pierre

unknowns, and

Bonhomme,

Pierre Plantard,

Pierre Defagot, Jean

whose name was

those steeped in esotericism and the serial novel.

These

three

events

merit

some

clarification.

The Book

Constitutions concerns the Priory of Sion, asserting that this order, original seat

1099

famil-

in

was

the

Abbey

of

Our Lady

of

Mount

Sion,

of

whose

was founded

in

Jerusalem by Godefroy de Bouillon. In the disorienting flood of

One information delivered by of Sion

Can Hide Another

197

we can

eventually grasp that this Order

the torch

from another interrupted order

this text

was somehow taking up

Train

with Gnostic tendencies, and that

it

shortly thereafter

became the occult

group that directed the Templars. After separating from the Templar

Order during the famous

split that

took place beneath the elm of Gisors,

1

the Order of Sion survived in secret, century after century, surreptitiously

acting in the world’s affairs

and presiding over the

of annexed or subordinate brotherhoods.

Its list

destinies of a

number

of grand masters included

such prestigious names as Nicolas Flamel, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac

Newton, Charles Nodier, Victor Hugo, Claude Debussy, and Jean Cocteau.

It

was

this

Order of Sion that presented

itself in

Annemasse,

in

legal

compliance with the rules of the French Republic, as the Priory of

Sion,

more or

who

let it

be

less

under the leadership of Pierre Plantard de Saint

known

to

any

who wished

descendant of the legitimate Merovingian

We

to listen that he

was

Clair,

the last

line.

should note that according to the Book of Constitutions, the

Order of Sion had assumed the mission of safeguarding the Merovingian blood that flowed until

in the veins of

Godefroy de Bouillon

such time as an authentic descendant of the authentic

remount the throne of France. In

this

way

line

could

they would drive off in the

same opprobrium not only the Republicans and the Bonapartists, but also the Capets, the Bourbons,

and the Orleans

as usurpers of a throne

that did not belong to them.

Was

it

the Priory of Sion that across the centuries whispered their

punishment to Godefroy’s descendants, the dukes of Lorraine? Was it

it

the Priory of Sion that

armed the Fronde against Louis XIV? Was

the Priory of Sion that inspired Nicolas Poussin’s painting

The

Shepherds of Arcadia, and entrusted to him the dangerous secret he confided to Nicolas Foucquet? Finally, was

supported the efforts of the

1.

See

2.

J.

my book The Templar

Company

it

of the

the Priory of Sion that

Holy Sacrament? 2

Treasure in Gisors (Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 2003).

Robin, Rennes-le-Chateau:

la colline

envoutee 80. The author devotes his efforts to

a subtle demystification of the Priory of Sion,

,

whose

existence

is

dubious, to say the

least.

He Who

198

Brings Scandal

Jean Robin poses these questions with great

clarity, yet

obviously with-

out giving them any credence, but this does not change the fact that the

appearance of these pieces of information on the Priory of Sion

moment

the

Rennes-le-Chateau

was unleashed

affair

at the

somewhat

is

unsettling.

The documents deposited false

name

pieces

at the Bibliotheque

Nationale under the

of Henri Lobineau are in complete agreement with these

of information.

They amount

to

a

veritable

re-reading of

Merovingian history that peremptorily brings the Razes into the mix for the first time.

It is

in the Razes, they

contend, where the

last

descen-

dant of the legitimate lineage of the Merovingians sought refuge. As proof, they include genealogies that at siastic research. false.

The author

ify existing

first

look

like the result of

enthu-

Unfortunately, they quickly reveal themselves to be

hoax was content

(or authors) of this

to slightly

mod-

— and trustworthy—genealogies by adding a name here and

subtracting one there. She or he could not have been

honest about historical matters

3 .

more

casually dis-

As they were presented, however, these

genealogies have had a great effect on the fans of the sensational and

on those who are always seeking

to rewrite history in a

way

that suits

them. The Lobineau “documents,” although exposed and demystified

on

several occasions, have

There est

no need

is

only to those

had

offspring.

to speak further about falsifications that are of inter-

who

launched them into the public arena. There

is

no

need to expand more on the ghostly Priory of Sion, that mysterious

“brotherhood” that hounded Sauniere ’s every that has been built

Book of

around him.

It is

step, at least in the story

worth knowing, though, that the

Constitutions, the Tobineau “documents,”

birth of the Priory of Sion

affair

“official”

overall

scheme intended to

and the very

distinctive adventure

form part of an

emphasize the Rennes-le-Chateau

and the

of Beranger Sauniere. Three individuals have been the promoters of this conspiracy:

One was Noel Corbu,

the buildings constructed by

heir of

Abbe

Marie Denarnaud and owner of

Sauniere; and the other

authentic aristocrats, the count Pierre Plantard de Saint Clair,

two were

who

calls

himself a hermeticist, and the marquis Philippe de Cherisey, a writer and

3.

For more on

this subject, see

Richard Bordes, Les Merovingiens a Rennes-le-Chateau

(Rennes-le-Chateau: Editions Schrauben, 1984).

One whose hour of glory was caught by

actor

when he played

the Gregoire of

Corbu had vanished due ally

—or

who

in

performer

rather,

1967 published

we might

We

will

—

in the very talented writer

UOr de Rennes

a vast epic,

expect, revised

affair

and corrected

for that

is

in

what

who still lived in Rennes-le-Chateau and memory of Abbe Sauniere, was beginning moved around with

have a very clear grasp of

[The Gold of Rennes],

time to discover the genesis it

was

War

—that has earned an Marie Denarnaud,

II,

enjoyed a modest

lifestyle in

to experience hard times. She difficulty

and did not always

After the Liberation

reality.

Gerard de Sede,

for the public at large.

unprecedented success. At the end of World

getting old: She

found an

throughout the world, though,

have to take a few steps back

—

199

the antenna of France Culture

to a car accident, the “conspiracy”

of this skillful machination

was

Can Hide Another

Roland Dubillard’s Amedee. Once Noel

which spread word of the Sauniere as

Train

it

was necessary

to

exchange old bank notes, for many were counterfeits made by the

Germans during

the Occupation.

The inhabitants of Rennes-le-Chateau

then saw “Mademoiselle Marie,” as she was respectfully known, burning a pile of

bank notes instead of going

exchange them.

Was

she afraid

her rather indiscreetly, but what

Some questioned

of something?

in to

was

done was done and Marie Denarnaud was even more hard up than before.

At ist

this

point Noel

who had opened

detective novel.

Corbu entered

several small

the scene. Fie

was an

industrial-

companies and had even published a

During the Occupation he had experienced some ongo-

ing difficulties regarding his attitude.

Corbu knew

the Razes quite well

He had heard of Abbe Sauniere and asked all he met to tell him all they knew about the priest and his story. Perhaps the topic interested him as a potential subject for a new novel, though and had

it

visited

it

often.

seems that the idea of a hidden treasure strongly appealed to

imagination, which was naturally

his

drawn toward adventure.

Wishing to leave the region of Perpignan, where there were too many uncomfortable memories connected to

Corbu moved

himself, his wife,

There he made friends with the probably he ily

made an

made

who

first

his black

and two children to Bugarach village

in 1944.

grade school teacher, and

it

was

spoke of Beranger Sauniere. In 1945 the Corbu fam-

excursion to Rennes-le-Chateau and

the acquaintance of

venirs of “that

market dealings, Noel

Marie Denarnaud,

it

was then

that

Corbu

who showed him some

sou-

poor Monsieur the abbe.” Corbu returned several times to

He Who

200

Brings Scandal

Rennes-le-Chateau, and a

Corbu

servant and the

his ulterior motives,

warm

fellow feeling developed between the old

Very

family.

sincerely,

Noel Corbu proposed

without revealing

in

any way

buy Marie’s property.

to

In

exchange the Corbu family committed to taking care of the old woman. This deal was sealed before a notary on July 22, 1946. Noel Corbu and

became the

his wife

sole legatees of

her entire family on this same occasion, as the notarized

Marie Denarnaud continued family ever,

left

for

if

to return to France.

rebuild the family fortune that his

upon

then, that he hit

Sauniere

affair.

It

dealings,

And where

Moroccan

was probably on

how-

could he go

became necessary

It

reduced. The intelligent and tenacious Noel everything to a profit.

attests.

on her property and the Corbu

to live

not to Rennes-le-Chateau?

disinherited

document

Morocco. Following some poor business

Corbu was forced

there

who

Marie Denarnaud,

for

him

to

business affairs had so

Corbu knew how

France in 1950,

his return to

the idea of exploiting in one

to turn

way

or another the

Marie Denarnaud trusted only him and

his wife.

She

had even promised one day to give him a “secret” that had been entrusted to her by “that poor Monsieur the abbe.”

Corbu waited

patiently

and scrupulously respected the commitments he had made to

Marie.

does seem that the Corbu family had a real affection for the

old

It

woman, and

she clearly returned

at the age of eighty-five

She was buried in the

whom

it.

In 1953, however,

Marie died

without having passed her “secret” to her

little

cemetery next to the tomb of the

she had devoted not only her youth but her entire

heir.

man

to

as well.

life

Noel Corbu was now owner of everything that had belonged

to

Sauniere and Marie Denarnaud. His innate business sense gave him the idea to transform Villa Bethania into a restaurant

and

hotel,

which did

not prevent him from searching wherever he could for documents that

might put him on the

trail

of Beranger Sauniere’s famous “secret.”

plan to transform the Rennes property offered two advantages: rant and hotel

would bring

in

The

A restau-

revenue and the propagation of the story

of the old Rennes priest through his clientele could bring in elements that

might guide

his search.

The

villa

months of 1953. 4 Yet the few

4. P. Jarnac, Histoire

du

was ready

clients

who

for business

by the

last

frequented the restaurant

tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 296.

One brought

in

Can Hide Another

Train

201

no information that Noel Corbu did not already know. He *

knew

then that

it

would be necessary

mation was not coming

he would have to supply

in,

it.

He

way, even

profit

from an influx of

who were

tourists

Montsegur was not so

far

castle sat

but from other countries as well, lous treasure of the Cathars,

all

—

region.

would be enough

from France

obsessed by the story of the fabu-

which might even be the

creetly, of course, for secrets are

who

in the

travelers not only

Grail.

who had

channel toward Rennes-le-Chateau those

priest

discerned that

away, and even at that time visitors gathered

on the pog where the Cathar

It

the infor-

fans of unsolved mysteries.

There was certainly no shortage of such people

Montsegur?

If

he was unable to discover the secret, he would at least

in this

if

to look farther afield:

Why

ventured to

to spread as best as possible

always more exciting

not

—

dis-

—the story of the

discovered a treasure in his church. But the narrative had to

conform to the model that had already been well established Montsegur. The Sauniere public unless

it

would not have any

affair

was tacked on

Noel Corbu put himself

in

credibility

at

with the

to actual events in local history.

charge of this task. As his detective novel

demonstrated, he had a certain talent for narration. Thus the owner of the Restaurant de la

made

Tour

(the

name he had

a tape recording of a short

of the story to give to his

more important,

guests to spice up their stay and,

ination

summary

given his establishment)

enough that they would return and bring

This

summary was

to excite their imag-

their friends.

Corbu began by pointing

crafted very skillfully:

out that “during the entire duration of his Church

trial,

Abbe Sauniere

had started no new construction.” This was an important point to make,

for the story of a priest at

region

whose

made

.

heretical past

is

.

reworked

bishop plays well in a

last!),

the interdicted priest

his plans to include construction of the

Couiza to Rennes-le-Chateau to

his

beyond question. Once the Church had

the rupture official (free at

.

odds with

at his

own

road from

expense, for he intended

buy an automobile; conveyance of water

to

all

the inhabitants;

construction of a chapel in the cemetery; construction of a rampart

around the whole of Rennes; construction of

a

tower 130

feet tall

who

entered

with a circular staircase and library within so that

all

He Who

202

Brings Scandal

town could be

the

and

seen; the addition of a winter garden

another story to the existing tower.

We

have to admire the genius of Noel Corbu. To entice

he focused on

Abbe

Sauniere’s altruistic attitude (which

could a humble country priest undertake at his tion projects

whose

costs

were estimated

how

talking about.

for all of

this treasure

dis-

was

It is

an interrupted work, espe-

one halted under certain circumstances, that speaks more to the

January 22 he died.” Here we have if

fate,

Sauniere died of natural causes?

about the manner of

his clients to

While lift

mid-

Abbe Sauniere had

imagination: “But twelve days after signing, the priest

know

in the

Beranger Sauniere had realized his plans, however, they

would not even be worth cially

1917,

5,

knew where

covered an immense treasure, or at least If

gold francs, or

and signed the order

the construction.” This obviously implies that

to

perfectly

expense construc-

at eight million

dle of the war, he accepted the estimate

located.

own

1954 France? “[OJn January

billion francs in

tling

was

don’t forget) and the grandiose nature of his projects. But

real,

two

his clients,

his death?

This

fell ill,

but also a mystery. Isn’t there is

finally

and on

Who

can

something unset-

what Corbu allowed

assume.

it is

good, however, to allow mystery to

linger,

it is

necessary

a corner of the veil: If Beranger Sauniere could order such exten-

sive construction,

it

was because he knew where

to find “the old treas-

ure of the Capets, hidden in the thirteenth century.”

We

can see that the

treasure did not yet involve the Visigoths or Merovingians. Pierre

Plantard de Saint-Clair had not yet

come

this

way, and to mention the

Cathar treasure would offer unfair competition with Montsegur. No,

Noel Corbu appealed instead to ure?

local legends:

The explanation comes from

“The

origin of the treas-

the archives of Carcassonne. Blanche

de Castille, mother of Saint Louis and regent of the kingdom of France

during the Crusades of her son, deemed Paris to be too unsafe to hold the royal treasure because the barons

against royal authority.” There are

education concerning

and the commoners were

some gaps

difficulties that

in

in revolt

Noel Corbu’s history

Blanche de Castille,

widow

of

Louis VIII, actually experienced during her son’s minority. She was faced with the rebellion of the nobles of the kingdom, led by Thibaud

One

Train

Can Hide Another

Raymond

de Champagne, Pierre Mauclerc, and

VII of Toulouse, with

Trencavel right behind. There was a crusade, of course, but

one against the Albigensians. 5 But

203

was

it

the

in his defense, all of this did take

place in the thirteenth century.

This

is

the point

where history suddenly picks up speed. Blanche de

Castille

.

.

.

therefore

had the treasure transported from

Paris to

[Rennes-le-Chateau, of course], then undertook to put rebellion. She succeeded

the

again for the Holy Land and

left

died in Tunis. His son, Philip the Bold, must have tion of the treasure because he

to counterfeit

down

and died shortly afterward. Saint Louis

returned from the Crusade, then

But the knowledge was

Rennes

showed much

lost after

him and

known

interest in

Philip the Fair

the loca-

Reddae

.

know

its

.

was obliged

money, for the treasure of France had disappeared.

have to assume that he did not

.

We

hiding place.

A treasure was lost because it was too carefully hidden by the greatgrandmother of poor

Philip the Fair,

who was

thus obliged to resort to

expedient measures, as history shows, due to a lack of money! But

keep moving

— and

don’t waste

Carcassonne archives. Fair got hold of

If

there

let’s

time trying to verify this at the

had been documents, no doubt

Philip the

them and then made sure they disappeared

after he

found the treasure.

way

This lack of documentation in no

prevented Noel Corbu from

declaring seriously, “Based on the archives, which provide the treasure,

it

consisted of 18.5 million pieces of gold,

some such

that Sauniere found that a connection be Castille

it

made between

The mention

established as fact

treasures in his church.

It is

essential

the fantastic story of Blanche de

Corbu then determines

See Jean Markale, Le

1985).

important;

in

and the more modest but more recent legend of Beranger

Sauniere. Noel

5.

is

of the

some 180 tons

weight, as well as numerous jewels and religious objects.” of the jewels and religious objects

list

Chene de

la sagesse:

un

the total treasure to have been

roi

nomme

Saint Louis (Paris:

Herme,

He Who

204

worth four

some

Brings Scandal

while Noel

Corbu was

trying to attract as

Rennes-le-Chateau by spouting his fairy

sible to

understand that

dreams are bigger than others.

people’s

Now,

We

1954 valuation).

billion francs (at their

many

visitors as pos-

another figure was

tale,

some land and studied

lurking in Rennes-les-Bains, where he bought

known

hot springs, particularly that of Magdalene and the one

He

Queen’s Baths.

prospected the heights that

hemmed

in the valley,

The name of this man was

as the

asked

two tombs of

questions of everyone, and seemed quite intrigued by the

Fleury in the cemetery.

the

He prewas known as

Pierre Plantard.

sented himself as an archaeologist, but in certain milieus he

He was often seen in the company of the young Marquis de who had more or less broken with his family because of his

a hermeticist.

Cherisey,

desire to be

an actor and was trying as best he could to earn

was

small productions. Pierre Plantard

however. All that anyone a

book

that

knew

of

from

by himself,

in Rennes-les-Bains

him was

was almost impossible

his living

that his bed-stand reading

La

to find,

Vraie

Langue

was

celtique et

le

cromlech de Rennes-les-Bains, written by Abbe Henri Boudet, priest of

when

that area

Nowhere But

it

Sauniere

is it

was

officiating in Rennes-le-Chateau.

said that Pierre Plantard

and Noel Corbu ever met.

impossible to presume that Pierre Plantard never

is

made

the

climb to Rennes-le-Chateau and never heard the short recorded speech that

was handed out

to guests at the Restaurant de la Tour.

There

is

no

doubt the two men were made to get along, and while they may never have actually met,

we must admit

that there

junction between the “histories” each of

At

time, though,

this

is

an extraordinary con-

them launched

Noel Corbu managed

later.

his restaurant

and

patiently continued his searches, for he firmly believed in the treasure’s

existence that

all

and was convinced that Sauniere held the

that

was necessary

did

its

work.

An

increasing

lurking in Rennes-le-Chateau. This journalists cles in

who were

put into motion, and It

looking for

La Depeche du Midi it

He

determined

to have access to the fabulous

Blanche de Castille was to rediscover

mouth

key.

in

this key.

number

made

stories.

hoard of

As time passed, word of

of visitors were discreetly

its

The

way

to the ears of a few

result

was

the three arti-

January 1956. The machinery had been

could not be stopped.

should be emphasized that Noel Corbu never abandoned his

One

Can Hide Another

Train

searches on the church’s grounds. During that

same

205

1956, he

year,

appropriately obtained an excavation authorization and he and

some

enthusiastic seekers undertook the sounding of the church’s basement.

They found some remains and unquestionably a ritual

human

a

wound

skull “bearing a slot

similar to those

Carolingian and Merovingian cemeteries. of the

wound was

to certain

to prevent the deceased

Germanic

among

ancient times and

from reincarnating, according is

it

During

also plausible:

was customary

had been buried. 6 Could

to place

this skull

basement indicate that treasure had been buried near there? Noel

Corbu

certainly thought so,

which was why he continued

tions, only this time in the cemetery.

nothing was found. After

It

was wasted

effort,

his

excava-

however, for

no doubt because he discovered some

this,

information in the documents of Sauniere his

in

possible that the purpose

It is

so-called barbarians,

a perforated skull near treasure'that in the

found on the remains

But another motive

beliefs.

on top”

in his possession,

still

crew into the park between the Magdala Tower and

he led

Villa Bethania

to begin digging. There a significant surprise awaited them:

An

intensive excavation

was begun within an area

four square yards. The soil was

from somewhere

else.

fill

that

that

was about

had been brought there

At a depth of close to

five feet

our workers

unearthed a skull and some remains. Because such discoveries are not rare in the subsoil of Rennes, they gave this no attention and

continued their task. Great was their surprise an hour

N. Corbu’s dogs

sniffing these

macabre remains, turning them over

with their paws, and licking them. In astonishment the

more

closely.

The

skull they

and hair adhering

to

it,

had exhumed

still

men looked

had pieces of skin

along with the remains of a mustache.

There were fragments of clothing and linen scattered

6.

later to see

This involves a magic ritual intended to repel

at the

Evidence of

defilers.

bottom

this tradition

can

be found in an early medieval Welsh tale that forms part of the Second Branch of the

Mabinogian. in the

White

It

concerns the head of the hero Bran the Blessed, which had been buried

Hill of

London.

will never be invaded.

that the Capitol of

was

buried.

We

Rome

It is

said that as long as the head remains there,

should also is

the spot

recall that

Golgatha

where the head of

a

is

England

the “Place of the Skull” and

man named

Tolus (Caput Toli)

He Who

206

Brings Scandal

of the hole. Other remains were also contained therein

by a sudden

chill,

they

left

Of course, Noel Corbu

the

atively recent

was

called

and

and

it

Struck

.

.

and abandoned the

The mayor ordered

to thirty-five years of age. Their deaths

was learned

area.

more

a

which they found the remains of three

their clothing

Maquis] had stayed

site

alerted the police.

intensive excavation, during

young men, twenty-five

work

.

was

that

surely of military issue.

members

were

An

rel-

inquest

of the Spanish resistance [the

in Villa Bethania during the war. Yet the identities

of these three unfortunate souls, clearly the victims of a settling of old scores,

them,

were never discovered. All that could be done was to rebury

in the

This

many

cemetery incident

little

secrets did

visitors

after this the case files

add

certainly

were closed.

spice to the story. Just

how

and so much

curiosity.

To

the great delight of

the residents obligingly recounted every step of the operation. In

affairs of this kind, the

those

would

and

Rennes-le-Chateau hold? “Rennes became famous. Never

were there so many all visitors

this time,

who had

macabre element

is

8 the crucial factor.” There were

not forgotten the fabulous treasure and

only Rennes but also the archives of

who

haunted not

Limoux and Carcassonne. Noel Corbu

wrote a book about the Rennes-le-Chateau treasure and Saumere that was never published (the manuscript

is

now

lost).

As may well be expected,

a

complete ignorance and boorishness, dug holes

horde of wild excavators,

in

everywhere. In

happened so often (sometimes with the help of

fact, this

dynamite) that the municipality enacted a decree in 1965 prohibiting any excavation on

communal

property.

There were of course legitimate and duly authorized seekers

who

ran some search operations with no results. In 1962 Robert Charroux,

then host of a well-known television

came

in

person to see about the

story.

show

This

is

called Treasure Hunters,

what he offered during an

interview with Jean-Tuc Chaumeil.

We

went

several times to Rennes-le-Chateau, club

myself, with our detectors.

7.

We

Rene Descadeillas, Mytbologie du

got readings from two tombs, one

tresor de

Rennes (Carcassonne: Savary

1988), 56. 8.

members and

R. Descadeillas, Mythologie du tresor de Rennes, 57.

reprint,

One of which

was Beranger

no doubt there it

is

Train

We did not want to

Sauniere’s.

something to be discovered

We

is

little

area X, but

we

did not find

suspect Corbu,

who was

a false scent, or at least

not the best one.

and the famous

We

but

it is,

radiation.

attacked a given point

Corbu property toward

the

what we were looking

our disposal,

I

Today,

a secondary trail that undoubtedly

He knew better than anyone the

believe

11

completely charming, of having put us on

on

treasure.

for ...

He had

dedicated his

was

history of Sauniere

life

to

its

discovery.

he truly wished to collaborate with us and the detectors

12

9

began some excavations, but took great precautions because

was determined by heading from

thing.

it,

207

even more interesting. 10

the local people were closely watching us. that

defile

Whatever

there.

does not appear to be lead, which produces very

The other tomb

I

Can Hide Another

we had

If

at

we would perhaps have ended up with some-

Corbu must have found something by

himself:

no doubt

a

part of the whole that Marie Denarnaud, servant and mistress of Sauniere,

had hidden

several hiding places.

have put

all his

in a safe place. Sauniere himself

The

priest

same

eggs in the

found one of these treasures. 14 taken seriously ...

9.

was

1

a cunning

basket.

I

must have had

man. 13 He would not

am

certain that

Corbu

repeat, Rennes-le-Chateau should be

15

But others had no such scruples about taking on

this task.

10.

Robert Charroux purposefully refrained from saying exactly which one.

11.

It

remains to be seen what Robert Charroux was truly looking for apart from some-

thing sensational he could treasure hunter,

show

Charroux exaggerated

12.

The conceit of Charroux

13.

It

clumsiness It is

later.

is

when

it

came

to history, archaeol-

obvious here.

seems that despite appearances

no audacity and even

14.

a great deal

While certainly an excellent

and even esotericism.

ogy,

his

off in his productions.

bles pure

cunning. The

— unless he was playing

unlikely that

He

less

wasn’t “rolling

and simple

and powerfully corpulent), Abbe Sauniere had

way he defended

himself at his

in

trial

demonstrates

at being a fool.

Corbu found anything considering money,” as they

say,

and

his

the difficulties he encountered

departure from Rennes resem-

retreat.

15. Interview by Jean-Luc (Paris:

(tall

Chaumeil from

Henri Veyrier, 1985), 232-33.

his

book

Du

premier au dernier

Temp Her

He Who

208

So

many

Brings Scandal

Abbe

vain attempts! Nevertheless, the story of

whether true or

false,

would spread and enthuse

Sauniere,

the crowds. Television

got into the act and a crew showed up in Rennes-le-Chateau to film episodes in the

of the “millionaire priest.”

life

orable period in the

Rennes, a number of

mem-

whom

to the

were used as extras

good

folks of

in the films.

the starring role, dressed as priest of 1900, wearing

Corbu played a

definitely a

of this remote village.

life

Nothing could have brought more excitement

bands and

was

It

Roman

16

hat.

From

the seriousness with

which he

played his character, the unction that permeated him through and through, the condescension and benevolence that marked his every

word and

attitude,

it is

easy to sense that he had long played

mind before putting on

this role in his

the habit.

It

was Sauniere,

but a refined, restrained, eloquent Sauniere stripped of his athletic

appearance, his cheer, and his somewhat vulgar

was no one other than Corbu who could and gestures that legend attributed Sauniere slaving his role as

away on

joviality.

Yet there

better repeat the

words

to the priest. Viewers could see

his research, joyful at his discovery; in

patron distributing money to those

him; and as an adviser to these good folks

who

who had

helped

painfully carried

water until they could soon enjoy the benefit of a

their pails of

potable water system. The picture was complete. All that was '

missing was the treasure!

Ah

yes,

it

was

of looking. Noel activities

rant.

was

1

the treasure that

was missing but

Corbu assuredly did not

find

it,

it

was not

though

for

want

his search

caused him to neglect the management of his hotel and restau-

Madame

Corbu,

getting tired of

who was

little

responsible for cooking and supplies,

profit for a lot of

wasted time. Noel Corbu,

however, never lacked for ingenuity and found a more profitable occupation. In an outbuilding he installed a

16.

Noel Corbu can be seen

as

workshop

Abbe Sauniere

in

manufacture

two photos published by Rene

Descadeillas at the end of Mythologie du tresor de Rennes. 17. R. Descadeillas,

for the

Mythologie du tresor de Rennes, 65.

One

Can Hide Another

Train

of lampshades and fans. Ultimately ravaged by

fire, it

209

ran until 1965.

That year Corbu decided to move to Fanjeaux on the old road that goes

from Carcassonne Restaurant de

to

Mirepoix.

He

left

the

region,

selling

the

Tour to Monsieur Henri Bouthon. Thus a page was

la

turned in the history of Rennes-le-Chateau, but what Noel Corbu had written on

was

it

far

from being erased. After leaving Rennes-le-

Chateau, Noel Corbu was involved in some bad business dealings. In

1968 he died

an automobile accident, but the business that had

in

earned him nothing was definitively launched. Unfortunately,

who

others

1967

In lite

profited

from

was

it.

book by Gerard de

a

it

Sede,

L’Or de Rennes ou

la vie inso-

:

de Beranger Sauniere, cure de Rennes-le-Chateau appeared in book-

stores.

18

It

priest of a

was no

smash

a

less

and

hit,

modest

Abbe

time

this

Sauniere, the modest

became

village in the Razes,

of local history but of the whole of Europe as well.

What

both for history and for Sauniere the individual,

icant,

the priest

was made

to play.

He would

have been the

dimensions certain episodes of his

at the

The

subject of this

book

life

a hero not only is

more

signif-

the bizarre role

is

first

to be surprised

were made to assume.

both simple and complex: Abbe Sauniere,

is

priest of a small parish, discovered a secret, long jealously

and piously

preserved, concerning the survival of a legitimate heir to the Merovingian

king Dagobert

(transformed into Saint Dagobert by popular acclaim).

II

This king was assassinated by the Carolingians the forces of Pippin), but earlier he

(at

the time

it

was

rather

had hidden immense treasures

in

Rennes-le-Chateau for the purpose of reconquering the Aquitaine, a task he failed to accomplish and

left

Sauniere discover the secret? That

know

that he

was authorized

tion that he keep is

it

secret.

18.

(Paris: Julliard, 1967).

we

la vie insolite

a third

1977 an edition with

title,

draw from

“someone”

this royal treasure

Abbe

let

him

on condi-

Sion, a very

de Beranger Sauniere cure de Rennes-le-Chateau ,

new

title

a great deal of

Signe Rose+Croix.

did

are given to understand that his identity

The book was republished

ket collection of “J’ai Lu,” under the in

a mystery. But

mandated representative of the Priory of

L’Or de Rennes: ou

Then

is

How

This very mysterious and discreet “someone”

obviously anonymous, but

involves a duly

to

to his descendants.

several times, mainly in the

mass mar-

Le Tresor maudit de Rennes-le-Chateau.

new

material

was published by Plon under

He Who

210

Brings Scandal

ancient order parallel to the Templar Order, 19 which

survived by

it.

beyond

lived

was

clandestinely

Instead of respecting his commitments, however, the priest his

means, which led to a warning from

“someone.” Sauniere made a bargain with

mysterious

this

this individual

and was thus

given permission to leave clues and landmarks so that others

him could have

after

access to the treasure

and use

it

who came

to restore the legit-

imate Merovingian dynasty. Sauniere then died, dreaming of founding a

new

religion of

What

which he would be the

should

we

think about

edge that Gerard de Sede has a the sources he gives

The sources

leader.

we might acknowlBut what can we say about

of this? Mainly,

all

of talent.

lot

and the documents he so obligingly reproduces?

are unverifiable,

and when they can be

they are based on documents that were falsified

themselves

—photographs

verified,

earlier.

of stones and manuscripts

we

see that

The documents

— are

obviously

fakes that while not attributable to Gerard de Sede, are attributable to

those of

who

Abbe

had been

inspired him. Such

Sauniere, miraculously transferred from England, where they sleeping,

it

appears, in a bank, and of which copies were sent

to several people, one of in

whom

is

the current

owner of

Villa Bethania

Rennes-le-Chateau.

We know fact

that Beranger Sauniere found parchments in the pillar

had held up the former

that

lic

the case for the so-called parchments

is

altar

—

all

the testimonies agree

— but nothing remains of these documents anywhere, not

library or

an archival cache.

they do

If

still

exist, let’s

on

in a

this

pub-

hope someone

has the good grace to reveal them.

Some have maintained

that reproductions

would be welcome news, but we would

still

marquis Philippe de Cherisey, talented

artist

of these exist. This

have to interrogate the

and friend of

Pierre

Plantard de Saint-Clair.

On

visiting

Abbe

19.

Rennes-le-Chateau

Sauniere’s death the

in

town

Gerard de Sede had already published

which enjoyed resounding success. cited for the first time,

writer

is

quite old.

It

was

1961,

hall

a

learned that following

had burned down (along with

book

in this

I

in

book

1962 on the Templars of Gisors, that the

name

Pierre Plantard

was

which shows that the relationship between Plantard and the

One its

archives), so

that the

I

Train

211

Can Hide Another

took advantage of the situation to invent a story

mayor had made

a

copy of the parchments discovered by

20 the priest. Then, at the suggestion of Francis Blanche,

on

creating an encoded copy based

Gospels, after which

I

had

I

encoded. Finally, through a circuitous route

made

I

Gerard de Sede. The

my labor found its way to my wildest dreams.

just

set

about

from the

certain passages

deciphered what

of

1

personally

sure the fruit

results surpassed

21

Cherisey completed his confessions to Jean-Luc Chaumeil, someone

who was

always quite close to the Sauniere

cated the parchments,

whose ancient

who

Chateau, 23 took

But upon

farce.

There are

of

“I fabri-

took, en onciale, to the

Dom

Cabrol.” 22 Philippe

boasted of knowing the true secret of Rennes-le-

this

hoax

as

whom was

still

I

work

Bibliotheque Nationale, based on the

de Cherisey,

text

by saying:

affair,

deserves to be taken

it

—that

is,

as a

good

he intending to play this farce?

more elements

Other documents pre-

to this farce:

sented in good faith in L’Or de Rennes,

some of which involve

reproduction of carved stone, are more than suspect. The famous of the marquise d’Hautpoul

20. Cherisey

became

is

of guaranteed authenticity, but

met Francis Blanche during

friends.

The

a film shoot in Belgium,

brilliant Francis Blanche,

program Signe Furaxf

Who

Who

versation Cherisey told Francis Blanche

what he knew of

it!

could forget the radio

who

false

documents and send them

conscientiously performed this

work

— but

to

him

the Rennes-le-Chateau affair,

made

this

is

sure they discreetly found their

what Philippe de Cherisey

way

into the

Arnaud de Chassipoulet,

hands of Gerard de Sede. At

la colline

22. J.-L. Chaumeil,

Le Tresor du is

to

least

says. J.

Robin,

envoutee.

Rennes-le-Chateau,

Most important

to

instead of entrusting the parchments to

21. Philippe de Cherisey, L’Enigme de Rennes, typed brochure, 1978. See

23.

him

to be used in Signe Furax. Cherisey

Francis Blanche through the intermediary of the director, Pierre

he

cre-

During the course of con-

particularly about the parchments found by Sauniere. Francis Blanche then asked

manufacture

what

brilliant Pierre

has forgotten the “gag” of these two colleagues,

ated a psychiatric clinic for loco weeds ? Someone had to do

stele

and the two men

accomplice of the equally

Dac, had a well-known taste for derision and mystification.

the

triangle d’or, 80.

know whether

of Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair.

Cherisey was acting on his

own

or in the

name

212

He Who

Brings Scandal

about the others? These stones were supposedly cited from entitled Pierre gravees de

Languedoc and attributed

a booklet

Eugene Stublein,

to

from the end of the nineteenth century, who happily

a local scholar

signed his works “Stublein of the Corbieres.” But Eugene Stublein

would have been

greatly surprised to see his

which can be consulted only

who

spent his

this rare booklet,

at the Bibliotheque Nationale, for he never

concerned himself with archaeology. In

astronomer

name on

he was an amateur

fact,

looking only at the

life

He

stars.

never

made

any study of the “carved stones of the Languedoc.” The booklet

is

blatant fake, in which, moreover, the unfortunate abbe Courtauly also introduced

The

—though he too had nothing to do with

it.

led a

offers that apparently the

name

Abbe Courtauly had been mixed up with

the story of “the carved stones

of the Languedoc” and the Sauniere affair because he had

“[h]ow could

priest in his youth. Yet

led to lending his

name

is

Rene Descadeillas

farce ultimately took a strange turn.

thorough inquiry into the matter and

a

this

good and old

to such aberrant fictions?

known

priest

What

the

have been

strange chain

of circumstances could have been behind it?” Rene Descadeillas found the answer to these questions, but simply uncovering the pot of gold

does not necessarily

During the les-Bains,

mean

inalienable possession.

final years of his life,

Abbe Courtauly

while taking the waters at Rennes-

frequently encountered a strange individ-

who had taken to lurking in the neighborhood at the end of the 1950s. This man was a resident of Paris who had no connections or

ual

known tive,

him

Hard

relatives in the area.

and wily with a said he

was hard

gift for

to define, he

language. Those

was

colorless, secre-

who had

contact with

down. Because he was not following any

to pin

regular medical treatments, his presence there raised questions, for

he would

visit

even

in winter.

on

his interest in natural

no

intellectual.

People indulged in endless conjecture

and archaeological

curiosities, for

His strange manner intrigued people:

He

he was

often

went

out and walked the land, asking about the origins of different properties

and

setting his

doned and of no

cap for those that were overgrown or aban-

interest to

the questions he posed to

anyone.

all

.

.

.

His comings and goings and

and sundry could not remain long with-

One out giving

rise to

haps laughed

at

rumor.

He was

him without

Train

regarded as a maniac and some per-

realizing that the

man was employing and

every strategy to build a case in which banal events

took on unexpected proportions. Considerations of

ple

definition

who were

age.

placed in the mouths of respectable peo-

fear of attributing declarations to those

On recordings,

recorded on tape. tell

any story he

likes.

as

we

know,

all

Thus he

it is

On

are quite definite.

priest’s life

or

dealt with the priest

24

Rene Descadeillas did not

whom

he

Abbe Courtauly

credited

who knew and

point those

this

whom

permissible for

with extravagant remarks that did not concur with the character.

impor-

little

esteemed for their sagacity but perhaps weakened by

He had no

anyone to

when

trivial facts

and vague phrases acquired

tance, hastily delivered estimations,

much more

213

Can Hide Another

feel

necessary to

it

name

the person

he had described with such precision, but he noted that the

famous carved stones of the Languedoc are mentioned only multiple-author

work

Nationale of Paris (again!) merovingienss

had been placed

that in

1964.

It

was

in

entitled

the

in a small,

Bibliotheque

Genealogie des rois

et origine des diverses families frangaises et etrangeres

soucbe merovingieene d’apres I’abbe Pichon, ,

docteur Herve

le

de

et les

parch emins de Vabbe Sauniere de Rennes-le-Cbateau (Aude). The

avowed author

of this

odd booklet was Henri Lobineau, who resided

22, place du Mollard, Geneva.

It

no 22, place du Mollard, and

that

knows who Henri Lobineau

is.

But

who

just so

happens, however, that there

no one,

in either

is

France or Switzerland,

These Lobineau papers are also fakes.

has profited from them?

Rene Descadeillas

is

this person:

He

matching information that the strange

descendant of Dagobert Before going on,

it

realized through the play of

visitor in Rennes-les-Bains

the author of the Lobineau papers. This

man

offered that he

was

was

a

2S

II.

would probably be

a

good

idea to cite an extract

from the book by Gerard de Sede himself, Aujourd’hui

24. R. Descadeillas, Mythologie du tresor de Rennes, 76.

25. Ibid.

at

les

Nobles:

He Who

214

Brings Scandal

The record of Baron Barclay de Lautour individual, ical

who

is

bettered by far by this

flooded the Bibliotheque Nationale with genealog-

brochures written under pseudonyms suggesting that he, as a

descendant of the Merovingian king Dagobert

a

II, is

much more

legitimate pretender to the French throne than the Carolingians, 26 Capets, Valois, Bourbons, and Orleans put together.

Did Gerard de Sede

finally realize that

he had been

a fool by Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair? For this

is

literally

the

name

played for

of the mys-

man in Rennes-les-Bains whom Rene Descadeillas described. But we are only at the beginning of the farce. The placement of 2

terious

sham booklet Genealogie families frangaises

Pabbe Picbon,

le

des rois merovingienss et origine des diverses

etrangeres de souche merovingieene,

et

the

docteur Herve

Rennes-le-Cb ateau (Aude)

et les

d’apres

parchemins de Pabbe Sauniere de

in the Bibliotheque

Nationale was followed

by the unexpected discoveries of new documents, each revealed to be just as false as the

previous ones. These multi-authored works were

still

being sent from time to time to the Bibliotheque National, which was clearly running the risk of

Chateau

if

becoming the municipal dump of Rennes-le-

game from

those running this

the

shadows continued

flood the copyright office. In order for one of these works

“Dossiers

secrets

Lobineau:

d’Henri

Rhedae, due de Razes,

a

Monseigneur

legitime descendant de Clovis

le

serenissime rejeton ardent de roi saint Dagobert teur present ce receuil

must if

.

sign a deposit slip

.

.

etc.”

—to be

a legally copyrighted,

this particular

the mysterious individual in Rennes-les-Bains.

is

how

well

roi des Francs,

known

is it

servi-

someone

in these instances

no one there has ever heard of the

Perhaps the person in the case of

say,

comte de

le

son humble

and provide an address. But

the address even exists,

so. After all,

II,

I,

—

to

booklet

We would

is

sender.

once again

have to think

that rejeton ardent [hearty offshoot]

simply a translation into modern French of Plantard (plant-ard)?

Meanwhile, no one was asking the inhabitants of Rennes-le-

26. Aujourd’hui les Nobles (Paris: Editions Alain 27.

Philippe de

Lobineau.

Cherisey claims

it

Moreau, 1975).

was Count Henri de Lenoncourt,

alias

Henri

One Chateau

their opinion of all of this deception.

silence except for a

It is

Train

madness.

.

.

Can Hide Another

They simply

215

suffered in

few outbreaks of complaining.

For

.

have been coming from

fifteen years they

all

over: Montpellier, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Paris, Nancy. There are even

Germans

foreigners,

pendulum

in

hand or some apparatus slung over

an ordinance tions that

Sometimes they walk around with a

especially.

we

map are

do, everything

is

in their pocket, they indulge in

all

mysterious opera-

too familiar with here. As long as this

and we are happy

fine

is all

they

welcome them. But some

to

They

of these people are real vandals.

and

their shoulder

dig

and tunnel, break and

destroy anything and everything wherever they want, and the cost high. In

Rennes people are generally happy to welcome

those

who

fairly

relaxed about

even

have come to hunt for the famous treasure. Residents are this;

no one

them demolish you

have begun to

everything. if

—yet no one

Some

they thought

feel

about to discover the trove tomor-

is

row. These people are welcomed

right over

visitors,

is

it

is

at all

prepared to see

will

not give up; they would run

was

necessary. So

you

see,

people

they have had enough of these kinds of tourists.

These grievances appeared

in a

Toulouse newspaper quite some time

ago, but they allow us to begin to see

why

there

is

no longer

a hotel in

Rennes-le-Chateau. If

there

was not an

entirely authentic

component,

niable reality behind the Sauniere affair, the treated with the scorn

among real. it is

the

perhaps for

deserves. But truth compels us to declare that

this

who

“One

manipulating

all

train

tol-

over to overwhelm their village.

it is

does profit from

all this

Who

is

If

certainly not the townsfolk.

commotion? Never has

can hide another” been so appropriate.

this intoxication?

onettes onstage?

something

reason that they sometimes reach the limit of

the Sauniere affair profits anyone, But, then,

exists

of Rennes-le-Chateau are fully aware of this and

when people come from

expression

whole crazy story could be

brouhaha and permanent inebriation there

The inhabitants

erance

it

a piece of unde-

the

Who

is

pulling the strings of the mari-

The Priory of Sion?

Recently a small magazine has published a text by Pierre Bahier, a

He Who

216

Brings Scandal

The

fan of the Priory.

article

attempts to serve as intermediary between

and the researchers.

the curious public

In a gripping fable of

wisdom, he sums up the situation with

humor and words.

just the right choice of

At the time of the Crusades, ten Knights Templar returned

to France

with documents seized from the Temple of Jerusalem. The text (quoted here in

its

entirety) addresses the question of

know

have been. Does anyone

No

question

their

1.

these knights might

names?

insoluble for the readers of Facettes. So here

is

(based on Jules Moschefol) the

we owe

who

Order of Sion

the founding of the

Dupanloup of Sion (Haut-Savoie), Dupanlupus

The

Seduini, in Sabodiae.

that

it is

use of the

word

ortus

in

vico

“town,” proves

vicus,

Sion (Haute-Savoie) rather than Sion (Valais), an Episcopal

documents of that era

city described in the

tures of

whom

of these ten knights to

list

is

Dupanloup provided

as civitas.

the subject of a

The adven-

famous Templar

marching song that has since been adopted by the French army. 2.

Goupil of Gatinais, Vulpes Gastinense pagi. Vulpes should be translated as Goupil

an 3.

uncommon name

Moschefol

Aureliaensis, civis.

4.

Ar Pen of

it

[fox],

The

quite

still

interest of this

Caput

Genabensis,

insanus

Turpis

mention

clearly identifies Caesar’s

Brittany,

which was

during that era.

Orleans,

of

experts, for

and not Renard

Letaviensis.

will

Genabum

not escape the

with Orleans.

The name Letavia

nates Brittany in several hagiographic legends.

vel

We

desig-

think there

is

10.

good reason

to translate

Formidable

in

combat,

Caput his

as

Ar Pen rather than

as “head.”

German Templar comrades

nick-

named him Kaput-Caput. 5.

Dupont

6.

Rouget of

7.

Tartarin of Tarascon-sur-Ariege

8.

Chapuzot of Tremblay-le-Vicomte

9.

Fanfan,

of Avignon Fille

known

as

The

Tulip,

(sic).

a

(Eure-et-Foir)

bastard child of

unknown

parentage.

Pandard of Rennes-le-Chateau (Aude). This of the second class, whereas

all

last,

a simple

Templar

the others were petty officers or cor-

One

lightweight

tal

superiors considered

was never promoted. His

porals,

(levis

insanus) from

Lefebvre

One day

erally.

the

drill

his

grounds (martis campi later

it

clavis).

seizure he

them

parchment known

(Ultimi Judicii grandibus

as

He

in,

lit-

key to

never returned to the that the documents,

had disappeared and with

The Big Word on

litteris),

men-

The Marechal

in search of the

was noticed

had participated

whose

a

this expression translated

comrades sent him out

campground. Sometime

a

(nitidi testiculi).

— 1755-1820—loved to use

him

the hard knocks he took

all

which he survived without a scratch

217

Can Hide Another

Train

the Last

Judgment

an overpowering text that con-

tained the exact date and precise time of the Second Coming.

Here his

is

what happened

next:

The Templar Pandard, weary of and returned to Rennes-le-

fled Palestine

companion’s jokes,

Chateau, where he became a sacristan. There he of the presbytery,

p r i est Arts

who had numerous

wed

children by either

the servant

him or

the

—the scholars of the Carcassonne Society of the Sciences and

still

cer the

debate this question.

He

thought to

sell

to the corner gro-

parchments he brought back from Jerusalem, but the

lage tutor (Vici

puerorum Magister), having seen

and thinking they might be of

interest to

the

vil-

documents

future generations,

advised him to hide them instead beneath the high altar of the parish church, which he did. In

1887

the

Beranger Sauniere

When

documents were rediscovered by the

when

construction

work began

in the

priest

church.

the priest traveled to Paris to get an expert opinion of them,

he by chance met Jules Doinel, archivist of Loiret,

documents from him.

(It is

who bought

absolutely false to maintain, as

some

the ill-

intentioned individuals have, that this meeting took place in One-

Two-Two,

the

famous pleasure establishment on the rue de

Provence, whose threshold the two parties in question never

documents

crossed, as might well be expected.) Today, these

well as those discovered since in Carcassonne by the

who

took advantage of

a job

is

preparing their complete publication

tion by la Pensee Universelle.

same Doinel,

opening to have himself transferred

there in 1899, are deposited in the archives of the

which

as

in a

Order of Sion, French transla-

He Who

218

Until

Brings Scandal

it

Memoires d'un

Jules Doinel,

Night sous

presidence

la

Ma

et

de Sadi-Carnot,

look

to:

(posthumous

archiviste departmental

work), Carcassonne, 1905; Laguillamette

Pandard,

may

appears sometime in the future, readers

Croquebol, Baris by 1950;

Paris,

Pierre

Famille et BOrdre de Sion, Annemasse, 1957; Bernard

de Sade, La Dernier e Charge des Templiers, Toulouse, 1984; Jean

Mabize, Les Templiers precurseurs de

Waffen

la

5.5., Paris,

1986.

— Based on Jules Moschefol, Prior of Saint-Samson (Order of Sion). 28

There

nothing incongruous about

is

humor

is

ognize

who

this text,

or fable rather, and

perhaps more corrosive than simply irreverent. Readers will recis

who

concealed behind the Templar Pandard and

needled in the “bibliography.” 2 "

Most important,

—that

and

is

to say,

being

its

exact con-

between a problematic and phantomlike Priory of Sion

who was

a perfectly real individual, Jules Doinel,

archivist of the

is

this fable, in contrast to

so-called serious works, places the Sauniere affair back in text

its

Aude

departmental

he performed the same function for Loiret.

after

Doinel was a notorious Freemason, but most notably was the founder of a bizarre Gnostic sect that perfectly

which was halfway between

28. Facettes, no.

champs names

drill

(at full liberty)

Rouget de

and the blackest kind of Satanism.

this firmly

common

tongue-in-cheek article

French expressions,

and champs du manoeuvres (parade or Dupont, d’Avignon

Lille relates to

Rouget de

drill

(the bridge of

Rennes-le-Chateau 29. is

It

will be

We

Lisle, the

in this

whose

inclusion

others, attention is

knew

directed to Jean

explained by his research on the

with secret societies. legend (by

is

Do

Wolfram von Eschenbach),

the Grail

German

protection of pilgrims traveling to the

in the

name

S.S.

is

in the

about the Sauniere

German army and

guarded by

work

of a

— Translator]

Mabize (Jean Mabire,

German

pop-

that of Doinel. This

is

a great deal

not forget that according to the

are closer in appearance to the

the

is

documents.

bibliography

du

who wrote “La

French soldier

affair slightly altered in the story of the

not without reason, for Jules Doinel probably

Among

la clef

can also see the names of principal players

noted that the only intact name

affair.

is

ground). The knights’

Avignon, as

Marseillaise,” the French national anthem; Tartarin de Tarascon

by Alphonse Daudet, and so on.

around 1900,

that are often untranslatable. For example, the expres-

grounds” combines two

also involve wordplay:

ular song);

spirituality

the tone of the era

187 (May 1988), 26-27. [Most of

composed of puns and wordplay sion “key to the

fit

its

in reality),

relationship

version of the Grail

a troop of

Templars

who

than to Christian knights charged with the

Holy Land.

One Jules Doinel

always

in the

was present

background.

Masonic symbols and partly

in the

Train

in Beranger Sauniere’s If

we need

life,

but discreetly and

to find an explanation for the

church of Rennes-le-Chateau,

to Dujardin-Beaumetz that

we

he asked advice from certain individuals.

should look. Beranger Sauniere

It

Jules Doinel

and Gnostic who

was

also rather

It is

certain that

so happened that Dujardin-

Beaumetz was a painter and a Freemason, and archivist

partly to Doinel

it is

did not have any kind of well-defined artistic sensibility.

Freemason

219

Can Hide Another

was

Jules Doinel

a

specialized in hermetic symbolism.

an odd duck. Did he have contact with

Beranger Sauniere at the time the priest made his

first

finds in the

church? Perhaps. Did he have some effect on the behavior of the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau? Perhaps. Jules Doinel “secrets” shared by the various sects

little

societies that

He had

was aware

many

at that time.

held a post in Orleans and concerned himself specifically with

which the so-called adepts of the Priory of

when

Sion designated as having been their fallback point forced to leave Palestine. There principal a

humorous one,

is

a reason

why

refers to a Jules

“mad fly”), who was called the Prior of However real the Order of Sion may have

certainly

knew

Samson) ended

the

Saint

Samson

been,

it

of Orleans.

was hiding some-

sight of

it.

Now

the

Ecclesial Gnosis in

who

from the Loiret archives (one

Saint

relating to

Carcassonne, where he was practically

assured a connection with the no-less-singular local scholar

Boudet.

was

the Facettes article, in

most about the archives

his career in

the order

Moschefol (which means

and Doinel was shrewd enough to catch

In fact, this singular conservator

II,

of the

and so-called philosophical

were swarming over the surface of the earth

the Priory of Saint-Samson,

thing,

of

unfortunate Doinel,

who had

Abbe

restored

the

1889 under the patriarchal name of Valentine

seemed predisposed to serve

influences. In fact, he

as

an instrument of highly suspect

soon recanted Gnosis before the bishop of

Orleans and, under the pseudonym of Jean Kotska, published

books that were

30.

J.

in the spirit,

Robin, Rennes-le-Chateau,

ex-Freemason

who wrote

it

might be

la colline

said, of

Leo

Taxil.

envoutee, 87. Leo Taxil was a journalist and

anti-Semitic pamphlets and turned against the

lishing a series of invented

documents.

30

Masons by pub-

He Who

220

Brings Scandal

Doinel subsequently

some

back into

fell

his

Gnostic errors and published

rather stupefying books in which phrases such as the following

could be found. “The count of Saint-Germain was one of the most pow-

demon missionaries of Satan.” This quote emphasizes what a murky and unsettling presence Jean Doinel was, and how he could erful

allow himself be manipulated by

While “one Chateau ulating

affair,

train

we no

this side or that.

can definitely hide another”

know who

longer

whom. Manipulation

hiding

is

the Rennes-le-

in

whom

who is manipeven if we do not

necessarily took place,

or

believe in the actual existence of certain “philosophical brotherhoods.”

These groups have had the good sense to remain

borrowed names, or even orthodox. This

is

why

in the

groups that are perfectly

infiltrate existing

the Priory of Sion appears to be a red herring.

intended to hide something, to divert attention, which respect to the Sauniere affair.

sion of the facts that the

One day visitor,

in

shadows, assume

good

It is

is

very clear with

to carefully read the abridged ver-

famous Lobineau papers give

us:

February 1892, the young abbe Floffet received a strange

Abbe

had come to

Sauniere, priest of Rennes-le-Chateau since 1885,

him

see

linguist to translate

in order to ask this

who

young and knowledgeable

some mysterious parchments

that

had been found

in the pillars of the Visigothic

high altar of his church. These docu-

ments bore the royal

Blanche de Castille and revealed the

secret of

managed

It is

seal of

Rhedea with the to establish

ments discovered

lineage of

Dagobert

after the Revolution. 31

The prudent

other linguists to

as

Abbe Pichon had

between 1805 and 1814, according to docu-

the importance of these acts, kept a

the exact truth.

II,

whom

Abbe

Hoffet, conscious of

copy but did not give Sauniere

priest of

Renne-le-Chateau consulted

he gave only fragments of documents.

31. During the time of the First Empire,

Napoleon gave Abbe Pichon the

responsibility

of classifying, consulting, and possibly selecting the various archives and documents he

had been able to

seize

from the Vatican. The figure of Abbe Pichon was naturally con-

siderably enlarged in the esteem of occultists and other amateurs of the nineteenth cen-

tury and

became almost

secrets of the papacy.

a myth.

He was

alleged to have

had access to the most dreadful

One

221

Can Hide Another

Train

obvious that there was never any question of the lineage of

It is

Dagobert

II

before the so-called Priory of Sion decided to publish infor-

mation on the subject or disperse

information through individuals

this

acting as buffers. This immediately exuded an odor of fabrication a posteriori

for Beranger Sauniere never

Merovingian

era.

made

shown

Yet the cleverness

a single reference to the

here consists of the close

connection between the real folk tradition about the Reine Blanche the

White Queen who would

now, the one from

be, for

Castille, a local

legend of Rennes-les-Bains and not Rennes-le-Chateau (which Pierre Plantard, the inspirer or author of the Priory,

long stay at the “Bains de

his

la

Reine”)— and

covery of the existence of a direct

Abbe

who was no

Sauniere,

knew

line

the completely

members

dis-

complete innocent, had never believed as

on the hoard gath-

Abbe Bigou.

of this

famous Priory of

Sion. In

He was

merely a simple student of theology.

1882 Emile Hoffet was

not an abbot, and what

s

he had been a priest, he would have been called Father, for he

more,

if

was

member

a

new

should note the lack of historically correct information about

We the

from

descended from Clovis. Poor

naively as he believed that he had placed his hands

ered by his predecessor,

perfectly well

of the religious congregation

known

as the Oblates of

Mary. The writer or writers of the Lobineau papers would have been able to learn

from any clergyman the customs of the Catholic Church

and should have been able to make certain that dates coincided. But these are mere trifles. The most important was yet to come.

During

this time,

Abbe Hoffet

reestablished, thanks to this valu-

able information, a complete genealogy of the descendants of

Dagobert

II,

the king Ursus

whose ancestors were kings

so happens that the kings of Arcadia

It

the

Mount

came from Bethany, near

of Olives, from the tribe of Benjamin.

we understand

If

in Arcadia.

this correctly, the Priory of Sion,

although the

guardian of secret traditions, had to wait for Sauniere’s discovery to learn that descendants of the Merovingians

there a

still

lived.

Without Abbe Sauniere,

would be no Lobineau papers and Priory of

new

legend was grafted onto the

first

Sion. But at this point

one: the legend of King Ursus,

—

]

He Who

222

Brings Scandal

whose ancestors were kings

in Arcadia.

This obviously brings to mind

Nicolas Poussin’s The Shepherds of Arcadia and the strange

on

We

the road to Arques. 32

against

good reason,

all

which

is

pocus

it is

a plural

located

might even connect Arques to Arcadia

name Arques comes from

for the

noun meaning

“citadels”

—

for with a

the Latin arces,

of hocus-

little bit

easy to construe the names Arques and Arcadia to have

from the Indo-European word that gave us the Breton found

tomb

name Arthur and which means

in the

Ursus and

his ancestors,

who were

come

arz,

which can be

“bear.” So here

we have King

kings of the land of bears

—that

is,

Arcadia. The bear has great symbolic importance as the animal that sleeps in the winter

and reawakens

summer. Follow where

in the

going here: The descendant of the Bear will soon rule over a

Happiness

is

promised for tomorrow. And

inscribed in the heavens;

and Arcturus.

It

is

Arthur

British king

we have

know But

Celtic

let’s

no one thought of

members

mythology or even the

move

stories of the

Round

not

Table.

on. After having declared that Dagobert

never mentions them. But then again,

let’s

entirely, for before his assassination

why

II

II.

34

by the family of the Pepins,

coveted the kingdom for several generations, Dagobert

saw

that a large treasure

it

second wife, mother to treasure

his

was hidden

son Sigebert

was an important motive

us.

No,

who had to

has

history

not allow that to stop

the motive for denying the existence of Dagobert

is

citing the

of the Priory of Sion did

descendants, there really should be an explanation as to

Here

of course,

is,

pseudo-mythological morass; he would have

clinched the deal. Perhaps, though, the

not

of this

new Arcadia.

only to look up to see the Big Dipper 33

truly regrettable that in the

all

am

I

in

Rhedea, the land of

The

IV.

this

his

existence of this

for his murder. Neither

Blanche nor King Louis IX dared touch

II

Queen

sacred hoard, even in

the year 1251, because legend threatened the destruction of those,

whether king or pope,

who

appropriated

it

without any

32. [Since the time of this book’s initial publication, this

right.

tomb has been

destroyed.

The

current landowner became weary of chasing trespassers off his property and decided to

remove

it

as the object that attracted this

33. [Called the Big Bear in French.

unwanted

attention.

— Translator]

— Translator

34. History has never denied the existence of

Dagobert

II,

only that of his descendants.

One But the story gets

was

Christian,

better.

superstitious

curse and for this reason

We

would not

about the

tribe of

Benjamin

Merovingian family

II. It

lost in

will not put

frightened of the Merovingian

lay a finger

on the treasure amassed

should be said that the story’s detail

Arcadia and then rediscovered in the

some

minds

people’s

kings of France have had Jewish ancestors?

first

223

model

learn that Blanche, although a

— she was

through the pains of Dagobert

Can Hide Another

Train

It

at ease.

Could the

happens that

at the

time Sauniere discovered the famous parchments, there was no “commissariat for the Jewish Question,” as

was

the case during

World War

*

had been, Sauniere would have been suspected not of spying for the Austrians but of betraying France for the benefit of an alleged Jewish plutocracy. Even so, during Sauniere’s time anti-Semitism was II. If

there

on the It

is

and

rise

his discovery

easy to see

secret.

.

.

why

What was

.

occurred shortly before the Dreyfus Affair.

Sauniere would not have wanted to reveal his

important, though, was to have these documents

suggest the theme of the Lost King.

For hope remained.

In the great century, says

one of the parchments, the offspring

regain the heritage of the great Ursus. This

Gospel

is

the legend in

used to curse in the parchments the malefactor

One parchment

to steal a part of this treasure.

tory of an epoch about which

Sauniere

is

was summoned

explain himself.

He was

which the

who

dares

also retraces the his-

we have known almost

to the papal court in

will

Rome

35

nothing.

Abbe

but refused to

accordingly suspended from office

and

"

died in mysterious circumstances on 22 January 1917.. His servant

and life

heiress

Marie Denarnaud, who died

in seclusion.

37

in

January 1953, ended her

Without Abbe Hoffet, no one would have known

the strange history of a family

whose

time. Henri Lobineau, genealogist,

origins are lost in the mists of

March 1954. 38

—the bishop

tribunal

35.

before the official Church court

is

appealed his sentence to the pope, but he was never

to

He was summoned all. He subsequently

s

and that

summoned

Rome.

36.

He was

37. This

is

suspens a divinis, which false,

is

quite different.

but because she was already old, she almost never

38. Papiers Lobineau

,

14.

left

the premises.

He Who

224

Brings Scandal

we might

First

note the language employed in these excerpts by the

so-called genealogist.

order to understand their meaning, some

In

phrases have to be read twice;

We

from German.

lated

acknowledge Sauniere Instead,

the merit

all

upon

as

if

the text has been clumsily trans-

can also note that the text does not really

for having brought these is

awarded

reveals again that the Priory reliant

it is

Abbe

to

Hoffet. But

knows nothing

fortuitous discoveries.

None

documents

all this

of history and

of this

is

to light.

is

simply totally

at all serious

—

it is

surprising that sensible people could put faith in such twaddle. All the

more aggravating launched that “he

among

when an

that

is

those

inquiry on

who knew and worked

had never taken an

interest in the

Emile Hoffet was

with him,

it

was learned

Merovingians and that

it

was

impossible for someone to have consulted with him in 1892, for that

was

the year he completed his study of rhetoric

and solemnly put on the

habit as a novice in Holland.” 39

They have made

The Sauniere

their case.

affair

is

not resolved by giving prominence to the

imposter Lobineau, to the pseudo-order called the Priory of Sion, or to

any others does it

lurk in the

shadow

this eliminate the possibility of a

might be

gold

who may

is

in the

— buried somewhere

a reality

swamps

we must

of that “brotherhood.”

mysterious “treasure”

in the Razes.

—whatever

The enigma of

the cursed

accept or otherwise risk getting bogged

of confusion.

39. R. Descadeillas, Mythologie

du

tresor de Rennes, 84.

Nor

down

Part 3

THE MYSTERY OF THE CURSED TREASURE

7

Treasure Island

There

is

not a single region in the world that does not have

buried treasure tradition.

It is

its

own

one of humanity’s most tenacious myths,

probably connected to the myth of the Golden Age of Eden, that Paradise Lost slumbering in the depths of every individual. Having been

hounded out of Paradise, year-round,

we humans

believe this place

behind a screen of mist or under our

our Mother

that the earth

is

without which

life

Orchard whose

that marvelous

could not

as our “reverse world,”

who

feet

through a darkness that ends

is

in the

out of sight

just

within the earth. For

produces

exist, gives a

which

hidden

is

fruits are ripe

fruit,

we

feel

provides the water

haven to the dead, and serves

reached only after

sudden blaze of

much

light

crawling

from caverns

glimmering with gold and precious stones. All folktales and mythological epics

mention caves. Depth psychology has related

all

these imagi-

womb, but this concern how we live life.

nary yearnings to the unconscious desire to return to the explanation, while perfectly logical, does not

How we

live is fueled

The Razes, buried treasure.

like

by

beliefs

everywhere

and not else,

does not lack for legends about

could even be said that they are more plentiful here,

It

for the region’s very nature lends itself as it

certitudes.

does to maintaining the permanence of

much

to this kind of fantasy as

human

relics. It is a

borderland

of tortured contours; steep-sided, isolated valleys; and ground that dled with is

needed

more or is

a

less

map

undiscovered caverns. As everyone knows,

and, more important, knowledge of

to find the Treasure. Alas!

Few people 226

how

succeed, for treasure

is

all

rid-

that

to read is

it,

not only

227

Treasure Island

very skillfully hidden and inaccessible, but

more or

less like fairies

or

demons

it is

also guarded by beings

that forbid access to

anyone

who

does

not carry the famous Golden Bough. In other words, every time

speak of treasure,

of a guard at

repelled, pacified, or eliminated

must be

chamber

secret

we immediately speak

if

The

that holds the hoard.

its

threshold

we

who

anyone wishes to reach the

myths

structure of such

is

almost identical everywhere and broadly corresponds to that of the quest for the Grail or even with that of the shamanic journey.

There if

is

no need

to travel far

from Rennes-le-Chateau to discovers

not a treasure, then a traditional treasure legend peddled for centuries

by the voice (and ways) of the serving ancestral

memory.

We

folk,

which

we

the best

method

need only travel northeast of the

far as the ruins of Blanchefort Castle. This

those

is

is

the site of a story

for pre-

village as

much

like

hear on long winter evenings, a tale that was recorded in 1832

by a certain Labouisse-Rochefort, an enthusiast of travel and legends.

We

were quite close to the remnants of that

where the

devil has long

positively convinced that in gold,

fortress of Blanchefort

guarded a treasure. The local people are it

consists of nineteen

whether bullion, objects, tokens, or coins.

can be seen that the legend of cursed gold

It

and a half million

in

1

Rennes-le-Chateau

does not date from Abbe Saumere. The notion of gold guarded by the devil It

forms a theme that

is

corresponds with the ambivalent nature of

and buried Desire

is

But

in the

subconscious before

Here

is

One

it

all

that

is

memory.

secret, obscure,

takes material form on earth.

inspired by fear, and vice versa.

this state exists

permanently, and could even be called a latent

state. It requires a specific

circumstance to cause the event to manifest.

the story:

day,

when

the devil

Revolution) and his nineteen

1.

particularly widespread in popular

and

it

was

had some

a beautiful

free time (this

was before

the

sunny day, he started to spread

a half million over the mountainside.

Labouisse-Rochefort, Voyage a Rennes-les-Bains (Paris, 1832), 149.

A young

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

228

shepherdess of the neighborhood ing

saw

huge

this

pile of beautifully

the sight with a mixture of alarm call

who had

arisen early that

gleaming coins and reacted to

and surprise and turned back to

her mother, father, aunt, and uncle to the scene. All

ning to see

it,

but the devil

is

morn-

very quick

came run-

—everything had disap-

peared before they got there.

A

contemporary observer might conclude that what the young shep-

herdess

saw was only

on the white stones of

the sun’s reflection

Blanchefort or even that she was neurotic and had only projected her

own

desire,

and there the matter would

ple did not think this

The

big

much

rest.

But once upon a time peo-

way:

news swept through the

village, inciting curiosity

and excitement. Several townsfolk got together to

bustle

and dis-

cuss the matter and decided to consult a magician. This they did

and told him not stupid;

all

about the marvelous discovery. The magician was

first

he specified that he be given half of the treasure

once they had taken

hundred francs

The

it,

but before that he would need four or five

pay for the preparations for

to

reaction of the magician

is

also a classic one.

his voyage.

Someone who performs

magic, or a priest, must always be given something to be

crowned with

success.

secret risks of the mission.

one wishes the

rite

The magician takes upon himself only

the

It is

up

The money was counted and

if

to others to bear the material risks.

the townsfolk set off to the magi-

cian’s.

He forewarned them

when

he called, someone would have to step up and help him.

Everyone swore to keep up to the site

that he

their

where the gold was

would be

battling the devil

courage and then made their

seen.

The magician put on

speaking invocations and threats while tracing figures in the

air.

folk took fright

All at once a loud noise

and

fled at great speed,

circles

combat they

left

him

way

a show,

and strange

was heard. The towns-

pursued by stones and

crackers. In vain the magician cried: Help! Help! at the

and

Without

fire-

a glance

yelling there. Finally, a long time later,

229

Treasure Island

he reappeared, sad, gasping for breath, and covered with dust.

who had abandoned

complained to those

down and was on

the devil

ning at his

He

call,

He had knocked

him:

top of him, and

they had

if

they would have had the victory

come

Limoux

after

run-

—and the treasure.

reproached them for their cowardice and, grumbling and

bling, left for

He

mum-

having retained the deposit made for

his services.

We

can immediately hear the ironic tone the story takes here. After

the magician only pretended there

convenient

way

villagers. In a

had been a

some money

to earn

battle,

would be a very

it

some credulous

to the detriment of

land such as the Occitan region that has been eaten

rationalism or by

what

and anti-magician

is

called “scientism,” this

is

how

all, if

away by

the anticlerical

—tendency would be expressed.

In other religions, there might be a slight variation in the ending to this

For example, a Breton story from the Auray region recounts a story

tale.

of treasure buried beneath a menhir that lagers decide to take the

hoard for

their

is

guarded by the

own

the cooperation of a priest in their endeavor. to dig while he “reads

from

his

or answer during this task.

guises

and comes to engage them villagers

make

The plan

book”; but no one

word

end one of the

but

Of

devil.

Some

vil-

certain to ensure

calls for the villagers

else is

allowed to say a

course, the devil assumes different

in talk, but they say

cannot restrain himself. At

nothing until at the

this point a burst of

flame erupts from the place where they have been digging. The priest then

them, “If you had followed

tells

my

advice, this treasure

would be

yours.

But you could not manage to avoid the temptation to speak. Now, no one will ever

dox

be able to get

here, but

In

it

this treasure.”

2

The conclusion

ortho-

common mortals An esoteric journal

any event, the treasure escapes possession by strategies are

openly declares

in

an

employed

article entitled

Saumere”: “This treasure, whatever ated by secret societies

2.

much more

remains quite similar to the Blanchefort tradition.

no matter what

Like

is

many

who

it.

“The Fabulous Treasure of Abbe its

true origin, has been recuper-

keep jealous watch over

other treasures that are

unknown,

Jean Markale, Contes populates de toutes

1977), 294.

to take

les

it

its

hiding place.

must serve

to finance

Bretagnes (Rennes: Ouest-France,

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

230

the secret designs of the mysterious masters of the world steps while

we

none the

are

And who would

wiser.

master of these “masters of the universe” devil

convenient because he symbolizes

is

We would

wrong

be

about “secret societies” does

to take this

who

direct our

be the supreme

not the devil himself? The

if

that

all

warning

is

obscure.

even

lightly,

if

this story

laughable to us, for this “cursed treasure”

is

even appeared openly in the year 1665, during the reign

exist. It

who took

of the Sun King,

a

keen interest

imprisonment of Foucquet and

Razes following the

some mysterious excavations

initiated

Here again the event

in the region.

in the

conveyed by oral folk tradition:

is

One spring day an old shepherd of Rennes was returning with his flock when he noticed a lamb was missing. He followed the example of the good shepherd

Once

spent the day.

Drawing

there, he indeed

down

shepherd climbed the animal,

he could

it

took

his

His fingers

way forward

felt

The

and burrowed into a narrow tunnel that

into the ground. Pursuing the

make

pit.

into the hole, but just as he caught hold of

fright

when he

denly dumbfounded vel!

heard bleating.

he saw that the animal had fallen into a

closer,

went deep

Gospel and returned to the location where he had

in the

lamb

into the dark,

where

only by stooping over, he was sud-

collided with something.

the edges of coins.

with terror that he was also touching

What

a

mar-

Groping further he realized

human

remains. As

if

pursued

by a thousand ghosts, the unfortunate shepherd hastily retraced path back to the pieces of

cern ery.

was

but not until he had

first filled his

money. Once back on the surface of the earth, to return as quickly as possible to

He was

in his

pit,

life. It

his hands. It

dazzled by so

much

gold

his

ill

Rennes, probably Henri d’Hautpoul,

was

his discov-

that put this fortune into

luck that news of his discovery ran through-

out the village until the rumor quickly

tunate shepherd

con-

—he had never seen any before

was not Providence, however, was

hood with

his chief

Rennes with

his

seized

made

its

who saw

and questioned

in

way

to

it

to the lord of

that the unfor-

order to

make him

confess exactly where he had found the gold in his possession. But the

3.

ill

treatment he received at the hands of the torturers prevailed

Nostradamus, no. 51.

231

Treasure Island

over the peasant’s advanced age and he succumbed to their mistreatment. Furious at the ill-trained brutes’ heavy-handedness, the

had

lord of Rennes

What we have ical

his

here

clumsy torturers executed. 4

is

a perfect

example of a myth within a

histor-

context. All the ingredients are here: the chance discovery, the

underground location, the gold coins, the human remains that fear,

and,

punishment because someone has made

finally,

inspire

off with part

of a treasure that belongs only to higher powers (in this instance, the

who

lord of Rennes),

Even though

this in

no way implies that the adventure

example, however,

more or had

possible to date the events in this tale

is

we can

see that the terrain

Abbe

clandestine excavations of

less

took place. Through

really

seems that Sauniere knew

it

carved on the pediment of his confessional. In

the scene in

spoke directly to

his heart.

of those “keys” that detail of the

Of

It

his

course,

it

this

for the

proof

is

we can

that he

see there

pursuing his lamb

is

theme

is

something that

could also be seen as a clue, one

strive so

Church of Mary Magdalene

without

fact,

back bent,

seems that

some observers

In the years that followed

convinced,

this story; the strongest

which the shepherd, with

through the underground tunnel.

was prepared

Sauniere.

It

minor

and give the

of the shepherd (Ignace Paris) and that of the lord (Hautpoul),

name this

it

are the sole guardians of these “infernal abodes.”

doggedly to find in

in every

Rennes-le-Chateau.

Abbe

Sauniere’s death, the villagers were

or

even envy, that the priest and

bitterness

“Mademoiselle Marie” had discovered an underground tunnel that led

from the church to the

castle.

According to popular

belief,

it

was

in this

underground corridor that Sauniere and Marie discovered gold coins, precious jewels, and even a crown. This tradition

is

alive

and

is

what was

ceaselessly adapts old myths,

contemporary within a

specific

said.

But oral folk

making them more

framework.

This has long been the case in the Razes, where both local and regional public opinion, whether or not influenced by the clergy (sole

keepers of knowledge), has always concealed places of refuge for fugitives of

4.

all

kinds as well as for their secrets and their most precious possessions.

Quoted by

P.

Jarnac,

point of a legend

(

who

believes in the reality of the facts

and makes

Histoire du tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 108).

it

the starting

— The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

232

from

It is

this perspective that

we understand

the large Jewish presence in

the Razes. Jews settled there long ago to escape persecution. While true that a significant portion of the

Aude populace

it is

Jewish, there has

is

never been reason to believe, outside certain authors’ imaginations, that they are the descendants of the lost tribe of

Israel.

There

is

a firm belief in

the region that the Razes likewise provided asylum for Alaric’s Visigoths,

who were hounded

out of

Italy;

indeed, a similar belief

shared through-

is

out the entire Corbieres region and even Carcassonne. This has inspired another belief: that treasure brought by Alaric there,

still

torical

hidden

an inaccessible location. There

in

to be found

is

incontestable his-

support for the presence of the Visigoths in the region and the

on

ing influence they exerted

provides an open door for

it,

but

This tradition

in fact

is

matches

history,

it

Temple of Jerusalem.

We know

Emperor Vespasian, “pacified”

or in other words, he sacked its

closely

based on verifiable events.

the year 70 C.E. Titus, son of

Jerusalem and pillaged

when myth

last-

kinds of speculation, including some asser-

all

tions concerning the treasure of the

who

is

turn

in

it.

that in

Palestine

In the process he took the holy city of

temple. This

a

is

memorable date

since that time have never ceased meeting

for all Jews,

and praying

at the

Wailing Wall, the sole remnant of the temple attributed to Solomon.

The Romans, who could display great tolerance toward

who

resisted them.

Temple of Jerusalem had become

a necessity to

than their own, were nonetheless merciless to those

The destruction of

the

ensure their presence in the Middle East.

found gold

temple

in the

—

Of

course, the sacred objects

huge chandelier made of

in particular, the

peoples subjugated by

The empire’s Goths.

It

410 and

was

Roman

decline

city.

death, his brother-in-law,

and

the

settled in

all

who

seized

its

way

now leader

southern Gaul.

riches they

Rome

All the imperial treasure, including the

in

booty

into his hands. Following Alaric’s

of the Visigoths, and his people

It is

left

thought that Alaric’s successors

settled in Toulouse. Naturally, they did not forget to bring

immense

the other

growing menace of the

Alaric, the leader of the Visigoths,

pillaged the

from

in

authority.

was accompanied by

from Jerusalem, thus made

the

solid

—were brought back to Rome, where they figured prominently

the imperial treasury, along with the spoils wrested

Italy

religions other

with them

had stolen from Rome. At the time of Clovis,

233

Treasure Island

Alaric

ruling peacefully over a large Visigoth empire. But in seek-

was

II

hegemony and claiming

ing to ensure his

Roman

emperors, Clovis could not tolerate the Visigoth presence and

invaded Aquitaine.

was

It

One

my

of

time that Alaric

at this

war

safe storage for his fabled

5.

to be the true successor of the

on the mountain of

Alaric, sent

me some

haste to find

5

treasure

former students, Gerard Lupin,

made

II

.

who

is

currently engaged in intensive research

information that has the possibility of overturn-

ing official notions concerning the struggle of the Visigoths and Franks and the famous

A native of Corbieres,

treaure of Alaric.

Gerard Lupin

first

he had heard personally: “Between Alaric and Alaricou Alaricou

about

mountain of

a detached part of the

is

Alet.

mentioned a popular saying that the treasure of three kings.”

is

Here

what Gerard Lupin has

is

The

to say

“This saying alludes to Kings Solomon, Caesar, and Alaric, whose com-

this subject.

bined treasures would have been hidden in the mountain of Alaric during the era of the Visigoth Septimania.

The fabulous

treasure

would

come from Rome by way

therefore have

of Calabria to be hidden on this mountainous island in the Languedoc plain. There

formed of limestone,

ing surprising about this because this mountain,

some

cheese, liberally seeded with caves,

words of

Greek historian Procope,

the

between Alaric

II

Narbonne.’ This his

placement of Vouille

and

his treasure is

He

in the sixth century that the battle

wrote

in Vouille,

but ‘between Carcassonne and

“New

goes on to say,

in the

Gerard Lupin

which means that Procope

come

elements have

and the words of Procope, by which seas has allowed a

his elephants.”

—

mountain that bears

stresses the fact that the

based only on the words of Gregory de Tours,

unreliable as the Byzantine Procope,

I

mean

number of Visigoth

a veritable Swiss

contention local people rely on the

this

where where Alaric would have been buried

name, along with

de Tours.

who

and Clovis did not take place

is

the

is

A

ial rituals,

good number of and

highway connecting the two

a great battle

in the

had taken place there and burial was made

were somewhat neglected.”

It is

official site

in

Alesia,

it is

which suggests that such

such great haste that the rituals

at the

testis nullus!)

Roman

sites

We

hill fort it

was

at Alise-Sainte-

in the land of the Sequani,

should not forget that

that have been arbitrarily retained because

who

could turn

it

it

is

of Cotes, just

official history

on gratuitous declarations or unique testimonies (however,

generally local businessmen,

pilgrimage

that the true Gregovie

totally impossible that

in Alaise or at Salins-les-Bains.

quite often based solely

unus

hole,

Burgundy. The location of Alesia can be found only

meaning the Jura, is

customary Visigoth bur-

We know now

on the plateau of Merdogne, but

above Clermont-Ferrand. As for Reine

in

for several

not absurd, then, to place the battle of Vouille here. There

are plenty of examples of other false placements.

not at the

same

town of

to

do not correspond

found

Gregory

Languedoc legend

sepulchers to be unearthed near the

these sepulchers

several skeletons have been

equally as

just as credible as

to the aid of the

work on

that

is

who

Capendu. These were so numerous that work on the highway had to be halted months.

noth-

better explored than others, that neighbor the

abandoned Roman mines. To advance

shafts of

is

is

testis

pleased certain individuals,

to their advantage.

that allegedly hold the relics of this or that saint.

The same can be

said of

The Mystery

234

of the

Cursed Treasure

But as to the place where the Visigoth king concealed his treasures, the versions diverge considerably. In one of these variations, the burial

place

Carcassonne. This, in

is

fact, is

sage of Procope (De Bello Gothico,

Franks

a pas-

mentions the arrival of the

2) that

Carcassonne: “having heard that they held the imperial riches

in

had carried away when he captured the

the old Alaric

Among

I,

what can be deduced from

these riches,

nishings, said to be

it

was

said,

Rome.

city of

were a good number of Solomon’s

fur-

adorned with jewel work, and something beautiful

to behold.

The Romans had once brought

Jerusalem.”

We may note that the chandelier is not mentioned

these furnishings out of at all

and

that the description involves only a part of the treasure.

This

of information

bit

gave

birth

to

numerous hypotheses.

According to some, another part of the treasure was secreted

mountains and divided among several hiding ers,

it is

in

what

is still

called the

mountain of

places.

in the

According to oth-

Alaric. For

some, the rem-

nants of Solomon’s treasure are housed on the sides of the peak of

Bugarach. And, of course, the citadel of Reddae also figures into the equation. In any event, Alaric’s treasure,

whose

existence there

is

no

reason to doubt, has experienced quite a few moves in these unstable times. Alaric

that were

that

II

still

was defeated and

in

Toulouse

had been moved

fell

earlier

killed at Vouille in 507.

The

riches

into the hands of Clovis, but everything

escaped his grasp. Theodoric then came

along to transport the treasure to Ravenna, but

it

was subsequently

returned, taken to Spain, then hidden again in Carcassonne or in the

Corbieres

— and what better hiding place,

at least

according to the

leg-

end, than the fortress of Reddae?

This was the version of the story that was popularized during the nineteenth century.

German

It is

based on

famous

smelters brought into the Razes by the Templars during the

twelfth century and the searches tion, a fair

centuries,

number

modest

larger deposit

When

fairly specific traditions: the

still

made during

Colbert’s time. In addi-

of fortuitous discoveries have been

finds to be sure, but lies

enough

made

over the

to suggest that a

hidden underground somewhere

much

in the region.

he arrived in Rennes-le-Chateau, Beranger Sauniere could no

more ignore in the area.

the legend of Solomon’s treasure than could

anybody

else

235

Treasure Island

Complications

arise,

however,

when

a parallel

the

Whatever the motives behind the

testable presence of the Templars. settle in

drawn between

and the equally incon-

incontestable Visigoth presence in the region

Templars’ decision to

is

Bezu (surveillance of the road to Saint-

Jacques of Compostella, a safe haven near the

frontier, military rea-

sons?), the region’s inhabitants have always believed the knights

came

to

this

remote area to find a safe place to store treasure, and folk tradition

still

echoes this belief today.

We

should not forget that the Templars of

Bezu were dependents not of the kingdom of France, but of Roussillon

and

thus, indirectly, of

Aragon, whereas those Templars

in

Campagne-

sur-Aude answered to France. This complex situation has given

rise to

strange speculations. According to tradition, the Templars of Bezu

.

.

concealed part of their monetary reserves, which were not safe

.

They

in Roussillon, in very secret caches.

the

also stored in such places

monetary reserves entrusted to them by the great

“Majorcan” part of Roussillon, who,

families of the

would not

incidentally,

recover their deposits, including perhaps the property of the king of

Majorca. Their presence

in the valley of

and

that they were hiding treasure here ings. In reality, a large

Bezu encouraged the in the

belief

immediate surround-

portion had been entrusted to the Templars

of Campagne-sur-Aude,

who would

have hidden

it

in

an under-

ground cache located beneath the church and the area around the church. that

What

has contributed to giving credence to this tradition

Campagne

is

a small medieval

vestiges of the past

tunnels beneath

it,

it

some

traces of

the Lauzet Plateau

is

is

curious for

all

the

and

throughout history have come to

which

remain.

still

What

also

that strange discoveries have been in the

Under these conditions, we can

see

Bezu

why

this region,

to create “caches.” In light of this, the to the village of Rennes-le-Chateau

6.

that

contains and for the presence of underground

substantiates the tradition

made on

town

is

Valley.

so

many

where

moving of is

6

treasure hunters

it is

relatively easy

the Templar tradition

self-evident:

Popular opinion

Abbe Mazieres, Les Templiers du Bezu (Rennes-le-Chateau: Edition Schrauben),

24.

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

236

maintains that the caches were divided over the entire region. All the data are combined and the treasure of the Temple of Jerusalem makes its

way back

to the surface.

who were

In fact, the Knights of the Temple,

established in

first

way

to

and admitted purpose of the order

at

Jerusalem and charged with the security of pilgrims making their

Holy Land

the its

(this

was

the original

Middle

creation), enjoyed long periods of contact with the

even claimed that they saw eye to eye with certain Muslim event, they

had

a

East.

sects. In

profound knowledge of the Holy Land. From

this

not far to imagining that they had recovered documents from the

Solomon’s Temple. Given that they had done

this,

while denying the Crucified One,

is

it is

site

life

of

of Jesus, the

Crucifixion, and the Resurrection? This question has been raised

and the strange behavior of the Templars,

any

why wouldn’t they have

discovered Christian documents as well concerning the

times,

It is

who

spat

many

on the Cross

not the least of the arguments used

both to condemn them and to cast them as the keepers of dreadful

secrets.

Thus, along with the Templars’ reputation for possessing immense wealth (though in reality to

istic

it

seems they

may

only have

owned

lands),

it

was

real-

assume that they also owned documents, manuscripts mainly, that

were even more valuable than gold or material goods. All of this

cannot help but add to the mystery of the “treasure” that

could be discovered in the Razes, and story built

Sauniere

around Abbe Sauniere

more

7

alluring,

it

it

after

was necessary

had

a great influence

on the

1956. To render the figure of to

make him,

if

not a member,

then at least the involuntary servant of a secret society.

Now, what

could be more secret than the Order of the Temple, officially disbanded

by Pope Clement V, but that some claim has survived clandestinely! This fact has inevitably prompted like Priory of Sion,

“secret dossiers” invisible higher

vived their faith to

7.

See

power

—would

that manipulated the Knights

said about the Templars.

was aware of

my book The

suspect documents

have been the

Templar and

sur-

certain that Beranger Sauniere never accorded any

what has been

do, for he

speculation around the ghost-

which, according to the Lobineau papers and other

— highly

fall. It is

much

He had

the secret deposit hidden by

Templar Treasure

better things to

Abbe Bigou

dur-

at Gisors (Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 2002).

Treasure Island

ing the Revolution. There

was thus no need

Templars or the Visigoths.

either the

(parchments), as

we

believe, his find

him

to have recourse to

he did discover documents

If

was

for

237

He was

fortuitous.

not look-

ing for them, at least at the start of his excavations.

These documents are obviously Abbe Bigou’s perfectly ure”

—

or, rather,

Hautpoul family

the

merely made the depositor, placing

which Bigou was

treasure, of

in

it

safekeeping

real “treas-

when

the situation

had become untenable.

The Bigou

treasure does not conflict at

with the Visigoth treas-

all

ure (thus Solomon’s treasure) or with the Templar treasure (also from

Jerusalem).

The Hautpoul family was

heir to all the great families that

succeeded one another in the Razes. They were thus keepers not only of objects passed

down

for generations, but also of archives of various

documents, some of which should be of great significance, especially given that the Hautpouls of the eighteenth century seemed to have a

connection with secret

societies.

more

list

as

What

compiles the

it

a windfall for those

The

story only

of the possible treasures hidden in the Razes.

who

developed the

would be

difficult to find richer material in

so closely

combined

that

waxes and embellishes

it is

impossible

Abbe

tale of

Sauniere!

It

which history and myth are

tell

one from the

other.

There are other hypotheses that remain unverifiable but conform to the essential outline already noted in the traditions mentioned above.

There

is

the old story of the cursed gold of Delphi: During the third cen-

tury B.C.E., the survivors of a Gallic expedition to the Balkans headed by a certain Brennus returned to

Gaul with the booty gained from the

lage of Delphi. Historically, this expedition to Delphi

came on

to naught,

and the Gauls and Brennus were

into Asia Minor,

Galatians.

Of

where they

course,

settled

myth has come

is

not be their

left

out, however.

booty by plunging

from Delphi

it

to a certain lake that

the west of the city (others say Saint-Sernin).

When

the

Romans

it

to history’s aid,

tale.

Some moved

and the epic of

Roman

the habit of sacralizing

some Toulousian in

authors,

The “treasure” of Delphi can-

would have thus entrusted

is

it

and founded the kingdom of the

The Gauls, who had into a lake,

a reality, but

scattered.

Delphi, passed on in fragmentary fashion by Greek and

has become a veritable mythological

pil-

the gold

traditions place to

an underground lake beneath

invaded,

it

is

said that they took the

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

238

treasure. Because this

was bad luck

was sacred

for the consul

who

gold,

however

appropriated

—thus cursed gold —

it.

Some

of this gold had

of course been saved by the Gauls and hidden elsewhere.

home

place for such a hiding place than the Razes,

gold

still lies

touching

it is

somewhere

in the region

but

it

it

What

better

of the Redones? This

dangerous to touch; for

is

the equivalent of committing a sacrilege. This treasure has

been combined with the fictions of the Lobineau papers concerning the royal treasure placed in safekeeping by Dagobert

Blanche de Castille did not dare touch. of the Merovingian treasure

had

its

We can

origins.

II,

see, then,

It is

the hoard that

where the story

not a folk tradition but

instead the recuperation of another tradition that has been diverted to the benefit of a dubious ideology.

There

is

also the royal treasure that Blanche de Castille allegedly

concealed in the Razes during a time of difficulty with the high lords of the realm,

when

the Albigensian Crusade

was

in

full

swing. This

matches the true folk tradition of the presence of a White Queen [Reine Blanche] at Rennes-les-Bains, though no one precisely.

goddesses

It is

knows which white queen

likely related to a fairy, the souvenir of ancient fertility

who

procured riches for their hierophants, not to mention

their lovers. This

is

an entirely mythological theme and

of Blanche de Castille that

it

was

the

name

prompted the hatching of the legend. But we

should bear in mind the interest in the Razes displayed by the mother of Saint Louis and her relentless striving to wrest the region from the

unfortunate Trencavel. Here again, myth and history get along well.

Of

course, there

is still

the treasure of the Cathars. This tradition

closely

combined with

parties

concluded an objective

that of the Templars, as alliance.

it is

known

The Templars

that the

is

two

often protected the

Cathars, gathering them together and hiding them and also managing their properties.

But the Cathar treasure also involves documents on the

Cathar doctrine, rather than a material hoard. The assembly of sacred treasure at the time of Montsegur’s

fall

this

could very well have been

effected in the region of Rennes-le-Chateau, in particular

on the slopes of

Bugarach, for Bugarach has mystical and geographical connections with

pog of Montsegur. The Razes was

a

Cathar country and even formed

a diocese of the Cathar’s pseudo-church.

There would be nothing unusual

the

about the prefects profiting from the rallying of the Razes’s inhabitants,

239

Treasure Island

nobles in front, to entrust to them this important heritage. This holds up

concealment of a “treasure” of documents

historically. In addition, the

belonging to the Cathars of Montsegur has been historically proved.

know went this

that the four escapees

from Montsegur entrusted with

into the Razes. But did they stay there?

does not

mean

it is

It is

not

this

Of

likely.

We

mission course,

of no avail to search at Bugarach or in isolated

ravines for the last traces of the Cathars of Occitania. Finally, there

is

the Grail. This, however,

not part of the older folklore of the region.

“hermetic”

circles that

visit to Paris.

Grail, the fin-de-siecle intellectuals tried

on

several occasions to

We may

determine the location of the Castle of the Grail. they recognized

it

in

Montsegur, though

in Glastonbury.

it

Wagnerian

In full

haunted by the grandiose and mysterious image of the

tradition,

nized

and

in literary, artistic,

were frequented, some stubbornly maintain, by

Beranger Sauniere during his alleged

“Holy”

an intellectual creation

It is

from the end of the nineteenth century, born

and

a recent tradition

is

8

If

at the

same time others recog-

anyone speaks of the Grail

primarily from the influence of

recall that

what took place

at

in the Razes,

it is

Montsegur, which

is

not so far from there, remember. All these traditions refer

harmony

outline: the quest for the

once found by those worthy of possessing

lost object that,

restore

back to one basic

to the

world and happiness to humanity.

It is

will

it,

a quest

for perfection diverted into a quest for material objects and, finally, into

a simple search for wealth.

The main consideration

is

the goal that one

proposes to seek.

Now,

this

hunt for treasure presumes an

initiation, for

chance

dis-

profit

from

their find. Further, as a rule they find only a disabled portion of

what

coveries

do not count, and discoverers “by chance” never

allegedly exists. initial

Such was the case with Beranger Sauniere,

discoveries

was probably

this

somewhat

to chance.

He was

who owed

his

missing something.

“something” that he then searched for

ceaselessly.

It

Of

course, nothing can be found without the key that allows the seeker to

open the

8.

secret door,

For more on

Pygmalion, 1989).

is

on the

inside or, according to the expression

my book Montsegur and the Mystery of the Cathars (Rochester, 2003), as well as my book Broceliande et Venigme du Graal (Paris:

this, see

Vt.: Inner Traditions,

which

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

240

used by alchemists,

To

“the open door of the closed palace of the king.”

is

find the key, patience

is

required, along with the ability to note the

on the

smallest signs that can put the seeker

right path. Because these

signs are

by nature ambiguous, they must be interpreted, which

a bizarre

game

well in his

sets

up

of Snakes and Ladders that Roger Caillois described so

work Cases d'un

echiquier [Squares of a Chessboard]:

Paradox of the Treasure. There are many novels of the Treasure Island type in which interpreting a pirates, the

it is

a question of rediscovering, by correctly

coded document, the fabulous buried treasures of the

Templars, or the pharaohs. The same paradox can be

observed: The owners of the treasure, scattered freebooters, perse-

cuted

sects,

or dethroned monarchs, appear to have been singularly

preoccupied with providing the clues necessary for someone take possession of

Hence the establishment of

it.

cryptogram intended to guide the possible spires as

He

if

else to

a complicated

seeker. Everything tran-

the keeper of the treasure wished to reward ingenuity.

organizes a

game

of “Hide and

comer has a chance, provided he

is

Go

Seek” in which the

clairvoyant and shrewd.

demonstrates the greatest perspicacity, not he

who would

first

He who have the

most legitimate claim to an inheritance, takes the booty. 9

We now

see

what

the point

is

for all this:

from these elaborate

It is

preparations involving codes and so forth that the “test” takes

meaning. rent laws

It is

not always the legitimate heir

young hero, one who the solution in short

ity’s

is

princess,

is

the test in

It is

all its

fullness

is

the price of

which human conciousness can exceed

Cases d’un echiquier

(Paris:

right,

finds

which

Gallimard, 1970), 42-43.

and

— and whoever passes

the stage at which, as the Serpent in Genesis (himself a

9.

who

the prize of intelligence

capable of succeeding at others. Such

progress, in

from

often they involve a

though he has not the

permits him to usurp power. is

Most

stories

poor, of course, but very intelligent,

and weds the

cunning. The process the test

—with respect to the cur-

—who acquires the right to the succession. All the

oral folk tradition emphasize this point.

all its

itself

human-

and

attain

symbol of

this

Treasure Island

torturous but effective intelligence) states, the creature that cannot even use a tenth of

its

human

241

being, a poor

mental capacity, could be

“as a god.” This embodies the sin of pride, perhaps, but without pride,

what would

What

the future hold?

these stories about hidden treasures give us

is

a lesson of

metaphysics and theology, for these treasures are bidden, with

shadowy zones and bad. This

this

word

why Roger

is

Of

holds.

all

the

shadow can be both good

course,

Caillois stresses

... the double nature of treasures: they are secret, hence the hiding place; they are talismans, thus necessarily consisting of materials

are

that

and almost superstition

history,

and,

10 .

need be, antiquated coins.

if

consisting of

bank

charged with legends, and

valuable,

intrinsically

They

A

notes, I.O.U.’s,

bearer. All fiduciary currency

is

consist of gems, jewels,

treasure

is

not imagined as

and checks payable

to the

excluded.

This imagined nature of treasure stems from the idea that paper

currency

not reliable and that

is

aura that

it

cannot be cloaked

indispensable to the effectiveness of the treasure-talisman.

is

In addition, this treasure can

come only from

the Past.

It is

remnant of what could have been a beginning, during that that

is

a symbolic

illud

the base for any itinerary belonging to the Sacred.

Sacred, like the cial

shadow

that protects

it, is

and maleficent. Hence the double

and repulsion

attraction

magical

in that

tempus

And

the

both good and bad, benefi-

attitude of the seeker

—and the dual nature

— both

of the treasure, which

can provoke either the best or the worst.

Taking

all

of this even further, treasure has a

pendent from that of

He who do it.

its

The

treasure

is,

that

is

almost inde-

owner. Roger Caillois writes:

has amassed or discovered

his descendants,

life

nor even those

it,

does not profit from

who

it,

nor

aided him to accumulate

so to speak, always at stake and will pass again

10. This obviously brings to

mind

the jewels that carry bad luck. But the very notion of

cursed gold, cursed treasure, belongs to this category.

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

242

hands of the most

into the

skillful.

For

this individual

of fortune rather than the fortune

itself:

spend the treasure he discovered.

It is

We

the guarantee of his excep-

open account.

moment

compose

new

a token

have never seen a hero

tional destiny, not a kind of

of his death, he will

it is

suppose that

I

at the

and begin

a rebus in turn

a

contest.

This

the case with Beranger Sauniere

is

the accusations lodged against

construction.

It

was not

him concerning

only idle gossip. In

cast

doubt on

the flashy luxury of his

for his personal gain but rather for his

that he spent the fortune (whatever allegations about his

and should

sumptuous fact,

its

origin) he

parties

had amassed, and the

and Pantagruel-like

under examination

work

we may

feasts are

see that

Abbe

Sauniere never personally profited from what he had discovered. To the contrary,

it

substantiates the theory that he

would have

left

an obvi-

ously coded, symbolic message to indicate to others this “door on the inside” that can be

The

opened only by those

who

hold the key.

detractors of the Sauniere affair have vainly

inconsistencies

and obvious errors noticeable

“work,” as well as those

in the

work

of those

in

what

is

denounced the considered his

who have approached

it.

These inconsistencies are countless and the errors are incontestable. In contrast, the partisans of the affair (who, after

emphasize

all

these inconsistencies

all, is

the affair for?)

and mistakes by saying they are too

obvious not to be intentional. They are hiding something.

So

let

us try to

open the door.

8

The Door

on the Inside

Is

Legends are tenacious, especially when they are only a mere twenty

Some people wish

years or thirty years old. in the

one concerning the Rennes-le-Chateau

was

legend, Beranger Sauniere

Henri Boudet,

a

match

in a chess

To

siderable vested interest. tation,

us to place complete faith

According to the

poor pawn shamelessly used by Abbe

which someone (who?) had

in

who

listen to those

was Boudet who,

it

affair.

the

in

name

a con-

stand by this interpre-

of the

ever-mysterious

“brotherhood,” guided his younger colleague Sauniere in his excavation, research,

Now we know from a sure source and

and achievements.

supporting testimony that Abbe Boudet was not at

who remained

hierophant

move about on

in the

an honest

1.

when

they hear

mind was not priest

A characteristic

with

it

Abbe Mazieres, who Boudet: “Those who knew

said that he wished to leave a mes-

at all disposed to that.”

integrity,

and even

Boudet was certainly

a puritanical streak

anecdote about him was recounted in the Bulletin de

scientifiques de I’Aude (1973), 221. Henri

gladly took part in excavations.

while excavating a

Roman

site,

Boudet had a passion

One day toward

la

carry out the

it

up or touch

commands

1 .

But he

Societe d' etudes

for archaeology

and

the beginning of the twentieth century,

he and his coworkers found a very beautiful statue of

Venus. She was depicted nude, however, and Abbe Boudet, horrified by refused to pick

to

the stage, or rather before the altar.

are surprised

sage. His

a diabolical

shadows while allowing Sauniere

wrote several books on the Razes, said of

him

all

it.

Is

this the attitude of a

man

ready to do anything to

of a fairly unorthodox brotherhood

require committing the worst kinds of misappropriations?

243

this nudity,

—especially

when

they

— 244

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

made

a mistake in writing

le

and publishing La Vraie Langue celtique

et

cromlech de Rennes-les-Bains. This work, which enjoys great success

today,

would have

fallen into total oblivion

if

by happy

—or unhappy

chance Boudet had not been the priest of Rennes-les-Bains while Sauniere was priest of Rennes-le-Chateau.

To be

fair, it

should be stated that Abbe Boudet certainly could have

done without publishing

work

a

that earned

him nothing but

while he was alive and the label of insanity after his death. it

have been any great

what’s done

is

loss to science

if

that

is

Nor would

he had abstained. But in the end,

done. The opinion that

researching the Sauniere affair

ridicule

is

most widely shared by those

La Vraie Langue

celtique holds

the key that allowed Sauniere ’s secret drawer to be unlocked.

La Vraie Langue

celtique et

astounding work that

starts

cromlech de Rennes-les-Bains

le

from a

is

an

series of linguistic equivalencies

(completely aberrant ones) based on observations from Rennes-les

Bains and the surrounding area, and from these claims demonstrates that the Celtic language

Abbe Boudet goes on never uttered the

is

the oldest language in the world. Further,

spoken

to declare that the patois

name

Occitania)

“true Celtic language.”

“One

is

a very pure

thinks one

is

in the

remnant of

Razes (he

this archaic

dreaming when hearing

these Celtic expressions, treated scornfully today as wretched gar, as clearly the original

This declaration

language

Adam

and

vul-

taught to his children.” 2

It is

not new, however, for in the

latter years of the eighteenth century, the

famous “Celtomaniacs” La

is

disconcerting.

Tour d’Auvergne and Le Brigant made low Breton the mother guage of humanity, the tongue that was spoken thereby recognized in

all

Eden. Le Brigant

modern languages an obvious Breton root

and found arguments to persuade Boudet proceeds

in

lan-

his readers to share his view.

in a similar fashion,

but his originality

lies

Henri in his

observation that in addition to the Languedocian patois, the purest representative of this ancient Celtic language English.

It is

true that

Boudet had

tion nonetheless led to

is

quite simply

modern

a degree in English, but this asser-

some astonishing conclusions,

including, for

example, the explanation he gives for the name of the Rdalses River

2.

Boudet, La Vraie Langue celtique et

le

cromlech de Rennes-les-Bains, 213.

The Door north of Rennes: “The Rialses “tax”

— flows

from sunrise

—

Is

on the Inside

245

effective”;

cess,

“real,

real (rial),

to sunset in a valley

whose

fertile

soil

allowed the inhabitants to pay the tax that the Celts imposed on lands easily .”

grew crops

that

think of

3

All that

was required was

someone

for

it.

Obviously, the cromlech that Boudet speaks of does not purely a product of his imagination. But this imagination a landscape that forms a kind of amphitheater its

center

them

to

is

exist. It is

supported by

—with Rennes-les-Bains

at

—from which emerge natural rocks, though Boudet considered

to be megaliths, or rather “druid stones,” as they

were called dur-

ing the time of the Celtomaniacs. Boudet, however, extended his study far

beyond the Razes. Here, Locmariaquer

Here

is

in

for instance,

is

how

Morbihan: “Locmariaquer

is

he explains the

a place near

name

Vannes Lake

the composition of this word: a lake that prevents hunters

4 .

—loch

5 mar, “prevent”; yager (iagueurj, “hunter.”

(lok), “lake”; to

And

of

while he

is

at

it,

he explains the origin of the

name Sarzeau on

the peninsula of Rhuys: “All the authors concerned with Celtic industries

have taught us that horsehair cloth was a Gallic invention, but they

cannot

tell

us the

site

of

its

invention and fabrication. Sarzeau, on the

peninsula of Rhuys, teaches us

“tammy, horsehair cloth”;

And on pores over

it

all

goes.

(so),

“attach,

—sarce

(sarse),

in this vein.

Boudet

topic

sew.” 6

and modern tongues and rewrites the history

of humanity in his fashion. to

sew

this

The whole book continues

the ancient

from “to coin,”

to

much on

We

thereby learn that the

mint money, to invent.

ancestor of smiths and metalworkers?

We

Isn’t

name Cain comes

Cain regarded

also learn that

as the

Sodom comes

from “sod,” the ground, and “to doom,” to judge or condemn, which justifies the destruction of this city. Whenever he can, Boudet brings his explanations back to a regional expression of his native land, a place-

name,

a part of his “cromlech.”

His foggy, murky considerations

3.

Boudet, La Vraie Langue celtique

4. In 5.

et le

fit

the tone of nineteenth-century

cromlech de Rennes-les-Bains, 227.

other words, the Gulf of Morbihan.

Boudet, La Vraie Langue celtique

6. Ibid.

et le

cromlech de Rennes-les-Bains, 156.

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

246

Celtomaniacs.

He drew

his

conceptions of Celts and Celtic civilizations

from Henri Martin, Amedee Thierry, members of the and romantic

historians. For

him

book

numerous people

to

way

this

his

work

Academy,

as for them, the megalithic

ments were obviously druidic and were used for Henri Boudet took

Celtic

monu-

sacrifices.

quite seriously,

it

seems, and sent his

as well as to scholarly societies of his day. In

he attracted rather ironic reviews, such as this one from the

Toulouse Academy of Sciences, Inscriptions, and Belles-Lettres:

We

cannot enter into a detailed criticism of

discuss

its

eccentric theories

as they are audacious

very

fertile

this

book

and declarations that are

and would seem

in order to

as gratuitous

to betray the presence of a

mind. Taking a stand from an exclusively religious

point of view, the author ceaselessly introduces authorities

have nothing to do with .

.

.

We

linguistics

such as

it is

who

understood today

were greatly surprised to learn that the unique language

spoken before Babel was modern English, preserved by the Tectosages. But this

is

what Mr. Boudet has demonstrated with

his

prodigious etymological tours de force.

The

reaction of

It

is

The

Societe d’etude scientifiques de

PAude was no

regrettable that this author bases his only suppositions

gentler.

on

vague and arbitrary etymologies from which he has drawn highly

unorthodox proofs, and

cites

But as Philippe Schrauben noted

Langue

...

celtique, this

is

a large

only ancient authors

.

.

in his preface to the reissue of

La Vraie

book:

mosaic of extracts from carefully selected nineteenth-

century works chosen to create a more or

made up

.

less

coherent unity.

It is

of not merely short citations, but entire pages transcribed

verbatim and placed end to end.

Was

the intended purpose a

rebirth of the true Celtic language as desired in the Celtifying

of the end of the nineteenth century?

up boundaries

Or was

for a hypothetical “Celtic

it

mode

an attempt to

cromlech”

set

in Rennes-les-

The Door

Is

247

on the Inside

Bains? After finishing the book, one has the impression that

Boudet believed ject,

By

work

in neither one,

but wandered from subject to sub-

and Greek mythology

topics as different as water cures

all

evidence,

La

Vraie

Langue

celtique forms part of the

body of

written during the nineteenth century by county seat scholars, as

they are called,

who

thereby seek to

show

the love they bear for their

region despite the fact that they have had no scientific training and rely

on no serious reference works

related to the topic they have studied.

Henri Boudet’s passionate investigation of

his

own

region did not pre-

vent him from taking an interest in others.

Much

to the detriment of fans of secret treasures,

personal papers, which

still

Abbe Boudet’s

exist, testify to a lifetime of intellectual

labor and research. Their consultation successively shows that this learned priest had thrown himself into the etymological study of a

number

great

of villages

and

So Rennes-les-Bains was not an isolated case.

A

yet-unpublished

Boudet did not regard ings

Aude region

locales in the

introduction

his theories as

But the fact

found

is this:

.

.

.

again

reveals

that

nonsense and that

Abbe

his writ-

in their search for

9 .

Since the launching of the

Abbe Boudet has been made

into the inspirer

Abbe Sauniere

unlikely assumptions, aberrations,

and

story,

and accomplice of the

from Rennes-le-Chateau, and La Vrai Langue

priest

.

8 .

were not cryptograms for mystics to use

loot waiting to

.

stupidities, has

celtique,

with

its

become merely

a

gigantic rebus that provides the key Sauniere used to enter the cave

where the treasure was

stored.

The book

is

no longer The True Language

of the Celts, but instead “the true language of the birds,” a to designate traditional hermetic language. All that

7.

La

Vraie

Langue

celtique (Nice: Editions Belisane, 1984). This

and complete republication of the original 1886 8. P.

text.

Jarnac, Histoire du tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 28.

9. Ibid.,

289.

is

name used

required to find

is

the only authentic

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

248

the solution to the mystery of the cursed treasure that

is

on the inside”

This certainly

to decipher

is

and the famous “door

Abbe Boudet’s work

how Abbe Boudet has been not how he imagined it would

is

10 .

presented to posterity, which

Now why

be.

we throw

should

ourselves into the dangerous adventure of decoding a text that

jumble of cliches drawn from

Why

add more absurdities

his linguistic theories are highly eccentric.

treasure,

La

looking.

The

we wish

eccentricities. If

Vraie

Langue

celtique

is

Nothing useful

This

and

its interior,

contains

if

Abbe Sauniere had wished

know whether

we do

not

would

necessarily be one all

irritating

it

to

interpre-

hidden within

is

Abbe Sauniere

affair;

Abbe Sauniere wished

it

it.

would not that

is

message. There

left a

from a man who had discovered certain

about the Sauniere

first

surround-

its

the real anomalies

that others have attributed to his finding. This

he

examine the

viewed otherwise. The problem

or not

the

in fact, a secret.

is,

to leave a message, he

is

things,

what

is

so

only some pieces of the puzzle have

been put into place, but the whole picture

moment

The more

no shortage of

odd ornamentation and

Its

have been better served to have

but not

there

lead us to believe that something

all

Therefore,

if

for here too there has been

and speculation.

tation

—

Rennes-le-Chateau, both

in

to the

simply one more

is

from which

the appropriate perspective

is

Church of Mary Magdalene ings

the secret

is

in

absolutely the last place to start

intoxicated manipulation to divert the attention of seekers.

curious are sent astray, the safer

even

gained

is

way back

to find our

emphasis on Boudet’s book

insistent

to the

man

ones that already exist in the text? Abbe Boudet was an honest

adding to these

only a

is

kinds of nineteenth-century works and

all

embellished by an adulterated sauce?

if

is

to restore

still

remains hidden.

and refurbish

arrived in Rennes-le-Chateau.

his

He

church from the

did so and for a

new dimension to his parish while at own mark and leaving a memorial, both per-

highly laudable purpose: to give a the

same time making

human

fectly

desires.

his

But

in the

course of his activity he found himself

embroiled, willy-nilly, in events he had not foreseen.

10. In

L’Or de Rennes, Gerard de Sede devoted some time

rather

some other people did

then his

many

own

it

for

others have followed

opinions,

I

prefer not to

him or whispered

him down

to this

in his ear

this trail.

Because

He made

little

decoding game, or

what he needed I

discov-

to do. Since

believe everyone

is

free to

mention any names or cause anyone any problems.

The Door

eries that certainly

Is

249

on the Inside

allowed him to move his project forward, but which

nonetheless were not intentional. seen, the decoration of Sauniere’s church

As we’ve

bizarre due to the fact,

it

is

unusual and

seems, that he did not have a very developed

sense of aesthetics. Yet there are certain constants that can be found in the church’s ornamentation.

The

first is

an exultant

baroque poor

style of

Everything

taste.

is

completely disordered and overloaded, including the inscriptions, the decorations, and the statuary.

seems that the mind that conceived

It

all

i

sought to include the

this

imum amount

maximum amount

of space, leaving no

simple reason for Sauniere suffered

empty

The church

this:

of information in the min-

places.

There could be a very

structure itself

is

Abbe

small and

of grandeur. His attempt to

somewhat from delusions

rebuild a triumphal porch leading to the cemetery

is

revealing.

wanted something grandiose but lacked the means, hence

He

this pale,

miniature copy of the famous porches on the parish grounds of Nord-

we can wonder

But

Finistere.

Perhaps the worthless rubbish

if

this excess

—worthless

might not be

artistically

justified:

speaking

— serves

to conceal important information.

The second constant opposite of what

is

usual.

Our Lady

statue of

The

Abbe

full

well that the one depicted

take,

up the

A

priest

is

quite characteristic of this.

Sauniere, accustomed to the shape of the cross,

mean one

of

two

on

this pillar

things: Either

would know

was displayed upside down.

one of

his

workers made a mis-

and Sauniere did not dare or was unable to make him

error, or else this position.

way

so-called Visigoth pillar that holds

of Lourdes

like

This can

toward the reverse or the

a kind of bias

is

it

was on

Which

command

his explicit

of these

two

solutions

to say. This preference for the reverse

ment of the Stations of

the Cross.

of the altar, even though

it

is

The

first

that the pillar be placed in

is

is

rectify his

the right one? There

is

no

again found in the arrangestation

is

placed to the

usually placed to the right. There

is

left

the

Mary and Saint really Jesus?). And what rea-

opposition on either side of the altar of the Virgin Joseph, each accompanied by a child

son

is

behind the unusual presence of the devil at the entrance to the

church? The site

(is it

devil, as

we know,

is

the very

symbol of

reversal, the

oppo-

of good. This apparent justification for the devil’s presence here

is

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

250

and holding up the holy water

the punishment of bending his knee

stoup with an expression of great suffering on his face, thereby ing to his servitude.

even

may

if it

tomed

could be more orthodox

somewhat

true that

“This place

is

we

are

terrible.”

“My

On

time: Terribilis est locus

But

borrowed from the story of

this phrase,

coeli,

“Here

is

vault

on which

is

oratorionis

11 as a house of prayer.”

the house of

This more reassuring inscription

iste,

nevertheless tempered

Domus mea domus

it:

known

will be

is

Hie domus Dei

the vaulting of the porch another phrase appears:

porta

est et

house

are accus-

warned ahead of

by the inscription that frames vocabitur,

who

church?

in

Genesis and displayed prominently,

in

in this portrayal,

surprising to the faithful,

more peaceful atmosphere

to a

It is

Jacob

be

What

testify-

God and

the

Door

of Heaven.”

arranged around a keystone of the

are carved the coats of

arms of Monsignor

bishop

Billard,

of Carcassonne, and Pope Leo XIII, bearing the words lumen in coelo, “light in heaven.” is

The

triangular

by an inscription

a cross at the top surrounded

a horseshoe, in hie signo vinees,

which

statue

is

tion of

literally

tympanum

triumph.” In the center of the

Magdalene holding

tympanum above

the snake uncoiling

upon her

dress.

Mary Magdalene and seems more

Virgin Mary.

Above

the statue

is

there

amavi

in

scorned the kingdom of because of

my

world and

this

lord Jesus Christ,

and loved.” The word

dilexi

is

whom

I

dilexi,

saw,

I

least that

can be said about

matic.

We

that

should

which means,

loved, in

But

this

phrase spoken by Jesus

line that follows

it:

is

Middle Ages

incomplete.

“But you have changed

it

this

whom

means

dilexi,

have

“I

I

century believed

generally “I

which

is

the

And

supposed to have spoken. The

and cathedrals,

is

it

omnem

have taken pleasure.”

I

tympanum

recall that in the

ining the facades of churches

11.

this

is

et

Christi quern

adornment of

all

whom

Mary Magdalene

words

Mary

detail in a depic-

Regnum mundi

have loved,” but with a significant subtlety: quern

these are

will

strange element in the

quite ambiguous, for

usage that appears here, means “in

you

appropriate to a statue of the

the inscription

quern credidi quern

shape of

a statue of

is

ornatum soeculi contempsi propter amorem domini mei ]esu vidi quern

odd. There

“in this sign

an odd

It is

fairly

laid out in the

means

The one

a cross in her arms.

it is

that it

it

is

was by

somewhat carefully

enig-

exam-

especially the stylobates

Why

didn’t

Abbe Sauniere

into a den of thieves”?

and

include the

tympanums,

that the master builders, the

the alchemists,

What

and other

most

is

The Door

Is

members

of the brotherhoods,

what they were

“initiates” discovered

striking inside the church

is

on the Inside

251

seeking.

the double representation

of the infant Jesus; he appears both with Joseph and with Mary.

It

could

be that what was intended in this dual portrayal was a depiction of the exoteric path (Joseph) and the esoteric path (Mary), or even, as the

Cathars would interpret

it,

a real Jesus

and

a mystical Jesus.

Another

doubling occurs with Saint Anthony. The depiction of Saint Anthony the

Hermit

refers to

who was tempted

he

Anthony of Padua,

saint, Saint

the one to

is

searching for something that has been

Other oddities

in the desert, but the other

whom we

pray when

lost.

church are the scene over the confessional, one

in the

of the shepherd looking for his lamb in an underground landscape; and

on the back wall portraying Christ on the Mount of

the large fresco

Blessings. If Beranger Sauniere

commissioned

he did so

this painting,

obviously to display the goal of his ecclesiastical vocation. The inscription beneath

it is

“Come

quite revealing:

and overwhelmed, and

I

will ease

to

your pain.”

which

justifies the

those

who the

It is

are suffering

most

ineffable

install this evangelical depic-

kind of bounty that inspired Sauniere to tion,

me

expenses incurred in building the tower and the

when he was still only envisioning the construction, already knew what its final purpose would be: to pro-

Apparently,

villa.

Abbe Sauniere

vide a shelter for the poor and underprivileged, resources.

We know

into a retirement

in fact that

home

make

he wanted to

for aged

and infirm

all

priests

the Rennes estate

12 .

those without

There can be no

question that this was his intention. Sauniere

named

associated with

his villa

Bethania and his tower Magdala, two names

Mary Magdalene.

fresco

we can

town

of Magdala.

Interestingly, in different areas of the

see symbolic representations of the It

would be hard

to get

town of Bethany and

any more

explicit.

We

the

know,

however, that religious images often have double meanings. What, then,

is

the significance of the ruined Corinthian capital to the right at the foot of the hill? Couldn’t this painstakingly depicted landscape bring to the area surrounding Rennes-le-Chateau?

12.

P.

And

mind

couldn’t the mountain of

Jarnac, Histoire du tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, 162.

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

252

flowers over which Christ

triumphing be a discreet allusion to the

is

Rosicrucian knight de Fleury, son-in-law of Marie de Negri d’Hautpol?

How are On the

we

know? There

to

are definitely

some curious

coincidences.

the other hand, the path of the Stations of the Cross, over

which

most audacious and wildly varying analyses have been made,

absolutely no significance. There

nothing original about

is

of

is

This was

it.

an achievement of the Giscard House of Toulose and there are similar

examples throughout the region, notably identical

one has been found

was inaugurated up

in

1887

—

in other

Rennes-le-Chateau.

in

Mouthoumet. An absolutely

Rocamadour

most popular pilgrimage

the second

set

in

in

site in

words,

Lot region, which

is

France after Lourdes, and

it

in the

Sauniere had one

just before

perfectly useless, then, to consider the

It is

Stations of the Cross a catalog of clues, as has been repeatedly said in

As

quarters.

whether the Stations here are of Masonic inspiration

to

(because of certain distinctive scenes), that before it

we

interpret as

would be

we

is

another matter

please a traditional

work

better for us to question Mr. Giscard

Jr.’s

MM.

in the

member

of the

according to the

bill

Rennes-le-Chateau

are

in

is

Whoever can

is

tion will

in the

it

and that the

it is

was

the

regular If

there

in the

surely not due to Beranger Sauniere.

Masonic checkerboard

it

common

—the black-and-white

in a

lodge than a church.

beyond banal decoration must be

really a checkerboard,

would have only

show

Toulouse,

path of the Stations of the Cross

apparently more

If it

in

of allegedly artistic religious objects.

discern anything in

exceedingly clever.

symbolism,

The Giscard House was

1887.

true of the

—which

Colonne

la

2,310 francs that was sent to the priest of

Saint Magdalene,

The same flooring

for

Abbe Sauniere

Masonic symbols

Church of

Manufaturing

Giscard and Son, whose “establishment and large stu-

dios” had their “main entrance” on 25 rue de

provider to

But

membership

jury of the School of Fine Arts, “owner-producer” of the

of

entirely.

of frightful banality,

Freemasons. Giscard the younger was a prizewinner and

House

all

with

all

the attendant

sixty-eight squares, but simple

that there are quite a few

more than

installation of this flooring has nothing

examina-

this in the

church

whatsoever to do

with some kind of esoteric concern. As for the presence of Blanche de Castille’s

coat of arms above the tabernacle, this can be explained by the

fact that the

Church of Saint Magdalene was expanded during the time

The Door

253

on the Inside

Is

of Saint Louis and that the renovation benefited from a personal dona-

made by

tion

the queen mother,

who,

we have

as

seen,

took a close per-

sonal interest in the Razes.

We

could

discuss the light effects that occur at certain times in

still

the church, mainly

phenomena

these are architects

magnify the

on January 13 and

at the beginning of April

that can be noted almost everywhere, because the

and master stained-glass makers knew how

work and

their

symbol of

— but

at the

divinity. Isn’t

same time remind people that the sun

Lumen

it

to use sunlight to

Cbristi

mentioned

is

in the Christian

liturgy of Easter Eve? This kind of play with light, quite frequent in

numerous

who

sanctuaries, has always intrigued the fans of the mysterious,

are always ready to ask,

Chateau

it

mean?”

this

means nothing. Sunlight was simply made

and

liturgy,

“What could

most orthodox fashion

in the

no message,

if

we would

of the theme of

would prove

Mary Magdalene. We can

exist: the

in fact

to be extremely

Abbe Sauniere had

be apt to accept that

one other constant did not

to take part in the

possible.

In short, then, the interior of this church

disappointing, and

In Rennes-le-

left

permanent presence

count the references to

tympanum on the church’s porch, the extremely Saint-Sulpician on the right when facing the altar, a stained-glass window above

her: the

statue

the altar, a painting beneath the altar table, in the large fresco all,

aren’t

we

in a

on the back

wall.

and

finally the allusion to

These add up to quite a few. But

church dedicated by name to Saint

it

after

Mary Magdalene?

Yet these multiple occurrences within the church, in conjunction

with the abbe Sauniere’s exterior

—

if

not profane

—

structures, Villa

Bethania and the Magdala Tower, do prompt a justified curiosity.

should also note that

when

We

Sauniere built his grotto in the church gar-

den with stones brought from the Stream of Colors, he had, according to local testimony, placed in prayer,

a small statue of

which has since disappeared.

find a statue of

Our Lady

another anomaly and

There are certain will catch the eye of

we

We

Mary Magdalene

should recognize

it

On

the

we can

is

as such.

details in this “invasion” of

an observer.

in

might rather have expected to

of Lourdes in this grotto. Here, then,

with the uncustomary serpent, vessel.

it

Mary Magdalene

that

tympanum, where she appears

see that

Mary Magdalene

is

on

a

This depiction conforms with the tradition that maintains that

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

254

Mary Magdalene

and disembarked on the shores of southern

traveled to

somewhere

France, either at Marseilles, Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, or else

much

one hand and a cross

in

cup could be the Christ, but

around

seen in the picture; she

a table is

clothes, kneels

is

a fairly

is

weeping to the

and

his

also be

is

right of Jesus.

in the fresco

beneath the

dressed in extremely beautiful

a cross

in a grotto

Outside the grotto there

the

The round

jar.

Mary Magdalene can

presence by far

and prays before

into the ground. She

is

is

Mary Magdalene,

it

feet of

the altar depicts Jesus

talking.

The

bent over the feet of Christ as she washes them.

saint’s strangest

In

and

Mary Magdalene

In the large fresco,

altar table.

skull at her feet.

perfume with which she anointed the

jar of

window behind and above

disciples sitting

But the

human

with a

in the other,

cup

statue portrays her holding a

looks more like a chalice than a perfume

it

stained-glass

some

The

closer to the Corbieres.

made

and there

is

of tree branches stuck a

human

skull nearby.

melancholy natural landscape with

ruins that can be distinguished in the background. This painting

work

of an

unknown

artist

from Carcassonne, but we do know

Abbe Courtauly helped Abbe Sauniere touch up the with some “improvements” to the original outline, which

that in his youth

painting leads this

13.

me

work and wished

While

Carcassonne

it

to have

a particular

in

this painting.

On

image of Mary Magdalene

in the grotto.

The

a curious experience

a topographical

department that indicated the area’s highest altitudes with black a slide of the

appears that Jacques

it

Le Fabuleux Tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau, had 1981 with regard to

fondness for

some importance. 13

presence of a former bishop of the diocese,

in the

Riviere, author of in

Abbe Sauniere had

to believe that

result

map

lines, Riviere

was

of the

projected

that the black lines

exactly reproduced the contours of the saint in meditation, with the city of Carcassonne sitting

atop her like a crown. This information

du tresor de Rennes-le-Chateau.

is

provided by Pierre Jarnac

In a footnote he adds:

“But

this

is

in Histoire

not the most dis-

turbing thing! In fact, at the exact point where the branches of the cross intersect, the

point at which

Capendu.

Mary Magdalene

In the

church

in this

is

staring, reads the

commune

there

is

name

Puicheric, a small village of

a stained-glass

window

that displays

the exact replica, though reversed, of the Rennes-le-Chateau bas-relief portraying

Magdalene!” claims that

Pierre Jarnac, recopying the layout

Mary Magdalene’s

eye

is

proposed by Jacques Riviere, further

not on Rennes-le-Chateau

at a point called “les Justices,” near Leuc.

While

it

is

itself

but right next to

Riviere’s experience with

it,

sometimes permissible to laugh

openly at the attempts at sacred geography that currently flood the public,

acknowledged that

Mary

Mary Magdalene’s image

is

it

must be

rather strange.

The Door

Mary Magdalene

is

JESU.

is

further

MAGDALENAE. LACRYMAS

explicitly stated in the Latin

tears of

+

UNA. PENITENTIUM. PER PECCATA. NOSTRA. DILUAS— in wounds, sole hope for those who dissolve 15 our sins.”

While she

is

the

in a certain Christian tradition, she

is

not

Magdalene

symbol of the repentant sinner

altar table:

+ SPES.

other words, “J esus > remedy of

by the

and

bottom of the grotto painting beneath the

MEDELA. VULNERUM

regret , 14

255

on the Inside

certainly the patron saint of the parish in

Rennes-le-Chateau. Her role inscription at the

Is

necessarily playing that role in this painting. So

Sauniere’s opinion of this very special saint?

It

what was Beranger

would be

interesting to

know, because the famous key bestowing access to the cursed treasure of Rennes-le-Chateau

is

there in the grotto

where Magdalene

not the legendary grotto of the Holy Balm

16 ,

is

kneeling—

but a symbolic portrayal

that responded to the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau’s intention in every detail.

Who,

then,

is

this

Mary Magdalene who

apparently haunted the

waking and sleeping hours of Father Beranger Sauniere?

14. Penitentes

means “to its

15.

is

regret.

the present participle of the impersonal verb paenitet,

The modern word penitent has

a

much more

literally

meaning than did

Latin predecessor.

The word

dissolve here

means

literally

“lave” [the French

Translator ], which forms a double allusion: Initially

it

refers to

but one also calls to mind the fact that she washed Christ’s 16.

precise

which

The word haume or balm

is

a pre-Indo-European

word

for

“wash”

Mary Magdalene’s

feet.

word meaning

“grotto.”

tears

9

That Odd Mary Magdalene

I

adorn myself

as

for a ball;

if

entrance into the banquet

«

*»*(«*.

>£>.

JlMIto.

jjfc

perfume myself as

I

room caused

all

for bed.

My

to cease;

the

if

talk

Apostles rose up in great alarm at the fear of being infected from a

touch of as

if I

my

dress; in the eyes of these

of good,

I

was

as

impure

were continuously bleeding. God alone remained lying on the

leather bench.

bone by

the

men

worn down

instinctively recognized those feet

I

all his

walking over every path of our

to

hell; that hair

inhabited by a vermin of stars; those vast, pure eyes like the sole

morsels of his heaven remaining to him! he was as dirty as

ing,

sin.

I

to

fell

my

He was

as ugly as suffer-

knees, swallowing

my

spit,

incapable of adding any sarcastic rejoinder to the horrible weight of

Godly

this

distress.

he would not

nakedness of

my

memories.

the gates of

flee

my I

I

saw immediately

from me.

I

transgression;

undid I

realized that this

dawn one morning,

that

my

I

could seduce him, for

hair to better cover the

emptied before him the phial of

outlaw

God had

leaving behind

him

slipped through the other

mem-

bers of the Trinity, astonished at finding themselves only two.

found food and shelter himself to passersby

in the inn of days;

who

refused

him

He had

He

had given unsparingly of

their soul but

demanded

of

him

all

dits,

contact with lepers, the insolence of policemen. Like me, he

tangible pleasures.

256

tolerated the

company

of ban-

That

Odd Mary Magdalene

consented to the atrocious fate of being available to everyone.

my

placed on

head

We

empty of blood.

moment

This

is

Salut

the

how

his large

demons

257

He

cadaverous hand that seemed already

only change our enslavement; at that very left

me and

became possessed by God.

I

Marguerite Yourcenar, in her book Marie-Madeleine ou

(Mary Magdalene or

le

Salvation), speaks of Magdalene’s first meeting

who really was the person who spoke these magnificent love? Mary Magdalene remains an enigma because she, an

with Jesus. But

words of

enchanting and far from ordinary individual, has been removed, seemingly deliberately,

from the

official texts

of Christianity, though

that she played a starring role in the

We

life

we can

guess

of Christ and his preaching.

are familiar, of course, with the scene of the repentant sinner.

Mary Magdalene appears in Luke 7, the chapter in which Jesus is a dinner guest at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. All at once a woman,

who

appears to be of

ill

repute, enters the house seemingly to seduce the

“prophet.” But touched by grace, she instead washes Jesus’ feet with her tears, dries

them with her

forgives her

all

her sins.

and pours perfume over them, and Christ

hair,

It is

a touching story, although

it

appears to have

been fabricated to show that Jesus forgave prostitutes. The other three Evangelists are ilar incident,

home

this episode,

which, they

in the villa of

the

mute on

Simon

say,

but they recount a somewhat sim-

took place

in

Bethany before the Passion,

the Leper (according to

Matthew and Mark)

of Lazarus shortly after Jesus brought

ing to John). In both

who came and

Matthew and Mark’s

anointed the

feet of Jesus,

on eyewitness testimony, there are

him back

to

versions, there

(accord-

life

was

or in

a

woman

but in John 12, plausibly based

precise

and exact

details that provide

us with additional valuable information:

Six days before Easter Jesus arrived in Bethany,

Lazarus,

made

whom

that

Mary took

he had resurrected from the dead.

Martha a

served,

pound of nard perfume

hair

matic fragrance.

and the

A

meal was

and Lazarus was among the that

entire

guests.

was pure and

expensive and anointed the feet of Jesus with

them with her

where he found

house was

it.

quite

She then dried

filled

with an aro-

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

258

This clearly resembles the scene in Luke involving a prostitute, but here there

mentioned

what may be

Mary, Martha’s

prostitute, only

of Lazarus. This

sister is

no

is

is

not Mary’s

first

appearance

and therefore the

in the

Gospels; she

connection with the resurrection of Lazarus, in

earlier in

most mysterious passage

the

sister,

Gospel of John.

in the entire

Indeed, Lazarus appears to have been a friend of Jesus, but at the

announcement of

his illness,

then of his death, Jesus presents a facade of

complete indifference. Yet “J esus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (John 11: 5). It was four days following the burial of Lazarus

when

A

Jesus arrived in Bethany.

Martha

is

disturbing scene then takes place:

brought to meet Jesus and vehemently reproaches him for not

coming sooner.

“If

you had been

(John 11:21). Jesus reassures her and

no hurry

again, but he seems in

then goes off to find for

you”

still

far

there

—which

from

must be

manifestly

is

their

Mary and

tells

brother would not

tells her,

is

in

But

dead”

lie

her that her brother will

to put action behind his words.

false.

house and

my

here,

“The Master

Mary

a large lapse of time here, for

Martha

here and he calls

is

races before Jesus,

no apparent hurry

Martha

is

live

who

is

to arrive. In fact

able to return to

who then has time to make the same jourdirection. What happened next everyone knows. On

the house to speak to Mary,

ney

in the opposite

reaching Jesus, she throws herself at his feet and scolds him in terms identical to those of her sister.

to be led to the to

life.

tomb

It is

then that Jesus decides to

binding cloth and the shroud

who

this

is

He

asks

of Lazarus, where he brings Mary’s brother back

“The dead man emerges, with

Exactly

act.

still

Mary,

his feet

and hands

still

wrapped

in

covering his face” (John 11:44).

sister

of Lazarus?

We

see her again

on

Golgatha, during the crucifixion of Jesus: “Near the cross of Jesus stood mother, and the

his

Mary Magdalene” this

sister

of his mother, Mary, wife of Cleophas, and

(John 19:25). The other Evangelists remain mute on

female presence at the Crucifixion.

story of

Mary

takes

on

its

embalm

at Jesus’ resurrection that the

true significance. In the Gospel of Luke, three

women, who have “come from to

It is

Galilee with Jesus,”

the corpse. According to

Luke 24:10

show up

their

names

at his

are

tomb

“Mary

Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary, the mother of James.” In the Gospel of

Mark

it is

only two

who, Mark

16:1

women

tells us,

(Mary, mother of Jesus, being oddly absent)

witness the placement of Jesus in the

tomb by

Odd Mary Magdalene

That

Joseph of Arimathea. The two of James

—return the day

—Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother

after the following

day to tend to the body (they

could not return the following day because

panied

women who come

only two

other Mary.

to

embalm

was

In

Jesus:

the orthodox exegetes

Even more admirable

who

Matthew

Mary Magdalene and

another issue altogether;

—and

is

In the Gospel of

absurdities that can be found

is

dogma. No,

this

the issue, because the message of

message

—

not

Abbe

Mary

concerns

specifically

is

concealed behind that name.

John

(20:1),

which

apparently the most reliable

is

based on eyewitness testimony (that of John himself or of

people close to him),

she has

it

he did have a

Magdalene, whoever

it is

the sugary dialectic of

is

as being the unshakable foundation of Christian

tomb, but

the

—those recognized by the Roman Catholic Church

in the canonical texts

because

18:1 there are

achieve stunning feats of language to explain

monumental contradictions and notable

Sauniere

the Sabbath), accom-

We can admire in passing the alleged concordances of the so-

called synoptic Gospels.

the

it

woman, Salome.

time by a third

this

259

we

in this version she

come with

Magdalene came dark, and she

saw

alone,

is

the purpose of

to the

Mary Magdalene

find the figure of

tomb

at Christ’s

and John does not say whether

embalming the corpse. “Mary

early in the morning, although

that the stone

had been

rolled

away from

it

was

still

the tomb.”

She refuses to enter the tomb and instead goes straightaway to find

Simon

Peter

and “the other

(19:2).

Both

disciples rush to the

ner,

is

the

first

disciple beloved

to see that Jesus’

by Jesus,” meaning John

tomb, but John,

who

is

body has vanished. The

the faster run-

disciples return

home then, firmly convinced of Jesus’ resurrection. Mary Magdalene, however, does not follow them. 11-13 her attitude

is

at first mysterious.

It

would seem

In

John 20:

that she should

be rejoicing. Instead:

Mary remained

next to the tomb, standing and her eyes

tears. Still crying, she leaned

over the

tomb and saw two

full

of

angels

dressed in white seated at the top and bottom of the bench upon

which

Jesus’

“why do you off

my

body had been placed. “Woman,” they asked

her,

cry?” She answered, “Because someone has carried

Lord and

I

do not know where they put him.”

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

260

Apparently she does not believe enemies have carried off

his it,

a

was then customary.

as

man

that

his

It is

at all in Jesus’ resurrection, only that

body

to prevent people

from worshipping

at this point that she turns

around and

sees

standing close by. She does not recognize Jesus and thinks instead

We must recall that the scene takes place on the prop-

a gardener.

it is

erty of Joseph of Arimathea, in the garden

structed for his

own

where he had

personal use but which he offered as a sepulcher for

whose teachings he had been following

the person

tomb con-

a

in secret (for

Joseph of

Arimathea was a high-ranking figure among both the Jews and the

Romans).

The man asks her why she

1

Magdalene grows angry, but

in a

way

intimate feelings for Jesus: “Lord, tell

me where you

put him, and

I

if

and

crying,

is

at

Mary

this

own

that speaks volumes about her

you are the one who carried him

will take

off,

him away” (John 20:15). There

could be no more direct expression of amorous passion. This

the beginning of a scene with a marvelous wealth of possi-

is

ble interpretations (John 20:16-18):

Jesus called out to her,

“Mary!” She turned around and

said in

Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus added, “Do not touch me, 2 for tell

my

have not gone back up to

I

brothers that

I

am

ascending to

my

my

father.

father, to

your God.” 4 Mary Magdalene thus went to

tell

3

Rather, go

my God

and

the disciples that

she had seen the Lord and he had told her of this and that. 5

1.

He must have been

of very high rank to obtain Pilate’s consent to take possession of

lesus’ body, because this did not

the crucified rot 2.

This

ing

is

famous

the

of this

law,

which stipulated that

cross.

noli

me

fully

quite obscure.

is

sis” of Jesus,

meaning

tangere. This exclamation

must mean that Mary

rush-

is

The most

plausible explanation

his “fulfillment” in the

form of

is

that the

“metamorpho-

a “glorious” body,

had not been

completed.

This

is

not the Ascension, for Jesus will later appear to the disciples before his

ascension and

tell

“twin,” for this 5.

Roman

at all with

toward him.

3. All

4.

on the

comply

The use of

is

this

Doubting Thomas to touch the

his

wounds.

In reality,

Thomas

final

is

the

meaning of Thomas’s other name, Didyme.

expression indicates that Jesus said

than the few phrases recorded

in the

Gospel of John.

much more

to

Mary Magdalene

That

That

is

There

all.

nothing

is

Magdalene, though what

is

there

Odd Mary Magdalene

261

canonical texts on

Mary

else in the is

both a

lot

and

a

little.

One

question

What do the three Mary Magdalenes depicted in the common? (They are the sinner who is won and forgiven

arises immediately:

Gospels have

in

by Jesus; Mary of Bethany, the

Mary

of

Magdala

come from

sister

of

Martha and Lazarus; and

Mary Magdalene), who, according to Luke, has with Jesus.) It is known that divine figures were

(thus

Galilee

often depicted in the form of triads in ancient times.

can be seen

finally

in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. It

A

remnant of

was

the Celts

this

who

placed a special emphasis on the three faces of a god or hero. This

why we ary, or

often finds groups of “three mothers” in

statu-

even three-headed gods such as the Cernunnos of Reims. In the

mythic epics of Ireland, the Triple Brigit

is

often cited or the

names and

ure can be recognized under three different aspects.

cannot be said that

It

nevertheless,

much

Gallo-Roman

is

affinity

Marys of

is

it

this

makes

same

three different

for simplified understanding;

part of a logical system that simply does not have

with the Latin. Could the same be true for the three

the Gospels,

who

lore in the legend of the

In the Gospels, then,

can also be seen beneath a varnish of folk-

Holy Marys of the

we have

sea?

three female figures

who

can be com-

mingled and identified as one and the same woman: the sinner Jesus forgives;

fig-

Mary

of Bethany, the sister of

whom

Martha and Lazarus; and

Mary Magdalene, whom Luke says has come from Galilee with Jesus. Can the chaste Mary of Bethany be identical to the prostitute who made her way into the house of Simon the Pharisee with the intention of seducing Jesus, about whom she had heard so much? If we are to go by the

words of John

(11:2) at the beginning of the story of Lazarus’s res-

— “This Mary was she who anointed the Lord with perfume with her hair” — there would seem to be no doubt dried

urrection

and

about

his feet

this.

But because John does not mention the episode of the pros-

titute at the

house of Simon the Pharisee, which

Luke’s account,

some

hesitation

is

is

included only in

permissible. Luke, however, specifies

that the incident takes place in Bethany,

where Lazarus

lived.

This cre-

ates a strong case that the prostitute (a high-class one, of course,

could very well be a rich

woman

leading a so-called

without consideration of financial remuneration)

life

is

who

of pleasure

the

sister

of

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

262

Mary of Bethany. But Bethany Luke that Mary Magdalene came from Lazarus,

Luke

Galilee).

also adds that she

followed Jesus." Thus there

is

is

in

Judea, and

(Magdala

Galilee

But there are rich

is

more:

Mary

members of high

one of the

first disciples

text in

which

Could

society.

this

when he was

of Jesus

this

is

in Galilee?

still

she

would have

for

anyone

not

fact,

but

takes the

Jacques de

whom

goods and properties, includ-

inherited a vast fortune in

sister,

Martha, and

She might even have inherited the stronghold of

Lazarus.

Magdala (hence her name), ity.

who

real,

born to a noble family of royal lineage from

ing the house in Bethany that she shared with her brother,

is

a hagiographic

from the

difficult to distinguish the fantastic

is

This

the opinion of Jacques de Voragine,

time to strip them out of the superfluous text. In

Mary

can-

Mary Magdalene mysterious Mary have been

which provides useful pieces of information

Voragine’s

we

woman.

famous Legende doree (Golden Legend),

it is

in fact in

of Bethany, the sinner, and

absurd or impossible. Indeed, the author of the

is

nothing specific to suggest that

not identify the three Marys as one and the same

from

learn

women “who had

one of a group of

is

we

a place with a

wide reputation for immoral-

She was therefore wealthy, but devoted to hedonism, which the scene

recounted in Luke clearly shows. Christ then forgives her and chases out the seven refuses

demons

no grace

that have been possessing her.

to

Mary Magdalene.

Voragine and

we must admit

by Luke

which

8:1,

that

refers to the

panied him, as well as several

it

This

is

From

this

point on Jesus

the story told by Jacques de

holds up well.

It is

even corroborated

entourage of Jesus: “The twelve accom-

women

.

.

.

cured of

evil spirits,

of

whom

Mary, nicknamed the Magdalenian, was purged of seven demons.”

The

Mary Magdalene,

triple face of

disciple of Jesus,

can therefore

be accepted without great reservation, along with the fact that she, with the help of her sister

and brother,

of Jesus. She had the means, after

in all.

some way sponsored

We

the activities

should keep in mind that dur-

ing the three years of his preaching, Jesus did not work. Yet he certainly

required food and lodging, as did his disciples. Even the Son of

cannot

live off

the spirit of the age. Jesus

was

a

man; he

ate,

God

drank, and

slept, as did his disciples. It

role.

even seems that

Why,

among

then, did the

totally erase her role

1

Jesus disciples,

Roman

Mary

Catholic Church

and almost

entirely

played a privileged

feel

obliged to almost

remove her presence?

Is

it

Odd Mary Magdalene

That

now

because of the misogyny,

263

conclusively proved, that existed at the

heart of the Church from the early Middle Ages?

The Christian con-

ception of femininity, which has certainly greatly evolved in the

world, especially since Vatican

II,

modern

due to both the Greco-Roman

is

legacy and the Hebraic alternatives. Excepting the female characters in Genesis,

who

are gripping figures, to say the least, the scribes of the

Bible have lowered a sacerdotal role.

Woman

The

by making her impure and

idea that

Mary Magdalene

ineligible to play

enjoyed total equality

with the apostles was a claim that has never crossed any theologian’s

mind. Because priests are the legitimate heirs of the apostles,

make Mary Magdalene

a priestess

—how

foundations for the apostolic sacerdotal

And

yet the scene in

horrible!

—and

this

would

one of the

filiation.

which Mary of Bethany washes

and

Jesus’ feet

anoints him with expensive perfume, which Judas, the group’s treasurer, feels

could be put to a more profitable use,

What

royal ordination.

forms the

Is it

ritual;

she

more, in

who

moments spent

and grasped

it

a kind of sacerdotal

and

Mary who

per-

this instance

it

is

the priestess.

is

forbidden to think that

those long said

it is

is

is

Mary

of Bethany, over the course of

at the feet of the

in its entirety, or at least

Lord, heard what he sensed the

full

scope

of Christ’s mystery? Jesus persistently tried to get his disciples to realize this

—

their hearts

if

only in the brilliance of the Transfiguration! But

remained curiously closed

Mary, however, did perceive and accept the

moment had come

Through

the

all it.

On

way

to the end.

that day she

to manifest this mystery in chiaroscuro.

a kind of prophetic intuition,

Mary

anointed the head of

Jesus, recognizing

and displaying him

anointed his

Messiah and as one sent from God. 6

feet as

This obviously involves a

knew

rite

as king

and

priest,

and

of enthronement that can be performed

only by a person symbolically vested with sacerdotal powers. Jesus fully

aware of

Mary “had

6.

this

when he answers Martha’s reproaches by

is

saying that

the best part.”

Georgette Blaquiere, La Grace d’etre

Femme

(Paris: Editions Saint-Paul, 1981),

163.

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

264

In Israel there are

two

sites

named Bethany:

town two

a

miles east of

Jerusalem, where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived; and a place on the left

bank of the Jordan,

Dead

just before the

Sea, a ford

was

Baptist baptized. This place by the gates to the desert

own

Bethabara, “the house of passage.” Each in his or her

Mary

later

granted baptism, initiation

Magdalene extends

Baptist.

long

the

man

of hair.

The

One

mane

is

also called

way, John and

to say, the right of pas-

is

The two Bethanys seem

sage, the crossing of the threshold. other.

—that

where John the

to mirror each

the echo of the precursor of Jesus,

and the other

clad in hides

chief difference

is

the

between them

within a harsh and terrible place, screaming the

call to

John the

woman

is

that

with her

John

repent and launch-

ing curses (an example of Essenian rigor), whereas in the Bethany

opposing shore, where

all is

blooming and

gay,

stays

on the

Magdalene speaks of love

and forgiveness and the transition from one world

to the next. Jesus

received the baptism of water from John, but unlike the ancient kings, he

did not receive an anointing or consecration by Passion, however, and his “baptism by spirit

he received the perfumed

oil

me

repeat, can be

The unction

in

in the life of Jesus.

always more or that in fact this

according to

Gospel

is

woman

Mark

is

in his

words

edgment of

—or

priestess.

most important events

to his disciples,

who

are

toward the whims of Woman, he declares

truly did

“what she had

14:9: “In truth,

I

to do,”

and even adds,

declare to you, everywhere the

to be spread, throughout the

recount, in

priest

surely one of the

Furthermore,

less hostile

fire” (the Crucifixion),

to Jesus. But this royal unc-

performed only by a

Bethany

Just before the

from the female Mary Magdalene/ The old

and ancient notion of the priest-king applies tion, let

and

oil.

whole world, one

will also

memory of her, the deed she has done.” This is acknowlan uncommon power possessed by Mary that may seem out

of proportion

—and

this

is

what the

first disciples clearly

thought

—with

a gesture that could pass for female vanity. This statement underscores

Mary Magdalene in his very words. Mary Magdalene relegated to such a minor

the importance Jesus gave

Why,

then,

is

this

the evangelical tradition as revised Is

7.

the Christian sacerdotal class

Jacqueline Kelen,

Un Amour

role in

and corrected by the Church Fathers?

ashamed

infini (Paris:

to

owe

so

much

to a

Albin Michel, 1983), 52-53.

woman?

Odd Mary Magdalene

That

And I cannot

Church done

the

What

forbear from asking myself: to these

to be explored there?

words of Jesus?

And wouldn’t

has the

memory

265 of

something yet

Isn’t there

something be the conse-

this

cration of a specifically female ministry of a prophetic and charis-

matic

nature

would himself have recognized and

that Jesus

proclaimed as existing in tandem with the apostolic and sacerdotal

ministry?

What

a unique place

heart of the Church,

The question has been

if

this

was

woman would

the case! 8

clearly raised.

And

it

seems that Abbe Sauniere

may have answered it in his own way in the church The

hold in the very

of Rennes-le-Chateau.

fathers of the Church, followed by the “philosophers” of the

Middle Ages, “this hatred of

beholden to the Church, only

all

women,

a hatred that in fact

and codified

justified

came from

a fear of

women

taken to delirious proportions, that was hung from the most minor physiological details, which were exploited in such a

them impassable

prohibitive barriers.”

9

It is

way

as to

make

true that in everything they

undertook, Christian theoreticians were slaves of the famous verse in

when

Genesis after the transgression,

draw you

will

ble for

many

to

man, and he

is

Lord

tells

Eve: “Your desire

you” This premise is responsi“Christian dogma has no fear of going

will rule

misunderstandings.

to absurd lengths, as

the

shown by

its

declaration that the mother of

Christ conceived without any sexual intervention, thereby the Savior to being simply a half

man,

just

revenge of things would have

the

Virgin Mary,

absolutely beyond It

Paul

would

II,

after

Bacchus.” 10

in Christian

all

common

just require a little

And

yet, as the

worship the place of

mother of God and consequently

a

woman,

is

measure. impetus, though. The text of Pope John

published on the occasion of the Marian year 1988, contains a

proposition that goes In fact,

it,

like

condemning

John Paul

II

much

we might think at first glance. homage to Mary Magdalene, and

further than

pays a sustained

reminding us that according to the Gospel of John she was the

Femme

8.

Georgette Blaquiere, La Grace d'etre

9.

Andre de Smedt, La Grande Deesse nest pas morte

10. Ibid., 225.

The author of

these lines

is

(Paris: Editions Saint-Paul, (Paris:

a Catholic priest.

1983), 165.

first

1981), 165.

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

266

person to have seen Christ after he emerged from the tomb, he adds, for this very reason that she

is

Magdalene was, before the Apostles, eyewitness and

was

for that reason, she

Mary

called the Apostle of Apostles.

is

“It

to Christ’s resurrection,

also the first to testify to

it

in the

presence

of the Apostles.” This observation has the merit of considering the

importance of the very circumstances that surrounded the event.

you think about

it,

in fact,

seems “enormous.” Jesus,

it

a preeminently patriarchal society,

who

exclusively male apostles, chose the a

woman — and What

is

the

first

not his mother, but a

read between the

is

who

When

belonged to

depicted as leading a troop of

witness of his resurrection to be

woman with whom he

seems,

if

we

have shared a privileged relationship.

lines, to

meaning of

this scene at the

tomb?

A

historically based

reading, such as the kind practiced by the official commentators of the

Church

for

twenty centuries, does not cast any doubt as to the

reality

of the facts. Yet through an event that can be accepted as authentic, the

presence of

most

Mary Magdalene

reliable witness

—

is

—especially alone, according to John, the

quite odd.

Marian year 1988, John Paul

In his address concerning the

dentally a highly talented and dramatic author

nizant of the problems faced by definitely

warrants our

A woman

is

always and

entrusted by

mean

perfectly cog-

observation that

strong because of her awareness of this entrusting,

in every

crimination in which she is

this

is

inci-

interest:

strong because of the fact that her,”

women, made

who

II,

God

to

God

way, even

may

If

in a particular

them

human

being to

in the situations of social dis-

find herself. ...

women

that Christ looks to

“entrusts the

for the

the

human

being

way, does not

this

accomplishment of the

“royal priesthood?” 11

A

“royal priesthood”

come

to

is

what

truly

involved here. Without trying to

any conclusion about the question of

symbolic meaning of the scene addresses

11.

is

Mary Magdalene,

John Paul

II,

it

Mulieris Dignitatem,

in

faith,

if

we

consider the

which Jesus comes back to

can be seen that

Rome, 1988.

this scene

is

life

and

of mytho-

Odd Mary Magdalene

That

and of course

logical, alchemical, metaphysical, all

267

religious significance,

wonderfully combined in an image that can be engraved into collec-

memory. The tomb

tive

the earth’s

is

primordial deity). The dead Jesus die

.

.

.”)

of death, then decomposition

the

placed therein (“if the seed does not

is

an

inert

body

— but by virtue of

emerge from the athanor

forty-eight hours),

womb

of

presiding over

it?

crucible (or the

woman,

Mother Earth,

subject to the rigidity

but

it is

Mother

—that

Earth). This

is

certainly not the

It is

not his mother.

It is

He

that, to purification.

end of a symbolic gestation period of three days

will, at the

is

(that of

so that he can ripen and be re-created and regenerated like the

prima materia of alchemists. His

who

is

womb

(in fact,

the alchemical

is,

a veritable birth, but

Roman

Juno.

It is

a

an Other.

In short, in this “symbolist” version of the story of Jesus’ resurrection Jesus

Hebrew

who

the equivalent of the

is

Jehovah’s role)

(like the

royal priesthood.

Mary Magdalene the

words, the

in other

void moon, for several days)

of the unconscious,

life,

—

moon god

who

If this

be

if

the

lies in

embodiment of

full

moon man

is still

was

in his

he

as

Magdalene,

leaves

who

the

is

woman,

of an

what would

the dispenser of

warmth and

who

causes this

night?

moon Mary

carries a

num-

ber of characteristic solar aspects. takes place at the

undifferentiated

here holds the role of the

dawn

All of this brings to

We

New Mother,

should remember too that

mind

some people, but

majority of

doomed

a certain parallel

between

I

cannot put

it

I

this evangelical

know

this

might

otherwise. Yseult and the

heroines in tales of Celtic origin represent aspects

sometimes adopted by the Goddess of Beginnings, the sun

whom

this

of the third day.

scene and the legendary tale of Tristan and Yseult. scandalize

his

accepted, then

and complete awareness

tomb

tomb,

in thrall to the night

consciousness to surge into the unconscious awareness of the Jesus

the

shadows of the nonrealization of

identification

not the sun

(originally this

woman with-

moon man cannot gain awareness of his existence and his royal priesthood. Mary of Magdala, the mysterious Magdalene, like the Virgin Mary for whom she is only the new image, rejuvenated and rejuvenating, is the sun woman in all her intensity, splendor, and burnout

the

ing power. In this role she permits Christ to establish

on the earth an era where mind

fulfill

the Scriptures, to

will prevail over matter

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

268

which

only an emanation of mind, as

is

Mary Magdalene,

we

often

to

fail

like all the traditional Celtic heroines,

is

remember. she

Andre Breton, under the pretext of defining beauty, described vulsive, veiled erotic,

ing at

of

as “con-

magic circumstantial,” under penalty of not

exist-

otherwise. Indeed, no one can deny the eroticism and magic

all

Mary Magdalene washing

ing

whom

them with her long

urrected Jesus appears

But the

New

the feet of Christ with her tears and dry-

hair. It is perfectly

res-

to her.

first

fate of

Mary

“dared love Jesus.” This was the

start-

Testament ultimately grows mute on the

from Magdala, the

woman who

ing point for the legend, the cult,

of the Church,

understandable that the

and the controversy.

In the early days

Gnostic writings and even certain Church Fathers

acknowledged Mary Magdalene

power of sacred

as a

seduction. She

was

even extolled by Saint Augustine. Her worship intensified toward the tenth century,

when Odon

end expanded further

new

hymn

a

in the thirteenth century.

It

to her.

The

leg-

did not matter that a

generation of theologians was casting doubt on the identification of

the three Marys.

Those

sinner.

in

To popular

A

Baume.

piety she

became the image of the repentant

Provence believed she had made a journey, landed

Marseilles, and, as legend

the

composed

of Cluny

had

it,

from there

retired to a grotto in Sainte-

Burgundian legend recounts her departure from Palestine

company

of Martha, Tazarus, and

the shores of Provence. This

Maximin on

same legend

in

tells

us

in

a boat that sank off

how Maximin

preached

how Martha settled in Arles, where she how Mary Magdalene retired into a grotto; and

the Gospel in the Cote d’Azure;

tamed the Tarrasque; primarily

how

the very precious relics of this saint ended

up

in Vezelay,

thanks to Girard de Roussillon, a semilegendary, semi-historical figure,

who was At

this

or

more

a hero in several

same

in the

Charlemagne

cycle.

time, however, the basilica of Exeter in southern England

exactly in the ancient realm

ancient metropolis of the relics.

chansons de geste

Dumnonii

Dumnonia

— boasted

of the British

Isles,

of possessing the

the

same

The worship of Mary Magdalene spread throughout Europe, but

took hold particularly

in Occitania,

where not only churches are conse-

crated to her, but also

hills,

grottos,

and mountains. Under these condi-

why would it be surprising that the church should bear the name of Saint Mary Magdalene? tions,

of Rennes-le-Chateau

Odd Mary Magdalene

That

269

Mary Magdalene has undergone many transformations. It could not be otherwise, for we have absolutely no concrete information about her life after the essential moment of the Of

course, the tradition of

The course

Resurrection.

is

thus clear for speculation to develop at will.

Mary Magdalene

In addition, the mystery that already surrounds

Gospels lays the groundwork for It is

incontestable that she

kinds of hypotheses.

all

was

in the

in love

with Jesus. Saying so cannot

shock anyone, because the canonical events offer

sufficient

proof of

While not one of the Gospel writers says one word concerning a son” between

Mary Magdalene and

want: The seeds of their plot John, and here

One

theory

is

that

Mary Magdalene was

plexities in this regard.

Wedding

first

According to the

famous wedding

action of his public

life),

in the

behaves

gives orders to the servants, telling

that he can turn

it

into wine.

The

oddities throughout the Gospels: to bear that

title

unless he

imagine what they

already existed in the Gospel of Saint

lines

ulous analysis of the story of the

invited to this

free to

where one guarantee

a case

is

“liai-

Jesus of Nazareth (or rather, Jesus

and filmmakers are

the Nazarene), novelists

it.

is

as

in

Cana

text, Jesus,

company like the

them

as another.

the wife of Jesus.

to

reveals

A metic-

some

who was

of his mother

per-

allegedly (it is

the

master of the house and

fill

servants obey

A

worthy

the jars with water so

him

12 .

There are other

rabbi would not have had the right

was married.

Jesus maintains close relations

with Martha and Lazarus. The house in Bethany seems to serve Jesus as a residence in

between

Mary Magdalene lowing

who

and preaching. According to John,

present at Jesus’ crucifixion and immediately fol-

Then

his resurrection.

Mary,

at

is

his travels

there

is

the noli

me

tangere that Jesus

seemingly wants to rush to him. There

is

no lack of

grounds for presumption of a wedded relationship. But there

Of

proof.

course, nor

is

fires

is

no

there any strictly historical proof that Jesus

actually existed.

12. See

M.

Baigent, R. Leigh, H. Lincoln,

Press, 1982).

It

Holy Blood, Holy Grail (New York: Delacorte

goes without saying that while

I

consider these authors’ arguments con-

cerning the Wife of Jesus to be extremely interesting, as

I

hold

many

its

do not share

their conclusions, just

reservations based on the mentality that animates this book. Although

completely impassioned, because of

I

it

is

quite suspect from a variety of perspectives, particularly

problematic ideology.

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

270

The the

so-called apocryphal gospels certainly

do not

fail

to testify to

bonds uniting Jesus to Mary Magdalene. For example, we can read

in the

gospel attributed to Philip a passage that could not be any

more

explicit:

The

companion was Mary from Magdala. The Christ

Savior’s

loved her above

all

mouth. The other

the other disciples disciples

and often kissed her on the

took offence

at this

and made no

attempt to hide their disapproval and asked Jesus: love her

“Why

more than any of us?” And

wouldn’t

I

What we must keep

mind, however,

Gnostic text in which everything sertation ity

is

is

that the Gospel of Philip

symbolic.

is

It

God

is

a

also includes a long dis-

on the nuptial chamber that has nothing

of a Jesus,

Jesus

the Savior answered them:

more than you?”

love her

in

“Why do you

to

do with the

real-

incarnate. But this text does contain one constant:

always accompanied by three

women

—

his mother, his sister,

and Mary Magdalene. 13 All of this is

is

hypothetical, of course, but

no more than hypothesis

required to prompt the hatching of speculation that

as historical fact,

which

is

thrust

is

upon

us

occasionally embellished by miraculously

rediscovered documents that actual analysis reveals to be forgeries. This is

the case with the story of

Mary Magdalene disembarking on

the

shores of Occitania with her family and the children she had with Jesus.

These descendants of Jesus are said to have

and taken root

there, so that

today

it is

settled in the

south of Gaul

possible to rub shoulders with

authentic descendants of Jesus Christ.

The

story

grew more absurd when

a fusion

was created with

the leg-

end about Magdalene and another legend circulated by the Merovingian chronicler Fredegar. (In fact,

it

is

an apocryphal

text,

which another

chronicler of the time, Gregory of Tours, did not even mention because

he considered origin of the ticed both

13. See Pierre

it

stupid). This story involves the

mythic

—hence divine

Merovingian dynasty, those “long haired” kings

magic and war. But then,

who

prac-

in so-called primitive societies, all

Crepon, Les Evangiles apocryphes

(Paris: Retz,

1983).

That

war ily

is

magical, and

when men

Odd Mary Magdalene

271

learn to handle weapons, they necessar-

learn feats of magic to be used to best adversaries.

The myth

is

as follows:

Merovech, founder of the dynasty

had two

certain he actually existed),

fathers, for after his

(it is

not

mother had

been impregnated by the Frankish king Clodion the Long-Haired, she

was

carried off while bathing by a mysterious creature that Fredegar

describes as a bestia Neptuni Quinotori similis. This “beast similar to a

Quinotaur of Neptune” mythology.

Now

recalls

another fabled animal from Greek

“beast” sexually assaults the queen, making her

this

pregnant again, so that when she gives birth to a son, the famous

Merovech, he possesses two

and one of

a fantastic

from over the

different bloodlines,

— and divine, of course—creature who has come

This theme

sea.

one of a Frankish king

from two conceptions are not

is

from

far

original

at all rare in Celtic

and

births resulting

mythology. 14 It

that Fredegar found this legend in an old mythological source to both Celts

likely

common

and Germans. Whatever the actual source, great men have

always been the product of a birth or conception that

Romulus was

nary:

is

the son of a vestal virgin

is

out of the ordi-

and the god Mars; the

Irish

hero Cuchulainn was given two fathers and experienced two births in

Gwyon Bach

before

being eaten by the goddess Ceridwen and being reborn from her

womb.

succession; the great

We

can guess

and

Taliesin

at the significance of

on the

floating

Welsh bard

was

Pharaoh’s daughter finding Moses

Nile. Every ruling family has

Julius Caesar

went

first

needed mythic ancestors,

to great pains to spread the legend that he

a descendant of Iulius Ascanius,

son of Aeneas,

who was

was

himself son of

Venus. This prompted Julius’s successor Augustus to encourage the poet Virgil to

compose

his

Aeneid for the glory of

Rome

—and the imperial

And the Plantagenets claimed descent from who were of the line of Melusine.

family, the gens iulia.

or the Lusignans,

In the recent past

—and

legend with that of

concerns the Rennes-le-Chateau affair

it

certain authors have thought

it

made

Mary Magdalene,

sense to

combine the Merovingian

wife of Jesus and mother of

children. In doing so they explain that the sea monster

of a

man who came from

14. See

and

J.

J.

a fairy

is

many

only a symbol

across the sea, but with a divine connotation.

Markale, Epic Myths of Celtic Ireland (Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 2000),

Markale, VEpopee celtique en Bretagne, 3rd Edition

(Paris: Payot, 1985).

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

272

As you may

guess, this sea monster

a son of Jesus

actually symbolically designating

is

and Mary Magdalene, meaning, consequently, that the

Merovingian kings are the descendants of Jesus. They are not merely kings by divine right; they are divine kings. This leads to propping up the theory of those

who

claim that legitimate and pure-race descendants

meaning that there are today descen-

of the Merovingians

still

dants of Dagobert

a genuinely historical king

circa

II,

exist,

who was

assassinated

678 under ill-explained circumstances, but probably through the

impetus of Pippin of Heristal, true founder of the Carolingian dynasty.

Any

of Dagobert’s

power

restored to a cadet branch of the Merovingians

would be an

illusory power, however, for at the time of his death the

real levers of

command were

already in the hands of the Pippins. This

era of the Slothful Kings remains obscure

speculation,

enough

to permit

any kind of

and unfortunately any invention.

As an example,

claimed that Dagobert

it is

II

wed

Gisela of Reddae,

daughter of a Visigoth princess. At the time of Dagobert IPs murder, his son, Sigibert IV,

was

allegedly rescued

hiding place in the Razes at the

home

and

led

by

his sister

Irmine to a

of his grandfather Bera, count of

Reddae. Sigibert would have succeeded Dagobert and given birth to a kind of clandestine dynasty, authentically Merovingian, whose obviously enthusiastic offspring (the plant-ard are

recognized today

still

at least in certain self-styled esoteric milieus.

The sad riage

truth of the matter

between Dagobert

II

is

that

nowhere

is

there record of a mar-

and Gisela of Reddae. In addition,

at the

time

of Dagobert’s death his son, Sigibert (whose existence has not been

would have been only

proved),

three years old, while his sister Irmine,

who

allegedly took

four.

Obviously a very precocious family!

of Christ

is

him

to the Razes, could not have been It

must be

first

is

no record of him, and

count of the Razes was William of Gellone

historical figure

who

entered into legend under the

of William of Orange,

We

are thus pretty far

umentation

true that the blood

mixed with that of the Franks! The same obscurity hovers

over the so-called Bera, count of Reddae. There the

more than

exists

descent: “These

named

to this position in

— Saint Guilhem— more

familiar

name

781 by Charlemagne.

from the Merovingians. Yet we are told that doc-

that could prove the contention of

documents that could

Merovingian

reestablish the truth are those dis-

That

Odd Mary Magdalene

covered by Abbe Sauniere in Rennes-le-Chateau.

ments was one bearing the that

seal of

Blanche de

Among

Castille,

we

273

these parchare told,

and

15 proves the Merovingian descent through Sigibert IV.” But yet

it

another unfortunate fact emerges: “|T]he documents of Abbe Sauniere

have never been seen by anyone.

Why

not

make them

16 content has been revealed for decades?” This

and one

which we are

for

We

a pertinent question,

waiting to receive an answer.

still

all,

aren’t the

are living today the descendants of Jesus

and Mary

can always expect a miracle, of course. After

Merovingians

Magdalene?

who

It is

true that the present time

miracles, however.

descendants

we

is

public, for their

may

Though

Jesus

— as

arithmetical progression

far

is

not a propitious one for

was an authentic thaumaturge,

not be. Finally, today

trace our ancestry

is

back as

is

we know possible

established so that

less

from the same

that the farther back

—a well-known law of

we

be those of millions of people. In other words,

more or

his

find our ancestors to

human

beings are

all

family.

—which very well orchestrated, by the way, and echoed by talented authors — and without having to resort to In

all this

phantasmagoria

a “fabulous race” that

tudes and undeniable Saint

Magdalene

in

is

came from elsewhere,

realities.

Among these

is

there

do

exist

some

certi-

the existence of a church,

Rennes-le-Chateau, a strange church whose entire

ornamentation seems to have crystallized around Mary Magdalene.

That

15.

is

the

most important

reality.

Richard Bordes, Les Merovingiens a Rennes-le-Chateau, 15.

16. Ibid., 27.

The Shepherds of Arcadia

It is

by chance that we find on the Arques road through the

certainly not

tomb

area of Peyrolles an isolated

that

an exact replica of the one

is

depicted in Poussin’s painting The Shepherds of Arcadia. is

that Poussin did not

road because

tomb

this

model

his

tomb on

the one found

scene. But then another question arises:

built after

Why

is

yet another

is

anomaly

is

of note

the Arques

We must

Poussin painted his

the countryside depicted

in Poussin’s painting identical to the very real

tomb? Here

on

did not exist in the seventeenth century.

acknowledge that the tomb was

clearly

What

landscape behind this

in a region that

has more than

its

share of inspiration for incessant speculation and keen polemic.

The tomb and the

is

not ancient.

It

from the time of Father Sauniere,

dates

precise circumstances surrounding

1902, the grandson of an industrialist

who

chased the property on which the tomb ulcher

on

a small rise located

some

its

construction are known. In

twenty years

sits

earlier

had decided

sixty yards

to

away from

had pur-

make

a sep-

the road. In

order to achieve this he turned to a master mason, a Mr. Bourrel of Rennes-les-Bains. eral

members

The tomb was used

to

house the mortal remains of sev-

of the owner’s family. In 1921, however, the deceased were

exhumed from

their graves

and transported

cemetery. Shortly afterward, the property

to a vault in the

was put up

for sale

Limoux and pur-

—an American named Mr. Lawrence. The was then and today — that empty.

chased by another industrialist

tomb remained

as

it

can be seen, half hidden by the

still is

trees,

274

on

is

a

mound

to say,

at the

It

edge of a sheer

The Shepherds

now

drop, near a small bridge that spans a small,

Nicolas Poussin’s landscape

tomb

the landscape behind the

This

commissioned the tomb knew chosen

this site or

Poussin

if

motives

his

was too

it

vanished.

made

was not

this

knew what noted,

late to

The mystery

a

tomb

one

it

work.

in the painting.

He would

why

who

not have

one imagined by

in imitation of the

the case. But

If

can be seen that

certain that the person

It is

this painter’s

did he do so?

No

one ever

may have been, and when the similarity was ask the man responsible, for he had long since

therefore remains intact.

had taken

plausible that Poussin

It is

identical to the

is

well worth considering.

is

dry streambed.

committed to memory,

is

275

of Arcadia

his inspiration for his paint-

not quite right.

But something in

this

notion

Nicolas Poussin was born in Andelys, but

left

France at an early age to

ing

from

this landscape.

take up residence in

who

Poussin,

Rome.

“It

would be an extraordinary occurrence two years

stayed in France for only

1640, to September 25, 1642

months or more

that

—could

have

If

if

— from December 17,

left

would have been necessary

the Corbieres region.

is

Paris for the three

to paint a landscape in

Poussin had visited this area, some unambigu-

ous clues and testimonies would certainly have remained. To the contrary,

it

can be proved that he did not leave

Paris,

entrusted with an official mission and where

him.” Another point 1

the Louvre,

is

is

where he had been

work was heaped upon

that Poussin’s painting, currently

on display

not the only one he composed on this theme. There

at

is

a

second painting with a different composition that has been housed for

two

the last

centuries in the Gallery of the

England. Further, Poussin was not the

first

Dukes of Devonshire

in

painter to use this subject

matter; a Guercino painting dating from around 1618

may have

served

Poussin as a model.

What distinguishes

these three paintings

herds reading the inscription on a

Arcadia ego meaning “Even

in

attracted a great deal of attention

which

painting,

1.

tomb and

Arcadia [am]

both the depiction of shepthe inscription I.”

itself:

Et

in

This enigmatic phrase

“I,

too, have been in Arcadia”) has

from

analysts, as has the posture of the

(which can also be translated as

figures,

is

clearly reflects notions of symbolism. In the

two shepherds leaning on

their

Guercino

crooks are looking at a tomb

R. Descadeillas, Mythologie du tresor de Rennes, 141-42.

set

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

276

in a fairly

tormented landscape.

head, which has a hole in rituals

its

On

skull that

the is

tomb

intended to prevent the deceased from reincarnating. Poussin’s

of despondent posture while the other

A

kind of trepidation.

exposed

is

in the

ratio, 1.6 18,

2

is

Louvre, however,

artistic

honored

make

arranged to

is

ter of the entire

by

The

head is

is

he

is

air close to indifference.

the one that

is

most pol-

the

composition to the extent that every-

in the

the inscription the fictitious but absolute cen-

a

tomb. The shepherd on the

tomb with an expression

Another shepherd on the

third shepherd

his staff,

a

harmony, the Golden Mean. This famous

grouped around

on the ground; he seems ger.

tomb with

composition. The painting consists of three shepherds

a shepherdess

his face.

seated in a kind

also considered to be an exceptional

It is

leaning on both his staff and the

on

is

are viewing the

and bears an

left

ished and worthy of interest.

example of perfect

two

whom

shepherdess with her right breast almost entirely

standing on the

The painting

and

an impressive death’s

reminiscent of ancient Germanic

English painting depicts three shepherds, one of

thing

is

is

to be is

left is

on the

of curiosity

kneeling with his

drawing the inscription with right. Slightly

left is

left

knee

his right fin-

stooped and supported

pointing at the inscription with his

hand while

left

turned back toward the shepherdess with a questioniong

air.

his

She

standing with her hands on her hips, her face leaning slightly for-

ward, with an expression that suggests she knows the meaning of the inscription while the shepherds

do

not.

The landscape

somewhat tormented. Mountain peaks appear against a sky that the

left

as

if

is

sunset

is

in

is

mysterious and

background

the

blue on the right, cloudy in the center, and red on

approaching.

This painting has been the subject of a wide variety of interpretations.

The

art experts of course see

nothing mysterious about

he painted The Shepherds of Arcadia, Poussin was gravely

2. Poussin’s

painting

structed according to

length to

its

is

considered to be a “golden rectangle” because

what Pythagoras

called the “divine proportion”

When

and knew

ill

it is

it.

entirely con-

—the

ratio of the

width equals the marvelous number 1.618003399. In ancient times

been observed that

this

number was

the ratio between the first

and second

finger

it

had

and the

second and third finger on the hand, and that the navel divided the body according to this

same proportion. The golden number, which

results

from extremely precise mathe-

matical calculations, has always been cloaked with a sacred, even magical virtue.

277

The Shepherds of Arcadia

his

He had

days were numbered.

theme

way

as a

midst of

and the

to translate the idea of death

flight of

time in the

His personal drama was therefore made one with a uni-

life.

human

versal

availed himself of this preexisting

known

reality. It is also

that this painting

was executed on

who had

behalf of Cardinal Rospligosi, the future pope Clement IX,

asked Poussin to paint him a work that could express a “philosophical truth.”

Hence

the subject of the

Geographically, Arcadia the Peloponnesus.

crown

a

is

in fact a

It is

of mountains, a

well-known myth of Arcadia.

mountainous and

kind of amphitheater surrounded by

somewhat remote region became

forested for a long time. This region

Arkas, the

name

of the hero

who was

was heavily

that

as a derivation of

the son of the

nymph

Callisto.

According to the myth:

Zeus seduces the nymph Artemis. She

some,

in

is

Callisto

who

is

a hunting

companion of

changed into a bear by Zeus himself, according to

order to hide her from the eyes of his wife, Hera, and by

Artemis, according to others, as punishment for breaking her chastity. Callisto

herself shoots

save her

life,

is

at her at the instigation of a jealous

Zeus picks her up and

as the Big Dipper.

4 ancestor of the Arcadians. This

myth

comes from the Indo-European root

is

revealing.

Hera. To

The

3

Dipper supposedly represents either a dog or the son of

Little

Callisto, the

The name Arkas

which means “bear.”

orks,

has engendered the Greek arktos, the Irish

art,

and the Breton

as well as the Latin ursus. This implies that Arcadia

with bears, but when the bear’s symbolic value

is

was

It

arz,

a place rife

taken into account,

can easily be seen that Arcadia has become a kind of Other World,

a parallel

and sometimes underground world

unknown. Winter to

of

where she

raises her into the sky,

becomes the constellation known

it

vow

then hounded by Artemis’s pack, while Artemis

arrows

is

in fact the

emerge when the sun

known

3.

[The Big Dipper

4.

Michel Praneuf, L’Ours

is

is

time

when

et les

in

which death

shining again. This brings to

hommes

(Paris:

is

the bear hibernates, only

as the Big Bear in French.

a

a mythological place in

The name Arcadia was explained

ancient times.

wild area of

fairly

— Translator

]

Imago, 1989), 37-38.

mind

the

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

278

myth of Arthur, who

is

hibernating on the

isle

of Avalon. Arcadia

can be considered as the Greek mythological equivalent to the

Isle

of

Avalon and even the Celtic Other World of underground mounds,

where dwell the gods and heroes of ancient

We know

that Nicolas Poussin

was

times.

greatly attracted to hermetic

known

doctrines and that he spent time with people

more or a

less secret

member

in Italy

know

“brotherhoods.”

No

for belonging to

doubt the painter was himself

of one of these “initiatory” societies that were proliferating

and even

that he

was

France during the seventeenth century.

in

a protegee of Nicolas

sent his brother Father Louis Foucquet to

sion of acquiring art

Foucquet and that the

As minister of finances

interacted with the painter.

works intended

We

Rome

for the

also

latter

1655, Foucquet

in

“with the secret mis-

adornment of

Belle-Ile,

Saint-Mande, and the castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte.” Louis Foucquet obviously turned to Nicolas Poussin for assistance. But sion” intended to traffic only in works of art?

by Louis to

A

was

this “secret mis-

letter sent

his brother the minister casts significant

from

doubt on

Rome this. It

includes this very curious passage:

He

[Poussinl

and

I

have projected certain things that

you

ease be able to explain to

in detail

—things that

I

shall

with

will give you,

through Monsieur Poussin, advantages which even kings would

have great pains to draw from him, and which, according to him, it is

possible that

come.

What

is

nobody

more,

it

else will ever discover in the centuries to

would not occasion much expense and

could even be turned to a profit, and these are things that are so keenly sought after that greater fortune

Obviously

that exists

on the earth could not have

and perhaps not even equal

this letter

methods of procuring in other letters

all

it.

could concern bribes and graft and other shady

art at a

from Louis to

cheap

price.

There are references to these

his brother, but the

terms used here seem

disproportionate to a simple deal involving paintings. They clearly

appear more ities

significant.

Of

we can imagine all may be referring to,

course,

regarding what this passage

sorts of possibil-

but one thing

is

279

The Shepherds of Arcadia sure: Shortly after the time of this letter, Nicolas

to

why

Following Foucquet’s imprisonment,

many

searches of the archives of the Razes?

The imbroglio As

is

and never divulged.

secret he held

imprisonment because of a

life

Foucquet was sentenced

did Colbert undertake so

What was

he looking for?

complete and the mystery continues to thicken.

happens, Nicolas Poussin chose a rather curious personal

it

one depicting a

man

holding a boat or an ark, with the inscription: tenet

confidentiam, translated as “he holds the secret.” Given

we make

should

seal,

what

this,

posthumous work, Le Mystere en

of Maurice Barres’s

pleine lumiere (The Mystery in Full Light), a collection of several studies

some

of painters in which the author gives vent to

rather strange

observations? Barres informs us that numerous painters belonged to tiatory brotherhoods, the chief

which he

one being the mysterious Angelic

Society,

associates with Delacroix, taking a particular interest in the

He makes a more better known as Claude

with

“angelic aspect of his work.”

explicit reference

regard to Claude Gellee,

Lorrain, saying of

that

we

“clearly feel that he

was not born

This means that Claude Gellee was a dictated

know

some of

Gellee,

it is

same “brotherhood?”

member

was prepared. ”

of a spiritualist group that

most worthy companion of this that

Still

one truly wishes to

his friend Poussin.”

Nicolas Poussin was a

member

on

to say,

Angels were not holding his hand,

if

“He would be nothing

he was not a

of the

whom

speaking about Claude Lorrain,

likens to Poussin, Barres goes

member

if

he the

of celestial

he drew away from what enchants him, supports him, and

him.

uplifts

at once, but

him

necessary to have the drawing by Sandrart in which he

Should we conclude from

if

all

his inspirations. Barres adds, “If

reveals himself to be a

society,

ini-

He knows

his

poem

,

outside of that he

knows

nothing.

”

There could be no clearer reference to the existence of an Angelic Society to

which the majority of painters (and authors) of any era belong. Even

better,

Barres goes on to openly reveal the password: “It

we manage famous If

to contrive in

inscription:

anyone

still

Et

in

some corner of our work Arcadia ego.

a

is

necessary that

tombstone with the

”

doubts the existence of

this

Angelic Society whose

lying or recognition sign appears to be the phrase inscribed

painted by Poussin, then he or she should read a

letter

ral-

on the tomb George Sand

wrote to Gustave Flaubert, dated November 17, 1866. Here

is

what

the

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

280

“good lady of Nohant” has is

down my

setting

any event,

to say: “In

all

I

am good

epitaph! Et in Arcadia ego, you know.”

know” speaks volumes more than any

for

The “you

discourse would. Before she

became the “good lady of Nohant,” George Sand took part

movements of utopian

inspiration

today

and was

fully

in all the

aware of where things

stood in those “brotherhoods” that were the heirs of the Bavarian Illuminati

and certain clandestine orders of the Middle Ages. Before

La Mare au

writing

Consuelo

diable (The Devil’s Pool), she wrote a

which she makes

in

brotherhood she

war or

entitled

several revelations about a mysterious

of the Invisibles: “They are the instigators

calls the Sect

of every revolution; they are at

decide

book

work

in the courts, guide all business,

peace, redeem the unfortunate, punish the scoundrels, and

cause kings to tremble on their thrones.”

We

cannot help but

recall

Nicolas Foucquet,

cause to tremble on his throne before giving

who

way

XIV

gave Louis

himself, probably

because Nicolas betrayed the “brotherhood” to which he belonged. Acts of betrayal are not forgiven by these kinds of associations, and the

where they need

Invisibles are

where they

many ing

stay,

to be: “It

known

not

is

but they are everywhere ...

travelers yet also lend a

hand

It is

if

there

they

a place

is

who murder

to others against brigands, depend-

on whether they have deemed these

travelers

worthy of

their pro-

tection or deserving of punishment.”

This cannot help but bring to mind Father Gelis,

who was mur-

dered in the Coustaussa presbytery for no apparent motive. In will recall that the inscription written his

body

said:

Viva Angelina.

Who

on the

could

cigarette paper

still

the presence of this Angelic Society that

fact,

we

found near

harbor any doubts about

had

as a

member

Nicolas

Poussin and as a mythic country Arcadia?

The ances.

Illuminati are a reality, even

Louis

Blanc praises them

if

masked by

discreetly

in

his

spiritual appear-

de

Histoire

Revolution:

Solely through the attraction of mystery tion, they

to

compel thousands of people

move with

a

single will

and the force of associa-

in nations

around the world

and breathe with one breath

.

.

.

Gradually and slowly they educate these people to become entirely

la

281

The Shepherds of Arcadia

new

beings;

who

ers

make them

and unknown; with such

are invisible

upon

secretly

abolished,

is

a legion,

weigh

the courts, envelop the sovereigns, direct govern-

ments and even Europe tion

irrationally obedient to the death to lead-

all

at their will to the point that all supersti-

monarchy torn down,

all

by birth

privilege

declared unjust, the very right of property abolished. All this

is

was

the grandiose plan of the Illuminati.

Louis Blanc had cause to rejoice because at bottom this was his desire as well.

We now know

Russian Bolshevik Revolution,

Germany, were long incubated

that the French Revolution

just like the establishment of

in

advance within secret

and the

Nazism

in

societies that

dared not speak their names but clearly displayed philanthropic and spiritualist objectives.

Marx, which ity.

What The

is

We

must remake the world! This phrase of Karl

also that of Arthur

Rimbaud,

ideology should be used in remaking the world?

early Christians constituted a

more or

from the time that Christianity became the of the

fraught with ambigu-

is

Roman Empire

and maintained trive its fall.

What

is

is

official

that the scales were tipped

in obscurity,

That

less secret sect. It

the

way

and unique

and other

religion

of the world.

truly unnerving in Louis Blanc’s expose

his expression

is

Here we find ourselves

plunged straight back into the Razes and the Father Sauniere priest

affair.

from Rennes-le-Chateau have been a member of the

Angelic Society, or was he merely is

born

sects,

sought to destabilize Christianity and con-

“solely through the attraction of mystery

Could the

was

its

pawn and

no possible answer, though we can

Father Sauniere because the mystery

is

finally

its

victim? There

feel invisible

presences around

effective. In a

posthumous work

published in 1910, Saint- Yves d’Alveydre described an underground

kingdom he In this

He could just have easily called it Arcadia. an unknown people who live in cavities in the

called Agartha.

shadowy land

are

earth and are ruled by the King of the World, the overworld,

whose envoys

are sent to

where they pass unseen and run governments. This sim-

ply recycles a conception developed earlier in a novel by

George Earle Bulwer-Lytton that appeared

The Coming Race. Bulwer-Lytton

is

best

in English

known

for his

Edward

under the

title

book The Last

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

282

Days of Pompei, but here Illuminati

beings

the theme

Beneath the ground dwells a race of strange

tradition:

— the Anas —who are clearly

rior to the

openly borrowed from the

is

spiritually

and technologically supe-

poor humans on the surface of the earth. They have long

moved beyond

social problems,

have formed a

have an incredible energy source called

Vril.

classless society,

and

Their world can be entered

only by means of a mine that connects to “a gulf whose walls are jagged

and scorched,

as

this

if

abyss had been uncovered in some remote age

by a volcanic eruption.” The power of the Anas their civilization

quite mysterious

will

who

and even

a

little

ultiis all

alarming. it is

the

Anas them-

claim to have descended from a Celtic race. True, Bulwer-

(1803-1873) was

Lytton

because

one day allow them to rule the world. This

But the Anas merit further study. In the novel selves

irresistible

superior to our own. Further, they possess an

is

mate weapon that

is

under Queen Victoria, an

minister

a

member of that astounding brotherGolden Dawn, which has been implicated in the

Englishman, a Rosicrucian, and a

hood known

as the

development of some

sects that

gave birth to Nazism. Bulwer-Lytton was

himself the descendant of a famous seventeenth-century alchemist and

was well versed Irish texts that in

were

Great Britain.

mythology, at

in Celtic

It is

just

least the traditional

then beginning to be translated and published

not hard to identify the Anas. They are the

of Armorican Brittany, the departed souls the

moors and riverbanks

in other

at night. In

Britain

who

(sidhs), the

Anaon

can be seen wandering

Wales they are the sons of

words, the ancient, magical gods of the druidic

Ireland they are the Tuatha de

mounds

Welsh and

Don

religion. In

Danann, the ancient gods who

live in

huge megalithic cairns scattered throughout Great

and Ireland that are

really the

Other World, the marvelous

underground world of Faery. The Tuatha de Danann, the “people of the goddess Dana,” have extraordinary powers: Most leave their will.

They

tellingly,

they can

mounds, mingle with humans, and manipulate them

as they

are a real part of Celtic daily

Not an

life in

folk tradition.

Irishman alive would deny the sneaking presence of the banshee

(liter-

“woman of the mound”), a mysterious fairy or deity who influences human destiny. The Irish word sidh means “peace.” Thus the under-

ally,

ground world described by the Celts

is

the “peaceful world,”

where time

283

The Shepherds of Arcadia

no longer there

exists

and space

and anything

infinite.

is

Magic, fantasy, and the marvelous are

possible.

is

There are no logical limitations

given free rein in this evocation of the underground kingdom.

We

can

easily see Bulwer-Lytton’s considerable debt to ancient Celtic tradition

but he has integrated

it

new

into a

context, that of the Illuminati of

Bavaria, the Rosicrucians, and the Golden

work

of fiction

more

intellectual milieus of

All of this

is

what was

revealing of

Dawn, which makes

this

actually transpiring in the

Great Britain at the end of the Victorian

connected to the Grail myth, which

era.

phenomenally

is

fer-

«

tile

in all

novel called

is

its

The energy

various incarnations.

Vril in Bulwer-Lytton’s

nothing other than the green ray Jules Verne describes in a book

The Green Ray. Given

green ray’s scientific explanation

logical, his

nomenon.

that everything Jules Verne writes that

is

it is

very

is

a natural phe-

In other science-fiction novels of that time, the green ray

nothing other than the ultimate energy, and whether

depends upon the person using

it.

In this

the Grail as Chretien de Troyes describes

it is

and other ways

good or

it is

is

evil

similar to

a mysterious vessel emitting

it:

by comparison, or even the chalice

a light that causes the sun to pale

carved from the emerald that tumbled from the forehead of Lucifer (the Light Bearer)

when he

fell

into the abyss of eternal darkness

ing following the revolt of the rebel angels. this force is

what

is

atomic energy, but

it is

I

am

is

absolute energy.

is

only a receptacle.

Given

Norman, the

news

this

strive ceaselessly strive to track

information,

that hidden

somewhere

in

her

in

It

the green sees

by

down.

wouldn’t a sect that

or Viking rather, or even the

tablets of a very specific kind?

describes

why

It is

Welshman

ray emanating from the sacred vessel that Perceval the

chance and must then

suffer-

not so bold as to claim

quite close. Vril

the Grail holds, for the Grail

and

calls

Church of Odin seek

itself

to spread

Rennes-le-Chateau are emerald

These tablets are what Fanny Cornuault

book La France des

sectes:

“Each of these old

Visigothic tablets contains a large emerald capable of harnessing the

cosmic rays from the planet Vega.

Norman

initiates

knew how

to then

direct with destructive force these green or violet radiations (the violet

are the

5. F.

most carcinogenic) against an enemy.

Cornuault La France des sectes

(Paris:

s

Tchou, 1978).

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

284

Don’t worry, we are not digressing too

far

from Nicolas Poussin.

In

fact, he:

.

.

entered the secret crypt where the Visigoth kings had once

.

amassed an immense war

treasure.

booty then gradually transported

They had inventoried it

their

another crypt located

to

between the Black Mountain and the Corbieres range. But Poussin feared that in the

coming centuries the guards of

succeeded him in this duty would lose

Rome

much

at a

later date

Shepherds of Arcadia,

in

which

somewhere

that

in reference to a

is

in the

esoteric filiation.

its

he painted his famous

woman,

a

a

Halowyn, 6

who

So

in

work The seeing to

is

on an ancient tomb. 7

the deciphering of an inscription

All of this

this treasure

very

world there

common

exists

tradition maintaining

an emerald tablet capable of

concentrating cosmic energy, a kind of dreadful condenser that under certain conditions could

become

the ultimate

weapon. In Maurice

Leblanc’s LTle aux trente cercueils (The Island of the Thirty Coffins),

Arsene Lupin uncovers the secret of an amazing emerald that can burn

and

flesh

kill,

but can also provide power and

life

—

treasure with a dual nature, similar to radioactivity.

good or

evil; all

This

depends on the way a power

is

a kind of cursed

Nothing

either

put to use.

also reminiscent of the Tabula Smaragdina, that

is

is

famous

Emerald Tablet attributed to Hermes Trismegistus that serves hermeticists as a

mits

all.

to be

kind of bible or book of initiation that contains

The

found

origin of this tradition, in so-called

beyond

all

shadow

all

and per-

of a doubt,

is

apocryphal gospels that mention the famous

emerald that shines from Lucifer’s forehead and serves as a kind of

prima materia end.

“holy” Grail, at least in certain versions of the

in the

The green color

is

quite mysterious

leg-

and has been the subject of

6.

A

7.

“Hin Heilaga Normanniska Kirkja.” Tribune des Nationalistes normands catholique

priestess of the

god Odin-Wotan.

et odinistes et Jesuites (title

vouched

cle, it is better fit

for),

panscandinaves restes

March

to simply

1,

fideles a la doctrine raciste

1965. Rather than citing the

name

de saint Ignace

of the author of this arti-

denounce again the diversion of European myths

of the most dubious ideologies.

for the bene-

285

The Shepherds of Arcadia countless studies demonstrating

function of chlorophyll inspiration

—

not the invention of some poet with heavenly

Too bad

real.

it is

is

The

essential role in plant growth.

its

if

legends almost everywhere mention

precious stones that have strange properties either to engender illnesses or to bring about healing. There are even stones that can be bearers of

good or

evil.

In short, the Grail, in

version of the story, ers that

nothing other than a stone with marvelous pow-

is

can be as dangerous as they are beneficial.

But where can

we

find such stones? Assuredly

we can

face of the earth, but

that

is

Wolfram von Eschenbach’s German

find

them within,

we cannot on in

some

secret cavern

of course guarded by extremely vigilant, invisible powers. Here

find ourselves back again in Arcadia, that “land that

we

the sur-

that Other World,

the Razes.

As

lies

elsewhere,”

which appeared particularly smiling and luminous

early as the seventeenth century, certain authors

pointed to the Razes as the equivalent of the Greek Arcadia. But

should avoid be taken in by appearances. There

is

mind another novel by

Scotland. In

it

Jules Verne,

the author recounts, with

adventures of a young engineer

doned mine

in

exploited. This

is

and

side world.

They

who

who

we

it.

This

may

which

Indies,

many Masonic

is

bring set in

allusions, the

descends to the bottom of an aban-

which he hopes to find a seam that has not yet been

for the hero

girl

The Black

had

always a hidden face

behind the visible one, and not everyone can discern to

in

the opening of a series of extraordinary adventures,

his

companions become

lost

and cut

off

from the out-

are saved thanks only to the intervention of a

lives in this

underground world with her

father, a

young

mysterious

and misanthropic man. After numerous ups and downs, everything

works

out, except that the father loses his

of the

myth

life

— but

this fits the

template

— and the hero weds the young woman when they return to

the earth’s surface. In short, the hero

returns with Eurydice.

makes

his descent into hell

More cunning than Orpheus, however,

and

he does

not look back before returning to the light of day.

We

are, then, fully within the

domain of myth

—

as

is

Rennes-le-

Chateau. The stories told about caches hidden throughout the region are variations

on

this

same theme.

Gilgamesh; of Lancelot of the Lake, the infernal

myth of Orpheus and of

It is

the

who

strives to free

kingdom of Meleagant; and of

all

Guinivere from

those young peasants in

286

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

folktales

who

free a

a well or beneath a

le-Chateau lends

we can

young

girl

somewhat

itself

held prisoner by a monster in a cave or

diabolical fortress.

marvelously as the

The region of Rennes-

site for this

see in the unlikely crystallization of traditions

can be found

in this area. Yes,

must not forget that

it is

Arcadia

is

kind of myth, as

from

here beneath our

all

over that

feet,

but

we

necessary to have the key that opens the door

leading underground, where the shepherd tried to find the lost lamb.

Beranger Sauniere

knew

this well, for

he secured for his church a depic-

tion of this scene.

We

ask whether something

moot, for myth

know what we

is

history

are seeking

the Other World.

is

history or myth.

and history

when we

is

The question

myth. Most important

is

is

to

enter the underground corridors of

11

The Queen’s Gold

When

comparison

Chateau and

underground one of those

and

its

whether

The

in a cave or a

or even

emerging from

numerous versions of the primal myth,

terrifying.

It

own has

womb blood.

all

gives birth to

The maternal

all

fifth

and

both com-

book of Pantagruel,

entirely to Rabelais but does in

which may not be due

is

and

that of

living things

womb

its

the ambiguity of the Sacred, the chill of

and the warmth of the sun. In the

the tomb,

mark

man-made chamber

interior of the earth easily charges the imagination

nourishes them with her

the

hidden

something

for the arrival of spring before

Mother Earth whose generous and

is

clear that

is

it

Rennes-le-Chateau could be Arcadia, for example,

serves as a support for

forting

the tales or analyses of Rennes-le-

all

fairy realms endlessly extolled in folktales as lands of peace

where the bear waits sleep.

of

cursed treasure,

there,

prosperity.

deep

made

is

any case show

of an esoteric filiation, the priestess Bacbuc, after having led

her illustrious visitors Pantagruel, Panurge, and Father John to the Holy Bottle,

makes

appearances,

a speech to them. In

all life, all

creation,

“Once you have returned to the great treasures

Then

after

become of skies?

and

all

tells

them

movement

that contrary to

arises

from below.

to your world,” she tells them, “bear witness

and admirable things that

lie

under the earth.”

an allusion to the myth of Proserpine she adds, “What has the art of calling the thunder

You have

in use here

she

it

certainly lost

it; it

has

beneath the earth.”

287

and

left

fire

of heaven out of the

your hemisphere but

is still

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

288

For Rabelais and the tradition that enwrapped him,

world below was the holder of the

testable that the

was incon-

it

secrets of the uni-

verse just like the prima materia of the alchemists that held within itself exclusively

all

the

components of the philosopher’s

testable that the priestess

who approach

Bacbuc

is

stone.

It is

incon-

welcoming those

quite disposed to

her and to revealing these secrets by having her visitors

drink the water from a divine spring. In

fact,

we may

recall that a little

to the south of Rennes-les-Bains flows the stream Trinque-Bouteille,

which merges with the Blanque before becoming part of the Trinck! [drink] the

Isn’t

word spoken by

the

word, according to the pompous interrogation

Most

assuredly, the water of this spring

ication,

when we

is

Holy

initiated

is

fusion.

—the

only

by Panurge?

capable of causing true intox-

are possessed by the Spirit.

Again, this Spirit should not be thought of as that

Bottle

Sals River.

the chief characteristic of the world

evil.

below can

The obscurity

easily lead to con-

Gerard de Nerval was not fooled, however. At one point

story Aurelia he shares a strange vision that possessed the symbolic history of the Creation

in his

him concerning

from the time of the Seven Elohim

of the beginning. Eventually the Elohim

fell

into a relentless

war among

themselves.

I

have no idea for

the

how many

thousands of years these wars stained

world with blood. Three of the Elohim, along with the

Spirits

of their races, were finally relegated to the middle of the earth,

where they founded vast kingdoms. With them they took the secrets of the

Holy Kabbalah

they gained their

power from

that connects the various worlds

the worship of certain stars, to

and

which

they continue to correspond. These necromancers, banished to

imprisonment within the earth, had agreed among themselves to transmit their power to each other. Surrounded by slaves,

each of their sovereigns had taken steps to assure them-

selves rebirth within the

one thousand years.

would shut them on

women and

elixirs

form of

When

their children. Their

life

span was

death approached, powerful kabbalists

into heavily guarded tombs,

and strong preservatives. For

would maintain an outer semblance of

a

where they existed

long period of time they

life;

then, like the chrysalis

The Queens Gold

that spins

own

its

cocoon, they would

from which they would be reborn

would

Now Here

later

here

it is

longing

into a forty-day sleep

fall

in the

289

form of a young child who

be called to take up the reins of empire.

something truly worthy of the name cursed treasure.

is

nothing other than necromancy, even

if it is

capable of pro-

or of transmitting one body into that of another.

life

Meanwhile

vivifying

the

resources

of the

earth

were being

exhausted in order to nurture these families whose blood, never

renewed, coursed through generation upon generation. In vast

underground chambers hollowed out beneath catacombs and pyramids, they had amassed

all

the treasures of vanished races as well

as certain talismans that protected

them from the wrath of the gods.

This clearly describes a parallel humanity that escapes the

These “necromancers” survived earth, all wars,

underground ness.

and

lairs,

all

floods:

all

common

law.

cataclysms, every upheaval of the

“The necromancers huddled

in their

gloating over their treasures in silence and in dark-

Sometimes they emerged

stealthily

from

their retreats in order to

among the living or spread the deadly teachings of their sciences among the wicked.” It is known that Nerval ceaselessly skirted this world below as strike terror

much

in his frequenting of certain

“brotherhoods” as

in his

madness.

This descent into underground chambers where magicians performed

was one he personally experienced and whose dangers he

their deeds

measured. The characteristic feature of the cursed treasure

who

vince those

lay hold of

it

that they have the

power

world. The poet added in a kind of sob: “I shuddered as

I

is

to con-

to rule the

depicted the

hideous features of these cursed races. Everywhere the suffering image of the Eternal

There

is

Mother continued

no need

to languish, weep, or die.”

to stress Nerval’s idea of the Eternal

simultaneously mother, virgin, and prostitute;

and Mary;

who

is

and Aphrodite; Cybele

own mother, whom he never knew and whom women he met. She is also Aurelia, that radiant

as well as his

he looked for in figure

Isis

Mother; she

all

the

shed light on his nightmares and stirred up the burning need

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

290

in his

life.

Mother

showed

In the text of Aurelia, however, he

as a victim of the struggle

among

this Eternal

the Elohim.

Three of the Elohim had found refuge on the highest peak of the

mountains of Africa. They began to

my memory grows

hazy and

disheveled she

a

I

themselves. Here

can

still

see

woman

a

is

this

they

peak lapped by the waves; shrieking and with hair

was

struggling for her

brothers,

life.

Was

out above the roar of the waves.

The gods, her

among

do not know the outcome of

I

supreme combat. The only thing

abandoned on

fight

she saved?

had condemned

shone over her head, raining

This magnificent evocation

its

Her forlorn I

upon her

rang

do not know. Evening Star

her; but the

fiery rays

cries

face.

reminiscent of the unusual image that

is

we can see on the tympanum of the church of Rennes-le-Chateau: that of Mary Magdalene on a sort of boat, with a snake against her robe and a cross

crowning her head. For here Mary Magdalene

is

truly taking the

place and posture normally taken by the Virgin Mary. She could even

be the Virgin’s double. This

is

surely the case, but there

we may

the light cast by Nerval’s vision,

is

more: From

glean a completely different

understanding of the distinctive decor of the Rennes church and the

omnipresence of

Mary Magdalene

despite appearances,

all

that

is

in

it.

in the

We

should certainly admit that

church hardly conforms with

orthodoxy. To the contrary, the decor plunges us into an entirely Gnostic context in which also represents

Eternal ers,

what

Mother

the Elohim,

can recover

is

Mary Magdalene,

while

being

who

she

also this Soul of the World, driven

away by

her broth-

and lamenting while she awaits the moment when she

fullness.

The Soul of

the

World separated from

above her head;

it is

hope and

still

light.

the world

circular journey of the

contains a

celestial Virgin (the

and

is

Amma Mundi would

Pleroma of the Gnostics)

little

of the

cleaved in two.

Widowed and

in

be as follows: the

falls

is

But the Evening

divine light that once flooded her.

The

is,

the Gnostics called the Soul of the World. Nerval’s

only a prostitute desperately seeking a sign of Star shines

still

into the

world

mourning, she awaits her

The Queens Gold missing portion. Then she

is

291

and murdered

scattered, hidden,

beneath the various faces of the Prostitute. Through the meeting with the

One

these trials

—

mystics, in love and silence she

all

(crown of thorns and wheel of

circle

to the limitless land of Immortality

Now we num

The

objects

1

Mary Magdalene on

meaning the chest

is

this treasure

in

if

we

which

a treasure

We

Mary

as

cosmetics.

call

note that the snake is

is

any event,

In

and the snake

is

not trampled here

usual in depictions of the Virgin Mary,

or of other saints such as Marguerite de Cortone. serpent seems friendly to

stored. But for

is

could be a vessel of perfumes and other

we today

there to confirm this role.

on

believe the legend as well as

the guardian of something, ship or chest,

or held underfoot by

the tympa-

ship or ark could also represent the boat

containing what

Magdalene

the

.

which she crossed the Mediterranean,

Mary Magdalene,

fulfills

which allows her return

fire),

return to the depiction of

of the church.

the archou,

experienced

solitude, the death of those dear to her, humilia-

mockery. Like

tion,

the Virgin of the

Mary Magdalene

Original Garden, Light undivided. all

Yahweh,

she again becomes Bride of

Mary Magdalene and

On

there

the contrary, this is

no sign of any always the

visible struggle in the image.

The

guardian of treasure hidden

in the earth, generally in a cave. In addi-

tion,

serpent, or the dragon,

from the alchemical point of view,

the fact that the snake purified

is

the

its

is

role as guardian stems

symbol of mercury that has not yet been

and therefore contains the seed of the philosopher’s

addition,

we should

knowledge

(this is

recall that the serpent

what

it

stone. In

has always been a symbol of

symbolizes in Genesis) because

way everywhere and knows

from

it

winds

its

every secret, even those that are the best

accompanied by a certain

guarded

in the entrails of the earth. This

amount

of ambiguity, which Nerval emphasizes by the necromancers

who

could prolong their

lives at will,

but

is

who

used their powers, their

knowledge, for malefic purposes. In the entrails of the earth: This

is,

in fact, the location of the sanc-

tuary in which, tradition maintains, the treasure

1.

Jacqueline Kelen,

Un amour

infini (Paris:

lies.

Among

Albin Michel, 1983), 116.

the Greeks,

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

292

the master of the hells (that

ground realm) Pluto, a

is

god Hades, “he who

the

name connected

of the world below

is

therefore the seer

who

become

and the wealthy one. This

King from the romances of the Holy

is

rem-

Grail, the

pretends to rule over the kingdom of the Grail, which has

men and

Mounds were

especially

by the king,

who

thus performed a major

This Fisher King, who, according to certain tales in the

sacrilege.

Arthurian cycle,

is

ancient Welsh god

named

Pelles,

which

tion of a divine

Melisande

named Pwyll Penn Annwfn,

woman, who

is

is

is

a remarkable

nothing without the interven-

(in

which

Pelleas

and the enigmatic horsewoman Rhiannon

Pelles);

First

man and

the Grail Bearer in the medieval story;

Maurice Maeterlinck’s play

in

merely a “courtly” form of an

is

uncle of Perceval-Parzival. But this king

from the

is

The master

as ploutos, “rich.”

a sterile desert since the time the Fairies of the

raped by

than

whose other name

sees all,”

same root

to the

iniscent of the rich Fisher

lame king

world below, the dark under-

to say, a

is

Branch of the Mabinogion.

It

in the

so happens that

is

no other

Welsh story

Rhiannon

is

a figure of the utmost importance. This horse-riding goddess, often incor-

porated into the Gallo-Roman Epona, Pwyll Penn

Annwfn

annwfn

annwyn)

(or

where the

secrets of

who, according

is is

life

literally

is

in fact the

Great Queen, whereas

Pwyll, “chief of the abyss.”

a designation of the dark,

and death are

held.

2

underground world

We know

to one version of the Grail legend,

“nigromancie” and could take on any form,

which he protects

in a castle that

The word

that

King

Pelles,

was an expert

in

the guardian of the Grail,

is

everyone passes by without seeing. The

only ones capable of entering this castle are those whose eyes are opened, the eye symbolizing knowledge, inspiration, It

is

around

this figure of the

story of Rennes-le-Chateau

is

is

who came

initiation.

Great Queen, then, that the entire

organized. But

Popular tradition maintains she

end of a white queen

and

who

is

this

Great Queen?

Blanche de Castille, but the local

leg-

to take the waters does not really

involve the mother of Saint Louis. Instead

it

concerns an alleged

who came “to take the waters” at the spring known as the Bains de la

Spanish queen

Rennes-les-Bains, in

particular at

Reine (Baths of the

Queen), with

2.

all

the

wordplay that the name

suggests.

We

should also

See Jean Markale, L' Epopee celtique en Bretagne (Paris: Payot, 3rd edition, 1985), 27-42.

The Queens Gold

293

not overlook that Rennes-les-Bains was called the Bains de Regnes (Baths of the Kingdoms) for a long time. it

was transcribed by Louis

help but surprise us.

We

we summarize

If

the legend as

Fedie, there are certain details that cannot

in fact see the

Spanish queen depicted there

“seated beneath an old weeping willow whose branches lean over the crystalline waters,”

where “she spent many long hours giving vent to

her laments of exile and weeping over her fate as a

husband and

a

queen without a crown.” Strange.

woman It

without a

should

first

be

pointed out that this queen, through a series of unfortunate circumstances that took place in the fourteenth century, according to historical tradition,

was the wife of

abandoned her three days

Pierre

II

after their

the Cruel, king of Castille,

wedding

mistress. Incarcerated in a fortress, the

to the castle of Peyrepertuse.

fable

we can

myth

of Rhiannon:

see the

murdering

As the

This

dess).

is

with his

constructed

(specifically

result of a series of circumstances,

Penn Annwfn

and condemned by him

where she would serve fortress (hence

this historically

broad outlines of the Celtic

their child)

live

queen was freed by Pierre the

Through

rejected by her husband, Pwyll

was

order to

Count Henri de Trastamare, and was taken by

Cruel’s natural brother,

him

in

who

as a

mount

for

all

to

Welsh)

Rhiannon

(he accused her of

remain

at a

mound

those traveling to the royal

Rhiannon’s incorporation into Epona, the mare god-

certainly

no coincidence, and the famous White Queen,

more mythological than

real, is the

very soul of a

new myth,

that of the

treasure of Rennes-le-Chateau. In fact, based

with an litter

illness

to the

on the

queen was stricken

while staying in Peyrepertuse. She had herself taken by

Locus de Montferrando

than Rennes-les-Bains her.

local legend, this white

et Balneis

—which

is

nothing other

—a thermal spa whose merits had been praised to

She remained there for a period of time and was cured of her

ill-

memory of her and her cure that the spring in which she bathed bears the name Bains de la Reine. But there is another detail in this traditional tale that should command our attention: This queen

ness.

It is

who wept rolled

in

while taking the waters one day dropped a silver goblet that

away

into an abyss.

Some

versions of the story say a shepherd

retrieved the goblet. Others declare that entrails

of the earth.

it

still

lies

somewhere

in the

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

294

Legends are always a blend of fantasy and

known

spring in Rennes-les-Bains

much is

called Source de la

ical

to bathe there in 1871, a time

when

verification for a piece of information. But

older

name

word gode

of this spring

or gote

made even more

is

is

a

another

and the Blanque, that

Sals

Madeliene (Magdalene Spring). Those of an empir-

mind-set will say that this spring takes

came

While there

as Bains de la Reine, there

between the

farther south of the village,

reality.

Fontaine de

is

means “cup”

its

it is

Code.

in Occitan,

of the famous Goudils,

who

carnival-like parades of

Limoux and

a

will be fooled, for the

so happens that the

It

which

quite revealing.

is

word reappears

are figures in

woman who

possible to find objective

nobody

la

so by the fact that this

name from

makeup

in the

It is

name

that take part in the

the surrounding area

accompanied

by masked Fecos, as well as on Ash Wednesday accompanied by the hermits of Bugarach. Further, the promontory that hangs over this spring

name

bears the

We up

Goundill, in which the term gode

clearly recognizable.

should not overlook that the territory of Rennes-les-Bains has given

number

a certain

of archaeological objects from the

most of which are representations of in the remotest past Rennes-les-Bains

tuary. In short, the Celtic in the

middle of the

a female deity.

Gallo-Roman

It is

must have served

nemeton was located

era,

quite clear that

as a regional sanc-

there near the springs

within a sacred clearing. But what

forest,

end concealing? What are

ing

is

is

and

this leg-

Mary Magdalene? Not far from this spring, in a place called Cap de l’Homme, mean“man head,” on the prominence named Plas de la Coste that over-

looks

the

valleys

that

archaeological discovery

which, as

we know,

Rennes-les-Bains.

is

It is

its

connections to

converge toward Rennes-les-Bains, another

was made:

now

a head,

no doubt that of

a deity,

displayed in the garden of the presbytery of

head of a female

clearly the

deity,

with a deep

perforation in the top of the skull.

There

is

no need

answer can be found church

in

and was

to look far afield for the explanation for this. in the skull discovered in the cellar of the

Rennes-le-Chateau

ritually pierced.

soul of the deceased

—a

This

rite

skull that

is

(a

Magdalene

presumably Merovingian

was observed not only

from reincarnating

Germanic

to prevent the

belief),

but also to

protect a treasure or a valuable hoard from any kind of defilement.

we

recall

that at the feet of

The

Mary Magdalene

Now

inside the Rennes-le-

The Queens Gold

Chateau church, both on the statue and lower part of the

Abbe

there

altar,

is

Sauniere’s message

Chateau and nowhere

is

to be

found

same

ritual hole.

church

at the

Mary Magdalene

else: It is

adorns the

in the painting that

a skull with this

295

in Rennes-le-

herself.

The parish

church of Rennes-le-Chateau had certainly borne her name since the ninth century, but Beranger Sauniere

made

image: the statue, the fresco beneath the wall, the stained-glass side,

not to mention

window

Villa

My I

altar,

the fresco

in the choir, the

on the back

tympanum on

the out-

Bethania and the Magdala Tower. There are

many, many depictions and nificent

every effort to multiply her

As Gerard de Nerval

clues.

said in his

mag-

and inimitable way:

forehead

is still

have dreamed

The gold

red from the kiss of the Queen.

in the grotto

of the Queen, with

where swims the

all its

Siren.

play on words,

Certain treasures lead us on a veritable “Queste” that

is

is

not far away:

undertaken

one day for no conscious reason and never ends, a queste through nature, people, history, art, a queste that is

the reason such an approach

that the gold one hunts for

material gold that spirit

may

There

is

may

is

total

and

and absolute. This it

could well prove

a spiritual as opposed to

be everywhere and nowhere, in each place

no question that

wholly support

eternal,

much more

breathe, each step that

pieces of jewelry,

is

is

human knowledge

3 takes forward.

in addition to a treasure of old coins

Abbe Sauniere found some documents. The

this conclusion.

What,

then,

witnesses

became of these famous

parchments? Those that have reappeared are authentic fakes.

became of the parchments he discovered Saint

and

What

in the pillar of the altar of the

Magdalene Church of Rennes-le-Chateau?

No

one has ever been

able to answer this question. Beranger Sauniere never supplied an

answer. Marie Denarnaud never spoke of them.

been respected.

3.

Gerard Lupin, Le Tresor d’Alaric, unpublished.

The law of

silence has

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

296

But pay heed, whispers the author of Aurelia, Gerard de Nerval,

who knew a street not);

ter

much on

matters like these and was found hanging from

lamp on the rue de

la Vieille

who

down

in Paris (suicide? surely

to us in truncated form, either distorted by time or

benefit

from our ignorance;

or the effaced sign,

let

But especially

in

let

us but rediscover the lost

us recompose the dissonant scale,

shall gain in strength in the spirit

it is

Lanterne

pay heed. “|T]he magical alphabet and the mysterious hieroglyphs

have come those

too

is

not always easy to reconstruct an entire puzzle

have been

priceless; this

let-

and we

world.”

our time, when confusion

of the pieces are missing.

by

spread intentionally,

when

three quarters

The documents discovered by Sauniere must a certainty, for

is

someone made sure of

their

whom would

they

disappearance. This brings up another question: For

have value beyond price? Here again we can come up with no answer, or at least the answer cannot be expressed. For as Nerval again says:

And

twice I have victoriously crossed the Archeron:

Modulating

The

in turn

on the

sighs of the Saint

and

lyre

of Orpheus

the cries of the Fairy. 4

Nerval says he crossed twice victoriously. Yes, but the third crossing took place

And what

on the rue de

if

Lanterne. Don’t be fooled.

la Vieille

Sauniere was only what secret agents call a “goat,”

meaning someone intended

to attract attention while other events

of great interest were transpiring elsewhere?

And what

if

Rennes-

le-Chateau was a single tree concealing an immense forest? least the smallest

Or

at

outcropping of a colossal iceberg? Or even a kind

of noise intended to psychologically prepare us for something that

would put

into question centuries of certitude? 5

The question has been

raised,

and

emerge from the unconscious, where

4.

G. Nerval, El Desdichado.

5.

Gerard Lupin, Le Tresor d’Alaric.

this

it

is

enough

for the

answer to

has been dazed by centuries of

The Queens Gold

297

hibernation, like the bear of Arcadia or like Arthur of Celtic legend, or

even

Mary Magdalene, whom

like

because she scared them. Mary, in presence, causes us to question

Her challenge

how

its

not to

is

its

the Evangelists mentioned only

fact, solely

some twenty

through her enigmatic

centuries of Christianity.

foundations, which remain the same, but to

message has been transformed

—

in other

words, to

betrayal

its

of the message of love, beauty, knowledge, and serenity. If

we truly

tion to find life.

seek Beranger Sauniere’s message,

Mary Magdalene who

it. It is

For contrary to

malicious souls

in this direc-

the key to the priest’s entire

that has been said about him, contrary to

all

who

is

we must go

seek to cast

him

as a priest

all

who had

those

illegally

returned from banishment, as a heretic, and even as an adept of some rather disquieting

and

definitely negative brotherhoods,

was an

that the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau

inspired man. Certainly he

by whom, no one knows. But the

was muzzled following

his discoveries;

parchments discovered

in the altar pillar

Beranger Sauniere never said a word on his

still

exist

somewhere

this subject, if

Sauniere had the good gold.

must have had

.

.

And

if

he refused to give

Whether

this

is

—or

bad

his reasons.

— fortune to discover the

cursed treasure.

We

customs, rules, and

This

set is

a

interests.

We

we can

be satisfied with following the

by John the Baptist and preach little bit like

what Sauniere

in the desert.

did.

But he never forgot that fulfill

toward oth-

folded before adversity, defended himself poorly, and every day

wondered what new setback was waiting in Paris to

have

his

He was

never

Emma

he was the lover of Marie Denarnaud. a

He never set foot an expert. He never knew

to greet him.

documents analyzed by

the Satanist Jules Bois.

He was

its

cannot preach with impunity against

he was a priest and that as a priest he had a duty to

He

could be only a

cannot disturb with impunity a society that has

the prevailing ideology unless

example

it

Queens

knowledge

real gold or only the treasure of

changes nothing about the matter. In either event

the

.

bishop an explanation for the funds he had at his disposal in order to

realize his construction, then he

ers.

can be stated

it

He

Calve’s lover,

no more than

never trafficked in Masses.

monarchist and a fundamentalist, certainly, but was hardly

only one in his time.

Denarnaud. Her

Sauniere died a pauper,

as

heirs never discovered the royal treasure,

did

Marie

whether

it

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

298

was

The legend con-

that of the Visigoths, the Templars, or the Cathars.

structed around Beranger Sauniere

whatever might be

better hide

What

is

sully post

visible

mortem

one to boot.

6 .

Certainly Sauniere

Sauniere exists.

It is

knew

never able to divulge

that he could transmit

when

visible.

primarily the dignity of a

is

He was

things simple

a vast, intoxicated undertaking to

is

it

a secret,

others sought to

and an important

but arranged matters so

it,

why

by the simplest means possible. But

they can be complicated? visible. It is

erates today as there

man

were

even

legible.

The work of Beranger

Are there

many

just as

illit-

Why

decadent era around 1900?

in the

leave

is

there a need to distort history for the benefit of a kind of ideology of

dubious taste?

The cursed gold of Rennes-le-Chateau, which can Rennes-les-Bains,

Sacred its

is

is

terrifying.

also be that of

stained with malediction only to the extent that the

We

tremble before the Lord;

word, Yahweh never showed

his face to the

if

we

take the Bible at

prophets without plac-

and humans. Ever since the time

ing a screen between himself

chased out of the earthly Paradise, an angel holding a

been keeping watch over the entrance to a world

fiery

now

man was

sword has

buried in the

shadows of the Unconscious. For the Garden of Eden, whatever holds a lost treasure, and

is,

crystallized

all

it

the energy of the Creature of

toward the rediscovery of

this treasure,

even

if

really

God

is

this absolute

quest skirts the dangerous precipices from which the odors of

fire

and

brimstone emanate.

But what treasure do claims

is

we

Razes, in the middle of the

woods

undiscovered caves? Could

am

or on

it

do so

man was

always a model of

human

funds the

—odd—

arid plateau riddled with

my own

spiritual father,

Abbe Henri

about him have circulated, despite the

dignity

the audacity to take an interest in things that

own

buried somewhere in the

some

because of

Gillard. Since the time of his death, inane stories

with his

to reach

this material treasure lie in the grotto of

in a perfect position to assert this

that this

gold that legend

a material treasure, the sacred

it

Rome and

from

I

this

from the Temple of Jerusalem or the Sanctuary of Delphi that

Alaric’s Visigoths carried

6.

is

who manage

cursed, perhaps because those

at the risk of losing their souls? Is

objects

what

seek? Just

were

and

priestly devotion. Yet he also

better not stirred

restoration of the church of

up and

which he was the

fact

had

to carry out rector.

The Queens Gold

Mary Magdalene,

or that of the Gode, with

strange

its

was

the primordial chalice in which Christ’s blood that according to one of the Gospels, Jesus’ descent

name

299

that recalls

We know

collected?

Mary Magdalene was

there at

from the cross and shrouding, and thus witnessed Joseph

of Arimathea’s collection of Christ’s blood in the Grail.

But

is

the treasure truly a material one? Wouldn’t

it

secret that could not sensibly be divulged yet because

instead be a great it

poses a serious

challenge to centuries of history and a certain conception of Christian

No

spirituality?

one ever learned what the manuscripts discovered by

Sauniere actually contained. They have disappeared. But that does not

mean

that they might not reappear one day

not be denied that Sauniere did

knew, though a

man who

and be acknowledged.

know what became

has devoted his

life

It

can-

of them. But only he

to a

work, even one so

debatable and odd as the church of Rennes-le-Chateau, could not carry his secret to the grave

Now,

without leaving behind some

signs are always symbolic

and are generally drowned

flood of details intended to mislead those

what they

clear idea of all

the great myths of

seek. This

humanity

Close inspection of Sauniere’s If

he

left

message

a

— and

it

only in the image he gave

is

who do

where the

not have in mind a

virtue of the test appears;

work

leads to a very simple conclusion:

appears undeniable that he did

Mary Magdalene, one

Her ubiquitous presence

is itself

Mary Magdalene’s

for the Virgin

where. This

is

—

it

could be

was too strong

that

until the present.

an indication, even

reason for this presence in a parish dedicated to

noted,

in a

stress this essential aspect of the quest.

and blinding to be taken into consideration

ical

signs.

if

there

her.

is

a log-

As we have

depiction takes the place ordinarily reserved

Mary, and she

is

not in this church depicted as she

is

else-

which Mary Magdalene

especially true of the scene in

is

kneeling in a cave, facing a rustic cross with a perforated skull at her feet,

a revealing detail.

The presence of

admission: The death’s-head

ment

in

some way

traditionally placed near a treasure.

cave, but light

woman.

“I

this

a symbolic It

is

forms an

and magical

ele-

quite dark inside this

from the outside floods the face of the meditating

despised the

the century”

Does

is

this pierced skull

kingdom of

the world and

—these are the words recorded

as

all

the

adornment of

spoken to Magdalene.

imply that the treasure she appears to be guarding does not

The Mystery of the Cursed Treasure

300

belong to

this

world and

will thereby acquire exceptional

The serpent of knowledge

the overall message of Christianity?

Mary Magdalene’s robe on

crawls up

and the ark, or

reinforces this idea, signify her sea

voyage to Gaul as

importance

the

tympanum

in

that

of the church only

chest, at her feet

can

just as easily

could the preservation of a precious

it

object hidden from the eyes of others.

Mary Magdalene sion. She

is

the image of the Feminine in

its

highest expres-

the “revealer” of the resurrected Jesus. She performs the

is

royal anointing of Christ. She Jesus loves above

other

all

women,

and the body of

that of the Spirit

who loves Jesus and whom who gave him the Second Life,

the one

is

she

glory.

Hers

is

a

message of a love that

can transform the world. The Occitan troubadours knew ing ceaselessly that

Magdalene

it

was through woman

that one attained

meaning the generator of an

toward Perfection. For the moment, however,

in a

God. But

which can

also symbolizes “convulsive” beauty,

“explosive-fixed,”

this, repeat-

also be

becoming

eternal

world that

not yet

is

capable of understanding this supreme message, Beauty conceals within a cave. Gerard de Nerval phrases

Do

it

thus:

you recognize the temple with the immense

And

peristyle

the bitter lemons holding the imprint of your teeth

And Where from

the cave , fatal to imprudent guests

the vanquished dragon sleeps the ancient seed? 7

In the final analysis, perhaps the cursed gold of

Rennes

is

the sleep-

ing seed of that vanquished dragon. Perhaps Sauniere’s message to

awaken

dangerous, tion.

We

itself

the Dragon. This fatal

is

where the quest can reveal

even for one not prepared for

must dare

this

from Les Chimeres). This ing not for the gold of

is

is

more holy

to

my

itself to

not be

kind of confronta-

to enter this cave, for as Nerval (himself

admits: “the Saint of the Abyss

is

an

initiate)

eyes” (“Artemis,”

without question an invitation to go hunt-

Rennes but

for the gold of the

Queen

[Reine]

buried in the same cave where the ancient dragon sleeps, in a coffer that

Mary Magdalene

7.

holds precisely between her fairylike hands.

“Delfica,” from Odelettes.

Index

Aereda the serpent, 69

Archangel of Light, 28-29

Aer-Red, 69

Archives of the Aude, 117

21-22

Arene, Paul, 4

Agartha, 281-82

Arkas, 277-78

aesthetics,

Alaric

II,

Ar Pen of

232-33

77, 78,

Arques

Albigensian Crusade, 77-78,

91-92

River,

64

Arthur and Arthurian legend,

Alet (town), 30-31, 65-66, 74,

Alpha

(village),

Artemis, 49

83-84, 87-88, 238

81,

216

Brittany,

24,

222

Aryanism, 76

64

Alveydre, Saint-Yves

d’,

Asmodeus, 20, 40

281-82

Guillaume

Amberlain, Robert, 5-6

Assalit,

Amiel, Pons, 84

Atrebates, 72

Anas, 282-83

Aurelia,

Angelic Society, 279-80

Axat, 152

d’,

38

289-90

animals, 3-4, 69, 271-72, 291 Aniort, Jordane

Aniort,

Ramon

Aniort,

Uduat d

d’, d’, 1

,

47

90

Baal,

88

Bacbuc, 287-88 Bahier, Pierre,

90

215-17

Aniort family, 86-87, 89-90

Baigent, Michale, 12

Annwfn, Pwyll Penn, 292

Bain de

Anthony, Saint, 42-43

Barres, Maurice,

Aphrodite, 289-90

Baths of Rennes, 26-27

Apollo, 49

Beausejour, de (Monsignor),

la

Reine, 55-56

279

137-41, 158, 181, 183

Arabs, 79

Beauty, 22

Arcadia, 64, 277-78

301

8,

302

Index

Bedd, 48-49

Bouillon, Godefroy de,

47

Bel,

196-97

Bel-Belenos, 50

Boullan (Abbe), 120-21

Belcaire, Escot de, 88

Bouthon, Henri, 209

Epoque, 26

Belle

146-47

Boyer, Georges,

Benedictine Order, 80-81

Bozas, Marquise of, 167-68

Berthou-Kerverziou, Erwan, 6

Bozon, 84-85

Bezu

(village),

Bible, Bieil

37-38, 47-48

257-61, 268

Brennus, 237 Breton, Andre, 14, 28-29

(Abbe), 117, 118

Broceliande Forest, 19

Big Dipper, 70

Brotherhood of the Holy

Bigou, Antoine, 95-96, 113,

236-37

Sacrament, 92 Brunehaut, Queen, 7

Billard, Felix, 101,

Bugarach, 51-55

107-8,

116-17, 154-56, 157-58 Blanc, Louis,

280-81

Bulgaria and Bulgarians, 51

Bulwer-Lytton,

Blanche, Francis, 13-14, 211

Earle,

Edward George

281-82

Blanchefort, Alix de, 90 Blanchefort, Bertrand de, 87

Caesar, Julius, 271

Blanchefort Castle, 227

Caillois, Roger,

Blanchefort family, 48

Callisto,

Boi'ens,

72

240, 241-42

277-78

Calvat, Melanie, 123-24, 164

119-21, 123, 297

Bois, Jules,

Bonhomme,

Emma, 122-24,

138, 144,

171-74

196

Pierre,

Calve,

Book of Constitutions, 196-97

Capet family, 82, 202

Bot, Elie, 112, 114

Carcassonne diocese, 51, 76

Boudet, Edmond, 160

Carolingian, 44

Boudet, Father Henri

Casteillas (village),

Celtic language and, 57,

69

cromlech and, 52 death

of,

Blanche de

documents and, 179

142

legend about, 11-12, 27, 55-56,

Marie Denarnaud and, 109-11 parish church of,

Castille,

37

61-62

Sauniere and, 104-7, 115,

159-63, 243, 247-48 writing of, 27-28,

244-47

58-59, 238, 292-93 treasure and, 202-3,

222-23

Trencavel and, 88-89 Castle of the Templars,

Catalonia, 82

47

Index

Christ

Cathars Bulgarians as ancestors

dualism

of,

51

43

on Razes

influence

of,

region, 11,

and

Hare 61-62

the

,

Church of Mary Magdalene description of,

39-44

ornamentation

of,

20-23,

248-55, 295

26, 29

found

Occitania and, 82

skull

Roman

See also

Catholic Church and,

at,

294-95

Mary Magdalene;

Sauniere, Beranger

83, 86

Church of Odin, 283-84

238-39

treasure of,

Cathelin, Jean, 14

Cimbrians, 73

Catholics and Catholicism

city of glass,

48

Cathars and, 83

Clement IX, 277

Mary

clergy,

and, 262-63

payment

for

politics of,

Masses and, 181-87

100-101, 148

83

Clodion the Long-Haired, 271 Clovis, 77-78,

232-34

caverns, 42, 53

Cocteau, Jean, 13, 197

Cazemajou, de (Marquis), 147-48

Colbert, 92

Celestin V, Pope, 125

Colomban,

Celts

and

Celtic

influence

mythology

on Rennes-le-Chateau,

language of,

of,

69-70, 244-47

271-72, 282-83

cemeteries, 38-39, 62-64, 128

Champagne, Thibaud

Company Conrad

Saint, 81

of Jesus, 170

(Cardinal), 85

Corbiere, Tristan, 4

45-46, 50, 72

myths

303

de,

202-3

Chapuzot of Tremblay-le-Vicomte,

216

Corbieres region, 16-17

Corbu, Neil, 144 Corbu, Noel, 198-209 Cornuault, Fanny, 283-84

Cortone, Marguerite de, 291 Costes (Madame), 16

Charlemagne, 79

Costes, Fernand, 16

Charroux, Robert, 14, 206-7

Coume Sourde

Chaumeil, Jean-Luc, 6-7, 13,

Courtauly (Abbe), 160-61,

120-21, 206-7, 211

road, 46

212-13

Chefdebien family, 168-69

cromlech, 52, 53

Cherisey, Philippe de, 198-99,

Crusades, 77-78

210-11 Christians and Christianity, 77,

264-65, 281

Cucugnan, 4 curses,

227-31

Cybele, 289-90

304

Index

Dagobert

II,

44, 78, 80, 209,

213-14, 221, 222, 272

Elohim, 288-89

emerald

283-85

tablets,

Dark Ages, 7-8

Ermengarde, Countess, 82

Daudet, Alphonse, 4

Eternal Mother,

Debussy, Claude, 13, 122, 123,

Eucharist,

197

290

44

Eurydice, 285

Decadents, 120, 122

53

extraterrestrials,

Defagot, Pierre, 196 Delaval, Jean, 196

faidits,

85-86

Denarnaud, Marie

fairies,

56, 58

after death of Sauniere,

199-200

arrival in Rennes-le-Chateau,

109-11

Fallavaux, 164 False Valley, 164

Fanfan, 216

position in household, 112, 136

fecos,

property ownership

Fedie, Louis, 58-59, 68, 75, 101,

of,

134

Sauniere and, 126, 156-57,

191-94

tomb

176, 212-14

Flamel, Nicolas, 197 Flaubert, Gustave,

229-30, 249-50

279-80

Fleury, Paul-Francois-Vincent de,

Diana, 49

97

Diancecht, 50

Fleury, Paul-Urbain de, 61-63,

d’Indy, Vincent,

Doinel, Jules,

123

Fontaine de

217-19

la

Gode, 294

278-79, 280

the Depths,

28-29

Fountains of Love, 60-61

druidism, 30, 72

Franks, 77-78, 234

Dujardin-Beaumetz, Henri,

Fredegar,

150-52

Dupanloup of

Dupont

97

Foucquet, Nicolas, 92, 125,

dolmens, 68

Dragon of

292

Flagstone of the Knight, 114

Descadeillas, Rene, 60, 68, 95,

devil,

293 Fisher King,

24

of,

58

270-71

Fredegonde, Queen, 7 Sion,

216

of Avignon, 216

earldom of Razes, 67-98 Egalite, Philippe,

148

elm of Gisors, 13, 197

Freemasons, 120, 122, 151, 163,

218

Gablaes, 72 Galibert, Louis,

63-64

Gallia Togata, 73

Index

69-70

Gallic language,

Hani, Jean, 5

Hautpoul, Pierre-Raymond

Garin (Abbot), 81 Garin de Monglane, cycle

of,

Hautpoul

d’,

Gauls, 56, 60, 73, 237-38

Abbe Jean-Antoine-

Maurice, 127, 131-32,

Head

family, 38, 93-97,

Saint,

Man, 60 71-72

Henri V, Count of Chambord, 148, 152-53, 163-67

Gellone, William of, 80-81

Germain,

of

Helvetians,

187-91, 280

heretics,

88

Heristal, Pippin d’, 78,

42

Hermes

Germans, 87 Gillard, Henri, 5, 19,

23-24

Trismegistus,

211-12

284

Her Red, 69 8-9

Giraud, Maximin, 164

history,

Giscard House, 252

Hoffet, Emile, 117, 119, 221,

Gisela of Reddae, Gisors, 6, 13,

224

272

Holy Balm, 42

197

Givry, Grillot de, 22, 153

gloomy

clericalism,

163-64

Gobseck, Esther, 106

Gode,

93

178-80, 211-12, 237

80

Gelis,

305

the,

Holy Blood, Holy Grail 12-15 ,

288

Holy

Bottle,

Holy

Grail, 8, 13, 87, 239, 283,

284-85, 292

57

Golden Bough, 227

hot springs, 204

Golden Dawn, 283

Hugo,

Golden Mean, 276

hunting, 3-4

Victor,

197

gold of Delphi, 237-38 Vilaine, 71

Gospels, 12, 261-65

Ille et

goudils, 58

Illuminati, 120,

Goupil of Gatinais, 216

Indy, Vincent d’,

Gourdon Granes

(doctor), 46,

(parish),

47

49

initiation,

280-81, 283 123

63

Inquisition,

82-83

289-90

Grannus, 49-50

Isis,

Grassaud, Eugene, 126-27

Isolde the Fair,

Great Queen, 292-93

Iv,

50

Bera, 81

Gregory IX, 85 Gregory of Tours, 270

Jamet, 190

Guaita, Stanislas de, 120-21

Jarnac, Pierre, 63, 174

Guercino, 275-76

Jean XXIII, 143-44

306

Index

Jesus

LeBlanc, Maurice, 122, 136,

depictions of, 23, 41-42, 43, 60,

251

172-73, 284

Le Brigant, 69, 244

Holy Grail and, 13

le

Mary Magdalene

Le Clat, 152

and, 257,

269-70 267

leprosy,

Jews and Judaism, 76, 86-87, 153, 223, 232

257-60

of,

John Paul

Pope, 265-66

Carnival, 58

Lincoln, Henry, 12

John-Salvator of Hapsburg.

linguistics,

68-70

Lobineau, Henri, 196, 198,

213-14, 220

See Orth, Jean Baptist, Saint,

60

Limoux, 74-75

Limoux

John, Gospel

John the

45

Leigh, Richard, 12

resurrection of,

II,

Casteillas,

42

279

Lorrian, Claude,

John XXII, Pope, 91

Louis, Saint, 11-12

Joseph, Saint, 43

Louis IX, 88-89, 222-23 Louis the Pious, 80

Kazantzakis, 13

Louis XIV, 125, 280

Kings of the Black Mountain, 93

Luke, Book

Knight of the Anguipede, 69

Lupin, Arsene, 173

of,

257-58

Knights Templar

Bezu and, 37-38, 235-37 politics of,

89-91

Maeterlinck, Maurice, 122

Magdala Tower,

Priory of Sion and, 13,

216-18

relationship to Cathars,

86-88

13, 17-18, 135,

141, 251

Magdalene,

the,

57

Magdalene Spring, 294 Lamerliere, Constance de, 164

Maghrebi, 79

Lamy, Michel, 15

magic. See occult activities

Languedoc, 73

Mallarme, Stephane, 122

Laplanders, 3

Maquis, 206

Lasserre (Father), 65

Marie, Franck, 43, 57-58

La Tour d’Auvergne, Theophile-

Mark, 257-58

Malo Coret Lavaldieu,

de, 69,

244

46-47

Lawrence, Louis Bertram, 64 Lebesgue, Phileas, 6 Leblanc, Georgette, 122

Martel, Charles, 79

Martin, Henri, 246

Mary Magdalene Biblical discussion of,

268

256-65,

Index

depictions of, 42, 290-91,

neo-druidism, 6 Nerval, Gerard de, 288-90, 296

299-300 Jesus and,

307

Newton,

269-70

as patron saint,

Niel, Fernand,

184

See also Church of

Mary

197

Isaac,

52

Nodier, Charles, 197

Nogaret, 91

Magdalene Masons, 148-49, 285 Matthew, 257-58

objective chance, 5

Mauclerc, Pierre, 203

Occitania and Occitains, 11, 15.

Maunoir,

Julien,

See also Razes

40

Mazieres (Father), 47

occult activities,

118-25

Meleagant, 48

Ollier, Jean, 92,

118

Melisande, 292

ophidian worship, 69

Melusine, 69

Orable, 80

menhirs, 63, 68

Orpheus, 285

Merovech, 271

Orth, Jean, 136, 174-77

Merovingians and Merovingian

Our Lady

Era, 7-8, 44, 78, 130, 221,

of Alet abbey, 81, 85,

91-92

223, 270-73

Michael of Cuxa, Saint, 81

Padua, Saint, 42-43

mining, 87, 92

Pandard of Rennes-le-Chateau,

Mirepoix, Roger de, 88 Montfort, Simon de, 82, 84, 89

Montsegur,

7,

15-16, 52-53

216-18 Pantagruel,

287

Panurge, 287

Moors, 79

Paray-le-Monial, 165-66

Morgana, 23

Pascal, Blaise,

Morganwg,

Iolo,

Paul, Vincent de,

30

Pavilion, Nicolas,

Moschefol, Jules, 216

Mouthoumet

(town),

20

32-34

Pelles,

92-93

292

Pelletan, Camille,

myth, 8-9

92-93

164

Perceval, 84

Napoleon

III,

148-49

Perella,

Ramon

Narbonnaise, 73

Perfects, 88

Narbonne, 73

Peyro Dreto, 63

necromancers, 289

Philip,

Negri d’Ables, Marie de, 38, 93,

Philip the Bold,

95,

128-30

Gospel

de, 88

of,

270

90

Philip the Fair, 38, 82,

90-91, 203

308

Index

Pibouleau, 112

Religious Wars, 91

Picollec, Jean, 6

Rennes Castle, 88

Pierre

II,

Pieta,

61-62

293

88,

Rennes-le-Chateau author on, 3-4, 25-26, 31-32

Pious X, 153

description of, 17-19

Plantard, Pierre, 159-60, 196,

excavation

198-99, 204, 210-11, 214

205-7

at,

view

historical

of, 9

Pole Star, 70

legends of gold and,

Poussin, Nicolas, 31-32, 63-64,

linguistics of,

92, 124-25, 222, 274-80,

Priory of Saint-Samson,

219

Priory of Sion, 13-14, 196-98,

209-10, 215-17, 219-21 Proserpine,

287

284

residents of, strategic

227-30

68-70

215

importance

of,

36-37

treasure of, 77

See also Razes; Sauniere,

Beranger Rennes-les-Bains

Queen’s Bath, 57

cemetary

Quillan (town), 35

parish church of, 61-62, 105

of,

62-64

thermal waters Rabelais, 60,

287-88

treasure and,

229

rationalism,

25-29, 55-56

11-12

Rennes springs, 60

Raymond-Beranger, 82

Raymond

of,

203

VII, 85,

Razes

Republicans, 100-101, 102-3,

106-8 Reznikov, Nicolas, 15

Bulgarach, 51-55 description of, first fortress in,

linguistics of,

Reznikov, Raymonde, 15

35-37 45

Riviere, Jacques, 179, 189,

68-70

treasure legends of,

Rhiannon, 292

226-30

See also earldom of Razes

Reccared, King, 76

Robin, Jean, 197-98

Roch,

Saint,

Roman

42

Catholic Church. See

Catholics and Catholicism

Red, 68-69

Romanesque House, 65

Reddae, 68-69, 74-76

Roman

Redones, 70-72

Romans, 56-57,

Reine Blanche, 56, 221, 238,

292-93 religions, 20,

254

Peace, 12-13 60, 73-74,

237-38 Romantics, 170

21-22

Rosicrucians, 62, 120, 122, 283

Index

Rospligosi (Cardinal),

Rouget of

277

216

Lille,

confessors of, 126-27, 143-44

death

Roussillon, Girard de,

268

143-44

of,

Dujardin-Beaumetz and, 150-52

149-50

Royalism, 152-53, 164

education

royal lineage, 13

Emma

Ruins of Albedun, 47-48

family of, 146-47

of,

Calve and, 171-74

finances of, 133-38, finds of,

Sacre-Coeur, 165-66

Gelis and, 131-32,

sacred geography, 50-51, 53,

Henri

V

Saint Benedict of Aniane,

80-81

Saint-Clair, Pierre Plantard de,

159-60, 196, 198-99, 204,

84-85

Saint-Ferreol, de,

Saint-Guilhem of the Desert, 80

Cuxa, 81

81-82

Saint Polycarp abbey, Saissac, Bertand de, Salette operation,

84

Jean Orth and, 174-77

Magdala Tower and, 17-18 manuscripts and, 118, 124-25, 210, 295-96

politics of,

111-12, 116, 134

shadow

of Alfred,

life of,

symbolism

164

in

167-68

135-36

Church of Mary

Magdalene and, 40-41

Sand, George, 279-81

temptation

Saracens, 79

time period

Satan, 43

tomb

Sauniere, Alfred, 126,

167-70

aesthetics and, 13,

21-22,

151-52, 153-54, 219 of,

assignment

152-57

of,

of,

of,

Tomb

of,

118-25

of,

148-49

24-25

of Arques and, 63

tombstones and, 128-30, 178-80

Sauniere, Beranger

behavior

106-8

restoration of church and, 109,

social

Samhain, 58

ambitions

109-11

of,

message from, 296-300

210-11, 214

Saint Michael of

187-91

and, 163-67

household

Sacred Heart of Jesus, 165-66

141-44

113-16

Sabarthes (Father), 46

58-59

309

101-4

112-15, 127-31,

Masses and,

139-41, 181-87 treasure and, 239-42,

296-300

See also Denarnaud, Marie; treasure

Schrauben, Philippe, 246-47

150 Billard and, 107-8,

trafficking of

157-58

Boudet and, 104-7, 159-63

scientism, scrofula,

229

59

310

Index

sea monsters,

271-72

Templars’ Castle, 47

Second Empire, 148

Temple of Jerusalem, 232

Second Manifesto of Surrealism,

Termes, Olivier de, 85

28-29

Teutons, 73

Sede, Gerard de, 6-7, 199,

Theodulfe (Bishop), 79

209-10, 213-14

Theosophical Society, 122

Seminary of Saint-Sulpice, 118 serpents,

291

61-62, 204, 293-94

The Shepherds of Arcadia, 63-64, 124-25, 274-80 Sigibert IV,

thermal waters, 49-50, 55-56,

Thierry,

Amedee, 246

Thierry, Augustin, 7

272

Thiers, Adolph, 165

simony, 139-41, 181-87

Three Marys, 58

solar aspect

Three Mother Goddesses, 57

of Grannus, 50

Titus,

232 of Arques, 63-64,

Solomon’s treasure, 234

Tomb Tomb

Soul of the World, 290

tourism, 35

of the

Montsegur

castle,

spiritualistic activity.

52-53

See occult

activities

of Taliesin, 49

Trastamare, Henri de, 293 treasure

Spring of the Gentle Bath, 60

of Antoine Bigou,

Spring of the Skinflints, 60

of Blanche de Castille,

Stations of the Cross, 21, 44, 122,

of the Cathars,

249, 252 statues,

274-80

237 238

238-39

conclusions about, 296-300

42-43, 116, 249

finding of,

239-42

Stone of the Knight, 44-45

gold of Delphi, 72, 237-38

Streams of Color, 253

Holy

Stublein, Eugene, 161, Sul,

212

50

239

Knights Templar and, 235-37

myth

Symbolists, 122

Grail,

of,

226-30

possible location of,

291-92

Razes and, 231-34 Taliesin,

271

Solomon’s treasure, 234

Tarttarin of Tarascon-sur-Ariege,

216 Taxil, Leo, 153,

Visigoths and, 77

warnings about, 146-47,

219

telescoping, 79

Templars. See Knights Templar

229-31 See also Castille, Blanche de; Sauniere, Beranger

Index

*4

Tree of Life, 44

Vivien,

*»

Trehorenteuc church, 19, 22, 44

Vivisci,

Trencavel, Roger, 55, 82, 84-86,

\^isins,' Pierre de,* 88,

Tristan,

• * 89-90

Vofques Tdctosages, 71-72

88-89 Trismegistus, Hermes,

71

284

von Eschenbach, Wolfram,

285

267-68

Troyes, Chretien de, 48, 84, 283

84,

Vril,

282-83

True Cross, 81 Truth, 20

Wagner, Cosima, 123

Tuatha de Danann, 282-83

Welsh, 70

Wemba, Urban

II,

Pope, 82

Ursus, King, 221-23

White

King, 76

Fortress, 48,

49

White Ladies, 57-59 White Queen, 56, 221, 238,

Valley of God, 46-47

Verne, Jules, 15, 53-55, 172-73,

283, 285

292-93 William of Orange, 80, 272 Willy, Renee, 5

Vichy, 56

Woman

Villa Bethania, 18, 135, 141,

Wouivre, 69

of the

Mounds, 58

200-201, 251 Vinci,

Leonardo da, 197

Yann-Ber Kerbiriou, 14

Viollet-le-Duc, 31, 150

Yourcenar, Marguerite, 257

Virgin Mary, 43

Yseult,

267-68

Visigoth pillars, 38-39, 113, 249 Visigoths, 7, 25, 67, 74, 76-77,

232-35

Zeus, 277-78

311

%

Interest

*•"

v •

.

*

.,*.3 ' ' . •

.t

•

w^

+

v

*-

* •’

* ;

'

•’

^Cathedral of the Black

Madonna

The Druids and the Mysteries of Chartres by Jean Markale

Montsegur and the Mystery of the Cathars by jean Markale

The Templar Treasure

at Gisors

by jean Markale

The The

Grail

Celtic Origins of the Sacred Icon

by Jean Markale

The Gospel

Mary Magdalene

of

by jean-Yves Leloup Preface by Jacob Needleman

The Woman with the Alabaster Jar Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail by Margaret Starbird

The Goddess

Gospels Reclaiming the Sacred Feminine by Margaret Starbird in the

Magdalene’s Lost Legacy Symbolic Numbers and the Sacred Union by Margaret Starbird

Inner Traditions

•

Bear

&

in Christianity

Company

Box 388 Rochester, VT 0 5767 P.O.

1-800-246-8648 www.InnerTraditions.com

Or

contact your local bookseller

RELIGION / HISTORY

$ 18.95

CHURCH OF MARY MAGDALENE THE

T

he small Church ol Mary Magdalene Chateau

in southern France

may

remote

in the

village

well hold the key to the

of Rennes-le-

proof of Mary

Magdalene’s marriage to Jesus and the bloodline they founded. In 1885 the of Rennes-le-Chateau

welcomed

he ordered and oversaw

But where did

this

a

new

a substantial

modest

priest,

—and

Abbe

expensive

—

priest get the funds for this

discovered something during the

initial

During

Sauniere.

his time there

restoration of the church.

work?

renovations that

village

It is

made him

thought that he a very rich

man

and brought him to the attention of various power brokers of the time both from within the Church and from esoteric ery was have ranged treasure brought

circles in

Pans. Theories of what this discov-

from the gold pillaged from Delphi

from Jerusalem by the Templars

in

and

are the

fell.

church renovations themselves

ambiguous portrayal of Mary Magdalene. This depiction could shake the

their

very foundations of the Church with priestess

who

its

suggestion that Mary’s role was that of the

anoints the priest-king in preparation for his spiritual duties.

Poet, philosopher, historian,

and

storyteller,

Jean Markale has spent a lifetime

researching pre-Christian and medieval culture and spirituality.

more than

forty books, including Montsegur and

Treasure at Gisor, The Celts,

at the

times and the

to the Cathar treasure said to have

been spirited away from Montsegur days before that fortress

Even more curious and compelling, however,

Roman

Sorbonne and

and Women

lives in

of

the Celts.

the

He

Mystery of

was

He

the

is

the author of

Cathars, The Templar

a specialist in Celtic studies

the Brittany region of France.

ISBN

INNER TRADITIONS Rochester, Vermont Cover

design by Peri

Champine

78 0892 811991