# Rennes-le-Château - Complete Content Generated: 2026-07-22 URL: https://renneslechateau.nl --- ## About This Site RennesleChâteau.nl is the comprehensive online resource dedicated to the mystery of Rennes-le-Château - a small hilltop village in southern France where parish priest Bérenger Saunière allegedly discovered something extraordinary in 1891 that made him fabulously wealthy. The site covers the history, the people, the locations, the codes, and the theories that have made this one of the world's most enduring mysteries, inspiring books like "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" and Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code". ## Key Facts About Rennes-le-Château - Rennes-le-Château is located in the Languedoc region of southern France - The mystery began in 1891 when parish priest Bérenger Saunière discovered something during church renovations - Saunière suddenly acquired enormous wealth, source unknown - He built Tour Magdala, Villa Bethania, and extensively renovated the church - The church contains unusual symbolism: a devil statue (Asmodeus), reversed Stations of the Cross, cryptic inscriptions - Saunière died January 22, 1917, taking his secret to the grave - His housekeeper Marie Dénarnaud inherited everything but never revealed the secret - Coded parchments allegedly found in a hollow pillar reference biblical passages and hidden messages - The mystery inspired "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" (1982) and Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" (2003) - Theories include: Templar treasure, Cathar gold, tomb of Mary Magdalene, Jesus bloodline, Visigoth treasure - Nicolas Poussin's painting "The Shepherds of Arcadia" (1637-1638) depicts a tomb resembling one near Rennes-le-Château - The tombstone of Marie de Nègre d'Ables (died 1781) contained coded inscriptions, later destroyed - "ET IN ARCADIA EGO" - the mysterious phrase connecting paintings, tombs, and the secret - Henri Boudet, priest of nearby Rennes-les-Bains, wrote "La Vraie Langue Celtique" (1886), believed to contain hidden messages --- # ARTICLES ## The Mystery The codes, parchments, and secrets at the heart of the Rennes-le-Château enigma. ### 17 URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/17 The number 17 and particularly the date of 17th January appears to have a special significance in relation to Rennes-le-Château: 17th January 681 was the date Sigisbert IV was reputed to have arrived at Rennes-le-Château. He is the mysterious link in the Merovingian line who, as son of Dagobert II, would have been his heir and pretender to the throne of France 17th January 872 the lost body of Dagobert II was supposedly rediscovered 17th January 1329, Ste. Roseline died in Arcs, Provence 17th January 1601, Ste. Germaine died in Pibrac near Toulouse (at the age of 22) 17th January 1893 Monseigneur Billard, purchased Notre Dame de Marceille in Limoux 17th January 1967 Publishing date of Le Serpent Rouge 17th January Feast day of St. Sulpice 17th January Feast day of St. Anthony (he died 17th January 461, allegedly at the age of 105) 17th of January 1862, the Bishop presiding over the apparitions of Bernadette at Lourdes announced that the sightings were of divine origin 17th January a ray of light in the church of Rennes-le-Château passes through the stained glass window upon St. Anthony 17th January 1381 Nicolas Flamel allegedly produces silver out of mercury 17th January 1377, Pope Gregory XI reached Rome after leaving Avignon on 13 September 1376, ending the Babylonian Captivity 17th January 1781 Marie de Negre D'Ables died at the age of 67 the number 17 is displayed on the tombstone of Abbé Jean Vié of Rennes-les-Bains, the predecessor of Henri Boudet. Although he died on 31st August 1872, the stone displays: Mort le 1er 7bre 1872. Summarizing: 17 Jean Vié, 17 Janvier, 17th January 17th January 1917 Marie Dénarnaud discovered Saunière prostrate on the Belvedere after a stroke 17th January 1975 Archduke Rodolphe of Habsbourg visited Rennes-le-Château One of the fundamental documents of the French Revolution, the Declaration of the Rights of Men and of the Citizen counts 17 articles the Sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Marceille was sold to 17th January 1893 ### 22 URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/22 The number 22 appears to have a special significance in relation to Rennes-le-Château: - 22nd July is Mary Magdalene's Feast day - 22nd January 1917, Bérenger Saunière died - Tour Magdala and the garden are linked by 22 steps - Tour Magdala has 22 steps leading to the top - There are 22 battlements on top of the Tour Magdala - The lone window in,  Tour Magdala, which is pointed to by an anomalous floor tile at the base of the Tour Magdala, in turn points unambiguously at a grotto approximately a mile in the distance, which is named 'The Burial Site of Mary Magdalene' (remember, her feast day is 22) and is offset from the grotto by 22 degrees (south of west) - Marie Dénarnaud sold the Saunière estate to the Corbu's on 22nd July 1946 - The famous Latin inscription over the door of Abbé Saunière's church of Saint Mary Magdalene, "Terribilis est locus iste", (This place is Terrible), has 22 letters. If spelled correctly, it has 23 Latin letters. - the Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters - the skull above the entrance to the graveyard has 22 teeth ### 22 Quatrains URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/22-quatrains Handwritten document, found in Nothern Spain in 2003. It probably originates from the early 1800s. It is compiled in Latin and divided into twenty-two quatrains, each one starting with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It mentions 'Rheda' (the old name of Rennes-le-Château) and well known locations in the mystery like Bugarach and the name of Mary Magdalene. The Quatrains are believed to be related to Abbé Antoine Bigou or to have been written by him during his last years in Spain. ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved. Images shown here with kind permission of Société Perillos. [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="39"] ### Administration 1897 URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/administration-1897 Extract of the, Guide de l'Aude administratif, judiciaire et commercial, the 1897 Yellow Pages, published in, Montpellier, in 1897 by the Société des Guides Méridionaux. The page shows the record for Rennes-le-Château. We learn that the village had 246 inhabitants. Notice how mister E. Clamon tripled as teacher, secretary to the Major and photographer.   ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved. The copyright of the photo lies with l'Association Documentation Rennes-le-Château de Patrick Mensior, reproduced here with kind permission. ### Contact URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/contact [contact-form to='postmaster@renneslechateau.nl' subject='RLC Question: '][contact-field label='Name' type='name' required='1'/][contact-field label='Email' type='email' required='1'/][contact-field label='Website' type='url'/][contact-field label='Comment' type='textarea' required='1'/][/contact-form] ### Et In Arcadia Ego URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/et-in-arcadia-ego ET IN ARCADIA EGO The theme of a tomb and shepherds first featured in the Eclogues V by Virgil (70bc-19bc). In these poems,, a tomb with an inscription (to Daphnis) is described to be in the ideal landscape of Arcadia in ancient Greece. In 1502 the theme was taken a step further by Italian Poet Jacopo Sannazaro in his work 'Arcadia', describing the ideal landscape and the underground stream. His countryman Guercino first introduced the phrase 'Et In Arcadia Ego'. His painting of the same name inspired Nicolas Poussin to produce his two works Les Bergers d'Arcadie and to use the phrase as an inscription on, a tomb. The phrase is a menento mori: melancholically reminding us of death, even being present in the ideal land of Arcadia. The phrase also is claimed by some to be an anagram: I TEGO ARCANA DEI (begone, I conceal the secrets of God) TEGO ARCA INDIAE (I conceal the Ark of India, India being the old name for Ethiopia) TANGO ARCAM DEI IESU (based on the addition of the word SUM to the phrase: I touch the tomb of the lord Jesus) CRANE A DAGOBERT II (based on the addition of the letters B and R: skull of Dagobert II) ### Grand Parchment URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/grand-parchment Allegedly found by Bérenger Saunière while restoring his church in July 1887. It contains the story in which Jesus visits Lazarus in Bethania from the Gospel of John in Latin. In this parchment another coded message was discovered: BERGERE PAS DE TENTATION QUE POUSSIN TENIERS GARDENT LA CLEF PAX DCLXXXI (681) PAR LA CROIX ET CE CHEVAL DE DIEU J'ACHEVE CE DAEMON DE GARDIEN A MIDI POMMES BLEUES The parchment as it was first published by Gérard de Sède is believed to be a manipulated copy of an original. This original was probably sold by Noel Corbu to a couple of Englishmen. The manipulated copies were, given to De Sède by, Pierre Plantard and Philippe de Chérisey, united in their Priory of Sion. You'll find a very detailed description of the parchment decoding here. ### Inversions and Mirrors URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/inversions-and-mirrors The domain of Abbé Saunière and in fact the whole Mystery of Rennes-le-Château counts a , number of inversions and doubles. Here's an attempt to sum them up in random order. I am open to suggestions. On the large Fresco on the west wall of the church it is WINTER on the left and SUMMER on the right. The Belvédere has two mirrored sets of 11 steps The facing statues of Joseph and Mary at the back of the Church both carry a baby Jesus The floorplan of the church is mirrorred in the Church garden, where the confessional mirrors Notre Dame de Lourdes (pénitence!), and the altar mirrors the Calvaire. The Tour Magdala (in stone) is mirrored by an Orangerie Tower (in glass) as opposites on a chess board The N on Saunière's tomb's cross is inverted The INRI on Jesus's cross on the Bell from the Church tower is inverted The Stations of the Cross are displayed in reverse order The Visigothic Pillar carrying Notre Dame de Lourdes has been placed upside down The Knight's Stone was found liying face down The painting of Christ and the Hare in Rennes-les-Bains is the inverse of the original (which is hanging in Anvers - pronounced Invers - the French word for inverse) In the far right corner of the Tour Magdala there's an red dot in one of the floor tiles, the same dot used to be visible on the floor of the Orangerie on the other end of the Belvédère The Devil and Jesus are sitting opposite eachother in mirrored similar crouching positions in at the back of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene ### Jean Brunelin's Photo Album URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/jean-brunelins-photo-album Jean Brunelin represents 40 years of research into the mystery of Rennes-le-Château. Nicknamed 'the Admiral', he has been its court photographer for just as long. From the famous picture of Jean Cocteau on his death bed to the amazing miniatures he discovered in the Bas Relief of Saunière's church. They're all in his phenomenal photo archive. Jean published about Rennes-le-Château in several best selling books. In this album Jean shares some of the more iconic images from the Mystery's past. ### Le Sot Pécheur URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/le-sot-pecheur Around 1965 Henry Buthion (who had just bought the Villa Bethania from Noel Corbu) and his friend Jean Pellet found a piece of paper with some scribblings in Abbé's Saunière's, handwriting inside his personal altar in the housechapel. It was hidden there in a piece of hollow bamboo sealed with wax behind a loose tile. The little note was wrapped in a newspaper from 1907 and contained a silly poem reading: Sot Pecheur a l'embouchure du Rhone, son poisson sur le gril deux fois retourna. Un malin survint et XXV fois le gouta. Cuit, il ne lui resta que l'arete. Un ange veillait et en fit un peigne d'or. B.S. Cur. which translates as: Stupid fisherman at the mouth of the Rhone, he turned his fish on the grill twice. A devil popped up and tasted it 25 times. Cooked, all that remained was the bone. An angel watched and made a golden comb. B.S. Cur. The original unfortunately got lost in a fire. The poem seems to link to a local fable called La Légende du Peigne d'Or (Legend of the Golden Comb). French researcher Patrick Mensior has done an elaborate analysis in his book: l'extrordinaire secret des prêtres de Rennes-le-Château Researcher Roger Boonaert has come up with an interesting theory that has many followers among his colleagues. He start with the number 17 as indicated by Station of the Cross Number X Jesus Is Divested Of His Clothes. In the first round of decypherment he found the following text: TRESOR ENFOUI AU LAGASTOUS AVEN 1785 treasure buried at Lagastous aven 1785 In the next round of decyphering he found a sentence of 128 letters, the same number as on the headstone of the Marchioness d'Hautpoul-Blanchefort OR NATIF ROMAIN HAUTPOUL DEPOTS WISIGOTHIQUE ALARIC ROYAL TEMPLIERS BEZU ACCES KARST SUD AVEN RAYONS LLLLLLXV M POINTS AVEN P CARLA ROI MORT MMLLLLXLV M native roman gold Hautpoul deposits Visigoth Alaric royal Templars Bezu access karst south aven rays LLLLLLXV M points aven P Carla dead king MMLLLLXLV M ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved ### Les Dossiers Secrets URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/les-dossiers-secrets A collection of documents and genealogies, deposited anonymously in the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris between 1964 and 1967. The various documents are written under pseudonyms or attributed to people later found to be deceased. Pierre Plantard and Philippe de Chérisey are believed by some to be the authors although they denied any association. Fake or not, les Dossiers Secrets have been a katalyst for turning a local mystery into what is the Rennes-le-Château enigma today. The Dossiers Secrets were the foundation for the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail and many others. 1. January 1964 | Généalogie des rois mérovingiens et origine de diverses familles françaises et étrangères de souche mérovingienne By Henri Lobineau (pseudonym), presumably named after the rue Lobineau near the Church of St. Sulpice in Paris or Dom Lobineau, the 18th century benedictine historian who lived and worked in Rennes (Bretagne). Dated Geneva, 1956. Record in the French National Library 2. August 1965 | Les descendants mérovingiens ou l'énigme du Razès Wisigoth By Madeleine Blancasall (pseudonym), presumably named after Mary Magdalene and de the rivers Blanques and Sals that flow through Rennes-les-Bains. The document states that it is translated from the German by Walter Celse-Nazaire (pseudonym), presumably named after the patron saints of the church of Rennes-les-Bains Record in the French National Library 3. May 1966 | Un trésor mérovingien à Rennes-le-Château By Antoine l'Ermite (pseudonym). presumably named after the saint who's statue is in the church of Rennes-le-Chateau. It consists of 9 pages taken out of the book 'Trésors du Monde enterrés, emmurés, engloutis'. by Robert Charroux in 1962. It introduces Abbé Joseph Courtaly of Villarzel-du-Razès, allegedly a friend of Saunière who died in November 1964. Record in the French National Library 4. May 1966 | Addendum to the first document by Serge Roux The document consists of an article by,  Lionel Burrus take from 'Semaine Catholique Genevoise', a magazine that never existed and in which Burrus defends Henri Lobineau, which he claims is in fact Leo Schidlof. It also claims Schidlof was given the genealogies by Emile Hoffet. Record in the French National Library 5. June 1966 | Pierres Gravées du Languedoc By Eugène Stüblein. The engravings in this book include the two tombstones of Marie de Nègre d'Ables and the Knight's Stone, which is captioned 'Stone from the sepulchre of the princes... ### Links URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/weblinks Links to the websites of Rennes-le-Château Researchers and Publicists Andrew Gough's Arcadia (UK) André Douzet (FR) Beauséant (NL) Ben Hammot (UK) Bill Kersey (UK) Christian Attard (FR) Christian Doumergue (FR) Daniel Dugès (FR) Dan Green (UK) Florian Seiler (DE) Franck Daffos & Jean-pierre Garcia (FR) Françoise Gasc (FR) Graham Phillips (UK) Henry Lincoln (UK) Isaac Ben Jacob (UK & FR) Jean Brunelin (FR) Jean-Claude Debrou (FR) Jean-Patrick Pourtal (FR) Johan Netchacovitch (BE) Laurence Gardner (UK) Le Coin de l'Enigme (FR) Marcus Williamson (UK) Margaret Starbird (US) Mariano Tomatis (IT) Radio Magdala (Michel Valet) (FR) Morgan Roussel's Complete Bibliography (FR) Octonovo (Laurent Bucholzer) (FR) Patrick Bernauw (UK) Patrick Mensior (FR) Peter Ernst (DE) Philip Coppens (UK) Philippe Marlin (FR) Picknett and Prince (UK) Richard Dietrich (US) Sandy Hamblet (UK) Thierry Rollat (FR) Tracy Twyman (US) Val Wineyard (UK) Vincent Berger (FR) Xavi Bonet (ES) (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); General Rennes-le-Château websites Official Village Website (FR) Rennes-le-Château.com outdated, previously Torkain (FR) Le Trésor de Rennes-le-Château (FR) le fabuleux trésor de l’abbé Saunière (FR) Cathars and Cathar Beliefs in the Languedoc (UK) Rennes-le-Château la Révélation (FR) les Clés d’Or (FR) Saunière Curé aux Milliards (FR) Rennes-le-Château Societies Saunière Society (UK) e-Magazines the Daily Grail (UK) Gazette de Rennes-le-Château (BE) Fortean Times (UK) Rhedesium (UK) Templar History Magazine (UK) Unexplained Mysteries (US) Atlas Obscura (US) Blogs Codex Celtica (US) Au Pays de La Reine Blanche (UK) Grail Seekers (US) Gralssuche (CH) Forums Rennes-le-Château Archive (FR) Sacerdotibus.nl (NL) Rendez-vous des Chercheurs (FR) Indispensables Geoportail, High-Res French version of Google Earth (FR) Rennes-le-Château bookshop (Port de Rennes) (FR/UK) Rennes-le-Château bookshop (Atelier Empreinte) (FR/UK) Bibliothèque Nationale de France (FR) ### Map of Celtic Rennes URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/map-of-celtic-rennes Map drawn by Edmond Boudet, brother of Abbé Henri Boudet. The map was included in Henri's book La Vraie Langue Celtique et le Cromleck de Rennes-les-Bains. ### Martinism URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/freemasonry Often,, the mystery of Rennes-le-Château has been linked to Freemasonry. It has been argued that some of the duality Saunière introduced in his church (the inversions in the Fresco, the black and white checkerboard tiles in on the church floor etc.), are Masonic in nature. Any Masonic influence was speculative until April 2007. In that month, Antoine Captier, grandson of Saunière's bellringer and keeper of most of the Abbé's archives,, first showed a Masonic Collar (Sautoir in French), that had once belonged to the priest. It had been lying in his attic for a very long time and it had been shown to a number of researchers in private already. Captier is widely seen as the most serious and trustworthy of the French Rennes-le-Château researchers. The discovery proves that Saunière was member of a Masonic society, which will shed a whole new light on parts of the mystery. The church actively disapproved of anything Masonic in Saunière's time. Bishop Billard, who is considered to have been an important protector of Saunière even launched an anti-masonic mission. Société Perillos discovered that Billard was perhaps not as anti-Masonic as he appears. The, Masonic Collar was identified as belonging to the Scottish Rite of the 18th degree Chevalier Rose Croix (Knight of the Rosy Cross). Normally a jewel would be present at the bottom of the collar. On this collar there wasn't one, meaning either it was lost or Saunière was member of a society that didn't carry a jewel on their Sautoirs, like the Elus Cohen. In 1900, Bérenger Saunière attended at least three meetings of a Martinist lodge in Lyon. The Martinists are a masonic order that developed out of the Elus Cohen, founded by Martinez de Pasqually in the second half of the 18th century. As a symbol, the Martinists use a Star of David made up of a white and a black triangle or two interlaced black and white triangles. In the pages of the Lodge Minutes book of the Martinist Order of Lyon it says: Dans La registre de la Très Révérente Loge à l'Orient de Lyon "La Haute Philosophie"...sur la liste le présent d'honneur l'Abbé Saunière. Since only Martinists were invited to visit other Martinist Lodge's meetings there seems little doubt that Saunière was indeed a member of a Martinist order. This also ties in well with the fact that the clergy was very well represented in the order even though officially the Vatican and indeed the Diocese of Carcassonne actively condemned masonic activities... ### Mary Magdalene map URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/mary-magdalene-map French researcher Jacques Rivière, who unfortunately passed away in 2006, left us some of the most serious, books on the mystery of Rennes-le-Château as well as a, great many things to ponder. On of his most intriguing claims was, that, if the points of all the summits of the hills in the Aude are joined up, they reproduce the figure of Mary Magdalene as she appears on the bas-relief of Saunière's altar, her head being the ramparts of Carcassonne. Another leading Rennes researcher, Pierre Jarnac, has repeated this exercise and confirms that this does appear to, work.   If this was indeed meant to be a map, then at the intersection of the cross on which the Magdalene's gaze is fixed, lies the village of, Puichéric. That's anamazing coinicidence, since in Puichéric, the church used to have a stained-glass window with exactly the same scene. Rivière believed that the secret is the locations of some very rich mines. ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved ### Model Letter URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/model-letter This week, Société Perillos finally published one of the letters that were found with the famous Saunière Model. This concludes 13 years of uncertainty about the authenticity of this model. The letter contains general comments about the model and the implementation of certain requested details. Intriguingly at the very end, of the letter, Saunière names an unknown, priest in an unknown town who would, be the receiver of the second model: Cher monsieur, Je vous remercie de votre dernière lettre. Voici les renseignements que je vous donne en pièces séparées. Ce sont les cartes et les vues conformes à mes explications précédentes pour le moulage. Vous voudrez bien me faire savoir si ma commande est susceptible d'être agrée puisque ces détails obligent à modifier ce projet et son devis. Je compte que vous veillerez à ce que ceci améliore l'aspect et les informations attendues sur le relief des terrains, mesures et dimensions totales. Je vous demande de faire parvenir, comme convenu à la commande, l'autre modèle à mon confrère Monsieur l'abbé '¦.. curé doyen de'¦'¦ The model is pivotal in the theory involving Saunière's dealings in the ruined village of Perillos. Read the, full article about this on Société Perillos.,  ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved, photo of the letter copyright Société Perillos ### Mystery of Rennes-le-Château URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/mystery-of-rennes-le-chateau From Rags to Richess At the end of the 19th century, Bérenger Saunière, the poor parish priest of Rennes-le-Château, all of a sudden started spending a lot more money then he could ever have earned performing his normal duties. He had been assigned to this tiny village in the south of France at the age of 33 and had spent his first few years there in piety and poverty. According to his meticulously kept accounting books, in February 1892 he had a debt of 105 francs and 80,65 francs in his 'fonds secrets' (savings). That all changed in the 1890s. From that time on his surviving papers and accounts record a total expenditure of some 660,000 francs, equivalent to EUR 2,500,000 today. He would spend up to 50,000 francs in one month in some periods. His salary as a priest was 900 francs per annum. Towards the end of his life he seems to have had some difficulty paying his bills but weeks before his death he appears to have been making plans once again. Saunière's financial difficulties coincide largely with the World War I, an indication he couldn't reach his funds abroad? It's often said Saunière got his fortune by committing simony or mass trafficking: requesting money for masses he never said. There's clear evidence that he was guilty of this practice like so many of his colleagues at the time. However, the amounts of money he spent are in no relation to his illegal income from this practice. Detailed analysis of his records has taught he received 110,000 requests to say mass, which is a lot more than he ever could have said when you think a priest could say 3 masses in one day (and didn't hold sermons every day of course). The going rate for a mass was 1 franc around 1880, increasing up to 1.5 francs at the time of his death. From this he could have earned no more than some 150,000 francs which only accounts for less than a quarter of his recorded spenditure (and which was only part of what he really spent). Saunière's income is further dissected in this article. The Silent Witness It is probable that Bérenger Saunière made one or more discoveries during his life that brought him fortune in one way or another. Moreover he did some pretty strange things during his long ministry in Rennes-le-Château, always assisted by his faithful housekeeper Marie Dénarnaud who was 16 years his younger. Many times they were seen digging in the cemetery at night together to such extent that the municipal council filed an official complaint for deplacing graves... ### Now entering Rennes-le-Château URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/now-entering-rennes-le-chateau Welcome to Rennes-le-Château Research and Resource. This website is dedicated to giving all the available sources and insights to everyone with an interest in the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château. The Mystery of Rennes-le-Château has been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for two generations of authors and researchers across the world, resulting in hundreds of books and publications, the best known probably being Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Rennes-le-Château has everything that makes a great mystery: treasure, betrayal, forgery, forbidden love, unsolved murders, rituals and a secret believed so powerful that it could shake the roots of Christianity. Start your journey here | Solis Sacerdotibus If you like what you see, illuminate your ears by listening to the 2007-2009 Radio Rennessence podcasts that I produced together with Andrew Gough  and the late Philip Coppens on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher or Podbean. ### Prophecies of John XXIII URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/prophecies-of-john-xxiii Padre esitante dopo il Santo che già cammina agli alti altari, il Padre della Madre avanza il braccio e si aprirà al mondo. La Madre per lui sarà grande quando sarà piccola uscirà dallo stagno accettando una breve catena. Fiori avrà dinanzi alla sua croce, un'ombra rossa sulle spalle curve. I suoi figli piangeranno, ma atta destra avrà due mani. Ferme e ricche di coraggio nel dire, nel comandare, nell'obbedire. Santa sarà la sua mano destra, gli darà inchiostro per condannare i chiodi in marcia i gigli a calpestare. Ma la catena sarà più grande e la lotta più grande ma da una parte. I figli del Padre e della Madre saranno protetti ma soffriranno. E luci avranno acceso nella notte, nell'abbraccio della piazza. I cavalli arrivano, di fango. Fermi alle fontane. Tra le nubi, le più tristi, si alzerà la colomba eletta, il dodicesimo pio dal profilo di metallo. Sola pace nella guerra, sola preghiera tra le grida. Sette volte incontrerà il visitatore e ne vedrà il viso prima della morte. E sette volte ne porterà la rosea corona. Nel sangue anche i poveri saranno Cristo e le stimmate sanguineranno nel dolore, sangue per il sangue. La Madre raccoglierà i greggi e non saprà difendere gli altri ovili, chiusi nei recinti, divorati dai lupi della croce usurpata. Diffidare e combattere sempre chi usa la croce e non è figlio della Madre e del Padre. Combattere e attendere, perché sulla falsa croce, l'usurpatore si crocefiggerà da solo. Solo allora sarà pace. La Madre faticherà a essere viva, ma vincerà le tentazioni, l'orgoglio della terrena vittoria. Combatterà il Padre, e rossa sarà la sua veste bianca, fratello tra i fratelli. Povera apparirà la Vergine Maria ai semplici e non le crederanno. Al posto dei templi allora saranno tombe. Luce di Newa dall'Oriente, ma la luce è sempre d'Occidente. A metà la statua Ingiuste accuse avrà il vicario, per la sua dignità di tacere, per il suo coraggio alla prudenza che salvò il mondo. Ma il mondo volle fiori di carne, fiori dai vistosi colori, non guardò i fiori di campo, silenziosi e puri. Né mai li guarderà, nel loro splendore, se non alla fine della fine. Il male aveva tre teste, cadde la prima. Venne la seconda e il Padre la colpi con la parola, più forte della spada. La terza era nel seno della Madre da sempre, nemica della Madre e del Padre. Le lettere di Barcellona diranno un giorno di un silenzio carico di azione e il... ### Sacred Geometry URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/sacred-geometry It was Henry Lincoln, co-author of bestseller the Holy Blood and the Holy Grail who noticed that many of the sites that figure in the mystery of Rennes-le-Château have very precise geometric relations with eachother. Frustrated by the fact that there were too little tangible hard facts underpinning his hypotheses from his book Holy Blood Holy Grail, Lincoln turned to the things that everybody can go see for themselves that are around Rennes-le-Château: the churches, the roadside crosses, the castles etc. What he discovered is that the Templar Château at Bezu, the Château de Blanchefort and the village of Rennes-le-Château lie in a perfect triangle. Combined with the hilltops of la Soulane and Terre de Lauzet, a perfect giant pentacle can be drawn on the landscape. According to Lincoln this makes it a holy place which might be an important reason why the region was so popular by religious and mystic groups through the ages. The author suggests that this information was known by secret societies through the ages. The Lincoln Pentacle [wpgmza id="7"] The Pentacle (Pentagram) connects the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Rennes-le-Château, the Château de Blanchefort, de hilltops of La Soulane and Lauzet and the Château de Bézu. The angles are all perfectly 72 degrees. Lincoln brings an astrological, almost romantic argument to the table to substantiate his claim that Rennes-le-Château is part of a holy pentacle. The planet of Venus has been closely associated with Mary-Magdalene through the ages. Each planet moves in a pattern around the sun. All are irregular with the exception of Venus that, regular like clockwork, draws a pentacle every eight years. As above, as below, said the ancient alchemists. Here is Venus, drawing the symbol of the Magdalene in the sky over the perfect pentacle below on the ground at Rennes-le-Château where the church is devoted to her. You can read more about this in his book 'the Holy Place'. Lincoln's discovery set off an army of amateur surveyors that have found a bewildering number of simple to very complex shapes around Rennes-le-Château and far beyond. They have led to many theories, varying from Rennes-le-Château being part of the floor plan of Solomon's temple to Jesus' body lying buried inside mount Cardou. The story gets both more traction and complexity when you realize that painters like Teniers and Poussin, of whose paintings Saunière allegedly bought reproductions at the Louvre in 1892, used many of the... ### Search Results URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/search-results var googleSearchIframeName = "cse-search-results"; var googleSearchFormName = "cse-search-box"; var googleSearchFrameWidth = 800; var googleSearchDomain = "www.google.co.uk"; var googleSearchPath = "/cse"; ### Small Parchment URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/small-parchment Allegedly found by Bérenger Saunière while restoring his church in July 1887. It contains Latin text fragments of Luke VI, 1-5 and Matthew XII, 1-8, Mark II, 23-28. On this parchment a coded message was found that is at the heart of the enigma: A DAGOBERT II ROI ET A SION EST CE TRESOR ET IL EST LA MORT This message was first decoded and published by Henry Lincoln. The parchment as it was first published by Gérard de Sède is believed to be a manipulated copy of an original. This original was probably sold by Noel Corbu to a couple of Englishmen. The manipulated copies were, given to De Sède by, Pierre Plantard and Philippe de Chérisey, united in their Priory of Sion. ### Something about Mary URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/something-about-mary In the south of France, particularly in the Languedoc, Mary Magdalene holds a central place in religious life. Much in contrast with the image that is in the new testa-ment and therewith in popular belief, she takes up the place normally associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Saunière devoted his church and much of his estate to Mary Magdalene and certainly wasn't alone in doing so. In their 1982 book Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, three British writers presented their hypothesis that Mary Magdalene the wife of Jesus, the mother of their children and the sister of Lazarus, at who's house Jesus was laid to rest after he had been salvaged from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea. It is claimed by many researchers and writers today that this story is interwoven with the enigma and building projects of Abbé Bérenger Saunière in Rennes-le-Château. ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved ### The Cathars URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/the-cathars Wars between nations or faiths are commonplace. Sometimes, nations turn against a minority resident within their own borders. But the Albigensian Crusade is unique in history, as the Pope on March 10, 1208 proclaimed a crusade against a heresy that was present inside Catholic Europe itself. “These heretics are worse than the Saracens!” he proclaimed. In retrospect, the crusade was one of the bloodiest episodes in European history. Indeed, the decades-long persecution of ordinary citizens has often been seen as the event that prepared the way for the birth of Protestantism, as it awakened the ordinary European citizen to the realisation that something was not “quite” right within the papal corridors. Today, these heretics are most commonly known as the Cathars, but historically, they went under a number of guises for, in fact, they were not a uniform organisation at all. These heretics were at the origin of the word “bugger”, derived from Bulgre and Bouggerie – “of Bulgary” – from where the Bogomils – one branch of the heresy – came. The main focus, however, has always been on the Cathars (from the Greek word meaning “pure”), a name that is normally reserved for the heretics that lived in Southern France and Northern Spain; they were the ones targeted by the Crusade. Catharism arrived in southern France and northern Italy in the 11th century. It was present in Orléans as early as 1022, when thirteen Perfects – the name for the Cathar priests – were condemned to the stake. At the time, the south of France (the Languedoc) was not yet under the political control of Northern France. In the Languedoc, Catharism was endorsed by the local nobility and became a popular alternative to the Catholic Church. The likes of the Count of Toulouse – one of the most important rulers of Southern France – supported Catharism and he and several other lords invited the Cathar Perfects to organise themselves properly, thus offering to help organise a parallel church to Christianity. Hence, the first Cathar Synod was held between 1167 and 1176 at St. Felix-de-Caraman, near Toulouse. The event was attended by many local notables and presided over by the Bogomil papa Nicetas of the dualist church of Constantinople, assisted by the Cathar bishop of (Northern) France and a leader of the Cathars of Lombardy. The main item on the agenda was how to divide Southern France into bishoprics, appoint bishops, and guarantee that the area was properly... ### The Knights Templar URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/the-knights-templar The Knights Templar have been linked to the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château from the very beginning. Largely beacuse of suspicions that they hid part of their treasures in the region, perhaps including the results of their digs under the Temple Mount. There are many local legends that speak of the Ark of the Covenant, the body of Jesus or the Holy Grail being buried in the area around Rennes-les-Bains. It is fact that there were once Knights Templar in the area. In the 12th Century, Bernarus Sismondi de Albezuno, Lord of Bézu and two brothers from the Reddas family became members of the order. The story that the Château de Blanchefort was once a Temple Commanderie is an omission. The Blancheforts of Rennes weren't related to the family of the sixth Grandmaster of the Knights Templar. One story claims Bertrand de Blancafort asked the Knights Templar to help him exploit a goldmin near his castle in 1130. A bit of history The History of the Knights Templar starts with the crusades of the Middle Ages, a warbetween Christians and Moslems centered around the city of Jerusalem. After Christ was crucified on the cross, his body was laid in a tomb, now known as the Holy Sepulchre. Legend states that about three hundred years after the death of Christ, Helena, the mother of the Christian Roman Emperor Constantine, discovered the Holy Sepulchre and her son built the magnificent Church of the Holy Sepulchre over the sacred spot in Jerusalem in 330 A.D. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre commemorates the hill of crucifixion and the tomb of Christ. Pilgrims throughout the Middle Ages made pilgimages to the Holy city of Jerusalem. In A.D. 637 Jerusalem was surrendered to the Saracens. The caliph of the Saracens called Omar gave guarantees for the safety of the Christian population and because of this pledge the number of pilgrimages to Jerusalem still continued to increase. In 1065 Jerusalem was taken by the Turks, who came from the kingdom of ancient Persia. 3000 Christians were massacred and the remaining Christians were treated so badly that throughout Christendom people were stirred to fight in crusades. The Knights Templar were formed to to ensure the safety of the pilgrims of the Middle Ages who flocked towards Jerusalem. Their original name was the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ. In 1099 Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon took Jerusalem back from the Turks. The founding of the Knights Templar was initiated shortly after this date by Bernard of Clairvaux, a... ### the Priory of Sion URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/the-priory-of-sion During the research for his third BBC film on the subject of Rennes-le-Château, Henry Lincoln teamed up with Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent. Their combined efforts and insights led to the release of their bestseller Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. Among the works the authors studied to come to their hypotheses there was a prominent place for Les Dossiers Secrets. It was in this book that the Priory of Sion was introduced. Godefroy of Bouillon had founded an order called L'Ordre de Sion in 1090. The order occupied the Abbey of Notre Dame de Sion in Jerusalem. Only 30 years later, the Knights Templar were founded by Hugues de Payen, a nobleman from the French Champagne region who also became the first Grandmaster. According to Les Dossiers Secrets, the Ordre de Sion was transformed into the Priory of Sion in 1188, after Jerusalem had fallen to Saladin in 1187, forcing the Christian forces from the city. Lincoln, Baigent and Leigh found documentary evidence that an Order of Sion indeed existed in the 12th century. The most remarkable thing in Les Dossiers Secrets was the list of Grandmasters of the Priory of Sion: Jean de Gisors (1188-1220) Marie de Saint-Clair (1220-1266) Guillaume de Gisors (1266-1307) Edouard de Bar (1307-1336) Jeanne de Bar (1336-1351) Jean de Saint-Clair (1351-1366) Blanche d'Evreux (1366-1398) Nicolas Flamel (1398-1418) Rene d'Anjou (1418-1480) Yolande de Bar (1480-1483) Sandro Botticelli (1483-1510) Leonardo da Vinci (1510-1519) Charles, Duke of Bourbon (1519-1527) Ferdinand de Gonzague (1527-1575) Louis Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers (1575-1595) Robert Fludd (1595-1637) Johann Valentin Andrea (1637-1654) Robert Boyle (1654-1691) Isaac Newton (1691-1727) Charles Radclyffe (1727-1746) Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (1746-1780) Archduke Maximilian Franz of Austria (1780-1801) Charles Nodier (1801-1844) Victor Hugo (1844-1885) Claude Debussy (1885-1918) Jean Cocteau (1918-1963) from facts to frenzy Since the historical existence of an Order of Sion had been proven, the three authors decided to take the list serious and discovered that all of the Grandmasters had had a more than average interest in the occult and many of them had been active freemasons. Adding everything up, the conclusion was that Les Dossiers Secrets told a reliable account of the Priory of Sion. The authors continued their research and came in contact with the Grandmaster at the time, Pierre Plantard de St. Clair. It has now become clear that the Priory of Sion never... ### The Red Serpent URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/the-red-serpent On 17th January 1967, a document was submitted to the French National Library called Le Serpent Rouge (The Red Serpent) as part of Les Dossier Secrets. Notably, it appeared there three weeks before the release of Gérard de Sède's book The Accursed Treasure of Rennes-le-Château, that introduced the mystery to the wider French public. Original Record of Le Serpent Rouge in the French National Library On the document it states that is was written by Pierre Feugère, Louis Saint-Maxent and Gaston de Koker. All three were found dead, having hanged themselves, in different parts of France, on the 6 and 7 March 1967. Investigations have shown that the names were probably associated with the document by an unknown third party to mystify the source. The three men had no realtions with eachoter and no interest in esoteric or historical affairs. It is often thought that the Red Serpent is an original document with real roots to the mystery. Many French researchers claim it's an authentic document and some claim the author to be Jean Jourdes, a relatively unknown figure, featuring in the research of Franck Daffos. Jourdes is presented as the mastermind of the whole mystery by Daffos. Whatever its source, The Red Serpent is an intriguing document. The main part is a poem in 13 verses with many links to the mystery. This without mentioning Rennes-le-Château or Saunière once. The verses are named after the signs of the Zodiac with an extra sign (Ophiuchus the Serpent-Bearer) inserted between Scorpio and Sagittarius. The Red Serpent appears to reveal the route to a treasure, with every verse depicting a step around the environment of Rennes-le-Château. The poem has been the starting point for many a treasure hunt since its appearance in the 60s. There is little relation between the poem and the rest of the sheets in the file, containing a series of plans and diagrams relating to the seminary of St. Sulpice and the nearby church of St. Germain des Prés in Paris. For the many English speaking visitors of this site here's an English translation of this enigmatic document. The original French version can be seen in this post. 1. Aquarius How strange are the manuscripts of this friend, great traveller of the unknown. They come together as white light but for one who knows separately, they are the colours of the rainbow; for the artist these six colours unite like magic in his palette and form black. 2. Pisces This friend, how would you know him? His name is a... ### The Sacred Marriage URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/the-sacred-marriage Mary Magdalene, the Greatest Story Never Told guest article by Margaret Starbird In the wake of Dan Brown's record-breaking bestseller The Da Vinci Code, some insisted its plot was only fiction, while others were asking, 'What remains when the fiction is stripped away from The Da Vinci Code?' What remains, I believe, is the firm conviction of the earliest Christians that Jesus embodied the archetypal Sacred Bridegroom from the ancient mythologies of the Near East and that Mary Magdalene was his spouse. This belief appears at the core of the Gospels and was later embellished by authors of the Gnostic texts discovered in Egypt which unabashedly proclaim Mary Magdalene as beloved disciple and intimate companion, even 'consort,' of Jesus. Close examination of the New Testament confirms that Jesus honored, embraced, and elevated the status of the Feminine during his short ministry. The Gospels delight us with stories about women: one widow gives alms in spite of her own poverty, another sweeps her house searching for a lost coin. An adulteress is rescued from stoning, a woman declared""unclean is healed of the flux, and the daughter of Jairus is raised from the dead. Mary, the sister of Lazarus, sitting at the feet of Jesus has chosen the better part while Martha is worried about preparations for dinner. Courageous women stand near the cross mourning the crucified Lord, while his male apostles apparently cower in hiding. And faithful women approach the tomb in the dawn of Easter morning. These narratives are remarkable for their time, a period when wives were treated like chattel and divorced with awesome ease, when women were denied the right to bear witness in court. In fact, the earliest Christian community, relying on radical teachings of Jesus, was essentially egalitarian and honored women in ways unprecedented in their time. In his epistles, Paul mentions various Christian women leaders and mentions that the brothers of Jesus and the other apostles travel around with their sister-wives (1 Cor 9:5). From this inadvertent statement we glean that the earliest Christians traveled as missionary couples, not as pairs of men as we have been inclined to believe. There is no statement anywhere in the New Testament that Jesus was celibate, and in Judaism, the norm was marriage. They had no word for bachelor. I believe that one important aspect of the ministry of Jesus was the intent to re-establish the partnership paradigm based on the ancient model of... ### The Tomb of Christ URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/tomb-of-christ Was the body of Christ laid to rest in Southern France? What happened to the body of Jesus after his burial? It is the the central question of the recent book La Tombe Perdue (The Lost Tomb) by French author and researcher Christian Doumergue. Three days after its interment, the body of Jesus disappeared from the Tomb in which it had been laid to rest. While the church claims Jesus was raised from the dead, already during the first centuries, this was subject to heavy debate amongst many Christians and Gnostics who disputed the idea. Serious historians could never reconcile with the idea in the first place. So what really happened then? In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene suggests that the body of Jesus is moved. She talks to man, she believes to be a gardener and asks him where he moved the body. Later in the Gospel, John tells us that this gardener is none other than Jesus himself. Today it is known for fact that sections of the Gospels were 'tuned' to be in line with the dogma of the physical resurrection. There are several indications that he passage about the gardener is one of those. Now who was this gardener and why would Mary Magdalene ask him where he moved the body of Jesus? Perhaps coincidentally, some Jewish traditions do speak of a gardener who would have stolen the body of the Christ. They have in fact been in existence since the first centuries of Christianity. Reconciling these traditions with the original Gospel of John, all of a sudden it appears to become an actual possibility that Mary Magdalene spoke to the man who took the actual body of the actual Christ out of its tomb. She even appears to have found it back. So what became of the body of Jesus then? Several traditions claim Mary Magdalene left Jerusalem. Many of them tell us she travelled to the South of France. Some lesser known ones claim that she went to Rome first to ask the Emperor Tiberius to make amends for the death of Jesus. This suggestion is less outrageous than it might seem. Mary Magdalene would have had access to the Emperor through Claudia Procula, Pontius Pilate's wife whom she knew and who was a relative of Tiberius. The name Claudia indicates membership of the important Claudii family, the family of the Emperor himself. According to a IVth century apocryphical text, Mary Magdalene told Tibere she wanted to speak to him about the inequitable death of Jesus. The response of the Emperor maybe in an ancient manuscript, kept in the French National Library in Paris.... ### What is the Grail? URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/what-is-the-grail The Grail. Between 1190 and 1240 it formed the central theme of a series of literary works that spoke of and appealed to a new social class that of the knights and warriors and the adventures they encountered on their travels. In recent decades it unleashed Indiana Jones on one of his death-defying treasure hunts and was the central ingredient of Dan Browns The Da Vinci Code one of the biggest bestselling novels ever. For Richard Barber in The Holy Grail: The History of a legend it is in all its forms a construct of the creative imagination. However for dozens of other authors the Grail is not a literary invention but a veritable treasure out there somewhere. Unfortunately in general studies trying to identify and trace the physical Grail have taken on flights of fancy. The Grail has been linked with countries from the Middle East to America as well as with the persecuted Cathars and even extra-terrestrial beings. It has been labelled a code word for the Ark of the Covenant after the Templars allegedly transported it from the Middle East to a new hiding place in France. Today "what is the Grail?" is no longer asked and instead we are repeatedly told often by these authors seeking the Grail that we should speak about "a Grail" which they of course have found. The Grail today can be anything to anyone and is no longer if it ever was a precise object but a word that should be written in lower case grail: a precious object or an ambition that one tries to attain often with great difficulty. The first person to write on the Grail was Chrétien de Troyes in le Conte du Graal (The Story of the Grail) between 1180 and 1191. Interestingly Chrétien refers to his object not as the Grail but as un graal a grail suggesting the word was used in its earliest literary context as a common noun and that there were indeed more than one. The basic Grail account opens with a young man Perceval encountering knights and realising he wants to be one. Despite his mothers objections the boy trains for the knighthood and begins a series of travels. On one such trip he comes across the Fisher King who invites him to stay at his castle. While there he witnesses a strange procession in which young men and women carry magnificent objects from one chamber to another passing before him at each course of the meal. First comes a young man carrying a bleeding lance then two boys carrying candelabras. Finally a beautiful young girl emerges bearing an elaborately decorated... ### Will of Henry d'Hautpoul URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/mystery/will-of-henry-dhautpoul Will of Henry Baron, d'Hautpoul Seigneur de Blanchefort. ©2007-2012 www.renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved. Photos copyright Alain Feral [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="40"] ## The Man Abbé Bérenger Saunière and the people who shaped the mystery. ### Alfred Saunière URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/alfred-saunire Abbé Jean-Marie Alfred Saunière (1855-1905) Brother and close friend of Abbé Bérenger Saunière. His role in the play is unclear. He became a vicar in the village of Alzonne on July 1st 1878 to join the Jesuits a year later. Being a Jesuit he worked as a teacher in Narbonne and later private tutor to the family of the Marquis the Chefdebien, grandson of the founder of the Philadelphes Masonic Lodge. He was sent away after accusations of theft in 1903. He was excommunicated by the church in 1904 and died an alcoholic a year later. After his death, a son was born from his relation with Marie-Emilie Salière, who lived with his uncle Bérenger for a while. ### Angelo Roncalli URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/angelo-roncalli Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, Pope John XXIII (1881-1963) After Sauniere's death, a certain Angelo Roncalli was placed in charge of a dossier that involved Rennes-le-Château and the enigmatic Abbé by the Vatican. All this long before the story attained any notoriety or publicity. According to author Pierre Carpi, during a nunciature in Turkey in 1935, Roncalli admitted into the sect of the Temple receiving the name Brother John.,  It was in this period that he wrote a series of prophecies. There is no doubt about their authenticity. Click here to read these rare prophecies (in Italian)., In June 1960 when Angelo had climbed up the stairs of the Vatican high enough to become Pope John XXIII, he issued a profoundly important apostolic letter: ON PROMOTING DEVOTION TO THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. This letter emphasized Jesus' suffering as a human being and maintained that the redemption of mankind had been effected by the shedding of his blood. In the context of Pope John's letter, Jesus' human Passion and the shedding of his blood assume a greater consequence than the Resurrection or even than the mechanics of the Crucifixion. If man's redemption was achieved by the shedding of Jesus' blood, his death and resurrection become incidental, if not, indeed, superfluous. Through his letter Pope John XXIII implies that the death of Jesus on the cross is no longer a requisite tenet of the Roman Catholic faith. Jesus need not have died on the cross for the Catholic faith to retain its validity. Long-standing suspicions regarding John XXIII's links to Masonry were further aroused in 1977, fourteen years after his death. Of particular interest was an advertisement published in the USA, Boston Pilot Magazine, which was offering for sale replicas of John XXIII's pectoral cross. The cross was decorated with several Masonic symbols and had been authorised for sale by Archbishop Capovilla of Loreto, Italy, with the backing of the Vatican. Allegedly the last words of Saunière were 'Jean Vingt-Trois'. At a recent exhuming of the body of John XXIII relating to the advancement of his cause for beatification, the group of witnesses present were shocked to find that the body in the coffin was facing downward. ### Antoine Bigou URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/antoine-bigou Abbé Antoine Bigou (1719-1794) Saunière's predecessor as prête of Rennes-le-Château from 1776 to 1792. Bigou was the priest and confidant of the family Hautpoul de Blanchefort. On her deathbed, Marie de Blanchefort, allegedly confided her family's secrets to him as she was the last member of the main branch of the Hautpoul family. Bigou is believed to be responsible for the enigmatic engraving of her horizontal (arcadia stone) and vertical tombstone and allegedly hid parchments, with clues to, her secret in the church at Rennes-le-Château, where Saunière later found them. Antoine Bigou is at the very root of what most people consider to be the mystery of Rennes-le-Château., Like Saunière, Antoine Bigou started his career in the Pays-de-Sault region, in the tiny village of Le Clat. This village lies close to Niort-de-Sault, the birthplace of Marie de Blanchefort. In 1774, Bigou succeeded his oncle Jean Bigou as priest of Rennes-le-Château, which had by then become the home of de Hautpoul de Blanchefort family. Marie de Blanchefort died in 1781. In August 1792, as a result of the French Revolution, a law was passed dictating that the clergy were to be made employees of the state, elected by their parish or bishopric, and the number of bishoprics was to be reduced. All priests and bishops were, to swear an oath of fidelity to the new order or face dismissal, deportation or death. A group of some 20 priests from the region of Alet-les-Bains fled to Spain headed by, Charles de la Cropte de Chanterac, the last bishop of Alet. At least 5 of them arrived in Terrassa, close to Sabadell and one in Llorena, both villages in northern Spain. One of them, whose presence in Spain is actually documented was François-Pierre Caneuille, the priest, of Rennes-les-Bains at the time., It is in this climate of unrest and revolt that Bigou had to hide his alleged secret. He was 73 when he left Rennes-le-Château and perhaps knew it was unlikely he would return. It is believed he covered the external entry of the church crypt with Marie de Nègre's tomb and encoded a message in her tombstones. Additionally he is said to have left a parchment in the wooden baluster supporting the pulpit on which he indicated the location of the tomb and its special significance. It was this parchment, Abbé Saunière is said to have retrieved over 100 years later. Before he left, Bigou wrote a peculiar page in the parish registry reading multiple time "Jesus de Gallilée n'est... ### Antoine Captier URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/antoine-captier Antoine Captier (1833-1903) Captier was the gardener of Saunière and the carrilloneur (bell ringer) of the church in Rennes-le-Château. It was him who found a small glass tube in the wooden support pillar of the pulpit. It contained a small piece of paper signed by, Antoine Bigou and gave it to the Abbé. He told his grandson that it was because of his discovery that Saunière had become a rich man and if only he had known... It was after this discovery that Saunière started his excavations in the cemetery. ### Antoine Gélis URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/antoine-glis Abbé Antoine Gélis (1827-1897) Curé of Coustaussa, neighboring village of Rennes-le-Château. He was a secretive man that had large sums of money at his disposal. Gélis was viciously murdered in 1897. No valuables or money had been removed from the house. The murderer was never caught. Both Saunière and Boudet were present at his funeral. Antoine Gélis was born on April 1st 1827 in Villèsque-Landes. His father Jean Gélis was a teacher. Antoine was destined for the priesthood. After serving in Lanet and Durban he was appointed in Coustaussa and Cassaignes in 1857. He would say mass in these two villages for 40 years. He lived in the presbytery of Coustaussa with his sister Marianne who was also his housekeeper. When she died he had great trouble finding another housekeeper as he was known to be a very difficult man. He eventually ended up living alone. His niece Marie Marlot would prepare and bring him his meals twice a week while 72 year old Françoise Pagés who had a little store in the village would take care of his shopping. The priest  wasn't liked. He was known to notice everyone and talk to no one. In the words of the mayor Jean Fabre in his testimony for the police on 2nd |Novemver 1897: "Mister Gélis wasn't really held in much esteem in the village, he lived all by himself and didn't mingle with anyone. He used to lock himself into his home. He had the reputation of being a scrooge." In september 1897 Gélis asked his cousin Maurice Malot, priest of the village of Grèzes (an outskirt of Carcassonne) to look out for a house for him to retire. Malot confirmed he found a house next to the presbytery and the men agreed Gélis would move there on November 1st. That never happened. In the night of 31st October, Gélis was assaulted and tortured after which his skull was crashed. The police report states Gélis was hit 13 times, resulting in serious blood-loss. Gélis was murdered while he was having his meal in the kitchen area, according to the police 'swimming in his own blood'. There was also blood found upstairs in his bedroom on the window pane as if the murderer had gone upstairs to look outside. There are many unanswered questions around Gélis murder. The police recorded that his house had been thoroughly searched. The bags Gélis had been packing in anticipation of his move to Grèzes had been opened and tempered with. Papers lay scattered across the floor, some of them drained in blood. There was a lot of money in the house that... ### Baron von Krohn URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/baron-von-krohn There's a theory going around that perhaps Saunière was a spy for the Germans during World War I. The story was fuelled by Baron Hans von Krohn visiting Saunière in 1915, while World War I was raging. Von Krohn was one of the people responsible for Germany's intelligence operation in Spain. He was also protector and lover of WWI's most famous spy Mata Hari. It is certainly one of the more colourful stories surrounding the mystery and Von Krohn's visit was documented. In 1915, apart from just having started a World War, the German Emperor Wilhelm II had some private trouble over an inheritance with his cousin, the Mother Superior of the Convent Mater Dei in Azille, not far from Rennes-le-Château in the Aude province. Von Krohn was a confident of the Kaiser who had just been allowed passage through France to Spain by the French authorities as officially he had been invited by King Alphonse XIII of Spain to help stop anti-German propaganda. (In fact he had just been nominated head of counter espionage by the Germans). Wilhelm saw an opportunity and asked Von Krohn to make a stopover at Azille on his way to Spain to talk to his cousin to sort out the inheritance issue. When this assignment was fullfilled, Krohn, accompanied by two of his secret agents insisted on making a detour to Rennes-le-Château to visit Saunière before travelling on to Madrid. He claimed he had met Saunière on a tourist trip a few years earlier.  On arriving in Rennes-le-Château the German men attracted attention from suspicious villagers who reported the incident to the authorities. They described Von Krohn having a private conversation with the priest for a few minutes and then leaving again straight away. A bit short for a friendly meeting perhaps. What did the two men discuss? ### Bérenger Saunière URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/brenger-saunire Abbé François Bérenger Saunière (1852-1917) François Bérenger Saunière was born on 11th April 1852 in Montazels, a small village not far from Rennes-le-Château in the department of the Aude in the South of France. The house of his birth is still there today on the village square (La Place) behind an 18th century dolphin fountain. He was the eldest of the 7 children of Marguerite Hugues and Joseph Saunière. He had two brothers (Alfred, Martial and Joseph jr.) and three sisters (Mathilde, Adeline, and Marie-Louise). His father Joseph, nicknamed le Cubié, was a busy man at the same time being a grocer, Mayor of Montazels, manager of the local flour mill and steward to the Marquis de Cazemajou. Joseph was a quick-tempered man and his marriage to Marguerite wasn't always a happy one. Bérenger was a healthy and athletic child of the country and spent much time playing in the fields and mountains of the region. He went to the school of St. Louis in Limoux. Being the eldest son almost automatically meant that young Bérenger was destined for a career in the clergy. So in 1870, at the age of 18 he entered the Grand Seminary of the city of Narbonne. His brother Alfred would follow in his footsteps some time later. Bérenger was ordained priest in july of 1879. After having served as a curate in Alet-les-Bains for three years, he became the parish priest (Abbé) in the humble village of Le Clat in June 1882. Le Clat was situated on the lands of the De Negre d'Ables family that would come to play a big part in his later life. After two months he was asked by his old professor in Narbonne to become a teacher at the Seminary of Narbonne. It was there that he got a reputation for being a headstrong insolent man. On June 1st 1885 it resulted in him being assigned to the tiny and utterly unimportant parish of Rennes-le-Château, a community of not more than 300 souls. He was to succeed Abbé Croc, who had died after just a year of service. In his journal the new priest wrote: 'La croix du milieu existe, mais il n'y a pas d'allées'. He was 33 years old and effectively exiled. The first suspension It took Saunière only three months to attract the attention of his superiors again by making a fierce anti-Republican speech on the eve of the 1885 French elections. He urged his parishioners to vote for the 'Union of the Right', dedicated to the reversal of the anticlerical legislations of the Republican Government and towards the restoration of the French Monarchy.... ### Bernard Mongé URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/bernard-monge Abbé Bernard Mongé was, the village priest of Niort-de-Sault. He was found dead at the entrance of his garden, on 27th May, 1732. Investigations showed he had been murdered by François de Montroux, bailif of the Pays du Sault. De Montroux was also, the uncle and appointed, tutor, of the young Marie de Nègre d'Ables, at the time of the incident., François was not a popular man and he had been trying to buy a house that was intended to help expand Mongé's presbytery. The Abbé had refused to sell it. De Montroux was sentenced to exile for his crime, but the sentence was later revoked because, he convinced the court someone had falsely accused him., François d'Hautpoul, who married his, niece Marie in November 1732, spent almost 3 years, cleaning up the administrative mess, De Montroux, had left behind in Niort., In the last year he bought the very house De Montroux and Mongé had been quarelling over with money that François has left behind. Niort-de-Sault lies very close to Le Clat, the first parish in which Bérenger Saunière served as a priest. ### Brothers in God URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/brothers-in-god During the last General Assembly of the Terre de Rhedae Association, chairman Antoine Captier presented an unknown photograph of 4, perhaps 5 key players in the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château. The photo was taken between 1895 and 1897 and was found in the archives of the Malot family who handed it to Antoine. On the photo, 5 priests are positioned around a book on a table, possibly the Holy Bible. From left to right you can see Bérenger Saunière, Maurice Malot (the cousin of Antoine Gélis), Bérenger's younger brother Alfred Saunière, an unknown priest and at the very right Antoine Gélis, who would be murdered not too long after this scene was recorded. There's a distinct possibility that the unknown priest is in fact Henri Boudet, but since no confirmed photos of him exist it is impossible to check at this stage. It is not certain where the photo was taken or what the ocassion was. However, since the men clearly posed for the ocassion, all looking in different directions, there was probably a good cause for taking it. Many thanks to Jean-Pierre Garcia for sharing this and to Terre de Rhedae, with whose kind permission this photo is published. ### Comtesse de Chambord URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/comtesse-de-chambord Ariduchesse Marie-Thérèse de Modène, Comtesse de Chambord (1817 - 1886) Member of the Habsburg family. Widow of Henry V d'Artois (1820-1883), last of the Bourbons and pretender to the throne of France. She donated 1.000 goldfrancs to Abbé Saunière for restoration of the church in Rennes-le-Château. The amount was paid out in two installments in 1886. She died in the same year and never saw the results of her donation. The Abbé used the money to start the restoration during which he did his discoveries. ### Daniel Bettex URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/daniel-bettex The story of Daniel Bettex is, interwoven with the mountain of Bugarach. Bettex, was a Swiss security officer at Geneva airport during his professional life. In his free time he researched the Medieval Cathar tragedy. Bettex was in close contact with the Societé du Souvenir et des Etudes Cathares, the French Society of Cathar Research. His correspondence with Déodat Roché, the founder of the society, in whose former house in Arques it now has a museum, led him to a number of locations in and near mount Bugarach. Roché (who was related to the Dr. Roché that supplied Saunière with fake medical statements so he wouldn't have to show up in court), stated that few had yet researched the mountain and felt it was time someone took up the glove. Bettex started his research aided by Lucienne Julien secretary of the society. Starting point was the document mémoire sur la mythologie appliquée au Pech de Thauze (memory of the mythology of the Pech the Thauze, the old name for Bugarach). This document, beheld an overview of the legends and mythical writings about Bugarach from original 15th century sources. Many of the legends, like the story of Agartha, dealt with an underground entrance or cave system of some sort. Bettex decided to start looking for an entrance to the underground mythical world. In his notes he speaks of the tradition of a hidden opening, leading to a waterway with a quay. From this quay you would be able to travel deeper into the mountain. Many writers, among whom some quite illustrous ones have written about Bugarach and an underground world beneath. Maurice Leblanc, Gaston Leroux, George Sand, André Malraux, Louis Fédié, Henri Boudet, Daniel Réju, Serge Hutin, Luc Alberny, Jules Verne, to quote just a number of a much longer list. Verne, in his book Clovis Dardentor, talked about a secret entrance that led to an underground world were a mythical race lived. Bettex was intrigued by the many similarities in the stories old and new by authors, many of whom were members of secret rosicrucianist societies. Bettex never disclosed where exactly he did his research. Allegedly as a pretense to gather the necessary equipment he excavated the old castle of Bugarach. After his death, the floors of the castle in Bugarach were filled with rumble and sealed with concrete. He appears to have found cavities in the mountain in which he found graffiti of what he claimed was the Ark of the Covenant on a sled. Bettex made lifesize reproductions of... ### Elie Bot URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/elie-bot Elie Bot (1861-1947) Elie Bot was a local limonadier (soda-maker), mason and builder, from Luc-sur-Aude where he was also the mayor. He knew Saunière very well. It was Bot who did all the major building work for the priest including the renovations of the church, the Tour Magdala and the Villa Bethania. He was also a guest during some of Saunière's lavish parties in the Villa Bethania. It is hard to think that he knew nothing of the priest's secret. Bot is buried in a big tomb he built for himself and his family that he decorated in the same fashion as Saunière's church. ### Emile Hoffet URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/emile-hoffet Emile-Henri Hoffet (1873-1946) Renowned Occultist and Paleographist (someone who studies ancient manuscripts). Supposedly Hoffet was the expert that decoded the parchments Saunière brought to Paris and left there. According to Gérard de Sède, Hoffet was staying at St. Sulpice with his uncle Abbé Bieil (who was the director in 1892), when Saunière arrived with his legend in a suitcase. In actual fact, Hoffet was only a 20 year old novice at the time and (according to René Descadeillas of the Carcassonne library) and living in Holland. Member of the Oblati Mariae Immaculatae, he was nominated priest in Liège (Belgium) in 1898 and only moved to Paris in 1914 where he lived in the rue Blache and died at the age of 73 in 1946. ### Emma Calvé URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/emma-calve Emma Calvé (Rosa-Emma Calvet) 1858-1942 was one of the most famous opera singers of her day. She was deeply attracted to, and a leading participant in, the thriving esoteric scene in Paris, taking as a lover one of the most renowned occultists of the time, Jules Bois. In 1894 Emma bought a château at Cabrières in the Aveyron region. This was said to be the place where the book of Abraham the Jew, used by the great medieval alchemist Nicolas Flamel, was hidden. A book written in 1655 by Pierre Borel makes this connection: Now the book by which Flamel said he came to achieve the Great Work is that of Abraham the Jew. Many have worked to recover it... but these searches have been useless. I have nevertheless been assured by a gentleman of Rouergue called M. de Cabrières, tenant of his château of Cabrières near Millau, where I went specially to see this Monsieur, that he had the original of this book, which M. le Cardinal de Richelieu recovered a short time before his death. Allegedly, Saunière met this internationally acclaimed opera-star on one of his trips to Paris. Emma was often to be found at St. Sulpice, mystic heart of the French capital at the time. It is there that Gérard de Sède claimed they first met in his book The Accursed Treasure of Rennes-le-Château. It is said Calvé and the Abbé had a passionate affair. It is a fact that villagers of Rennes-le-Château have testified hearing a strong and melodic opera voice singing during some of Saunière's lavish parties in the Villa Bethania. There's, no tangible proof however that Calvé ever set foot in Rennes-le-Château. Recording of Emma Calvé from 1908, Ma Lisette [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8szOcS_3WY[/embedyt] Emma Calvé was member of a Martinist order as demonstrated by her signature on this document made in Paris on November 11th, 1892, at the cabaret "Chat Noir". It shows her signature and "SI" or "Supérieur Inconnu", the third degree of the Martinist Order. It is said Saunière was member of a Martinist lodge in Lyon. Calvé's tomb in Milau shows some esoteric imagery like an iron bee. Emma Calvé is said to have been related to Melanie Calvet, the farmer girl who saw the Virgin Mary at La Salette. The alleged relation between Calvé and Saunière was brought back into the spotlight when Patrice Chaplin published her book City of Secrets, in which she claims they knew eachother very well. Thanks to Mark Naples for the Cabrières story. The Château de Cabrières... ### Ernest Cros URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/ernest-cros Ernest Cros (1857-1945) Railway engineer and amateur-archeologist who showed an interest in the antiquities of the Aude from 1880 onwards. He was a friend of Saunière and visited him on several ocassions. In 1924, Cros finally settled in Ginoles, close to Rennes-le-Château. His wife owned the Ginoles baths. In 1928 he is said to have found what is now known as the Coumesourde-stone about which he reported in his work "Researches of M. chief engineer Ernest Cros, undertaken in the High Valley of the Aude, particularly during the years 1920-43" There survives only one, or actually two typewritten versions based on Cros' original notes. One was in the posession of Noe Corbu. The other one was discovered by René Chesa, one of the searchers of the first hour. There is now consensus that one report was a copy of the other and that the original was compiled by Abbé Mazières. In good Rennes-le-Château fashion, the many papers that Cros assembled on his work were lost in a burglary in 1960.  In her book City of Secrets, Patrice Chaplin claims Cros and Saunière were involved in moving a 16-year old girl from Quillan to the Catalan city of Gerona, around 1880. who became known as 'the Frenchwoman'. The Ernest Cros Report [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="76"] ### Eugène Grassaud URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/eugne-grassaud A Man's Best Friend In the mystery of Rennes-le-Château, an enormous amount of attention is reserved for a very small group of people. At the top of the list of course is the man who embodies the mystery like no-one else: Bérenger Saunière. Where he found the money to build a veritable them park on the desolated hilltop of Rennes-le-Château in the south of France was and is still at the very heart of the enigma. His fellow priests spent much time in the spotlight as well. Henri Boudet, the priest of Rennes-les-Bains is believed by some to have been Saunière's puppet master and as such he and his book La Vraie Langue Celtique have been exhaustively researched. Antoine Gélis, priest of the neighboring village of Coustaussa was viciously murdered under suspect circumstances and also drew much attention. Similar attention was paid to Saunière's maid Marie Dénarnaud, and to Monseigneur Billard, the Bishop that seemed to approve of his works, and finally Monseigneur de Beauséjour, his successor that brought him to trial in the eclestical courts of Carcassonne and Rome. Only two of the above can be assumed with certainty to have known what and where the material treasure was, and if an immaterial treasure existed also. They are Bérenger Saunière and his life-long companion Marie Dénarnaud. Saunière confessed before he died but it is completely uncertain what he told his colleague Abbé Rivière of Espéraza. If he told anything, Rivière, who preformed Saunière's last rites, appears to have kept his vow of secrecy for the confession. Marie Dénarnaud died more than 30 years later in January 1953. She appears to have spoken about Saunière's secret in vague and broad terms, suggesting people were walking on gold without knowing and that Saunière could have fed the entire village for a very long time. In the end there really aren't any open threads of investigation left that could draw on demonstrable first or even second hand information. Or is there? Although Saunière created an impressive pile of letters and journals, he never once mentioned the source of his wealth. Sure, he made some petite and tantalizing references to it later in his life, but they might just as well be classified as statements of gentle irony; a trait he was well-known for throughout his life. One thing for sure, little appears to have been wrong or lacking with his sense of humor. One such known occasion is when Antoine Beaux, Abbé of Campagne-sur-Aude was attending a... ### Eugène Huguet URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/eugne-huguet Canon Jean Eugène Huguet (1845-1927) Curé of Espiens sur Nérac and Avocat Ecclésiastique (religious lawyer). Huguet took up Saunière's defense when he was accused of mass trafficking, excessive spending and disobeyance. Huguet was recommended to Saunière by his best friend the Abbé Eugène Grassaud. He went to great lengths to defend the Abbé in court in Carcassonne and later, in the Vatican court. Huguet couldn't prevent that Saunière was sentenced twice and relieved of his sacerdotal duties, because until the very end the Abbé refused to show up at the trials in person, and to tell,  the judges where his money originated from. Saunière's case wasn't the only one Huguet defended before the Vatican. Before he got involved with the priest, he defended the apparition of the Virgin Mary in Pellevoisin, a small village in the French Indre department, about which he had published some works. Huguet acted in the role, of Postulator (the cannon who is placed in charge of the file for canonisation), in front of the Holy Sea., In 1876, the Virgin had appeared 15 times to Estelle Faguet, a member of the Sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul in Paris. Catherine Labourré, who had witnessed a Mary apparition in de Rue du Bac in Paris 44 years earlier, in 1832, was a member of that same order. Saunière, commemorated this apparition by placing two stained glass windows over the front door of the Villa Bethania. ### George Anson URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/george-anson George Anson 1st Baron Anson (1697-1762) British Admiral and wealthy aristocrat from an influential masonic family. He made his fortune capturing Spanish galleons between 1740 and 1748 in the war of the Austrian succession, the most famous one being Nuestra Señora de Covadonga, possessing 1,313,843 pieces of eight. Traveled around the world for 4 years, establishing one of the great tales of British naval history. On his return in 1748 he commisioned a monument to be erected in the garden of his Shugborough estate for an unknown reason. Some say it's just a love message, others that it is a treasure map to the Holy Grail. Fact is that the Shugborough Monument carries a mirrored relief of Poussin's famous 2nd version of Les Bergers d'Arcadie, with an additional tomb on it and an enigmatic inscription at the bottom., The interest of the Anson family in the works of Nicolas Poussin is further stipulated by the portrait Thomas Hudson made of his wife Lady Elizabeth Yorke Anson in 1751. In this painting she is holding a copy of Poussin's first version of Les Bergers d'Arcadie. ### Georgette Roumens URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/georgette-roumens-talon Georgette Roumens-Talons (1889-19740) On 28th August 1974, 85 years old Georgette Roumens-Talon was brutally murdered in her Paris apartment. After being strangled with an electrical cord, her head was smashed in with a chandeleer. Allegedly a golden Visigoth bracelet and necklace were stolen during the event that she had been given by her aunt Marie Dénarnaud. According to the newspaper article in France Soir of 31st August, this armed robbery soon turned out to have been act of family vengeance. At the time of her death, Georgette was, a secretary at the Frères-des-Hommes charity organisation. ### Henri Boudet URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/abb-henri-boudet Abbé Jean Jacques Henri Boudet (1837-1915) Curé of Rennes-les-Bains during Saunière's priesthood in Rennes-le-Château. They certainly knew eachother but the exact nature of their relation is unknown. Boudet is often regarded as the supreme machinator behind the scenes of the enigma. Henri was an enthusiastic amateur photographer and writer, publishing three known texts of which the best known is La Vraie Langue Celtique. This strange book about the Cromleck of Rennes-les-Bains is believed to contain 12 coded locations of treasure in the area surrounding Rennes-les-Bains, a village near Rennes-le-Château (a Cromleck is a circle of druid stones). Jean-Jacques Henri Boudet was born on 16th November 1837 in Quillan. Even though his father was the director of the foundry in Quillan, the family had little resources and lived in relative poverty. During his childhood, Henri's intelligence was noticed by a friend of the family, the priest Émile Cayron who financed his education at the seminary of Carcassonne. Henri got a grade in English and was ordained a priest on Christmas day 1861 at the age of 24. He started his first position 6 days later in the village of Durban. After half a year he was relocated to Caunes-Minervois to the Parish of Notre Dame du Cros. He stayed there for 4 years after which he spent several shorter periods in various places to eventually end up in Rennes-les-Bains to replace Jean Vié who had died in August 1872. During his long ministry in Rennes-les-Bains (he would stay priest there for 42 years until 1914), Boudet demonstrated to be a likeable, humble and erudite man. He was served by his sister Antoinette until she died in 1896. Boudet was known as an avid hiker, who preferred the winter season beacuse it didn't obstruct the views on the many stones (dolmens) in the area. Henri Boudet had to give up his priesthood and leave his presbytery on 30th April 1914 because of his reclining health. He moved back to the house of his parents in Axat, the place where he died and was buried with his beloved brother Edmond who, had passed away a couple of years earlier. Being both his brother and his best friend, the notary Edmond made the drawings and the map of Celtic Rennes for Henri's book. "At the end of every thermal season in Rennes-les-Bains, Boudet would meet up with a friend who brought a stepladder with him and they would both disappear into the hills for some time...If you could comprehend the circumstances or the relevancy of... ### Jean Bigou URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/jean-bigou Abbé Jean Bigou (1702-1776) Curé of Rennes-le-Château from 1736 to 1774. He was succeeded by his nephew Antoine Bigou. We know him from the parish registers that mention his name at the deaths of Joseph d'Hautpoul de Rennes and François d'Hautpoul de Blanchefort (+1753), Seigneur de Rennes. Jean Bigou's relation with François d'Hautpoul went a lot further than just being a priest. He accompanied d'Hautpoul on various trips and helped him when he had to speak justice, sometimes functioning as an attorney and administrator. ### Jean Rivière URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/jean-rivire Abbé Jean Rivière (1867-1929) Jean Rivière was the curé of Espéraza, a neighboring village of Rennes-le-Château at the time of Saunière's death. It was Rivière who was called to the village by Marie Dénarnaud to hear her master's last confession. The story goes that he was in with Saunière for hours and came out of the room clearly shaken. Allegedly he had refused the Abbé his extreme unction and lost much of the joy in his life. The story cannot be confirmed by any hard evidence. After the events Rivière made several striking alterations to his church in Espéraza, like a grotto with the body of the Jesus lying down after the crucifixion with his eyes open. ### Jean Vié URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/jean-vie Curé de Rennes-les-Bains and predecessor of Henri Boudet, as priest of Rennes-les-Bains. , According to Les Dossiers Secrets Jean Vié learned of Antoine Bigou's secret through Abbé François-Pierre Cauneille who had accompanied Bigou when he fled to Spain around 1792. The priest's tombstone features in many of the Rennes-le-Château stories. The epitaph displays: Mort le 1er 7bre 1872. That's, curious because he actually died a day earlier. The number 17 that is emphasized this way, plays a dominant role in the enigmas and riddles that make up the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château. , The number becomes even more interesting in combination with the name Jean Vié, pronounced Jeanvier or, Janvier meaning January in French. 17th January is the feast day of St. Sulpice. The dates on the Tombstone appear to have been willingly adjusted to phonetically read : 1 7 Jean Vié or 17 Janvier (17th January). On 17th January 2009, the French Cercle de 17 Janvier (Circle of 17th January), restored Jean Vié's tombstone to its original state. With the help of some old photographs, a replica was made of the iron cross that once mounted the vertical stone. , Like the old one, the new cross has a small vertical arrow on top. Perhaps coincidentally, this arrow marks the beginning of a well known line for researchers into the enigma. Franck Marie, in his book "Rennes-le-Château, étude critique" reports that Jean Vié inscribed his name into one of boulders on the plateau of l'Homme Mort (dead man) which is part of the Cromleck of Rennes-les-Bains. . Photo of the restoration of Jean Vié's tomb copyright of Jean-Claude Debrou ### Johann Habsburg URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/johann-salvator-dhabsbourg Johann Salvator von Österreich-Toskana (1852-????) Archduke from the, House of Habsburg. In 1889 he, distanced himself from the Habsburg dynasty and took the name of Johann Orth, after his Gmundener castle. After he had laid down his titles, he bought a freight ship in Portsmouth and, left for, South America in March 1890. He arrived in Buenos Aires from where he sent a letter to his friend Paul Heinrich stating that he was going to discover Patagonia, the Land of Fire and the area around Cape Horn. Cape Horn is also the place where his ship was reported missing in December of that same year. Extensive searches ordered by his father the Emperor Franz-Joseph I rendered nothing. He was pronounced dead a couple of years later. A, travelling French noblemen, the Count Jean of Liniers, claimed to have met with Orth in Patagonia on his ranch called Canadon Largo. On his journeys, he had met a man in his fifties who called himself Fred Otten. Liniers soon learned that he was in fact dealing with Johann Salvator. The two men became good friends. Johann died in the winter of 1910. Just before he left for South America, Johann Salvator visited Saunière between November 1889 and February 1890. According to Pierre Jarnac in his book Histoire du Trésor de Rennes-le-Château, his visit was recorded by the French police in Couiza, neighboring village to Rennes-le-Château. Author and Historian Jean Markale adds to that a copy was sent to the French Secret Service, the 'Deuxième Bureau'. They had been informed of the priest's, strange visitor by, Doctor Espézel of Espéraza., When asked for the motives of his presence,, Johann told the surprised policemen that he got lost on his way from Italy to Spain and ended up in Couiza where he descended the hill to Rennes-le-Château where he had the good fortune to meet Bérenger Saunière. He travelled incognito, calling himself 'Monsieur Guillaume'. He stated he was on the lookout for a place of refuge for himself and his followers since the Habsburg dynasty had no future and he had been advised to relocate outside the Austro-Hungarian empire. Johann Salvator was, the cousin of the Count of Chambord, whose widow features prominently in the mystery of Rennes-le-Château: the, Comtesse the Chambord. The Comtesse donated the first 3.000 francs to Saunière to start the renovation works on his church. It's a documented fact both Johann and Saunière had an account at the Bank Veuve Auriol et Fils, in Perpignan.... ### Louis de Coma URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/louis-de-coma Abbé Louis de Coma (1822-1911) It took two enormous dynamite explosions to level the Monastère du Carol (Monastery of Carol) in November 1956. It marked the end of what had been a life's work for its creator Louis de Coma, in a remarkable resemblance to the life's work of Abbé Bérenger Saunière of Rennes-le-Château, some 85 kilometres away. It is uncertain if the two men knew eachother but there was certainly an influential family who knew both of them well enough to donate them a small fortune to convert into masonry and statues. The Comtesse de Chambord, married to Henry V, the last Bourbon French throne pretendent and herself a Habsburg, supplied De Coma with 4.000 Gold Francs against 3.000 for Saunière. It has been suggested De Coma knew Saunière's brother Alfred, who was a religious teacher in Narbonne like himself, but it's impossible to confirm that. In stark contrast to Saunière, De Coma was already a rich man when he started his project. Louis was one of nine children of Bonnaventure de Coma, a famous architect from Foix. The De Coma's were an old family dating back from at least the 1500s. After succesfully completing the small and grand Seminaries, he wanted to continue his studies at St. Sulpice in Paris. When his diocese refused him to go there, fearing he wouldn't return from Paris, he entered the Jesuit Seminary of St. Acheuil in Amiens. He became a member of the Jesuit 'Compagnie de Jesus'. After finishing his studies he became a religious teacher until his father died in 1855. He returned home to the family domain of Carol, close to Le Baulou in the French Ariège region. He used the money he inherited to found "l'Oeuvre de Gethsemane" (the works of Gethsemane), a foundation that received money for saying masses for the death. His obsession with death also made him the leader of the "Association de Bonne Mort" (the Good Death Association). He became an expert in saying masses for the death and made very serious money earning a franc for mentioning the name of the deceased during mass and 100 francs for a tailor made mass with every possible decorum. He travelled the entire country doing so and made quite a name for himself. Bérenger Saunière too is now claimed to have been involved in a Death Cult by French researcher Isaac Ben Jacob who has published several articles and a book about this. After he had decided to invest his money in making the family estate a religious centre, he started building an immense underground chapel... ### Marie de Nègre d'Ables URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/marie-de-ngre Dame Marie de Nègre d'Ables (1714-1781) Dame d'Hautpoul, d'Auxillon, et de Blanchefort. Widow of François d'Hautpoul-Rennes (last Seigneur of Rennes-le-Château +1753), Marquis de Blanchefort. In November 1732, François d'Hautpoul Rennes married an 18 year old orphan. Her name was Marie de Nègre d'Ables, Demoiselle de Niort et de Roquefeuil. Her ancestors were bailiffs for the kings of the Pays de Sault, a valley not far from Rennes-le-Château. We know very little about her youth, just that her tutor François de Montroux was accused of and sentenced for the murder of the local priest Bernard Mongé in 1732.  Through this marriage, the lands of François where extended by the Seigneury of Niort, the Seigneury of Roquefeuil and territories in Mérial, Fontanès with a number of tenanted farms and canals. François died in 1753, being the last Seigneur de Rennes in the main male bloodline of the Hautpouls. Marie lived for another 28 years in the Hautpoul's manor (currently known as the Château Hautpoul), with one of their three daughters Marie Anne-Elisabeth d'Hautpoul de Rennes. It has every appearance that she led quite a simple life and had financial difficulties. Soon after the death of her husband she had to sell off her lands in Niort (where she had been born and raised) and Roquefeuil. In her final years, France was in turmoil and on the eve of the Revolution. Marie spent much time in Monthaut with her late husband's mother Marie du Puy de Vatan. Marie died on 17th January 1781. She was allegedly buried in the cemetery of Rennes-le-Château but is not certain. Her death certificate just says 'buried' without a location. Noble ladies had to be buried in a special plot in the churchyard. They weren't allowed in the crypt beneath the church, which was a strict men's only affair. Marie was buried by the priest Antoine Bigou, one of 4 nephews of Jean Bigou, who had succeeded him as the village priest when he died in 1776. It is safe to assume Bigou had close relations with the family. Jean Bigou was François' assistant in many private and business matters until his death and Antoine had been his assistant from the moment he left seminary. The violence of the French Revolution would eventually drive the nobles and priests out of the region to Spain, forcing them to hide everything they couldn't carry with them. Marie de Nègre and François d'Hautpoul had 4 children. Marie (1734), Elisabeth (1735), Joseph (1737) and Gabrielle (1739). Joseph, who... ### Marie Dénarnaud URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/marie-dnarnaud-2 Marie Dénarnaud (1868-1953) Saunière's housekeeper, secretary and confidant for 21 years. It is whispered that La Madonne, (as the villagers called her) was a lot more than just his housekeeper. Eye witnesses describe her parading around the dusty little village in the latest Paris fashion, wearing strange ancient jewelry. Many times during her life she said the people of Rennes-le-Château walk on gold without knowing it. Although being asked time and time again after his death, she never spoke a word about the origins of the fortune she had shared with the priest. When Saunière died, Marie inherited all his belongings. She visited his grave every day and every night until she died herself in 1953. At the end of her life, a stroke left her unable to speak and to keep her promise to Noel Corbu to tell him the secret of her master on her deathbed. A secret she had said would make him both rich and powerful. To Corbu's intense frustration allegedly she only managed to utter three last words: 'Pain, Sel, Vase'. As Dutch author and researcher Klaas van Urk states, it is very well possible that she DID tell Corbu part of the secret. Saunière, since she didn't speak any latin, might have taught her three simple French words that were the three ancient symbols of the core of his secret: San Lapis Vase: the Holy Stone of the Grail. ### Mass Trafficking URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/mass-trafficking-and-income During his life, Saunière recorded much of his spending in his account books. 229,351 gold francs on his land, constructions, decorations etc. 465,000 gold francs in consumption during 10 years These are truly staggering amounts. An account clerk would earn 127 gold francs per month. Saunière spent 6,000 gold francs per month, almost 50 times as much. Mind you, these are his recorded spendings. Saunière didn't record everything he spent. There are structures in the village and on his estate like the big cistern under his reposoir that he had built and for which there are no contracts and no receipts. The priest never recorded travel or personal expenses. His visitors and correspondents attested to the fact that the priest had enormous collections of valuable books, magazines, newspapers, stamps, postcards and furniture most of which was never found back in any of his surviving account books (and we know that some account books are missing too). We do find some receipts for books but not in the expected quantities. So Saunière spent a lot more than this 695,151 gold francs he recorded. The list is endless. We'll probably never know how much he spent in total. In front of the ecclesiastical court in 1911 Saunière claimed to have spent 193,000 francs restoring and refurbishing his estate. Some of the amounts are enormous. The calvaire he writes costed him 11,200 gold francs. Early 1900 a luxury car would cost just 8,000 gold francs. How much 90,000 gold francs for the Villa Bethania is becomes clear when you know that in 1890 the Château the Hautefort was sold for 100,000 gold francs, including 383 hectares of land. Many believe Saunière financed his lavish lifestyle and building projects by committing simony also called mass trafficking. Mass trafficking was a well known practice among priests at the time. In principle it wasn't illegal. Priests would receive money from the faithful for saying masses. It often happened that the priest received the money but never did the work for it. If a priest would receive requests for more than 3 masses a day it would become suspect. By ruling od the diocese the surplus would have to be paid to the bishopric. A request to say a mass would cost 0.5 gold francs increasing up to 1.5 francs by the end of Saunière's life. There's no doubt whatsoever Saunière was guilty of the practice of Mass trafficking. He kept meticulous records about it that can be found back in his accounting books from 1895 to 1915. These... ### Mgr. Billard URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/mgr-billard Monseigneur Félix-Arsène Billard (1829-1901) 23 Oct 1829 Born in Saint-Valèry-en-Caux 17 Dec 1853 Ordained Priest of Rouen 17 Feb 1881 Appointed Bishop of Carcassonne 3 Dec 1901 Died Bishop of Carcassonne Bishop of Carcassonne and protector of Bérenger Saunière. He succeeded Monseigneur Leuillieux on 17th February 1881. In his new function as a bishop, Billard inaugurated the new gardens and the renovated church of Rennes-le-Château in 1897. It was also to Billard that Saunière turned to for advise after he had discovered the parchments. Billard allegedly advised him to go to the seminary of St. Sulpice for help. In the mean time, Arsène Billard was busy managing his own intrigues and shared a taste for money with his priest. In 1891 Billard privately inherited 2,000,000 gold francs from Victorine Sabatier of Coursan. The reason for this inheritance is not quite clear. Fact is that he was accused and taken to court for getting the inheritance under false pretense by Sabatier's family and was suspended by the Vatican for a period of three months. A game of Billard In what appeared to be a fiscal battle, the bishopric of Carcassonne fiercely attacked the sell of, the sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Marceille to, Mr. Bourrel, a banker from Laroques d'Olmes. Notre-Dame de Marceille, described by Abbé Théodore Lassere in Histoire du Pèlerinage de Notre-Dame de Marceille près de Limoux-sur-Aude, had a long tradition of pilgrimage and veneration of a small statue of a black madonna with child. Many miracle stories were associated with it. After a series of court battles, Bourrel won the case, and had become the sole owner of the basilica. The bishop then had the Black Madonna removed on the grounds of the Basilica now being in secular hands, no longer deserving an ecclesiastic status. Bourrel, who realized he would never earn back his investment admitted defeat and sold the Basilica to the bishop. What is striking here is that Billard acquired the church and the grounds in private and not in name of the diocese of Carcassonne. In July 1893 he announced that the Madonna would be brought back to Notre-Dame de Marceille and the cult was reinstated. The last 10 years of his life Billard largely spent developing the Dominican monastery of Prouilhe near the old town of Fanjeaux and close to the spot where St. Dominic had his vision. He spent massive amounts there, trying to make it into a new pilgrimage site. Prouilhe would eventually be the place where... ### Mgr. de Beauséjour URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/mgr-de-beausjour Monseigneur Paul-Félix Beuvain de Beauséjour (1839-1930) 16 Dec 1839 Born in Vesoul 1863 Ordained Priest 13 May 1902 Appointed Bishop of Carcassonne 5 Apr 1930 Died Bishop of Carcassonne Successor of Mgr. Billard from 1902 until his death in 1930. De Beauséjour insisted on Saunière to uncover the sources of his wealth and when he kept refusing to do so accused him of trafficking in masses. Even though the Abbé could never have amassed the money he spent with selling fake masses alone, the Vatican convicted him twice and forbade him to carry out his priesthood, only to be re-instated 'in articulo mortis' (at his death). . Photo of Mgr., de Beauséjour, taken from Franck Daffos' book, Rennes-le-Château le puzzle reconstitué, (only available in, French) ### Mgr. de Chanterac URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/mgr-de-chanterac Charles de la Cropte de Chanterac was the last Bishop of Alet-les-Bains. On 12th July 1790,, just after the French Revolution, the, French National Assembly signed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. This bill required all priests to swear allegience to the nation, above all other authority. This meant Rome and the Pope and, would certainly result, in excommunication of those who signed. The French priests were forced into an impossible position and strongly divided. Many refused to sign, either fleeing or remaining to incite counter-revolution among the peasantry in already largely royalist regions like the Vendée and Brittany. When the pressure became unbearable in August 1792, De Chanterac, accompanied by a group of some 20 priests from the Alet region fled to Spain. Among them was Antoine Bigou, priest of Rennes-le-Château. Other priests from the area of whom their presence in Spain has been documented include L. Raynaud, F. Ginette, J. Loubet and G. Cairol. De Chanterac died in the Spanish town of Sabadell during his voluntary exile on 27th April 1793 at the age of 70. He lies buried in the Church of Sabadell. Location of the Church of Sabadell [wpgmza id="16"] ### Nicolas Pavillon URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/nicolas-pavillon Nicolas Pavillon (1597-1677) It was during the reign of Pavillon as bishop of Alet-les-Bains that allegedly the Shepherd Paris fell into a hole while chasing a sheep and found gold. It is in this story that the mystery of Rennes-le-Château finds his historical roots. According to French researcher and author Franck Daffos, the shepherd discovered the hiding place of the material and spiritual treasure of Jerusalem. What followed was a fierce legal battle between, Blaise d'Hautpoul on whose land the gold had been discovered, King Louis VIX, the brothers Nicolas and François Fouquet and Pavillon. According to some researchers it was no coincidence Pavillon was sent to the Languedoc. It is claimed that he was sent there with the specific purpose to recover the treasures and relics of Jerusalem by the secret society Compagnie du Saint Sacrament. If you want to understand the mystery of Rennes-le-Château and, what the stakes could really be, you should start investigating this corner of French history. Pavillon,, a follower of Saint Vincent de Paul,, made history as, the French icon of Jansenism. Some time after he had been sent to Alet by Richelieu to become the new bishop he converted to Jansenism and became a fierce advocate of orthodox catholicism. Jansenism took a stand against, France portraying itself as the 'most christian nation', while at the same time allying with the protestant Netherlands and Germany for the sole purpose of bringing down the Austrian House of Habsburg. This was no small thing. By choosing Jansenism the bishop not only allienated himself from his King and Country but also from pope Alexander VII. According to Daffos, Pavillon had much of the treasure hidden in a specially made vault below the sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Marceille in Limoux. It was this money that was used to build Saunière's estate and to code and record the nature and location of what has become known as the treasure of Rennes-le-Château. Location of Alet-les-Bains [google-maps width=600 height=300] ### Noel Corbu URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/noel-corbu Noel Corbu (1912-1968) Entrepeneur, Noel Corbu bought Saunière's property, from Marie Dénarnaud in 1945 after which she lived with the Corbu's for until her death in 1953. When Noel failed to find even a trace of treasure he transformed Villa Bethania into Hotel du Tour. To attract guests, he convinced journalist Albert Salomon to, publish the story of Saunière in 1956 in local newspaper La Depêche du Midi in three frontpage articles on three consecutive days in January. It didn't fail to attract attention. From that moment on, a steady stream of treasure hunters started to frequent the village and left their marks everywhere. In 1965, after one of the treasure hunters nearly blew up half the village he sold the lot to Henry Buthion and the Corbu's left Rennes-le-Château. Noel Corbu died in a horrific car-accident 3 years later. The accident happened on the roundabout straight, in front of, the Monastery of Prouilhe. Listen to this unique French radio recording in which hosts Robert Charroux and Robert Arnault discuss the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château with Corbu on national radio in 1962. Le Trésor du Curé aux Milliards [haiku player=3880 url="http://www.renneslechateau.nl/interviews/RobertArnault.mp3" title="Corbu on Rennes-le-Château"] ### Otto Rahn URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/otto-rahn According to the resume Otto Rahn wrote for his SS entry dossier, he was born on 18 February 1904. Rahn's school history teacher Freiher von Gaul introduced him to the Grail romances and the stories of Parzival and Siegfried. He gained his Bachelor degree in 1924. Rahn's thesis was titled to the Research of Master Kyot of Wolfram von Eschenbach. He dedicated the work to the author of Parzifal, to Wagner and to the troubadours. In March 1932 the Languedoc newspaper La Depeche du Midi published articles about the activities of a group of Polaires (a society linked to the Theosophical Society, particularly active in France and England) who were excavating the caves of Ussat and Ornolac near Montségur. Otto Rahn was said to be the leader of this group and suspicions were raised about his nationality. The first World War hadn't done much for the reputation of German nationals. Antonin Gadal, a renowned historian and researcher of the Cathars wrote back in Rahn's defense claiming he was a serious academic with a profound interest in the Cathars. Speaking both French and the langue d'oc, Otto had come to the southern French Pyrenees in 1930, perhaps as early as 1929. He was specifically interested in the area around the castle of Montségur, convinced that it was Montsalvage, the Grail castle described by Wolfram Von Eschenbach. He explored the grottoes of the Sabarthes area, notably Ornolac and the massive cavern of Lombrives. It contained a huge chamber the locals called the Cathedral, a stalagmite called The Tomb of Hercules and another one called the Altar. These were all terms used by Von Eschenbach in his epic poem. Rahn discovered that the chambers in the cave of Sabarthes were covered with Templar symbols, side by side with Cathar emblems. It was in this cave Rahn discovered a mural of a bleeding lance. It was by this discovery that Otto attracted the attention of Heinrich Himmler, founder of the Nazi Group Ahnenerbe. Rahn left France in 1932 to publish his first book Crusade against the Grail, the Struggle between the Cathars, the Templars, and the Church of Rome in Germany two years later. Rahn claimed Wolfram Von Eschenbach modelled the characters in Parzifal after real Middle Ages personalities. Parzifal was Count Raymond Trencavel of Carcassonne one of the foremost and heroic victims of the Crusade. Respanse de Joye was Esclarmonde of Foix. The hermit Trevrizent was the Cathar Bishop Guilhabert of Castres. King Anfortas was Raymond-Roger of... ### Paul Courrent URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/paul-courrent Docteur Paul Courrent (1861-1952) Courrent was Saunière's doctor and a good friend in his later years until the Abbé's death in 1917. Besides being a doctor, a winemaker and particularly wealthy, he was a fanatical archeologist, heraldist and historian. A prominent member of the 'Société des Etudes Scientifiques', he published works on a multitude of subjects ranging from the Lords of Durban (Perillos) to prehistoric surgery. French researcher Roger-René Dagobert (who was related to the famous French General Dagobert), claimed that Saunière trusted the parchments he found, to Dr. Courrent. If the parchments really existed, this is quite plausible, since Courrent and the Abbé were close friends, and they spent a lot of time together in Saunière's last days. ### Priests 1724-1917 URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/priests-1724-1917 Priests of Rennes-le-Château from 1724 to 1917 1724-1736 Abbé Bernard 1736-1774 Abbé Bigou (Jean) 1774-1791 Abbé Bigou (Antoine) 1791-1803 Abbé Camp (Curé de Alaigne) 1803-1805 Abbé Marsan 1805-1820 Abbé Rouger 1820-1823 Abbé Sabarther 1823-1832 Abbé Sadourny 1832-1834 Abbé, Pages 1834-1836 Abbé Blanc 1836-1879 Abbé Pons 1879-1881 Abbé Cézac 1881-1884 Abbé Mocquin 1884-1885 Abbé Croc 1885-1909 Abbé Saunière 1909-1917 Abbé Marty (Curé de Coustassa) ### Saunière's Tomb URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/tomb-of-berenger-sauniere In 1900, the municipal council of, Rennes-le-Château's approved Abbé Saunière's request to dig a caveau in the cemetery, to serve as the last resting place for him and all future village priests. Construction was started in 1901. The caveau consisted of two adjacent separate burial chambers that could each contain 6 coffins. They were dug out, in the western wall of the cemetery. Bérenger Saunière was laid to rest in this vault, that he himself had built. The place was marked with a simple concrete tombstone and a cross. Some time later, a stone relief would added with a portrait of Saunière. The portrait however was wrongly copied from a photo of his brother. The two brothers, that were mixed up many times during their lives were now even mixed up in death. Marie Dénarnaud died in 1953 at the age of 85. She was buried in the same vault, next to the man she had served for so long. One last ride In the early morning of 14th September 2004, a substantial police force sealed off the village of Rennes-le-Château. Around 7 o'clock, the remains of Bérenger Saunière where moved to a new tomb where he was laid to rest for the last time below 5 tons of concrete. The decision was taken by Major Jean-François L'Huilier of Rennes-le-Château and, Saunière's descendants, as he explains in this interview, and in a French article in regional newspaper La Depêche du Midi (bottom of the page). It's remarkable, L'Huillier talks about descendants. It is well known the Abbé didn't live like a saint, but this is the first indirect evidence that he actually produced, offspring with someone., As a reason for moving his grave, the mayor mentioned "the family and myself, could no longer allow the hordes of treasure seekers and tourists to swarm the small village cemetery and violate the graves". There is now a sturdy lock on the iron gate that, oh irony, Saunière put there himself to keep any spectators away from his own private grave digging. The remains of Marie Dénarnaud still remain in the caveau. The cemetery is opened for all public in the month of November. One last riddle Saunière left us with a riddle on the top of the Cross that marked his original grave. There is an inscription reading : INRI with an inversed 'N". The inscription refers to the almost identical inscription on the cross at Jesus' crucifixion: INRI, Iesu Nazarenus Rex Iudeorum (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews). One person has pointed out that NAZARETH backwards is HTERAZAN,... ### Saunière's Trial URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/saunieres-trial Probably one of the most controversial aspects of the mystery of Rennes-le-Château is the legal battle that its chief protagonist, Bérenger Saunière played with Bishop de Beauséjour, for the better part of a decade. For sceptics, it has been used as the “deus ex machina”, which allegedly is able to explain everything. For believers, it is a period of Saunière’s life that postdates most of what is to them of most interest, namely the enigmatic building works in the village. In truth, it is neither. The Cause of the Problem The problem with his bishop probably dates back to November 19, 1906, when de Beauséjour visited Rennes-le-Château and found that Saunière’s parishioners complained about their priest. The villager’s disgruntlement with the priest went back to his appointment twenty years earlier. Almost as soon as he rose to the pulpit, he spoke out against the Republic; some of his parishioners reported him to the bishop, then Mgr. Billard, and Saunière was reprimanded. The parishioners then found him rummaging about in the cemetery and another complaint was lodged. When a part of the town went up in fire, Saunière got his own back, and refused to allow water from one of his cisterns to be used for extinguishing the fire. A priest who is not liked by his parishioners is a serious problem; but that was not all. De Beauséjour reported that an underage girl was present in the presbytery. She had no place there. He also found that Saunière was the object of suspicion by his colleagues, because of the presence of “suspect people” in the presbytery, possibly referring to the same or other underage women’s presence. But what could de Beauséjour do to remedy the situation? He listed that Saunière’s buildings had been excessively expensive, without the existence of a paper trail. Furthermore, there had been numerous demands for masses in the diocese and throughout France, but there seemed to be no guarantee that actual masses had been said. To any manager, the situation is transparent: four years into his job, the new bishop made the acquaintance of one of his subordinates, and stumbled upon what he felt was a dangerous situation. It is like the employee who has been hiding in a corner – or in Saunière’s case, on top of a hill – apparently without the previous manager never bothering to “manage” that employee. Still, that was not the situation. De Beauséjour’s predecessor was perfectly aware of Saunière, and of his... ### Victor Bieil URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/victor-bieil Abbé Jean-François-Victor Bieil. According to Gérard de Sède, Saunière travelled to Paris in 1892. He allegedly went their to seek help decoding a number of parchments he found in his church. He is said to have spoken to Abbé Jean-François-Victor Bieil who was the Director of Saint-Sulpice at the time. Bieil was also the uncle of Emile Hoffet, who is said to have eventually decoded the documents.  In 1903 Bishop LaCroix of Tarentaise published a memoir about Bieil that may be downloaded through this link. ### William of Gellone URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/man/william-of-gellone Guillem de Gellone (755 - 814) in French, also known as William of Orange or William with the Short Nose, after a legend in which a Saracen cut off part of William's nose in battle. William's mother was a daughter of Charles Martel, making William a cousin of Charlemagne, at whose court he spent his youth. His father Theodoric (Thierry IV) was the Count of Autun and Toulouse and is said to have been of Merovingian descent. Being King of Septimania. William of Gellone is one of the pivotal characters in the controversial book Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Henry Lincoln, Michael Baigent and the late Richard Leigh. In the book it is claimed that the Merovingian bloodline descended from Jesus and Mary Magdalene, making William a Jew of Royal Blood. Their main source of information was the book A Jewish Princedom in Feudal France (1972) by the American historian Arthur Zuckermann. Zuckermann claims that William was indeed of Jewish descent. Local folklore would indicate that he was of the House of David. William was said to have respected Sabbath even during battles, had the Lion of Judea in his Coat of Arms and spoke Arab and Hebrew fluently. This carries extreme relevance in relation to Lincoln, Baigent & Leigh's theory that the Holy Grail represents the Holy Bloodline of family descendance from the biblical King David through Jesus and Mary Magdalene into the Royal French Merovingian Dynasty. In 790, after his father had died, Charlemage confirmed William in descending his father as the second Count of Toulouse. He took up arms against the army of the Moor King Hisham I who had proclaimed Holy War against the Christians and penetrated the Languedoc as far as Narbonne. He is most famous for defeating the Arab forces in the area around Orange on 30th April 800. After many years of fighting, the Muslims retreated back into Spain, discouraged by Willliam's attitude of never giving up. William ended his military career reconquering the territories around Barcelona in 803. Among the many titles he gathered was 'Count of Orange' (the first one) and 'Count of Razès'. The Razès, the county of which the later Rennes-le-Château (then named Rhedae) was part was founded in 785 by Charlemagne. He made William the first titular Count. It was probably William and his sons who fortified Rhedae in the eary 800s. In 804 William founded what is now known as the Benedictine Abbey of Gellone in the French town of St. Guillem-le-Désert. He had been inspired to do so after he had... ## The Domain The church, Tour Magdala, Villa Bethania and their hidden secrets. ### 33 Postcards URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/33-postcards Abbé Saunière was an avid collector of postcards. He sometimes put little adverts in magazines inviting people to send him cards. One know example is the advert he put in 'La Semaine de Suzette'. As a result he for example received a card from a certain Anne Marie Maître from Nantes in Bretagne. After the priest had finished the construction of his domain in 1907 he had a series of postcards produced himself. For the set he selected 33 photos of his domain, the Church, the Château Hautpoul, the village and one or two locations in the vicinity to which he attached special relevance. The cards give a great impression of the domain in the early 1900s. Saunière, his maid, his dogs, the villagers, they all proudly pose in front of the brandnew buildings and manicured gardens. The number of cards was 33 and they were sold for 10 ct. each to visitors of the area, attracted by its long history, the works of Saunière or taking a break from the hot baths in Rennes-les-Bains. Commercially it wasn't a bad move as he wrote in one of his letters to a friend: "All the bathers take the complete collection", bathers of course being the visitors to the spa of Rennes-les-Bains. "The cards have so much success that I can hardly keep up supplying them" he added. The number 33 carries special relevance for Christians. It is the age of Jesus when he was crucified. In relation to Saunière it should also be remarked that 33 is a pivotal number in freemasonry. It is the highest possible grade one can have in a masonic organisation. We know Saunière was involved in masonic activities. French researcher and author Daniel Dugès, in his book Rennes-le-Château entre La Rose et l'Équerre, argues that Saunière's church is in fact a Masonic Temple. All cards depict places in and around Rennes-le-Château with one odd exception. The 33rd card displays the Rocks and Cascades of Saoutadou. It shows Marie Dénarnaud and Saunière sitting with a white umbrella and an unknown figure at these waterfalls that are situated in the Brenac area. All 33 Postcards [GALLERY=53] ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="53"] ### Altar URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/altar One of the first renovations Saunière undertook in his church was the replacement of the old altar. , This new altar he installed and that we can still see in the Eglise Madeleine today was bought from Maison Monna of Toulouse and cost 770FF. The altar was paid for by Madame Cavailhé de Coursan. The old altar was transported to the presbytery. It would later serve in his personal chapel at Villa Bethania after his suspension by Mgr. Beauséjour. The new altar came with a bas relief of Mary Magdalene in a, grotto with some of the usual props: a skull, a book and a cross. The bas relief was based on a painting by Johann Gerbhard Flatz, a well-known Nazarene and painter of religious scenes in the 19th century. An engraving of this painting was discovered by German researcher Andreas Eckel early 2009 and then linked back to Rennes-le-Château. Until halfway the 1980s, the church of Puichéric had a stained glass window almost identical to the scene on Saunière's altar as you can see from the photo on the left (copyright André Goudonnet) of that window in 1982. At the base of the altar Saunière had a phrase inscribed: JESU MEDELA VULNERUM SPES UNA POENITENTIUM PER MAGDALENAE LACRYMAS PECCATA NOSTRA DILUAS. It is bad Latin for Jesus, you remedy against our pains and only hope for our repentance, it is thanks to Magdalene's tears that you wash our sins away. These same two lines feature at the bottom of what is known as the, Grand Parchment. Today the inscription is no longer there. The story goes that the bas relief was colored by Saunière himself, with the help of his good friend Abbé Eugène Grassaud. At the left side of the scene, what appears to be two buildings are painted. They don't feature on the original painting by Flatz. People have concluded they are the Tour Magdala and the Chateâu Hautpoul, but that is far from certain. You might as well say that they are the letters J and M for Jesus and Mary or the ruines of the Château de Coustaussa as is, claimed by others. If they have been indeed been meant to show the, silhouet of the Rennes-le-Château hilltop in the distance, there would be a similarity with the view from the Grotte du Fournet in the Vallée des Couleurs that can be seen from the, Tour Magdala., That distinct possibility has become unlikely with the discovery of this engraving from 1850 as Saunière hadn't been born yet at that time, making the whole chain of events highly complex and speculative. Subject of much... ### Bas Relief URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/fresco On the western wall of the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, Saunière had an enormous fresco installed. It's colorfulness and richness adds much to the character of the church that has been described by many a researcher as gaudy or kitsch. The fresco is positioned over the confessional. The Fresco was placed there in 1897 together with the statues of Asmodeus, the Saints and the Stations of the Cross. What Saunière depicted here has been subject of endless debate. Among the candidates are Puivert (Jacques Rivière), the surroundings of Rennes-le-Château (Pierre Jarnac) and, Rennes-les-Bains (Ben Hammott). Originally the western wall, hosted the main entrance of the church. Over it there, used tobe, gallery for the town dignitaries where they could attend the mass. At some moment in history, the original access to the church was sealed and the current one was installed. Why this was done is unknown. There are some examples in France of church entrances being sealed off after an important wedding of a royal visit around the 16th and 17th century. Jean-Luc Robin has suggested a royal burial took place in the church, indicated by a ring of special brickwork around the church. Perhaps there's a relation there. Below the scene it reads VENEZ À MOI, VOUS TOUS QUI SOUFFREZ ET QUI ÊTES ACCABLES, ET JE VOUS SOULAGERAI (come to me, all who suffer, and I will relieve your pain). This is not a bible quote but a sentence from a sermon by Bernard of Clairveaux, Dialogue d'un juste avec Dieu (dialogue of a rigtheous man with God). De Clairveaux, was one of the main forces behind the Second Crusade. The text is inspired by the gospel of Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. The painter made a number of mistakes in the writing that he covered up. The word 'VENEZ' was moved around and it appears that at the end the original word was 'SOULAGERAS'. The dot at the end of the line seems to be placed too far from the sentence. The Bas Relief shows a landscape with plants and trees, rocks, hills, mountains and some buildings. At the right we see a bent figure an the top of a pillar. In the middle there's a rocky mountain carrying Christ surrounded by 11 people that appear to be worshipping him. At the foot of the mountain lies a sack. Christ is wearing a red cloak with golden stitchings, a sign of his worldly rule. It is unusual to see him depicted like this but Saunière does it twice. On the statue of John the Baptist... ### Bas Relief | Original URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/bas-relief On 20th November 1896, Abbé Saunière signed a contract with Giscard, manufacturer of religious statues and plasterwork in Toulouse. As part of this contract the priest ordered the big Bas Relief that you can still see today over the confessional in the church of Rennes-le-Château. Many believe that it is in this particular work of art, that Saunière hid clues to a possible treasure he had found or to whatever his secret was.     In the contract Saunière specified the materials to be used, that the ensemble had to be very colorful, its size and that the title would be "Venez à moi etc." (come to me etc.) At the end of the entry, Saunière added: "eleven or twelve figures". It has long been unclear where Saunière and Giscard got the inspiration for this bas relief. Some years ago, researcher Marion Boskemper solved the puzzle but never published her discovery until today. Saunière and Giscard could have been inspired by the book "Life of Christ" by Dean Frederic Farrar from 1875. A 1908 German edition contains a picture by a certain A. Dietrich, depicting a scene that closely resembles the bas relief and even carries the same title. The various poses of the figures on the Bas Relief leave little doubt that this picture was indeed Saunière's inspiration. The woman with child on the left, the two lovers kneeling on the right, the boy with the stick, the weeping woman: Click the picture to check for yourself. ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved, many thanks to Marion Boskemper for sharing her discovery ### Calvaire URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/calvaire       In 1897 Saunière finished the works on the church gardens. On the 6th of June the gardens were inaugurated by Monseigneur Billard, the Bishop of Carcasonne on a visit to Rennes-le-Château. The commemorative plaque can still be seen on the Calvaire today. The stone piedestal and the large cross form the centerpiece of the gardens. The exact placement of the Calvaire must have been very important to Sauniere for he had it erected and broken down again twice at a considerable cost before hewas satisfied with the result. The Dalle des Chevaliers (the Knight's Stone) that he had discovered lying upside down in his church was used as a stepping stone for the stairs of the Calvaire. He must not have realised what the historic importance was of the stone and it was already greatly worn out when it was re-discovered and salvaged by a local in 1926. An inscription at the top of the piedestal reads: CHRISTUS AB OMNI MALO PLEBEM SUAM DEFENDIT, which is a well-known phrase meaning: 'May Christ protect his people from all evil. Around the piedestal the inscriptions read: IN CRUCE VITA, IN CRUCE SALUS, AIMONS, SALUONS, RESPECTONS NOTRE CROIX. ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved ### Coumesourde Stone URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/coumesourde-stone Dalle de Coumesourde (stone of Coumesourde) The Dalle de Coumesourde, or simply Coumesourde Stone, is a strange beast. It is a stone with an inscription that a certain Ernest Cros found in 1928 near the hill that gave the stone its name. Mr Cros, besides being an enthusiastic amateur-archaeologist, is said to have been good friends with Bérenger Saunière. He had long been interested in the Aude’s history and settled in the Rennes-le-Château area in 1924 in the village of Ginoles. Being a bit of a stickler for detail he meticulously recorded much of his research and findings in a document with the poetical name: ‘Researches of M. chief engineer Ernest Cros, undertaken in de high valley of the Aude, particularly during the years 1920-43’. With a title like that you can imagine what a joy-to-read the fruits of his labour must have been. In good Rennes-le-Château fashion, all of Cros’ records and documents got lost in a burglary in 1960 and now only a typewritten copy of the report is said to have survived. The stone has been depicted in four variations in four publications:  Ernest Cros, 1928, Les Archives du trésor de Rennes-le-Château Gérard de Sède, 1967, L’or de Rennes Jacques Cholet, 1967, The Cholet Report Robert Charroux 1972, Trésors du monde As with so many things in the Saunière puzzle book, we know of the stone from Gérard de Sède who published about it in 1967 in his book Le Trésor Maudit de Rennes-le-Château. In his book however, the drawing of the stone was stylized and the letters S and AE were more clearly combined to make one the word ‘SAE’. In the eyes of many a researcher the Coumesourde stone is a tad less suspicious than most of the other puzzles in the Rennes-le-Château enigma since at least it wasn’t in Les Dossiers Secrets. However, its discovery and reliability aren’t exactly undisputed. There is for example the fact that some of its text is identical to the inscription on the horizontal Tombstone of Marie de Negri d’Ables. That stone WAS in the dossiers (engraved stones of the Languedoc by Eugène Stublein, registered in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in June 1966). The Dalle de Coumesourde is believed to be an important clue in the enigma. It features in many of the standard works on Rennes-le-Château. A plausible and conclusive explanation of its true relevance has never been given. Countless men and women spent countless hours counting the letters, measuring the angles and mapping its... ### Crypt URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/crypt It is probable that whatever Saunière discovered had to do with the ancient crypt beneath his church. When he first arrived in Rennes-le-Château in 1885, the entrances had been sealed off for over a century. Most likely by his 100 year predecessor Antoine Bigou, who fled for the Revolution and wanted to conceal the ancient crypt for, looters and protect the aristocraty buried there. It is thought that, among the documents Bigou hid in the church before he left for Spain in 1792 was the parish register in which the burials were recorded as well as instructions on how the entrance to the crypt could be re-opened. It is no secret there are tombs below the church. They are mentioned several times. In the register for 1725 to 1781, on the death certificate of Anne Delsol, it says, "...by Maître Michel, curé of St. Just in my presence and with my consent she has been buried on the thirty first day of the said month in the church of this place in the Tomb of the Seigneurs which is beside the Baluster in the presence of the said Maître Michel, curé of St. Just and of Maître Delmas, curé of the Bains (Rennes-les-Bains) in witness whereof...". The Baluster that is referred to is the wooden support pillar of the old pulpit in which Saunière found the parchments that kicked off the mystery. In the will of Henri d'Hautpoul of 24th April 1695 it is stated "voulant qu'après mon décès, mon corps soit enseveli dans l'église paroissiale dudit Rennes, tombeau de mes prédécesseurs..." (after my death, my body must be laid to rest in the parish church at Rennes, in the tomb of my ancenstors). The Hautpouls inhabited the Château d'Hautpoul from the 15th century. The fact that in the 18th century there are still relatives and allies being buried there, is an indication there must be a big crypt with many tombs. Soundings have demonstrated there are two large cavities beneath the church on two levels. Saunière almost certainly regained access to this crypt and sealed it off permanently later. According to archaeologist Brigitte Gibrac-Lescure, the church was consecrated in 1059 by Guifred, bishop of Narbonne. She even suggests a possible foundation by Guilemme de Gelone in the IXth century judging from the striking similarities between the design of the Knight's Stone, the Visigothic altar pillar and similar features in the Abbey of St. Guilhem-le-Désert. The Church was the chapel of the Château of the first Counts of Rhedae, Guillem's successors. The crypt... ### De Nègre Head Stone URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/de-ngre-head-stone Vertical Tombstone of Marie de Nègre d'Ables, Dame d'Hautpoul, Marquise de Blanchefort +17/01/1781. the vertical headstone of Marie de Nègre d'Ables as recorded by M. Elie Tisseyre in 1905 (left) a reproduction from the Museum in Rennes-le-Château (middle) and a commonly used interpretation in many books (right) Until some 10 years ago there was considerable doubt as to the authenticity of the stone since the available images only existed in the very suspicious Dossiers Secrets. However, French researcher Jean-Pierre Monteils then discovered the original drawing of the stone by La Société d'Etudes Scientifiques from 1905. Paul Saussez confirmed the find some years later. According to them the words PS and Praecum where inscribed on the top sides of the stone. Nor Pierre Plantard, nor Gerard de Sède ever mentioned this. This gives a whole lot more credibility to the authenticity of the existence and inscription in not only this stone but also the Dalle the Coumesourde. It was with all probability Antoine Bigou who made Marie de Nègre's tomb or at least designed and commissioned it to a local stone carver. The story goes that Bigou put clues in both the horizontal and the vertical tombstone. Clues to perhaps a material treasure originating perhaps in the many treasure legends that roam the countryside. Maybe clues to an immaterial secret. Maybe clues to a combination of both for wasn't it said in the village that Saunière had recovered a crown? From 1892, shortly after he had made his alleged discoveries, Saunière started to display an unnatural appetite for his cemetry, even for a priest. Several villagers testified they saw him rummage around the churchyard at night, accompanied by his young maid Marie Dénarnaud and a shovel. Obviously the villagers weren't very impressed by there priest desecrating the graves of their loved ones. They filed various complaints, resulting in two official warnings for Saunière by the community council and the prefect. Saunière's defense was that he worked on a new lay-out of the cemetery and that he had to clear out old graves. That would have been perfectly normal, if it weren't for the fact that he did it without consulting anyone and in the dead of night. What adds to the mystery is that he had a wall built and an iron gate installed from his own money. It seems apparent he wanted at least control over the cemetery access, if not conceal whatever it was he was doing. a villager secretly observes the priest... ### De Nègre Tombstone URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/de-ngre-tombstone Horizontal Tombstone of Marie de Nègre d'Ables Also called the Arcadia stone. Transcription of the horizontal tombstone of Marie de Nègre d'Ables, Dame d'Hautpoul, Marquise de Blanchefort +17/01/1781. De engraving is believed to have been commissioned by Abbé Antoine Bigou. Notice that it too carries the phrase Et in Arcadia Ego. Saunière went to great lengths to erase the entire face of the stone. He later used the defaced stone as a roof for the ossuary in the village cemetery. We know of the inscriptions from the Dossiers Secrets. This slab, sometimes also called the Arcadia Stone is also said to have been the cover stone of the Tomb near Les Pontils that beared a striking resemblance to the tomb displayed on Nicolas Poussin's Shepherds of Arcadia. Société Perillos has written a series of articles about the old cemetery of Rennes-le-Château and the original locations and purpose of Marie de Nègre's tomb here. The two tombstones as they must have looked together when they where still in place. ### Devil Statue or Asmodeus URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/asmodeus-or-devil The first thing you notice on entering the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Rennes-le-Château is the crouching devil just round the corner. For over a century now, the demon has been scaring the hell out of kids visiting the church with their parents (talking from experience here). If any feature in Abbé Saunière's domain in Rennes-le-Château has attracted attention from visitors and researchers it's this beast. Gérard de Sède, in his book the Accursed Treasure of Rennes-le-Château, was the first one who made the connection between the statue and a demon called Asmodeus known to the wider audience. Perhaps De Sède was inspired by Le Serpent Rouge (the Red Serpent). This apocryphical document was deposited in the French National Library in 1967 as part of Les Dossiers Secrets. It mentions Jesus and Asmodeus watching the alignment of the black and white squares that make up the chessboard floor in the back of the Church. If the statue was indeed intended to represent Asmodeus, a whole lot of opportunities present themselves to link Saunière's works to stories of Treasure. In the 17th Century Book of Demonology Ars Goetia Asmodeus showeth the place where Treasures lie, and guardeth it. In the Talmud, he aides in the construction of the Temple of Solomon. Those are only two stories Asmodeus features in. It's not hard to see how this statue gets the heads of Treasure hunters racing. In April 1996 one of them could not restrain himself and decapitated the poor devil, probably expecting to find a clue or a Treasure inside the statue. The original head was never found back and has since been replaced by a replica. Although it's skillfully made, it is far from identical and has a lot less expression than the original. Many researchers, Ben Hammott being one of them, have remarked that this Devil might be meant to sit in the Devil's Armchair, a stone monument in the woods near Rennes-les-Bains that also appears to be depicted on the big Fresco overseeing the statue and the rest of the Church. The crouched devil has his wings half opened. On the inside of his left wing 5 'runes' are visible. Some of them don't appear to mean anything while others have been identified as the word zouz, meaning crouch or liquid silver in Hebrew. The fingers of the right hand of the statue form a circle. Some researchers see a reference here to the Source du Cercle or Source of the Circle here, a source within 10 metres from the Devil's Armchair. This source was earmarked by... ### Excursion of 25 June 1905 URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/excursion-of-25-june-1905 According to Gérard de Sède in his book the Accursed Treasure of Rennes-le-Château, Saunière defaced the tombstones of the Marchioness de Blanchefort's grave after he had decoded them to erase any evidence of a treasure. What great fortune then that a group of amateur archeologists headed by a certain Elie Tisseyre visited Rennes-le-Château in June 1905 and published a transcript of the vertical stone in the 1906 bulletin number 17 of the S.E.S.A. Group (Société d'Étude Scientifique de l'Aude). For a long time this document was without controversy. If Saunière indeed chiseled away the faces of the stones, he wasn't in a hurry. He allegedly did his discoveries in the early 1890s. When the study group visited the domain 15 years later, the inscriptions were still there. There appears to be no obvious link here between the defacing of the stones and the discoveries. That is of course, if this bulletin is real and not a fabrication by someone with an agenda. Jean-Pierre Garcia of the Excellent Rennes-le-Château Archive website was perhaps the first to look at this document with a critical eye. There are some oddities with the report of the excursion. At some stage Elie Tisseyre writes: A visit to the cemetery made us discover a large stone in the corner, broken in the middle, on which we could read a very crudely engraved inscription. This stone measures 1m30 by 0m65. The picture of the stone in the bulletin displays no crack and the text is clearly readable. Artistic license one will say. It's a bit messy as well. In the title it says 25th June 1905 which is contradicted in the second paragraph by stating it is the 24th of June. More troubling anomalies in the document are for example that the route that is described from the train station in Couïza passing the front of the Château of the Dukes of Joyeuse didn't exist in 1905. The Tour Magdala was far from finished and had no stairs yet in June 1905, still the group managed to climb this tower of recent construction and admired the panorama around them including the village of Couïza and the ruined Château in Coustaussa. Everyone that visits Rennes-le-Château can see that it is impossible to see either of these from any part of Saunière's domain. And there's number 17 again. It's bulletin number 17. It says the Church (1740), while 1740 is no special year for Rennes-le-Château, there is only an inscription in the wall of the church saying 1640. This document at least gives the impression... ### Gardens URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/church-gardens In January of 1890, the Rennes-le-Château Municipal Council approved Abbé Saunière's request to refrubish the public square in front of the Church. After a year of gardening, the first bit was completed and officially opened by the placement of a statue of Notre Dame de Lourdes on the upside-down Visigoth pillar, Saunière had saved from the old altar. At the ocassion, in the presence of the bishop Monseigneur Billard of Carcassonne, 24 children of the village made First Communion. They did a Tour de Mission, carrying the statue of the Virgin around the entire village in, a procession involving all parishioners. At the end of this procession, the statue was installed on the pillar. , The design of the garden is very explicit, combining geometrical shapes that remind of Sacred Geometry. Closer inspection shows that the, layout of the garden perfectly mirrors the layout of the Church. 1. The circle around the Calvaire (16) matches the outline of the back of the Church. 2. The Calvaire (16) in the garden matches the position of the Altar (20) inside the Church 3. The position of ths statue of Notre Dame de Lourdes (7) matches the position of the confessional (19) in the church. Was this the reason that Saunière had the words "'PENITENCE, PENITENCE" inscribed on the pillar? 4. The Knight's Stone was found straight in front of the Altar. Saunière later used it as a stepping stone towards the Calvaire (16) , in the exact same position. 5. The Grotto, (13), in the garden is in the same position as the "Isoloir" (9), the Secret Room adjacent to the Sacristie. It is generally assumed, Saunière has this room built in 1892 to cover the entrance to the Church's crypt. What does that say about the Grotto of Mary Magdalene? Map of the, Church, Gardens in Rennes-le-Château (Paul Saussez) 1. Church 2. Cemetery (1831 enclosure) 3. Presbytery (12th century) 4. Stable 5. Courtyard 6. Low Walls (1891) 7. Notre Dame de Lourdes (June 1891) 8 Porch (November 1891) 9. Isoloir (Secret Room) (January 1892) 10. Gateway (1894) 11. Reposoir (1894-1895) 12. Gardens (1890-1897) 13. Grotto (1894) 14. Ancient Baptismal Font 15. Ossuary (1895) 16. Calvary (1897) 17. Villa Bethania (1901-1905) 18. Veranda / House Chapel 19. Confessional 20. Altar ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved. Drawing copyright Paul Saussez, taken from the book Rennes-le-Château, Saunière's Secret by Jean-Luc Robin. ### Knight's Stone URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/knights-stone Called 'Dalle des Chevaliers' in French, this engraved stone is said to have been the cover stone of the crypt beneath the church at Rennes-le-Château. According to the legend, Saunière found it lying upside down and had it lifted by Adrien Marre and Féliciean Marceau, two local workmen. Beneath the stone was a hole in which Saunière allegedly found a small pot containing a couple of goldpieces, a Visigoth necklace and a golden Chalice dating from around the 13th century (that he later gave to his friend Abbé Grassaud). He told the workman that he had only found some worthless Medallions of Lourdes and sent them home. He apparently didn't recognize or appreciate the value of the cover stone itself for he used it as the top stepping stone for the Calvaire where it was 're-discovered' in 1926. It was still lying there face up in 1935 when it was photographed by Lucien Rougé. According to Henry Buthion, who ran the Saunière estate for some 40 years after he had bought it from Noel Corbu in 1965, the stone once sealed the mural tomb of Sigebert IV. Buthion was convinced that Saunière discovered this tomb and took jewellery and two golden crowns from it that he gave to friends and relations. The stone is thought by others to depict the flight of Sigebert IV to Rennes-le-Château in 1681. Others have noticed the resemblances with the official seal of the Knight's Templar of two men riding one horse. Dutch writer Klaas van Urk recently made a case for the stone to depict the two entrances of the Grail Church Bieta Mariam in Ethiopia, once the place where the Ark of the Covenant was hidden. In his explanation, the left part of the stone depicts the ritual of preparing the Ark of the Covenant, the right image is a Grail Knight carrying the round symbol of the Holy Light. Fact is that the image,  engraved over the double entrance of Bieta Mariam bares a striking resemblance to the right tableau of the Dalle des Chevaliers. In his book Histoire de la haute-Vallée de L'Aude, Father De Roquelaure explains how this stone was in fact made to commemorate the gift of the county of Razès to William of Gellone. In his view, the scene on the stone depicts a Carolingian boar hunt. ### Map of the Saunière Estate URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/map-of-the-domain 1 Church of St. Mary Magdalene 2 Sacristie 3 Calvaire 4 Grotto 5 Reposoir 6 Cemetry Gate 7 Ossarium 8, Original tombs of Bérenger Saunière and Marie Dénarnaud 9 Notre Dame de Lourdes, jardin de Vierge 10 Presbytery 11 Villa Bethania 12 House Chapel / Winter Garden 13 current tomb of Bérenger Saunière 14 Orangerie 15 Belvédère 16 Tour Magdala 17 Parc 18 Villa Gardens ### Pommes Bleues URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/pommes-bleues Every year, at midday on 17th January, a sunray creates,  an effect on the wall of the Eglise Madeleine in Rennes-le-Château. This light effect is called 'Pommes Bleues'. This name refers to the second parchment that Saunière found where 'Pommes Bleues' (Blue Apples) feature in the decipherment. In reality the projection of the apples isn't very blue at all. Moreover, this effect is bound to happen in churches that have stained glass windows, Saint Sulpice not being the worst example. Acclaimed expert on Rennes-le-Château, Patrick Mensior, notes that the stained glass window of Lazarus, that produces the effect was installed in september 1887. Now if Saunière did indeed go to Paris to have the parchments deciphered, it is certain he did so in March 1892. It is also certain that he could never have done so on his own. The word Pommes Bleues was discovered 5 years after Saunière had the Lazarus window installed. This raises the suspicion that the phenomenon of Pommes Bleues in Rennes-le-Château is based on mere coincidence. Thanks to Patrick Mensior for sharing his insights. The beautiful photo of the light ray is from Italian designer and Rennes-le-Château researcher Mariano Tomatis. ### Reposoir URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/reposoir In France, a Reposoir (Viewing Room), was a place where the dead were laid to rest before the burial. The villagers could then visit them to pay them their last respects together before they were trusted to their graves. In the case of Rennes-le-Château it is quite a different story. When Saunière had had permission from the municipal council to arrange, at his own expense, the terrain in front of the church, he built his Grotto, his Calvaire and, in the place where normally the, Reposoir would sit: a little office for himself that double-functioned as a library. Under this small building was a cistern that must have been built by Saunière at the same time since the terrain was not managed in any way and all cisterns were specifically administered since the early 16th century. However, no record whatsoever is to be found in Saunière's otherwise immaculate administration of work that was carried out on any water source near his church.It is known that Saunière spent many hours in his, Reposoir before the Tour Magdala was built. He would be sitting there for everyone to see amidst his books and papers. He kept his library there and he is said to have kept the findings of his long marches through the country in bags, hanging over the cistern from the bottom of the Reposoir. There is much discussion as to why the Abbé built his library and office in this strange place, not in the least because of the following story: In 14th July 1895, a fire started in a village house that threatened the rest of the village. Saunière, astonishingly, refused access to his pump. The firemen had to break into his house to force it from him. The next day Saunière filed a complaint to the Gendarmerie for 'invasion of the floor and the fence' (that he later quickly redrew). Wanna know more? Société Perillos has an interesting article about the Viewing Room. ### Sacristie URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/sacristie In the back of the church, behind the statue of St. Antoine de Padoue there is a door leading to the Sacristie of the Eglise Marie-Madeleine. Inside the small room is large wood paneled wardrobe where Abbé Saunière kept his chasubles for the mass. There is a simple bare wooden floor. In the recess behind the first door of the closet there is a mirror with a text over it: DA, DOMINE VIRTUTEM MANIBUS MEIS, AD ABSTERGENDAM OMNEM MACULAM: UT SINE POLLUTIONE MENTIS ET CORPORIS VALEAM TIBI SERVIRE. "Give virtue to my hands, O Lord, that being cleansed from all stain I might serve you with purity of mind and body." It was put there by Saunière. The most, beautiful feature of the Sacristie is the stained glass window that is considered to be one of the most beautiful features of the entire church. Since the Sacristie is closed to the public, few have personally seen this masterfully crafted window. It depicts Jesus on the cross with Mary Magdalene praying at his feet., She is not praying to the lord but clearly looking in the direction of Mary who is standing on his left. There is a third figure on the right but is not immediately clear who that is. He is a young man that is not carrying any symbols that we can easily identify him with. It could be Joseph of Arimathea but it cannot be established with any certainty. Jesus and Mary Magdalene have red hair which is quite unusual. The window was made by Henri Fleur of Bordeaux in 1896. His signature is clearly visible on a stone in the left corner. Finally, a number of roman numbers are depicted that have let to many a treasure seeker calculating clues. In the wood paneling of the wardrobe is a secret wooden door that leads to the 'isoloir', the small half-circle shaped outcropping that is more obviously visible on the outside than on the inside. It is a very small and simple room without the beautiful finishings that are so typical of the rest of the church. There's an unconfirmed story that once, an anchoress lived in this little outcropping. Anchoresses were saintly figures living a lonely existence in these kinds of recluses. The best know is probably Hildegard von Bingen. Who the anchoress was and if she indeed ever was is another mystery. In the solitary, there is no lighting, the floor is the natural rock just like outside. Furthermore the floor of the secret room is not leveled out with the Sacristie. There is a very small window that lets hardly any light in and very little ventilation. Saunière... ### Stained Glass Windows URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/stained-glass-windows ### Stations of the Cross URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/stations-of-the-cross The Stations of the Cross in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Rennes-le-Château were installed in 1897. They were ordered from Giscard in Toulouse, apparently straight out of the catalogue. Read about the Giscard catalogue in this article. The shapes of the Stations is certainly not unique. At least one example is known where excatly the same mould was used. This is in St. Jean d'Alcas where they can still be seen today. Nevertheless, Saunière's Stations of the Cross have been cause for endless debate among researchers. What they debate is how they were painted. The priest was very meticulous about the decoration of the church and he certainly instructed his painters to the very last detail. A few things have puzzled people. To name a few: The Stations are hanging inverted as opposed to almost all others in France. Exceptions are Perpignan and St. Sulpice. All Stations have the sign of the Masonic Rose-Croix sculpted onto their frames. There's a Golden Griffin on Station I On Station to there's a Gold helmet lying on the floor and a small ladder is reaching for the sky Station III shows an Arc in the sky. Arche in French is the same word as used for the Arche de l'Alliance or Ark of the Covenant Station XIV has a square white cloth in the background On Station VI, some say you can see the Tour Magdala through the opened door On Station X, a soldier thows two dice. We see one displaying 3 and 4 which is impossible and the other one shows a five. According to researcher Roger Boonaert this is part of a cryptogram Le Sot Pecheur. If you add up the total of the numbers of the abnormal dice (7) and the number of the Stations (10) you get 17, the number that constantly re-appears in the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château. Station XIV shows Jesus with a wound in his left side, where the bible says he was wounded on the right, the scene look like Jesus is carried out of the tomb by full moon rather than in it A quick search on the internet will deliver many more details that are perceived to be anomalies. [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="22"] ### Statues URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/church-statues ### Stone Altar Pillar URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/stone-visigoth-pillar The pillar was on of two that supported the original altar in the church. The second pillar was long thought to have disappeared. It is known that it had no inscriptions (Jean-Luc Robin, Rennes-le-Château - Saunière's secret). Recently an almost identical stone pillar without any ornaments was discovered standing at the entrance of the cemetery at Rennes-les-Bains. Its dimensions are identical to the one in Rennes-le-Château. It is therefore now believed to be the long missing 2nd pillar of the old Church Altar. It is said that inside a hollow space in the engraved pillar, Saunière found four parchments. The first containing Latin text fragments of Luke VI, 1-5 and Matthew XII, 1-8, Mark II, 23-28, the second containing the story in which Jesus visits Lazarus in Bethania from the Gospel of John and two genealogies of Dagobert II, dating from resp. 1244 and 1644. It is sometimes claimed there was a fifth document: the will of Henri d'Hautpoul dated 1695. In actual facts the cavity at the top of the pillar is the size of a big matchbox and couldn't have contained 4 parchments. If Saunière discovered papers it is more likely he found them in the wooden baluster as witnessed by his bellringer Antoine Captier. On the 21st of June 1891, 24 children of the village received first communion. Since this was a major event for the small village a 'Mission' was organized. A statue of Notre Dame de Lourdes was carried around the whole village by four men in a procession that included most of the villagers and their children. At the end of the procession, the statue was placed on a piedestal, consisting of the decorated pillar that once supported the original altar of the Eglise Madeleine. Oddly enough he placed the pillar upside-down and had it engraved 'Pénitence, pénitense, Mission 1891'. The placement of the pillar has led to a much speculation. It was a Visigoth custom to bury their kings below an upside-down cross. It is today believed by some researchers that the pillar marks the, outer wall, of the, crypt of the Eglise Madeleine. The pillar is more likely to be of Carolingian than of Visigoth origin  judging by it's Christian depiction of a cross with jewels and branches. The pillar has matching engravings with those found at the abbey of  St. Guilhem-le-Désert. Archaeologist Brigitte Gibrac-Lescure has suggested they might have been carried out by the same artist. Abbé Saunière used a number of inversions while decorating his domain and church of... ### Survey by Michel Verrot URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/survey-by-michel-verrot In 1995, the association Terre de, Rhedae, had the Church in Rennes-le-Château surveyed by architect Michel Verrot. The text here is a small piece of the actual much more elaborate report. L'EGLISE SAINTE-MARIE-MADELEINE L'église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine est inscrite sur l'inventaire supplémentaire des Monuments Historiques par arrêté du 26 juillet 1994. L'église est implantée au nord-est du village, au bout de la Grand-Rue. Elle est insérée dans un ensemble monumental aménagé pour l'essentiel à la fin du XIXè siècle par l'abbé Saunière. Ces travaux qui ont également concerné l'église elle-même ont eu un effet perturbant sur la présentation du monument qui paraît sur son coté sud, fait d'éléments disparates juxtaposés. Il faut passer le portail du cimetière pour découvrir sur la partie nord du chevet des formes anciennes plus homogènes. DESCRIPTION : A l'extérieur : La face nord du monument, relativement homogène est marquée par le grand clocher de plan carré adossé à  la façade quasiment aveugle de l'église. Les seules ouvertures sont celles percées au XIXè siècle au cours de l'aménagement de l'abbé Saunière. Le clocher dont seule la souche (sur une hauteur de 5,30 m, comme en témoignent les parements intérieurs) appartient à une étape de construction primitive, est inégalement percé dans sa partie haute de baies grossièrement cintrées. Le chevet est orné de lésènes reliées à leur sommet par des arcs doubles dont la retombée est portée par de petits cul-de-lampe sans ornementation sculptée. Cette disposition ornementale a disparu sur le demi périmètre sud de l'abside. La petite baie d'axe dont on distingue encore l'appui a été remplacée lors des travaux de Saunière, par une grande baie circulaire surdimensionnée, qui a entraîné le relèvement de l'égout originairement couronné d'une simple dalle en entablement. Les quelques témoins en place de cette disposition peuvent laisser penser que l'église fut à une époque couverte en dalles de pierre (lauzes ?). Il semble enfin, qu'une litre funéraire dont il ne reste que la bande d'enduit support, fut peinte sur le pourtour de l'édifice à une époque antérieure aux grands travaux de Saunière. Au sud, la profusion d'éléments rapportés ne permet plus de lire les dispositions du monument original : La sacristie et son excroissance en forme d'absidiole sont posées contre la dernière travée et le chàur ; les larges contreforts... ### The Cholet Report URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/the-cholet-report In 1967, for the first and last time since Saunière's days, research was done under the floor of the church. Jacques Cholet, a railway engineer from Paris got approval from the Rennes-le-Château Municipal Council on May 31, 1959 for "excavations within the church with the exception of the cemetery and subject to formal undertakings as stipulated by the present document." Below you'll find a scan of the report of his excercise and an English translation.   English Translation of the Report RENNES-le-CHATEAU Local History 1) In Gaulish times there was a temple there dedicated to the god ARA. It is from this name that the place-name Rennes-le-Château is derived. It was the Visigoths who first changed the name - they called it Radaès. Then came Rada, Rédé, Rédéa, Rèda-Castel and - finally - Rennes-le-Château. The Celts worshiped the god Ares by moving physically closer to him, i. e. by establishing themselves on a mountain side while protecting themselves from the elements. A cavern close to a mountaintop was, for them, the ideal place of worship: at Rennes-le-Château there was a cave situated very close to the summit. This religion lasted until the area was christianised. Following the customs of the time the priests, monks and preaching friars built their churches on the sites of the former pagan altars. In this way the former temple to Ares was covered by the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, a building that does not seem to have changed its location down the centuries, even though it was destroyed several times. This structure was built during the Visigothic occupation. 2) When the Saracens invaded the region from Spain the strongholds built by the Visigoths fell into their hands. The siege of Radaès lasted quite a long time, as it was the regional capital and was therefore heavily fortified. The survivors, after walling up in the former temple everything that they were unable to take away with them, escaped by an underground passageway leading towards the present-day chateau, and from there to the place known as Blanchefort. A branch of this underground passage descended towards the River Sals, opposite Coustaussa. The river was crossed at a ford (which still exists), while the exit from this underground passage has been blocked by a landslide; even so, the resumption of their escape route towards Coustaussa is still visible on the left-hand side of the road to Arques.  3) After Charlemagne put the Saracens to flight a new population took up... ### Tour Magdala URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/tour-magdala In 1906, Saunière started construction of the Tour Magdala. The word 'Magdala' carries an appropriate double meaning. The gospels mention a village called Magdala in Galilee as the birthplace of Mary Magdalene. In Aramaic, the native tongue of Jesus, the word Magdala means 'tower' or 'fortress' (Migdal in Hebrew). On the original plans for the tower that Saunière made, he called the tower 'Tour d'Horloge'. We see an entry in Saunière's journal on June 13, the feast day of St. Antoine de Padoue: "...pose de la première pierre de la Tour de l'Horloge". Some say the Tour Magdala looks like a Knight's tower on a chessboard that needs to be moved in a straight line horizontally or vertically. The Tour Magdala is a neo-gothic tower that sits on the far west corner of Saunière's estate. If you climb the narrow spiral staircase to the top of this strange building an exit the little tower (échauguette) on the top deck, you are rewarded with an incredibly wide view of the surrounding countryside. It is hard to capture it here in photos or mere words. Many of the places that play a part in the enigma and legends of treasure are visible. The Tour Magdala served as Saunière's personal study and library and as such replaced the, reposoir after it's completion in 1906. The wooden housing for his books on the ground floor was made to measure and took a month to complete. In 1907 he seriously started collecting stamps, postcards and books. He sent all his correspondents little metal boxes and asked them to fill them with stamps and send them back to him. From 1908 onwards, Saunière directed his attention fully to his vast collection of books. To create order in the stacks of papers, magazines, pamphlets and books, he hired Henri Baret a librarian from Castelnaudary, who stayed with him for three months. No receipts or records survive of the collections of books and stamps. Most were sold or given away by Marie Dénarnaud after Saunière's death and we know very little of their content. When the Derain-Raclet bookshop in Lyon went bankrupt around 1950, three books were found that were marked 'François Béranger Saunière, Priest at: Aude, town of Rennes.' These works were entitled: 'the Prophecy of the Popes allotted to St. Malachy' by Abbé Joseph Maitre, 2) 'History of the Large Forests of Gaule and Old France' by L.F. Alfred Maury and 3) "Celtic Monuments, or Research on the Worship of the Stones, Preceded by a note on the Celts and Druids, and followed Celtic... ### Villa Bethania URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/villa-bethania Today, the Villa Bethania is partially tucked away between trees and bushes. When it was completed in 1905, it must have been quite a different sight. Rennes-le-Château at the the time was a very rural village with some 200 inhabitants that lived in simple country houses, dropped around a delapidated castle. Saunière's neo-gothic villa must have stood out like a cherry on a cow pie. Construction of the house started in 1901. It was baptized Villa Bethania, after the village in the Holy Land where Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead. Contrary to what everybody in the village expected, the Abbé never moved into the villa. He lived and slept in the old Presbytery for the rest of his life as did Marie Dénarnaud his housekeeper. Saunière stated several times that he built the Villa as a home for retired priests. However, no retired priest ever lived there. Villa Bethania was used by Saunière for receiving guests. The priest appears to have entertained an endless row of people in his Villa. The bills he paid for the shipments of liquor and delicacies from as far away as Jamaica have been preserved. Staggering amounts of drink and food were received and consumed. The Abbé was an excellent host with a matching cook: Marie Dénarnaud. Among the guests, villagers claim, were high-society figures like Emma Calvé, the beautiful French opera diva. It is often claimed Calvé and Saunière had an affair of sorts. Proof has never been found. Still, it is a fact that villagers of Rennes-le-Château have testified hearing a strong and melodic opera voice singing during some of his lavish parties. Also on the guest list appears to have been a member of the Habsburg family, which according to some, is endorsed by the fact that Saunière exchanged letters with the Banque Fritz Dörge in Budapest. It is noted that Saunière received a big gift from the Countess of Chambord who was a Habsburg. She donated him 3,000 Francs in 1886 after he had been suspended for preaching against the republic. De Chambord was the widow of Henry V, last of the Bourbon dynasty whose stubbornness lost him the French throne (he refused to accept the tricolor as a symbol of France). It is not hard to imagine why she would have liked Saunière. It is the only traceable big gift Saunière received since Marie Dénarnaud burnt all of the Abbé's bank statements just before and after he died. From leftover correspondence published by Claire Corbu and Antoine Captier it is known that Abbé... ### Wooden Baluster URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/domain/wooden-baluster This wooden baluster (pillar) supported the original pulpit before Saunière started his restorations. In the top of this wooden pillar, carilloneur (bell ringer) Antoine Captier found a small glass tube with a document that he gave to the priest. Straight after this discovery Saunière started his excavations in the cemetery. The Baluster was recently re-examined by Société Perillos: article link. ## Explore Châteaux, tombs, sacred sites and mysterious locations across the region. ### Arles-sur-Tech URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/arles-sur-tech In October 1904, Abbé Saunière sent a postcard to Marie Dénarnaud from the village of Arles-sur-Tech. This pilgrimage site, close to the spa town of Amélie-les-Bains at the foot of the Pyrenees, drew and still draws people from far away to worship a Holy Tomb (La Sainte Tombe) supposedly of Saint Abdon and Saint Sennen. Abdon and Sennen were two Iranian saints that were eaten by the lions in the Colloseum in the year 254. Until this day, every day water gathers in their sarcophagus of the purest quality. Once a year the water is siphoned out by the local monks and handed out to the pilgrims. Saunière visited the site multiple times. On one occasion he brought his friend Eugène Grassaud a small bottle of water from the Tomb after he had been relocated to St. Paul de Fenouillet, no longer being in de direct vicinity of the site. In 1909, a foster sister of Marie Dénarnaud gave birth to a child. The child being seriously ill, it was handed to the brotherhood in Arles-sur-Tech that managed the relics. They decided to treat the baby with the Holy Water. Although the family was convinced the child would die, the little boy miraculously recovered and was baptized Abdon in recognition for the miracle. Abdon was raised under the guardianship of the priest as recounted by Madame Sonia Moreu in an interview with Jean-Patrick Pourtal in July 2000, recounting an anecdote from the old Madame Olive who lived close to Rennes-le-Château and who had known both Henri Boudet and Bérenger Saunière: "during a Sunday lunch the boy had pestered Saunière for a chicken leg after which the priest had sent him away from the table and denied him the meal".   Quote from Sonia Moreu taken from an interview by Jean-Patrick Pourtal of Rennes-le-Château Le Dossier displayed here with kind permission. ### Article Map URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/article-map [WORK IN PROGRESS] Click any of the locations. If there are articles or photo banks about the location, a clickable "MORE DETAILS" link will be displayed. [wpgmza id="5"] ### Bruges or New Jerusalem URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/bruges The Holy Blood of Bruges-la-Morte The epic poem Perceval, Le Conte du Graal launched the Holy Grail into Western literature. Written by French poet Chrétien de Troyes in the 1180s, the storyline introduces a certain Perceval to us, who is invited to stay in the castle of the Fisher King where he witnesses a mysterious procession. With each course of the meal, young men and women pass before him with magnificent objects: a bleeding lance, candelabras and a beautiful girl with what is described as an elaborately decorated Graal. This object contains a single Mass wafer for the Fisher King to sustain his wounds. As it turns out, the Fisher King is a cousin of Perceval. When the young man wakes up the next morning, he finds himself alone in the woods and the castle disappeared. Later on, he learns that he should have made an inquiry into this Graal as the right question would have healed the Fisher King. He vows to find the Castle of the Grail again one day but it remains unclear from the poem if he ever does. You mean a Grail....? Chrétien keeps us in the dark as to what exactly this Grail is. To some it is exactly that which is the appeal of his story: the mystery surrounding the object and the uncertainty of its whereabouts. Some scholars claim the Grail was distilled from Celtic mythology. They recognize a cauldron with the power to restore people or to even raise the dead. They see a Vessel of Plenty, a Magical Platter symbolizing otherworldly powers and sometimes even the power to select Kings. Most scholars claim that in Perceval the Grail hadn't yet acquired the holiness it displays in later Grail romances. I don't agree. Chrétien's Grail wasn't a dish or bowl containing a salmon or a mere pike but a single Mass wafer. The mystical fasting of the crippled Fisher King reminds us of the countless saints who were said to have lived on a wafer a day. Chrétien definitely intended the Mass wafer to be a significant part of the ritual. Maybe, being the first modern European novelist, he would have unveiled the true identity and the Secret of the Grail at the end of his story. Unfortunately death overtook him, leaving the poem unfinished. Around the period the first Grail romances were written, the Church of Rome was beginning to add more mysticism to the Sacrament of the Holy Communion. In that respect, the Grail could have been a purely Christian symbol from the very beginning. Twelfth century wall paintings present images of the Virgin holding a bowl... ### Budapest URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/budapest One of the many Banks that Saunière corresponded with was the Bank Fritz Dörge, 4 Kossuth Lajos Utca in Budapest. It has led to much speculation about his dealings with the Habsburgs, that had there base in Hungary. It is claimed by some that Saunière travelled to Hungary during some of the many documented, times the priest was away from his parish. Italian researcher Mariano Tomatis went to Budapest, and took these pictures of what used to be the Bank Fritz Dörge. photos copyright Mariano Tomatis, reproduced here with kind permisson ### Bugarach, Mountain of God URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/bugarach-mountain-of-god Shrowded in mystery, myth and legend, the peak of Mount Bugarach majestically dominates the wider area around Rennes-le-Château. Calmly looking upwards to the sky, the face of this dormant volcano was once believed to have been given the facial features of Christ by God himself when his only son was taken to the area. That is not the only legend in local folklore that surrounds this mountain. What is fact is that it's not just an ordinary mountain. It's a geo-il-logical mountain. Illogical in the sense that the top of the mountain is millions of years older than the bottom. It's lying upside down as a result of the massive geological forces that created the Pyrenees mountains. Name and Fame It's impossible to establish for fact where the name Bugarach is coming from but stories aplenty. Some claim it was derived from the two elves Bug and Arach that turned into stone protecting the plateau of the Corbières from the wind. Others make reference to its name as being Bourg-de-l'Arche or Buc-de-l'Arche in Occitan and to the legend that the Ark of the Covenant lies buried inside the mountain where it still serves as some sort of a tracking device. Whatever the origins the name developed through the ages. The name not only applied to the mountain but also to the small village between its toes. The topographical dictionary from the Aude (1916) mentions the following names as stated in official documents: Burgaragio (889), Bugaaragium (1231), Burgairagio (1259), Bugaragium (1347), Bigarach (1194-1500), Bigarach en Malet (1298- 1500), Locus de Bricaragio (1377), Bugaraich (1594), Beugarach (1647) and finally from 1781 onwards Bugarach. People climbing the mountain have forever reported strange noises, apparitions, UFO's flying over, white lights and white people staring at them. People that have climbed the peak will tell you that they felt uneasy and that their compasses or GPS devices didn't work. Planes are not allowed to fly over the mountain as it has been know to make electronic equipment malfunction. People are advised never to climb the mountain on their own. More than a few have disappeared. The Underground Stream It's hard to track the source but there is a very persistent story that there is a giant lake inside the mountain. It would be part of a giant underground system of caves and lakes that stretches from the foot of the Pyrenees all the way to Opoul and Perillos. It is a fact that there is a staggering number of caves and holes in the ground in... ### Château de Bézu URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/chateau-de-bezu Also called Château d'Albedun or Albezun. This ruined castle on the 823 metre summit overlooking the village of St. Just-et-le-Bézu is part of the giant pentacle that Brithish author and researcher Henry Lincoln described in his book the Holy Place. The other points of the pentacle are the Château de Blanchefort, Rennes-le-Château and the hilltops of la Soulane and Terre de Lauzet. From the 11th till the 13th century the Château was home to the Lords of Albedun. In 1151, Bernard I Sermon of Albedun joined the Knights Templar. His family donated substantial sums to the order. During the Albigensean Crusade, the Sermons embraced the Cathar faith. Bernard II Sermon offered his castle to Simon de Montfort but for an unknown reason, De Montfort allowed the Sermons to keep their residence. He took advantage of this very rare privilege by hiding the Cathar bishop Guilhabert de Castres and Parfait Guillaume Bernard Hunaud from 1229. For this reason, the French King gave the castle to Pierre de Voisins in 1231, who was also the new owner of the Château of Blanchefort and the Château Hautpoul in Rennes-le-Château. There are some intriguing things going on with the Sermon family. While all other nobles of Cathar faith where ruthlessly prosecuted and executed by the French, the Lords of Albedun kept most of their privileges and their lives. They also never had to borrow a penny from anyone but financed the Counts of Carcassonne and donated enormous amounts of money to the Knights Templar. It is unclear where all this money came from. In 1307 the castle was inhabited by Othon d'Aure, vassal to the count, who was accused of counterfeiting money by agents of the French King Charles V. In 1344 when members of the Voisins family inhabited the Château, Brunissende who was Jacques de Voisins spouse and her brother in law and nephew of Pope Benedict XII Guillaume de Cathala were accused of the same thing. The accusation was not that they produced fake money without precious metal but rather proper but unauthorized golden coins. Here too it was unclear where all the gold came from. In his book Rennes-le-Château et l'énigme de l'or maudit, French veteran author and researcher Jean Markale claims that the Templars inhabiting the Château de Bézu were the only ones not arrested on the notorious Friday 13th October 1307. In contrast to all other Templars in France they reported to the Counts of Barcelona. According to a local legend, the well in a farmhouse in the... ### Château de Blanchefort URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/chateau-de-blanchefort In the 10th century, the Visigoths were the first to build a fortication on the white rock opposite Mount Cardou. In 1125, the castle was signed over to the bishopric of Alet(-les-Bains) by its owner Bertrand de Blancafort (Blanchefort) who swore allegiance to the Viscount Bernard Aton of Alet. Around 1130 he allegedly asked the Knights Templar to start exploiting a goldmine near the castle. It was whispered that this operation was a cover up to dig up the treasure of the Visigoths, much of which was gathered during the sack of Rome on 24th August 410 by the Visigoth leader Alaric I the Goth. Bertrand de Blancafort wasn't the 6th Grandmaster of the Order of the Knights Templar as is sometimes claimed. Nor was he related to the Grandmasters familiy who came from Guyenne. In 1209 the castle was conquered by Simon de Montfort in the Albigensean Crusade. He gave the castle, which was now called Château de Blanchafort and the surrounding lands to his comrade in arms Pierre de Voisins. The lands included Rennes-le-Château, where De Voisins found a permanent residence in what we now know as the Château Hautpoul. The castle lost its use with the introduction of gunpowder and canons in the early 16th century. Eventually it was abandoned after 1659 with the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenées which meant there was no longer a border to guard. French historian Labouisse-Rochefort mentioned the castle in his 1832 book 'Voyage à  Rennes-les-Bains', in which he recounts a local legend of a treasure guarded by the devil in the area of the château. There is very little left of the Château Blanchefort. There is no path to its ruin so it's quite a climb to get there through the dense vegetation. The view upon reaching the summit makes it well-worth the effort. Given its important role in the history of the region, the Château was very small. According to English researcher and author Henry Lincoln in his book the Holy Place, the Château de Blanchefort is part of a huge pentagram in the Rennes-le-Château landscape. Château de Blanchefort on video by David Williams [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMWp7lJwisI[/embedyt] Location of Château de Blanchefort [wpgmza id="8"] Photos of Château de Blanchefort [GALLERY=55] ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="55"] ### Château de Montségur URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/chateau-de-montsegur On Ascension day 1243 a French army led by Hugh of Arcis started the siege of the Montségur Castle an inpenetrable fortress, perched on a 1,100 meters high rock. It was the apotheosis of what is today know as the Albigensean Crusade. At the bottom of the hill carrying the massive fortress, Peter Amiel, archbishop of Narbonne erected his lavishly ornated tent to watch the death blow to the Cathar faith from the front row. Last of the Cathars According to the Cathar faith a good god called Rex Deus made the heavens and the human soul while an evil god called Rex Mundi entrapped that soul to suffer in the flesh of the human body on earth which was seen as an evil place.  Salvation lay in the human soul's escape to the spiritual realm from its prison of flesh in the material world. The Cathar religion was divided between a majority of Credenti (believers or followers) and a minority of  perfected ones the Perfecti. These Perfects had committed themselves to the celibate and dietary rigors and had passed through a ritual known as consolamentum a type of Cathar baptism. Only perfecti were considered as members of the cathar Church. The Cathar Church in comparison to the corrupt practices of the medieval Catholic Church, was an honest and dedicated movement that rejected the trappings of wealth, lust and power.  There were no church buildings or property.  The Cathar Church did not demand tithes of its members and it educated its children, both male and female.  As such it was a threat to the Catholic Church and after numerous failed attempts to sway Cathar followers away by persuasion Pope Innocent III sponsored a crusade to put down the heretic faith in 1209. The campaign lasted for decades and was led by French noblemen Simon de Montfor an extremely orthodox religious man. Around 1233, the castle of Montségur had become the central seat of Catharism in the Languedoc and home of bishop Guilhabert de Castres, a theologian and bishop. By the time the 10,000 royal troops started the siege in 1243, there were some 200 Perfecti and 100 soldiers present led by Peter-Roger of Mirepoix. The epic siege of Montségur lasted 9 months until the fortress fell in March 1244. In an uncharacteristic act of mercy, Hugh of Arcis made known that all who would renounce their faith would be spared. Any sins of the past would be forgiven and the only condition was that they would make themselves available for an interrogation by the French inquisition. Not one of... ### Château de Vialasse URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/chateau-de-vialasse The ruins of this castle, close to those of the Château-de-Bézu lie on the D14 between Rennes-les-Bains and Bugarach. Its connection to the mystery of Rennes-le-Château comes from Jules verne. In his book Clovis Dardentor, he mentions that what is left of this castle has the shape of a ship with three bridges. It is pointing towards Mount Bugarach. Verne connects it to Captain Bugarach, the man he named after the mountain. If there's anyone out there with a clear picture of the boatshape of these ruins, I'd be very interested to post it here! Many thanks to the members on this forum for their information, the photo and allowing me to post this. ### Château Hautpoul URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/chteau-hautpoul It was in this Château in Rennes-le-Château that Sigebert IV, allegedly sought refuge in 681 after the assassination of his father Dagobert II. Situated of a natural network of faults and waterways in the mountain, it was the home of the seigneurs of Rennes for centuries. The Château was given to their predecessors, the counts of Voisins by the notorious Simon the Montfort during the Albigensian Crusade. It was in this Château, Marie de Nègre d'Ables confessed to Antoine Bigou and died. Rennes-le-Château researcher Ben Hammott managed to get into the Chateau and to talk to its current resident, Mr. Henry Fatin, whose father, Mr. Marius Fatin, honorary commissaire in the merchant navy, bought the Château in 1946. Mr. Fatin has many artefacts in his Château, researchers would do unsaintly things for, like the great map of the Château Ben managed to photograph during his visit. ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved   ### Christ and the Hare URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/christ-and-the-hare Le Christ et le Lièvre / Eglise Saints Celse et Nazaire, Rennes-les-Bains Named after the trompe d'oeuil of an hare in the right knee of Christ. It is said a spider is hidden in the clouds representing the immediate region (à Régnes, an old name for the area or 'araigne', 'spider'). The Lièvre (Hare) is said to represent Louis XIV (who's most important advisor was Thomas le Lièvre, Marquis de la Grange) or Louis XIV in combination with Nicolas Fouquet, who were portrayed as the Turtle and the Hare in the famous fable by De La Fontaine from 1668. Painted (copied) by Abbé Henri Gasq, Curé of Notre Dame de Marceille between 1856 and 1862 after Paulus Pontius' engraving of,  La Lamentation by Van Dijck. Read more here ### Combined Pieta URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/combined-pieta Franck Daffos and Jean-Pierre Garcia of the French Rennes-le-Chateau site www.rennes-le-chateau-archive.com, recently made a remarkable discovery. The two paintings Crucifixion and Christ and the Hare, both by the enigmatic Abbé Henri Gasc of Notre Dame de Marceille are actually one... They fit eachother like two parts of the same clockwork. When the two paintings are combined, a rock or 'dolmen' very clearly appears in the landscape and the clouds form one single sky.   ### Crucifixion I URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/crucifixion Crucifixion / Eglise Saints Celse et Nazaire, Rennes-les-Bains Painted by Abbé Henri Gasc between 1838 and 1872. He actually made two versions of it, one of them he gave to his good friend, the Abbé of Pieusse, where it is still in the church. (reading "don de Gasq à son très cher Cartuffe, curé de Pieusse, année 1866" on the back) ### Crucifixion II URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/crucifixion-ii Crucifixion / Eglise de Pieusse Painted by Abbé Henri Gasq between 1838 and 1872. Donated to the Abbé of Pieusse (near Limoux), where it is still hanging in the church. (reading don de Gasc à son très cher Cartuffe, curé de Pieusse, année 1866 on the back) ### Devil's Armchair URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/devils-armchair Le Fauteuil du Diable Near Rennes-le-Bains, there's a large boulder, carved in the shape of a throne. It has many symbols carved in it but it is uncertain from what date they are, some of them are probably fairly recent. Next to this Devil's Armchair as it is called by the local populace, lies the Source du Cercle or Source of the circle, a small circle-shaped spring. It is said that this is the throne that is missing from the crouched statue of Asmodeus in the Eglise Madeleine in Rennes-le-Château. ### Espéraza Grotto URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/espraza-grotto Jesus in the Tomb with his eyes opened, Eglise St. Michel. Espéraza After Abbé Jean Rivière took the final confession of Bérenger Saunière, he is said never to have smiled again. This story seems exaggerated. Fact is that Rivière made a remarkable modification to his church in Espéraza in the period after Saunière's death. He had a grotto built with a strange statue of Jesus lying down after the crucifixion (still wearing the Crown of Thorns). Jesus is lying in this tomb with his eyes open. What did Rivière want to tell us here?  ### Forteresse de Salses URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/forteresse-de-salses Impressive and well-preserved fortification close to Perillos, built in 1497 by Ferdinand the Catholic of Aragon. After the Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed, it came into French hands and was the home of Vauban. The castle, and the route it protects before that played a strategic role in a large number of wars thought the centuries, ranging from Hannibal to the 30-year war. The kings of Aragon feature in the Perillos mystery these days, but already in the 1960's, French adventurer and writer André Malraux tried to get the building plans, specifically to get information about the subterranean waterways and chambers of the fort. According to a local of Opoul-Perillos, the wood that was used for the fort came from Perillos. The area, never recovered and changed into the wasteland we know today. It is said that this is the place where the underground stream ends that begins beneath Mount Bugarach. ### Gerona URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/gerona In the summer of 2007, Hollywood icon Patrice Chaplin released her book City of Secrets. This book, which is actually an elaboration on her books Happy Hour and Albany Park, she introduced an angle of the Rennes-le-Château mystery that had so far been completely unknown. City of Secrets is a controversial book in the sense that there has been much discussion on internet forums about the authenticity of the story. Gerona is a beautiful medieval town in the North East of Catalan Spain. Romans, Visigoths, Moors, Charlemagne and the Aragons ruled the city at some stage in history, all leaving traces of their presence in the local culture and buildings. In the 12th century Gerona housed a flourishing jewish community with the most important Kaballistic school in Europe. Chaplin's book tackles the life of a certain Maria Tourdes, interwoven with a love story of Patrice and Josep Tarrés, i Fontan, a well-known figure in the Catalan scene. During her relation with Josep, Patrice discovers Josep is the central figure in a shady organization that performs rituals around the Grail. It involves a so called Sun Stone and a colorful group of Grail initiates. Central to the ritual was the alignment of two towers, the first being the Tour Magdala in Rennes-le-Château and the second a Torre Magdala in Gerona. It must be said that there are indeed striking similarities between the two towers and since the Catalan version was built in 1851, it's quite clear which one would be the original. This is also were Bérenger Saunière enters the stage. Patrice tells us that Saunière and Ernest Cros brought a young girl from Quillan to Gerona at the end of the 19th century. Why they did this remains a mystery. This Frenchwoman as she is called lives many years in Gerona in a house called 'Domus Canon' or House of the Canon'. Maria Tourdes. The house is apparently owned by Saunière at some stage. The adjacent tower, the Torre Magdala is replicated by him on his domain in Rennes-le-Château with the exact same dimensions. The tower is no longer there but some photos and old postcards survive to prove that it was once there. Further in the story we learn that Saunière is a regular in Gerona. He is there to decipher or trace clues that Abbé Antoine Bigou left him. Chaplin even goes as far as to claim that Bigou stayed in a house in Bésalu and was buried close by. If that is true it is spectacular information; Bigou's grave is one of the most sought after things in modern... ### Goundill URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/goundill Goundill, within the Cromleck of Rennes-les-Bains. [GALLERY=54] ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved ### l'Hermitage URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/lhermitage l'Hermitage, within the Cromleck of Rennes-les-Bains. During the 1st Empire, a soldier installed himself here and created a picturesque garden for himself. [GALLERY=51] ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="51"] ### La Pique URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/la-pique La Pique, close to the Cromleck of Rennes-les-Bains. [GALLERY=57] ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved ### Laval-Dieu URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/laval-dieu In 1991, Henry Lincoln published his book the Holy Place. Many years of deeper and deeper research had led him to believe that almost everyhting that was presented by anyone as evidence in the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château, was either impossible to prove or part of machinations by groups with specific agendas like Pierre Plantard who wanted to suggest he was a descendent of the Merovingian Bloodline. Tired of documentary and historical research, Lincoln turned to the landscape and noticed that there exists a giant pentagonal geometry in the landscape surrounding the village of Rennes-le-Château. This is described in more detailed in the article on Sacred Geometry. The heart of this pentacle is formed by what Henri Boudet describes on his map as Laval-Dieu or La Val Dieu, the valley of God. [GALLERY=58] ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved ### Le Serbaïrou URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/le-serbairou Col de Serbaïrou, within the Cromleck of Rennes-les-Bains. [GALLERY=56] ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="56"] ### Lyon URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/lyon As reported by many researchers and meticulously documented by Pierre Jarnac, Abbé Saunière was out of town a lot. There are many short and long periods of time that no sermons were held in Rennes-le-Château. To cover for his absence, Saunière left pre-written letters with his housekeeper Marie Dénarnaud. She had to send them to anyone who wrote to the Abbé to so they would think he was in Rennes-le-Château.,  Saunière obviously didn't want people to find out that he was often away from his parish. It was not an uncommon thing for a 19th century priest to be travelling a lot and there could be numerous reasons perfectly acceptable to the diocese and the villagers. That Saunière still went through the pain of preparing a false alibi might be an indication that he used his trips for clandestine activities that wouldn't carry the approval of his bishop. In the last couple of years much information has been uncovered which gives us an indication of where he went. One of the cities Saunière appears to have frequently visited was Lyon. There is quite a bit of evidence of his presence there and what the purpose was. It looks like the priest used to stay in a house in the Rue des Macchabées with the widow Jarau-Mermoutte who owned some small apartments on the hill of Fourvière, St Irenee and Ste Foy-le-Lyon. The address is close to the Church of St. Irenaeus. We know that from some correspondence that was found there, sent to the Abbé Saunière. Among it are bills for the rental of a carriage in May, June and September, 1898, April and July 1899 and the last one for May 1900. Other correspondence includes a letter from J. Zion Opticians and L. Joux, both in Paris, with information, and tarrifs for some, powerful lenses and photographical equipment.,  What Saunière aimed to do with these is uncertain. The third and most intriguing clue is Saunière's presence, at three meetings of the Martinist lodge of Lyon. ### Montazels URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/montazels Montazels is a small village overlooking Espéraza, facing Rennes-le-Château. Saunière's father Joseph Saunière was Mayor of the village and Manager of the Household of the Marquis de Cazemajou, who inhabited a village Château some one hundred meters from his house. The Saunières, who where a quite well-to-do family, inhabited a sizable town house in the village square. Bérenger was born there as well as his 2 brothers and 3 sisters. It is told by the elders of the village that on the balcony of this house, Saunière's brother Alfred showed up naked in a drunken frenzy some nights before his death to urinate on the villagers that had gathered in the square below, attracted by his screaming. In the small local cemetery on a hill just outside the village, there used to be the Saunière family tomb. Unfortunately it was removed when the cemetery was rearranged a couple of decades ago. Saunière's sister Mathilde, who was buried with her husband Oscar Pagés in a family tomb of their own. I have been told that Alfred, who had brought much shame to the family, was buried in an unmarked grave in a field near the village. It's not hard to see where Saunière got the idea for the little tower (échauguette) on the corner of the Tour Magdala. He must have played around and perhaps even inside the Château de Cazemajou many times as it was so close to his home and his father worked there. Although in ruins now, the façade of the building still dominates the face of the village. From the Tour Magdala you have a perfect view on this Château with its small tower and vice-versa. [GALLERY=5] [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="5"] ### Monument des Droits URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/monument-des-droits Monument des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen Masonic Monument celebrating the Declaration of the Rights of Men and of the Citizen 1789, Champs de Mars, Paris. The monument was commissioned by the Mitterand government in 1989, 200 years after the revolution during which Lafayette drafted the document for the National Assembly. The enigmatic monument was designed by Yvan Theimer. The heavy iron door carries an inscription 'Les Bergers d'Arcadie Et In Arcadia Ego', which links it to the mystery. You can read more (in French) about this peculiar monument in this article. ### Mount Cardou URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/pech-cardou Most norderly peak on a line of seven peaks that cross the same meridian. Legend has it that there is a copy of Solomon's Temple inside the mountain with six or twelve entrances. Authors Andrews and Schellenberger believe that the body of Christ, was buried beneath this dominant landmark, clearly visible from Saunière's tower. Click the map to see, the geometry they discovered in the landscape or the area. (copyright Andrews & Schellenberger). A couple of years ago, a tomb was found in a cave, some 200 metres inside Mount Cardou. You can see the pictures here.   ### ND de Marceille Vault URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/nd-de-marceille-vault A surgeon ventured along the river Aude at the beginning of the 20th century, in order to make careful observations. Professor Philippe-Henri Lonet arrived from the Bordeaux region. He came because he devoted his leisure time to the photography of historical subjects and various curiosities. He also tried to uncover the extent of the underground complex in that particular area. Working thoroughly and methodically, he drew up a detailed plan of the entire system. With the assistance of a friend, an architect, he made further discoveries, which supplemented those made earlier by his predecessors. His main focus was on the right bank of the river, where he noticed that older stones had been used in the construction of newer buildings. Furthermore, he felt that stones in the lower walls presented elements of a geometric shape that would date them to the Middle Ages. Fortunately, Lonet took an entire series of photographs, which he treasured. He also found various wells within the area. However, they were all blocked up around 1897, the very year the administrative files of the underground complex of Notre-Dame-de-Marceille disappeared from the civilian administrative records. At the beginning of the 20th century, “Electricité de France” installed a transformer at the bottom of hill of Notre-Dame-de-Marceille. And this is where the story leaves the pages of history and can be verified on site. When Jos Bertaulet was peering over the river Aude, to find out whether or not there was anything important or enigmatic to be seen, the only thing he saw were the remains of the disused building that once housed the transformer. He walked down the Sacred Path and instead of crossing the bridge, made a right hand turn, following the river, in the direction of the building. Once there, the tower greets you, but you make your way past it, along the left-hand side. Today, two metal plates rest on the ground. In 2001, there was still duct tape, left behind by the rescue operation that the police had mounted here to “rescue” Keith Prince – an event, which had happened in 1995. But it was 1990 when Bertaulet made the discovery: that underneath all the grass – no metal plates back then – were two openings. One, he would eventually learn, was a straight drop into an underground cavity – a man-made vault. Although many people believe Keith Prince fell through this opening, thus injuring himself, it is not true. Both Keith and Clive Prince had discovered the... ### Notre Dame de Jérusalem URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/nd-de-jerusalem The Chapelle St. Pierre in Villefranche-sur-Mer was the first in a row of Chapels and Churches Jean Cocteau adorned with his characteristical man size murals. He created stained glas windows for the Church of St. Maximin in Metz, murals for the church of Notre Dame de France in London and the Chapelle Saint-Blaise in Milly-la-Forêt, his last resting place. Little is it known, that when Cocteau died he was working on a final Chapel project. It concerns a chapel he designed from scratch including the remarkable octagonal floorplan: the Chapel of Notre Dame de Jérusalem in La Tour de Mare. Forming an Eight La Tour de Mare (the tower at the sea) is a tiny village near Fréjus at the French Côte d'Azur. It is some 60 km's from Villefranche-sur-Mer, where Cocteau painted his first Chapel as described in an earlier post. The area in which it was built was bought in the early sixties by a very rich and influential banker and freemason from Nice called Jean Martinon. He intended the grounds as an artists colony, an ideal city. He called Jean Cocteau for help who set out to draw up the plans and designs for a Chapel, assisted by architect Jean Triquenot. Cocteau died in 1963, leaving the project unfinished but with all sketches and plans ready. The project was finished by his close friend and artistic heir Edouard Dermit who finished the last parts of the murals and Roger Pelissier who did the ceramics for the floor mosaic. The difference in style between Cocteau and Dermit is quite apparent in the various tableaus inside. In religious symbolism, the octagon or the figure 8 represent resurrection, rebirth and eternal life. Jesus' resurrection took place eight days after his arrival in Jerusalem. Today this symbolism can still be seen in many baptismal fonts in churches all over the world. It is also the shape of the Dome of the Rock, housing the sacred stone that allegedly once supported the Ark of the Covenant. The building is literally crowned with an iron construction in the shape of a crown. The Chapel is a veritable treasure trove of religious and esoteric imagery. Outside there are magnificently bright and colorful mosaics. Pièce de resistance however, without any doubt is the 360 degree panoramic mural on the eight walls and ceiling of the Chapel's inside. It's literally all around you and quite overwhelming when you first see it. It's adorned by a beautiful floor mosaic. You can get a perfect impression of the Chapel by using the panorama viewer below.... ### Notre-Dame de Marceille URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/nd-de-marceille Many of current lines of Rennes-le-Château research end in or at least touch upon the Sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Marceille in Limoux. A look into its history at least confirms that clergy and laymen fought over its control through the ages. In 1991, the late Belgian researcher Jos Bertaulet discovered an underground vault, later documented in the book the Secret Vault by André Douzet and Philip Coppens. Bertaulet explained in his book The lost Kings and the Sources of the Grail Legends how he found the vault by phonetically interpreting bits of the texts in Henri Boudet's La Vraie Langue Celtique et le Cromleck de Rennes-les-Bains. Unfortunately, Bertaulet's book is no longer in print. The author died a couple of years ago and was buried in the cemetery of St. Benoît, at the heart of the mystery he devoted part of his life to. The vault was empty when he discovered it. According to some, whatever was in there was moved to a safer location in the 60s. According to the group around French researcher Franck Daffos and Jean-Pierre Garcia, there is still a spiritual treasure sealed beneath the sanctuary in an extension of the crypt. This chamber was accessible through the Church until Abbé Henri Gasc had it cemented shut in 1859. Dutch researcher Klaas van Urk claims that the Sanctuary once housed the Ark of the Covenant, while his colleague Karl Hammer Kaatee earmarked the church as the former hiding place of the Arma Christi, the instruments of the Passion of Christ. The Sanctuary is situated on a hilltop near Limoux alongside the river Aude, where once stood a Roman garisson. The first written references to the Church date from 1137 and speak of Sanctae Mariae Marcellano. It is however probable that there was already a chapel in its location as early as 1011 when Roger I Count of Carcassonne donated the vineyard of St. Marie to the Abbey of St. Hilaire. The Holy status of the Sanctuary has to do with a famous Black Madonna that is worshipped within its walls. According to a local legend, a farmer found the statue when his plough got stuck. In the 13th century the Priory of Marceille was attached to the Archbishopric of Narbonne. In 1659 François Foucquet, brother of Louis XIV's famous minister of finance, became Bishop of Narbonne. François was a follower of St. Vincent the Paul and changed the Sanctuary into a Lazarist Seminary as one of the first things he did when he had assumed office. He bought the lands around the Church and started to build the... ### Orval, the Valley of Gold URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/orval-the-valley-of-gold The Abbey of Orval, in Belgium's Ardennes Forest, is truly a place of mystery. The name "Orval" means "Valley of Gold". Nostradamus was said to have written a number of his prophecies here. Possibly, there were once no less than two treasures hidden in this wonderful place: the Treasure of the Knights Templar and the War Chest of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. In the book, Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh & Henry Lincoln) we are told that in 1070, 29 years before the First Crusade, some monks from Calabria, southern Italy, arrived in the Ardennes Forest that belonged to Geoffrey of Bouillon. The monks were led by and individual named Ursus, who '“ according to the so-called Priory Documents '“ was consistently associated with the Merovingian bloodline, or in other words: with the descendants of Jesus Christ. The monks were welcomed by Count Arnould of Chiny and by Geoffrey's aunt and foster-mother Mathilde of Tuscany, Duchess of Lorraine. From Mathilde they received the land that is now known as Orval, not far from Stenay, where once King Dagobert II was assassinated. Before these monks settled in Orval, there wasn't any human habitation, although there were some Merovingian tombs discovered near a well. A well-known legend says that the monastery was born out of gratitude. Mathilde, a widow, had lost her golden wedding ring, which had accidentally fallen into the fountain. She prayed to the Lord and suddenly a trout rose out of the water with the precious ring in its mouth. "Truly," Mathilde exclaimed, "this place is a Val d'Or, a Valley of Gold!" You still can visit the well, where she established a monastery. A Merovingian Play Interestingly, the theme of the wedding ring falling into the water also shows up in the play Pelléas and Mélisande (1892) by the Belgian Nobel Prize Winner (1911) Maurice Maeterlinck. His work, characterized by fatalism and mysticism, forms an important part of the Symbolist Movement. The play was first performed in 1893 and several composers made music for it. Claude Debussy's impressionist opera is perhaps the best known adaptation. The Dossiers Secrets mention Debussy was Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, the keepers of the Bloodline Secret according to Holy Blood Holy Grail. Perhaps coincidentally, it was under his 'reign' that the parish priest of Rennes-le-Château, Bérénger Saunière, found some parchments in his church. According to Gérard de Sède in his book the Accursed... ### Pech d'en Couty URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/pech-den-couty In July 2011, a group of longtime French researchers fell out with eachother and in the slipstream published their research from recent years including what they thought was the location of the treasure of the Visigoths and the source of Saunière's wealth. The whole scandal resulted in the biggest French media treasure hype of the last 50 years. The whole theory built on Franck Daffos' theory that Saunière created a cartoon-version of the treasure-map Henri Boudet coded into his incomprehensible book The True Celtic Language and the Cromleck of Rennes-les-Bains. In short: the Romans sacked Jerusalem, taking with them the treasures of the Temple including the Ark of the Covenant and the Menorah. The Visigoths subsequently sacked Rome and took those treasures with them to their Kingdom in the south of France where they hid the treasure near their capital, now known as Rennes-le-Château. In 1645, a sheep dropped in a hole on the lands of Lord Blaise d'Hautpoul. When its shepherd tried to retrieve the animal he discovered it had landed on top of a treasure. The shepherd loaded his pockets full of gold and reported the incident to d'Hautpoul. Part of the treasure was taken to the sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Marceille, part ended up in the pockets and palaces of illustruous French historic figures like the Jansenist Bishop of Alet Nicolas Pavillon, Nicolas Fouquet, Colbert and King Louis XIV himself. The spiritual treasure was left in what is called 'le cache', its original finding place. The spiritual treasure is whispered to be what is left of the Ark of the Covenant: the two stone tablets, Moses brought with him from mount Sinai, inscribed by God himself with the ten commandments. The historical context is further described in this article. Your webmaster interviewed Franck Daffos in April 2008 on video, during which Daffos elaborates on his theory in a lot of detail. Watch that interview here. The researchers Franck Daffos, Pierre Jarnac and Didier Hericart de Thury put the location of the treasure on a hilltop called Pech d'en Couty in the vicinity of Rennes-les-Bains. According to them, the location was hidden by ways of various clues by various people. David Teniers the Younger The Flemish painter David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690) hid a clue in his work Tentation of Saint Anthony. The researchers arrive at this painting from the phrase that is coded in the Grand Parchment Abbé Saunière allegedly found in his church: BERGERE PAS DE TENTATION QUE... ### Perillos URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/perillos In 1995, French researcher André Douzet discovered a topographical model of the Holy Places from the beginning of the 20th century. In an envelope, taped to the bottom of the model he found a number of letters and specifications, allegedly written by Bérenger Saunière to the model maker. In one letter Saunière talks about the specifications for the model. In a second letter that was recently published he talks about a second copy of the model intended for another priest in an unknown location. Original French text of the letter En ce qui concerne la construction du moulage commandé je vous fais fournir les details de ma dernière modification sur la feuille jointe. Elle concerne uniquement des textes en mésures et dimensions des tombes. Le reste du travail me convient tout à fait. Ces modifications une fois terminées et .....à bonne fin, je vous demande de m'en tenir informé enfin d'acquitter vos honoraires. En attendant, cher monsieur veuillez agréer l'assurance de mes meilleurs sentiments.B. Saunière English translation of the textAs far as the construction of the mould that I ordered is concerned, I am giving you the details of my last modification on the attached sheet. It only concerns texts and measures and dimensions of the tombs. The rest of the work is completely to my liking. Once these modifications are finished and...correctly, I ask you to inform me so I can pay your fees. Awaiting your reply and with best regards, B. Saunière The Model illustrates the primary sites associated with the biblical Passion of Christ in Jerusalem, including the location of two notable tombs; that of Jesus Christ and his uncle, Joseph of Armathea. The model is a clay pre-production copy, intended to be made in brass. The correspondence suggests that the end product was never finished. Saunière died before it could be produced. Douzet suspected Saunière had wanted to leave a last clue. The topography didn't match the sites in the Holy Land the model said to depict. For years he fruitlessly tried to place the model in the Rennes-le-Château region. It was only when he wanted to make a copy of the model for exposition at the Villa Bethania that he recognised a feature on the negative plastic mould: the Roc Redon, near the ruined village of Perillos. The village of Perillos was once occupied by the Lords of Perillos, who counted among them the illustrous Ramon de Perillos, Grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta. Perillos was part of the... ### Pla de la Coste URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/pla-de-la-coste ### Pope of Rennes-les-Bains URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/pape-de-rennes-les-bains According to Jean-Pierre Deloux and Jacques Brétigny, in their book Rennes-le-Château, capitale secrète de l'histoire de France, this drawing once decorated the church in Rennes-les-Bains. It shows a pope, copied from a well-known deck of Tarot Cards. Behind him is the church of Rennes-les-Bains, seen from the cemetery, with the rock of Cap de l'Homme in the distance. The features are unmistakable. The cross, the barred window and the rock can easily be recognised.   The painting was probably based on the 'Pope' card from a well-known Tarot deck. The Tarot deck in question, which was based on the Marseille series, was published in 1899 by Swiss artist and occultist Oswald Wirth.    picture copyright Jean-Pierre Deloux ### Raynaude URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/raynaude In the 1890s, in, the nondescript Village of Raynaude, Father Antoine Rousse faced a serious problem. In fact, for a Catholic priest, it was a matter of some urgency. His church and presbytery were in such a state of disrepair that he could not conduct mass. As a result, the catholic children of the village were forced to attend a nearby Protestant school. This enraged the young priest, who set out on a quest to renovate and rebuild the entire complex. The ancient church of Notre Dame de Raynaude dates from the 12th century. Restoration on it and the surrounding monistic structures began in 1862, but the work was quickly derailed when funds were unexpectedly depleted. But then, as legend would have us believe, the dejected priest was the recipient of some amazing good fortune. In 1892, less than a year after Bérenger Saunière wrote 'Discovered a tomb. At night it rained' in his diary in Rennes-le-Château, the famed American oil tycoon, industrialist and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller visited the region. Or so the story goes. As incredible as it sounds, Rockefeller had evidently learned of the plight of, Abbé Rousse and his failed restoration and was sympathetic to the priest's cause. A significant donation was provided post haste and the restorations were quickly underway. The work was completed by 1895 and commemorated in an inaugural celebration presided over by one, Monseigneur Rougerie. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph and Sainte Anne; inspired by the 1858 apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes. With the restoration now complete, the church had essentially been repositioned lower in the landscape than its ancient predecessor. However the hill behind the church would not stay empty for long. If we turn the clock ahead 50 years, Father Louis de Coma's Carol estate was about to be dynamited by authority of the Bishop. With forewarning of this event, local clergy managed to save Father Louis de Coma's beloved Stations of the Cross and relocate them to Notre Dame de Raynaude, on the hill immediately behind the modern day church. The Stations of the Cross, which remain in situ today, are sensational. Each is housed in a protective chapel. [GALLERY=12] ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved, pictures and original article copyright by Andrew Gough, reproduced here with kind permission [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="12"] ### Roches Tremblantes URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/roches-tremblantes Les Roches Tremblantes (Trembling Rocks), sometimes called Dancing Rocks are a prominent landmark around Rennes-les-Bains. Actually, they were until two of them were destroyed by a lunatic vandal. For centuries these stones stood swinging in the wind. Abbé Henri Boudet's brother Edmond drew a picture of them for his enigmatic book La Vraie Langue Celtique et le Cromleck de Rennes-les Bains (the True Celtic Language and the Cromleck of Rennes-les- Bains). It is with sadness in my heart that I learnt of the destruction of this historic landmark on the Pla de la Coste in Rennes-les-Bains. This reeks like yet another mindless crime in the name of treasure hunting. Needless to say, nothing was found beneath the rock but stone and sand. There is no greater treasure in Rennes-les-Bains than its historical heritage. We need to cherish and protect it for our children and future generations. Les Roches Tremblantes in 2006 Les Roches Tremblantes in February 2008 Les Roches Tremblantes in February 2008 [GALLERY=59] [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="59"] ### Roco Negro URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/roco-negro Black rock outcropping along the road to Rennes-les-Bains coming from Coustaussa. The ancient silver and copper mines in this mountain top, opposite Blanchefort is dubbed 'le Roc Noir' (Black Rock). The location allegedly held the treasure chambers of the Visigoth Kings. Pierre Plantard claimed the secrets of the Priory of Sion were hidden here in a Celtic Sanctuary called The Round Temple of the Rocher Noir (Black Rock). Plantard bought 8 plots of land here in the 50s and 60s that were passed on to his son Thomas after his death. ### Saint Sulpice URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/st-sulpice The Paris church of Saint Sulpice has played a role in the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château ever since Gérard de Sède made mention of it in his book, l'Or de Rennes also called Le Trésor Maudit, in 1967. We now know he was prompted by Pierre Plantard. Les Dossiers Secrets, deposited in the French National Library between 1964 and 1967 also make mention of St. Sulpice several times. The direct connection with Saunière is that according to De Sède, Saunière visited the Seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris to have the parchments he allegedly discovered in his church deciphered. Its claimed that Bishop Billard sent him there and covered his expenses. At St. Sulpice, it is said, Saunière, through intervention of Director Victor Bieil met Emile Hoffet (his cousin) who indeed deciphered the texts for him. Although this story is highly controversial and not substantiated by any evidence, the name of St. Sulpice comes back in many of the lines of research around the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château. There were strong ties between St. Sulpice, the Compagnie de Saint Sacarament, the Fouquet brothers and Notre Dame de Marceille. Some of Saunière's best friends like Abbé Eugène Grassaud studied there. Also Louis de Coma studied at St. Sulpice. It features prominently in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. The Great Seminary of Saint Sulpice was founded by Jean-Jacques Olier, a pupil of Saint Vincent de Paul. He lived an exemplary Christian life. Like De Paul, Olier was a member of the legendary Compagnie du Saint Sacrament. Olier did a staggering amount of good works during his life. Central to his ideas was that the Christian Perfection was not only achievable for the clergy but for everybody who is prepared to lead a devout life in piety. Olier was a great organizer. He took his self proclaimed vocation of reviving religious life in France very serious and lived in poverty for many years devoting all the money that came in to making St. Sulpice into the leading national religious institution. One thing for sure is that St. Sulpice is not your average church. The second largest church in Paris after the slightly larger, Notre-Dame, it is dedicated to Saint Sulpitious, the Pious., It's a testament to the works of Olier and De Paul and an impressive signature for the seminary. The current, huge building was erected over a much smaller and older church. It was finished in its current state in 1733 with exception of the façade. The old church itself was built on the... ### Salza URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/salza Salza is a tiny village, some 35 kilometres from Rennes-le-Château. It litterally lies at the end of a narrow mountain road. There are perhaps 10 houses and a small church. The interesting thing about the church is that it has an upside-down wooden pentacle over the front porch. Inside the church looks just like many of the other old chapels in the area. It makes one wonder what the people who built this church wanted to say. Is it perhaps a reference to any sacred geometry in the surrounding landscape or is there another perhaps more mundane meaning? If anyone has an idea, I'd be very interested to hear it so don't hesitate to post your comments. Location of Salza [google-maps width=600 height=300] ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved ### Saunière's travels URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/saunieres-travels Recently, Laurent Buchholtzer, better known by his pseudonym of Octonovo published a list of known travels by Abbé Saunière. All these trips have been documented beyond any doubt in his own letters and account books. The list is not complete, as Laurent states himself, but it gives a good idea of how mobile Saunière was and where he went. It is interesting to see that he travelled to Lourdes three times towards the end of his life, when he was in the middle of a court case with the Bishop of Carcassonne and eventually the Vatican. It appears to demonstrate that after all, Saunière was a devout man, looking for help in higher places to get out of the mess he got himself into by refusing to disclose the source of his funds.   Date Destination November 1896 Toulouse May 1897 Carcassonne September 1897 Spiritual retreat January 1898 Floure April 1898 Castres May 1898 Trip to an undisclosed destination September 1898 Carcassonne for retreat January 1899 Limoux March 1899 Carcassonne July 1899 Forest of Ganges April 1900 Carcassonne August 1900 Two trips to undisclosed locations October 1900 Two trips to Carcassonne, 1 for retreat January 1901 Limoux January 1901 Carcassonne May 1901 Villefort and St. Georges February 1892 Narbonne March 1902 Villefort (with Marie Dénarnaud) April 1902 Narbonne August 1892 Névian December 1902 Villefort (with Marie Dénarnaud) January 1903 Trip to an undisclosed destination February 1903 Narbonne February 1904 Two trips to Carcassonne, 1 to Mr Rieu February 1904 Three trips with undisclosed destination April 1904 Spiritual retreat June 1904 Carcassonne and Castres October 1904 Arles-sur-Tech November 1904 Limoux March/April 1905 Castres September 1906 Spiritual retreat March 1906 Limoux May/June 1906 Alzonne and Narbonne September/October 1906 Carcassonne and two trips to Narbonne January 1907 Villefort January 1907 Floure February 1907 Bages-les-Flots February 1907 Two trips to Limoux April 1907 Bages-les-Flots July 1907 Carcassonne July 1907 Mérial Jul 1907 Two trips to Carcassonne February 1908 Limoux May 1908 Carcassonne April 1910 Labège April 1911 Spirtual retreat in Prouilhe after condemnation June1911 St-Paul-de-Fenouillet August 1911 Lourdes August 1912 Notre-Dame-de-Marceille October 1912 Limoux August 1913 Lourdes July 1914 Carcassonne October 1915 Lourdes ©2007-2008 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved. List taken from the book Rennes-le-Château, une Affaire Paradoxale by Laurent Buchholtzer, published... ### Shepherds Monument URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/shepherds-monument Engraving in the Marble Bass Relief of the 'Shepherds Monument' at Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire, England The monument was commissioned in 1748 by Admiral George 1st Baron Anson. The engraving, is in fact, an inverted copy of Nicolas Poussin's Les Bergers d'Arcadie, with an additional tomb depicted. The work was executed by Flemish sculptor Peter Scheemaker, well-known from his sculpture of William Shakespeare in Westminster Abbey (1740). He worked off a printed version of the painting by Bernard Picart The monument around the relief was designed by 18th century Astronomer and architect Thomas Wright. Wright had been asked by Anson to make various changes to the house when he moved in in 1748. He was a wellknown freemason whose home in Durham contained a ciphered version of his motto. At the bottom of the Shugborough monument a code is visible:   D   OUOSVAVV   M According to this book by Stuart Nettleton it is based on a Genesis 50:25 which deals with the death of Joseph in Egypt. For reasons explained in his book the middle sequence needs to be inversed: D.V.V.A.V.S.O.U.O.M which stands for Deus Visitabit Vos Asportate Vobiscum Sancta Ossa Upilio Occulto Maneo or God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry away the shepherd's holy bones to remain concealed. A more mundane explanantion is given by Margaret Countess of Lichfield, the current occupant of Shugborough Hall. She recounts a saying "out of your own sweet vail Alicia vanish vanity twixt Deity and man thou Sheperdess the way" Location of Shugborough Hall [wpgmza id="13"] ### St. Jean-d'Alcas URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/st-jean-dalcas Hidden in the French Larzac region, close to Millau, lies the fortified village of St Jean d'Alcas. Unlike many of the other fortified towns in the Larzac region it was never a Templar or Hospitalier site. The village belonged to the Cistercian Abbey of Nonenque. The relevance to the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château is that the village church houses a set of Stations of the Cross that are as good as identical to the ones Saunière had installed in his church by Giscard of Toulouse. This is relevant since it means that the Stations of the Cross of Rennes-le-Château where not made to Saunière's detailed specifications but chosen from a catalogue. Any hidden clues to any treasure could therefore only be in the decoration by the painter. The St-Jean d'Alcas set appears to have been slightly modified to fit the wooden frame, where the Rennes-le-Château ones are fixed in plaster. The set and the similarities with the Rennes-le-Château stations were discovered in January 2007 by French researcher André Goudonnet who reported it on the forum of Rennes-le-Château-Archive.com. [GALLERY=47] ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved, photos of St-Jean d'Alcas copyright by Xplorer [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="47"] ### Templar Shaft URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/templar-shaft Early 2000, Dutch bestselling author and researcher Klaas van Urk discovered a narrow shaft hidden high on Mount Cardou. He had been led to the location using, the Rennes-le-Château, parchments, the Coumesourde stone and the enigmatic text of La Serpent Rouge. Some 15 metres down in the shaft, that is located on a difficult location high on Mount Cardou, he discovered an engraved Templar emblem, an eight-pointed star. Van Urk (1958) has so far been known to the public only in the Netherlands and Belgium as well as in a small but exquisite, predominantly French circle of long time researchers. His book Search for the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant was a bestseller in the Netherlands. In his 10-year quest for the Ark of the Covenant he followed the trail of its whereabouts across Israel, Ethiopia and the South of France. Like no other, he knitted all the known and lesser known facts together in a compelling and believable account of what really happened to the Ark and its contents. In February 2008, a combined team of Belgian and Dutch researchers returned to Mount Cardou to, let an infrared camera down the shaft on a 100 metres long rope. Objective was to see how deep the shaft is and where it ends. You can now see the Templar engraving for yourself. [MEDIA=40] The discovery of the shaft and the rest of Klaas' adventures in search of the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail were discussed in English in the interview he gave to Radio Rennessence in July 2007 and in his (Dutch) book Search of the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant. Klaas is preparing a much awaited English translation of his book and is preparing a second one. ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved ### The Alcor Stone URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/the-alcor-stone In 1978, Henri Boudet's enigmatic (some say non-sensical) book The True Celtic Language and the Cromleck of Rennes-les-Bains was re-issued, including a preface by Pierre Plantard. Today Plantard's role in the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château is controversial to say the least. It appears to be widely accepted now that Plantard at least lied a delicate local mystery out of its local proportions into a global phenomenon, subsequently magnified and blurred even more by the conclusions of the Holy Blood, Holy Grail authors. Plantard appears to have abused the Mystery to lay a false claim to royal descendency from the Merovingian Dynasty. Lincoln, Baigent and Leigh, the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail added the sacred element of even Godly descendency from Jesus and Mary-Magdalene. It only took a Dan Brown to blast the theory to intergalactic levels when he turned what is in fact a lie wrapped in a hypothesis into a fantastic page turner of a book: The Da Vinci Code. Case clear and closed you would say. But not quite. There are strong indications that Plantard got documents from an unknown source that he used in a serious attempt to unravel the mysteries surrounding Saunière's life and his wealth. In the preface he wrote for Boudet's book in 1978, Plantard mentioned a stone (dolmen) bearing the inscription ALCOR from "Ad Lapidem Currebat Olim Regina" or "Towards the stone the Queen ran formerly". Plantard placed the stone on the hill of Serbairou where it marked the passing of the Rose Line, the Meridien of Saint Sulpice. Plantard knew the stone existed but never found it, despite countless hikes on and around the Serbairou and in fact around the entire Cromleck. One year later, French journalist Jean-Luc Chaumeil published a photo of a stone with the mentioned inscription in his book Les Trésors du Triangle d'Or. He called it the "pierre curieuse" or "curious stone". Chaumeil claims he obtained the photo from Philippe de Cherisey, a Belgian Marquis and actor with a peculiar sense of humor. A good friend of Plantard. Part of Chaumeil's book is an interview with the Cherisey who claimed, like Plantard, that the Rose Line crossed the Poussin Tomb at les Pontils near Arques and a stone with the inscription ALCOR on the hill of Serbairou. When Chaumeil asked if the stone indicated the location of the treasure of the Visigoths that Henri Boudet knew all about the Marquis replied: "Alcor is the 7th star of Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) but also A (à) LC (roman... ### Tomb at Les Pontils URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/pontils-tomb Tombeau des Pontils This tomb, once situated close to Arques at a location called 'Les Pontils', bares a striking resemblance to the tomb in the second version of Nicolas Poussin's les Bergers d'Arcadie. The tomb is no longer there today. It was destroyed by its owner Mr Roussett on 9 April 1988, with the agreement of the Peyrolles Municipal Council. Rousset was sick and tired with the trespassing on his property by unwelcome treasure seekers. It appears impossible that this is indeed the Tomb displayed by Poussin on his masterpiece of the 1640's. The Tomb was built during Saunière's life in 1903 by a mason from Rennes-les-Bains by name of M. Bourrel for Mr Galibert, the grandson of American industrialist Louis Galibert, who had settled on the plot of land 20 years earlier. Several people were buried below it until their remains where moved to the cemetery of Limoux in 1921. The piece of land was then acquired by another American, Louis Lawrence who allegedly buried his mother, grandmother and 2 cats in the tomb (all mummified (!)). Interestingly it was the father of Déodat Roché who, in his function as a notary, secured that the land was assigned as a burial plot. Roché was perhaps the best known Cathar of the 19th and 20th century. The location sits exactly on top of the old Roseline or Meridien of Paris and the backdrop has indeed a startling resemblance to to the Poussin painting. It is rumoured that the Tomb was made as a copy of a tomb that stood there much earlier, but was destroyed by Colbert who was looking for old mine entrances in the region. Researchers have not been able to find any evidence for that claim so far. What is know from the Sabarthèse Dictionary that until the French Revolution, the plot of land on which the tomb once stood was owned by the Ducs of Joyeuse and that the site had a function as a cemetery. It is claimed this site was the, original location of the Arcadia stone. Location of the Tomb at Les Pontils [wpgmza id="14"] ### Tomb Nicolas Poussin URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/tomb-nicolas-poussin Tomb of Nicolas Poussin, Basilica Lorenzo in Lucina, Rome Nicolas Poussin died in Rome in 1665 and was buried in the Basilica San Lorenzo in Lucina. Vicomte de François-Auguste-René Châteaubriand (1768-1848), French Ambassador in Rome, raised a monument to Poussin above the artist's mausoleum in 1820. It carries a dedication and a bas-relief displaying his most famous painting the Shepherds of Arcadia. Below the plaque there's an inscription that might well answer our question of whether Poussin preserved esoteric clues in his work. It states: 'PARCE PIIS LACRIMIS VIVIT PUSSINUS IN URNA VIVERE QUI DEDERAT NESCIUS IPSE MORI HIC TAMEN IPSE SILET SI VIS AUDIRE LOQUENTEM MIRUM EST TABULIS VIVIT ET ELOQUITUR'. This curious expression speaks about how Poussin has given his life without really dying. He is silent now but if you're prepared to listen you can hear him speaking through his paintings. Châteaubriand's dedication reads: 'F-R de Châteaubriand to Nicolas Poussin, for theglory of the Arts and the honour of France' The bas-relief displaying Les Bergers d'Arcadie was executed by LéonVaudoyer(1803-1872). The bust of Poussin, above it, is signed 'P. Lemoyne'. Châteabriand must have had a special connotation with the painting and it's catchphrase, he had an engraving of it made in the wall of his castle in France. ### Tomb of Henri Boudet URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/boudet-tomb Tombstone of Jean Jacques Henri Boudet (Axat, Aude) Henri Boudet is buried in the cemetery of the town of Axat. The top of his tombstone reads "F A M I L L E S A P R E L L A B A T B O U D E T", indicating the tomb is a family grave containing multiple persons, although only Henri and his brother Edmond are mentioned by name in the inscriptions. The Notary Edmond Boudet was buried in this tomb in 1906, 9 years before Henri's death. On the lower right hand portion of the tombstone is a raised, rectangular shaped slab, elevated from the base of the horizontal tombstone by 3 cm. The raised masonry is approximately 11 cm wide and 9 cm long and carries the inscription I.X.O.I.S. At first glance the expression 'IXOIS' seems to defy language, combining Greek, Latin and English characters to form a nonsensical string of letters. When viewed upside down, the inscription turns into 3.I.0.X.I, perhaps being a reference to Boudet's puzzling 1886 book; La vraie langue celtique et le cromleck de Rennes-les-Bains. The '310' portion of the upside down view matches the number of pages in Boudet's book: 310. The 'XI' portion is thought to reference Chapter 11 of Boudet's book, which many believe to contain a treasure map. Collectively, these observations have led researchers to conclude that the little stone book conceals a secret. In actual fact, it concerns a representation of the word ICHTUS meaning Fish and representing Jesus. The individual letters of the expression hold the following meaning: I - for Jesus in Greek CH - for Christ in Greek TH - for God in Greek U - for son in Greek S - for savior in Greek The Cathedrale de Notre Dame des Pommiers et St. Thyrse of Sisteron (Provence) contains the exact same word I.X.O.I.Σ. written, below a fish, proving it was not an uncommon way to refer to Christ. Andrew Gough elaborates on this theory in his article here. Location of Boudet's Tomb in Axat [google-maps width=600 height=300] Photos (c)2007 Andrew Gough ### Where? URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/explore/locations-overview The locations associated with the mystery of Rennes-le-Château can be found in the French Languedoc-Roussillon area. Roughly the area is marked by the city of Carcassonne in the North, the Pyrenees in the South and Perpignan on the Eastern perimeter. The two main areas of focus in the mystery are the region around Rennes-le-Château and Rennes-les-Bains (RED rectangle) and the Perillos region (BLUE rectangle). The most important place is Rennes-le-Château itself. Here you'll find the Estate of Father Saunière, the church of St. Mary Magdalene that he renovated and refurbished as well as the Château Hautpoul, once home to the important Hautpoul-Blanchefort family that appear to be at the root of the mystery. The Château de Blanchefort and the Château de Bézu, both play a role in local legends involving the Knights Templar. Montazels is the birthplace of Father Saunière. Rennes-les-Bains is the place where Father Boudet wrote his enigmatic work The True Celtic Language and the Stone Circle of Rennes-les-Bains in which he allegedly hid 12 hiding places of treasure. It is also the village where you'll find Mount Cardou, the Devil's Armchair, the Source of the Circle, the Source of the Madeleine and the enigmatic tombs of Father Jean Vié and Paul-Urbain de Fleury. In Coustaussa you'll find the ruined Château de Coustaussa and the church and presbytery once inhabited by Father Gélis who's violent murder was never solved and might have a relation to the mystery. Mount Bugarach is the most prominent landmark in the area, steeped in mystery and legend. Location of Rennes-le-Château on Google Maps [wpgmza id="4"] ## Art The painters, writers, and artworks connected to the mystery. ### 1914 Giscard Catalogue URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/1914-giscard-catalogue In the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château, a special place is reserved for a firm called Giscard from Toulouse. Four generations of Giscards specialized in the manufacturing of religious ornaments. Giscard delivered almost all of the ornaments during Saunière's restoration of the Church of St. Mary-Magdalene in Rennes-le-Château. In 2005, Giscard handed its archives over to the city of Toulouse. As a result we can now have a look at what their collections looked like. At the same time it takes away part of the mystery. Many of the alleged anomalies in Saunière's refurbishments of the church appear to be statues and ornaments straight out of a catalogue. Now, the game has begun to discover what Saunière's additions to the original design really were and what they could signify. From 11,000 feet it appears that only the statue of the crouched devil and the large fresco were made specifically to order, where the latter was a sculpted copy of a picture in a well-known book of the time. The catalogue can be downloaded (50 mb) by clicking this link. This catalogue has become available through the tireless work of Jean-Pierre Garcia, my valued colleague-webmaster of www.rennes-le-chateau-archive.com. The catalogue was copied with permission from the private collections of Franck Daffos and Didier Héricart de Thury. ### Anthony and Paul URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/st-anthony-and-st-paul Saint Anthony and Saint Paul in the Desert / Shugborough Hall, copy after the original by David Teniers de Younger Previously wrongly titled by the Courtauld institute as 'Elijah and Elisha being fed by the Raven',  This painting was assumed by Henry Lincoln to be the David Teniers painting Bérenger Saunière bought a copy of in Paris around 1891. (Key to the Sacred Pattern pages 79 - 82) ### Celestine V URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/celestine-v Allegory of the Coronation of Celestine V / Musée du Louvre, Paris, France The painter is unknown but is has been dated 16th century. It is thought this is the painting of Celestine V that is referred to in Les Dossiers Secrets and in Gérard de Sède's book The Accursed Treasure of Rennes-le-Château as the one allegedly bought by Saunière from the Louvre in Paris around 1891. Research by Christian Attard has made it apparent that this is an impossibility. The painting wasn't recognized and subsequently classified as being of Celestine V by the Louvre until 1923. No copy of a painting of Celestine V was ever found amongst Saunière's posessions or those of his relatives and friends. Behind this dowload link is a super high-res image (20mb) of this painting for your research. kindly donated by Karl Hammer-Kaatee. ### Death of Poussin URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/death-of-poussin Study by François-Marius Granet of his painting La Mort de Poussin (The Death of Poussin). Unfortunately, the original, bought by Demidoff, was destroyed in 1945 when his Villa was bombarded. He had bought it to put on display at the Salon of 1834. (the Salon being the state sponsored Parisian exhibitions of painting and sculpture held during the July Monarchy and Second Republic (1831'“1851). The painting depicts the death of French painter Nicolas Poussin in the presence of Cardinal Massimo. At the left, over the head of the dying painter you can see Poussin's most famous work: the second version of The Shepherd's of Arcadia. From the same painting, an etching was made by Félix Braquemond. Many thanks to Belgian researcher Kurt Impens for sharing this with me. ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved Photo copyright by Bernard Terlay of the Granet Museum, special thanks to Frédéric Premartin for sharing it. ### Du Nom de Narbonne URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/du-nom-de-narbonne 'On the name of Narbonne and examples of how to interpret Gaul words through the Saxon origins of English'. 19 handwritten pages, written by Abbé Henri Boudet. It is uncertain when he wrote this manuscript, which appears to be a step towards his better known work 'La Vraie Langue Celtique et le Cromleck de Rennes-les-Bains'. ©2007-2012 renneslechateau.nl, all rights reserved, photo's shown here with kind permission of Société Perillos [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="49"] ### Et In Arcadia Ego URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/guercino Et in Arcadia Ego / Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome, Italy Painted by Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) between 1618 and 162. ### François-Marius Granet URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/francois-marius-granet François-Marius Granet (1777-1849) This French painter was well-known for his works in which he played with light in a magnificent way. Everything in his works is sacrificed to the tone. During his life he worked various periods in Rome and Paris. In 1819, Granet was decorated by the French King Louis-Philippe as a Knight in the Order of Saint Michel. At the same time he was nominated conservator of the Versailles art collection. Granet developed a deep interest into the history of Knight's Templar. He painted a number of scenes about the great moments in the history of the order. In 1834 he painted what is thought to be one of his principal works: The Death of Poussin. [GALLERY=46] [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="46"] ### Ghent Altar Piece URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/ghent-altar-piece Around 1420, a rich Belgian merchant by name of Joost Vijd commisioned an altar piece displaying the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. The order was given to Flemish master Hubert van Eyck. After his death in 1426, the painting was finished by his famous brother Jan van Eyck. For a good description of the panel have a look at it's wikipedia entry or here. The relevance of this renowned work of art to the mystery of Rennes-le-Château, was introduced by Dutch author Karl Hammer-Kaatee when he published his book Satan's Song in 2006. According to Hammer, he had merely written up the life story of a certain Tom R., a retired Dutch secret service agent who had been involved in the allied recuperation of stolen art from the nazis after World War II. Tom allegedly came to Hammer in 1990, after anonimously living in Paris for 30 years, while everybody thought he had died in a sailing accident on the Mediterrenean in 1948. One of the pivotal topics in his book is the theft of the "Just Judges". In April 1934, two panels of the Ghent Altar Piece where stolen from St. Bavo Cathedral in Ghent where is was on display in the Chapel of Joost Vijd, its alleged commissioner. It concerned the panel of John the Baptist and the one displaying the Just Judges. The two panels had been attached to eachother back-to-back until they were separated with a saw for an exhibition in Berlin in 1894. After the diocese had received some letters demanding a ransom, the panel with St. John the Baptist was returned a month after it had been stolen. The panel of the Just Judges has been missing ever since, even though an army of professional and amateur researchers have tried to locate it. To this day, the theft of the Just Judges and the motive for it form one of the biggest art mysteries in Europe. The story of Satan's Song, starts at the beginning of World War II. Research by Hammer and others demonstrates that even before the Belgian capitulation of 28th June 1940, a German lieutenant by name of Henry Koehn starts an investigation into the whereabouts of the Ghent Altar piece. He has been given an assignment from an unknown source very high up the nazi chain of command to investigate the whereabouts of the 'gerechten Richtern' (Just Judges). By that time, the remaining panels have been transferred to unoccupied Pau in southern France by the Belgian clergy. The Germans eventually find the Altar Piece there in August 1942, cease it and transport it to the castle of Neuschwannstein in... ### Jean Cocteau URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/jean-cocteau Uomo Universalis France mourned when Jean Cocteau died on 11 October 1963. In one blow, the country lost a great and internationally acclaimed poet, novelist, dramatist, designer and film maker. His fame began in his twenties and lasted until today. Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963)   Cocteau was a truely universal artist, who seemlessly combined forms of art during an enormously productive life. The great volume of works we can see today are of a consistent quality and coherence. It is no secret that Cocteau was more than moderately interested in things of an esoteric nature. It has often been suggested that there is more to see than you can see in some of his work. Others have gone even further. Pierre Plantard, in his 'Dossiers Secrets' claimed Cocteau was a Grandmaster of the Priory of Sion, and thus protector of the ancient Merovingian Bloodline. The bubble of the 'Dossiers Secrets' was burst in recent years but not the attention for the more enigmatice angle of Jean Cocteau's work. Fingers Crossed There was a bizar incident surrounding his death that linked the master straight to the mystery of Rennes-le-Château. It was described in 'Les Carnets Secrets' in April 2006 by French researcher Jean-Luc Pergault. It involved Rennes-le-Château researcher Jean Brunelin. Brunelin, who was a photo journalist at the time. Soon after the artist's death a long line of friends, celebrities and reporters came to his house in Milly-la-Fôret, where they were allowed in the room where Cocteau was laid in state. Brunelin made his photos and left. Several years later, when he had become interested in the mystery of Rennes-le-Château, he noticed the similarity between the strangely crossed hands of Cocteau lying in his coffin and the similarly crossed hands of Mary Magdalene on the bas relief of Saunière's altar. He was then stupified to find out that on earlier photos of the deceased, made by his colleague photographers, Cocteau's hands had been folded in the normal usual fashion. It meant that some time after his death, someone had re-arranged the hands on the dead body into this position. This cannot have been achieved without substantial force or even dislodging or breaking the fingers. Why did someone go through the pain of violating a dead man's body. It was obviously of great importance for someone to make sure Jean Cocteau would enter his grave with his hands in this position: the crossed hands of an initiate. At the... ### Jules Verne URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/jules-verne Jules Verne (1828-1905) In his books, the world famous writer of 20.000 leagues under the sea, appears to make references to Rennes-le-Château, it's mystery and the general area around the village, specifcally Mount Bugarach. Clovis Dardentor for example has 'Clovis' in its title, the first Merovingian King. It is a treasure hunt story. A key figure in the novel is a certain Captain Bugarach who talks about the ruins of his castle in Vialasse. Apparently they have the shape of a ship with three bridges. The ruins of the Château de Vialasse, near Rennes-le-Château that really exist, point towards mount Bugarach. At some stage, in the book a castle features with the name of 'Blanca' (Blanchefort?). Another prominent place in the book is a place called 'Bains des Reine', the old name for Rennes-les-Bains. Verne specifies that the water of the spring there is salty and smells like sulphur, something visitors of Rennes-les-Bains will recognize. In Les mirifiques aventures de Maitre Antifer, the hero of the story searches for a legendary treasure but he is unable to locate it. There are references to Asmodeus, the devil displayed in the Eglise Madeleine and to the iron mines around Mount Bugarach. Verne's book Magellania is perhaps connected to the journeys and disappearance of Johann Salvator of Habsburg, who visited Saunière just before he left on his last known voyage. A very informative book about Jules Verne, his references to the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château was written by Michel Lamy (in French): Jules Verne, Initié and Initiateur. Jules Verne was buried in the Cemetery de Madeleine in Amiens. The tomb of the author, which is considered to be a masonic piece of art, echoes the atmosphere of his works. It displays one of his heroes or perhaps Verne himself escaping from the grave and reaching his hand for the sky. The monument is situated in a corner of the cemetery, exactly on top of the Roseline or Paris Meridian, the old zero-meridian of the world that passes through St. Sulpice and the site of the Poussin Tomb at Les Pontils, close to (again) the village of Rennes-le-Château. As a special service of RLC Research, you can download a copy of the original Clovis Dardentor, signed by Jules Verne: ### Labouïsse-Rochefort URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/labouisse-rochefort Jean Pierre Jacques Auguste de Labouïsse-Rochefort was born in Saverdun (Ariège) on 4th July 1778 and died in Castelnaudery (Aude) on 22nd February 1852. He was a French historian. In 1832 he published a book entitled 'Voyage à  Rennes-les-Bains' in which he described a treasure, guarded by the devil close to the Château de Blanchefort. According to the locals, he recounts, it concerned nineteen and a half million pieces of gold. Once a nice sunny day, the devil put the gold on display where it was spotted by a young sheperdess who lived close to the site. When she returned with her parents, the treasure had disappeared. A sorcerer was called in for help. The sourcerer tells the villagers he is prepared to help if he gets half of the treasure and the help of the villagers in catching the devil. The sorcerer went on a search for the devil. When the villagers heared a great noise they got afraid and fled. The sorcerer left for Limoux, disappointed and angry. Labouisse-Rochefort then describes that the Marquis de Fleury, who owned the ruins of Blanchefort, threatened to sue the villagers for violating his terrains, linking this tale to actual facts. Labouisse-Rochefort ends with a little poem about the treasure: Comme un misérable nu Avec sa mine hagarde Le front chauve et biscornu Armé d'une hallebarde Au pied de ce mont chénu L'ange de race bâtarde Au ton sec et saugrenu Tient constamment sous sa garde Cet immense revenu Que de ce roc je regarde Comme si j'étais venu Pour lui monter une garde Et voler ce contenu Que de céder il n'a garde Labouisse-Rochefort's description of this local legend demonstrated that the historical roots of the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château are much older than the story of Abbé Saunière. There was talk of a local treasure long before he surfaced. Noel Corbu was clearly inspired by this book. In the tape recording he made to entertain the guests of his hotel he too spoke of nineteen-and-a-half million pieces of gold. Book cover of 'Voyage à Rennes-les-Bains copyright Morgan Roussel ### Magdalene of Limoux URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/magdalene-of-limoux This 17th century painting of Mary Magdalene was found in a private, house in Limoux. It depicts her with her eyes closed, leaning on a skull covered in a bright red mantle. Besides her stands something that looks like the Grail or an urn with a bearded head depicted on it. Based on, the view, French researchers concluded this scene depicts an actual grotto in Mount Cardou. all rights reserved, picture reproduced with kind permission of Jean-Luc Robin ### Maurice Leblanc URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/maurice-leblanc Arsène Lupin is one of the most popular fictional heroes in France. Gentleman thief, ironic, audicious and always with a certain viruosity. His victimes treated with a rare elegance. His creator, the famous French writer Maurice Leblanc was born in Rouen in November 1864. In February 1905, Leblanc publishes his first story about Arsène Lupin in 'Je Sais Tous' Magazine as a French answer to Sherlock Holmes. Fuelled by his success, Leblanc would pen Arsène Lupin stories well into the 1930s, producing a total of 21 works. There are many references to the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château in his works. Arsène was the second name of Monseigneur Billard, who is buried besides a statue of St. Lupin in the Cathedral of Carcassonne. One of Billard's predecessors, the eminent Monseigneur de Bonnechose who venerated St. Hermes and St. Lupin, baptized little Maurice. Patrick Ferté has summed up all relations between the books of Leblanc and the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château in his book Arsène Lupin, Supérieur Inconnu. Three works appear to involve the mystery in particular: 813, the Countess of Cagliostro and the Golden Triangle. To name one example, in one story, Leblanc writes about a priest called Gélis who has decoded two sentences and now holds the key to the secret of a castle. Within the same paragraph there's speak of a Battle of Arques (a village very close to Coustaussa, where Gélis was brutally murdered). To break the code, Leblanc says, Gélis has searched through many archives and biographies. This is all the more amazing when you realize that this was written in 1906. Saunière was still alive and the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château didn't exist yet. Even though it was a horrendous crime, the assasination of Abbé Gélis was a tiny story on a national scale. Maurice Leblanc died on 6th November 1941 in Perpignan. ### Nicolas Poussin URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/nicolas-poussin Nicolas Poussin,  (1594-1665) Allegedly, Poussin's motto was 'tenet confidentiam' or 'keeper of secrets'., What did Poussin know and did he leave any clues in his work? Young Nicolas Poussin ran away from home when he was eighteen to find refuge in Paris in the Ateliers of Flemish masters Ferdinand Elle and Georges Lallemand. In 1624 he arrived in Rome, the city he had always wanted to work in because of his love for the Italian masters. By that time he had an impressive command of the Latin language and classical literature which didn't go unnoticed. Cardinal Francesco Barberini became his patron and master. He worked on one of the chapels St. Peter's Basilica and painted various other works across Rome. Among his later patrons were splendid names like French Cardinal Richelieu and Cassiano dal Pozzo for whom he produced his magnificent first series of the Seven Sacraments. Both, Series of, Seven Sacraments by Nicolas Poussin In 1656 while living in Rome, Poussin received a visit from the Abbé Louis Fouquet, the brother of Nicolas Fouquet, superintendent of finances to King Louis XIV of France. From here the Abbé sent a letter to his brother describing his meeting with Poussin. In this letter he makes the following statement: 'He and I discussed certain things, which I shall with ease be able to explan to you in detail - things that 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 nobody else will ever be able to rediscover in the centuries to come. And, what is more, these are things so difficult to discover that nothing now on this earth can prove of better fortune nor be their equal.' The letter was first published by Anatole de Montaiglon in his book Archives de l'Art français (2ème série, tome II, 1862). Some of the most important influences in the development of Poussin's style were not paintings or sculptures, but poems, plays, theories and ideas. Poussin was a devote scholar and possessed an impressive library; his biographers describe the artist as leading a quiet life of study and contemplation. Ancient music theory, the science of optics, the philosophy of the Stoics all had an important influence on Poussin's theory of painting, and on his choice of subject and style. Poussin obsessively planned every element of his style, from contour lines to colors, often using ancient art and philosophy as his inspiration; the amount of... ### Portrait of Lady Anson URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/portrait-lady-anson Portrait of Lady Anson of Shugborough Hall by Thomas Hudson in 1751. Lady Anson is holding a pencil drawing of Nicolas Poussin's first version of the Shepherds of Arcadia without the additions that were put on the Shugborough Monument. ### Shepherds of Arcadia I URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/the-shepherds-of-arcadia-i Les Bergers d'Arcadie / Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, England Painted by Nicolas Poussin in 1627, this was Poussin's first painting in which the phrase 'Et in Arcadia Ego' stood central. It is commonly seen as an elaboration on the earlier Et in Arcadia Ego painting by Guercino. The painting was commissioned as part of two works by Cardinal Camillo Massimi, the twin-tableau being Midas Washing his Face in the River Pactolus. ### Shepherds of Arcadia II URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/the-shepherds-of-arcadia Les Bergers d'Arcadie (Et in Arcadia Ego) / Musée du Louvre, Paris, France Painted by Nicolas Poussin between 1638 and 1640. Poussin is linked to the enigma of Rennes-le-Château like no other artist. According to Gérard de Sède in his book 'le Trésor Maudit de Rennes-le-Château (1967)', Bérenger Saunière bought a copy of 'Les Bergers d'Arcadie' (The Shepherds of Arcadia), in Paris some time around March 1892. De Sède however was prompted by Pierre Plantard and Les Dossiers Secrets both of which are under very strong suspicion with regard to the authenticity of what they said. Additionally it is uncertain Poussin ever visited the region. He might have on his travels from France to Italy. However Poussin did produce several works that appear to be linked to the history of Rennes-le-Château. The Arcadian Shepherds (also known as Les bergers d'Arcadie or Et in Arcadia Ego) is without a doubt the most famous and most widely discussed of any of Poussin's paintings. Poussin's biographer Giovanni Pietro Bellori described the painting like this: “The third moral poetry is dedicated to the memory of Death among human prosperity. He faked a pastor of the joyful Arcadia, one knee on the ground, showing and reading a tomb’s inscription, where these words are inscribed: et in Arcadia ego. Thus the tomb is in Arcadia, and death comes amid bliss. Behind is a garlanded young man, leaning on the tomb and watching, attentive and meditating, and another one in front of him bows and shows the written words to a beautiful Nymph lightly dressed, who holds her hand on his shoulder and looks and retains her laugh, abandoning herself to the thought of death.” This image depicts three shepherds and a monumental, statue-like woman grouped around a large stone tomb. The idyllic natural setting, the antique robes and sandals of the figures, and, of course, the painting's title all situate this in the mythical realm of Arcadia. Arcadia was a real region in Greece: isolated, surrounded by mountains, and sparsely populated by shepherds, already in antiquity the region was romanticized as a kind of terrestrial paradise, a place of unspoiled nature whose inhabitants still lived in the blissful harmony (and ignorance) of the Golden Age. The myth of Arcadia has inspired poets and artists alike through the millennia notably the Roman poet Virgil whose Eclogues (a series of poems which take place in Arcadia) were one of the major inspirations for this painting. In the midst... ### Ships in Distress URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/ships-in-distress In december 2012, a new discovery was reported by Françoise Gasc, great great grand daughter of Henri Gasc. Henri Gasc was at one time the resident priest and guardian of Notre Dame de Marceille and mentor of the enigmatic Henri Boudet. Mrs. Gasc reported she had in her possession two paintings that had belonged to Henri Gasc that had been in her family for a long time. The painting allegedly were found by Gasc in the crypt of Notre Dame de Marceille. During 6 years, Mrs. Gasc and her husband had the paintings examined by a.o. the Brussels Art Laboratory and Celine Joliot who concluded that the paintings originated from the 17th century and were possbily by Nicolas Poussin. The two paintings feature two boats in distress on rough seas near a rocky coast. According to Mrs. Gasc a message has been coded into them tha is very precise but she did not reveal what that message was. If this is true, it is a sensational discovery for several reasons. In one hit it would physically link Nicolas Poussin, Henri Gasc and thus Henri Boudet. It would also lend greater credibility to the theories linking up the sanctuary of Notre Dame de Marceille with the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château, in which Nicolas Poussin plays center stage. Look at a French news emission on national TV that deals with the discovery here. RLC Research will keep you posted of any new developments. Mrs. Gasc has opened a website about her discoveries here. ### Spirit of Spring URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/spirit-of-spring Spirit of Spring / Musée Carnavalet, Paris Painted by Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), member of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Paris. A Litho of this painting is hanging halfway the staircase in the Villa Bethania. It's a remarkable picture of 3 girls innocently dancing around a tomb alongside a hidious devil, disguised as a spring. The litho was bought at Home Décor in Paris just like some of the wallpaper in the Villa that was also designed by Mucha. How Abbé Saunière acquired the litho is unclear but it is certain that it came from Paris like some of Marie Dénarnaud's dresses. ### St. Anthony I URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/st-anthony-i The Temptation of Saint Anthony / Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia Painted by David Teniers de Younger between 1636 and 1640. It was once owned by Hermann Goering after the Nazi's had robbed some major art collections in May 1940. It is said Saunière bought a painting of St. Antoine from the Louvre around 1891 but is has never been established which one. ### St. Anthony II URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/st-anthony-ii The Temptation of Saint Anthony / Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne Painted by David Teniers de Younger around 1650. It is said Saunière bought a painting of St. Antoine from the Louvre around 1891 but is has never been established which one. ### St. Antoine URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/st-antoine St. Antoine / Notre Dame de Marceille, Limoux One of the enigma's surrounding the church of Notre Dame de Marceille in Limoux. In 1670, François Charles Fouquet, bishop of Narbonne (and brother of Nicolas Fouquet, Treasurer under Louis XIV). commissioned a painting of St. Augustine from Ambroise Frédeau. Frédeau painted his work on top of an existing painting of St. Antoine by David Teniers the Younger. We can be certain of that from recordings in the journal of Abbé Henri Gasc in 1859 and 1872 and better still, from an etching of the interior dated 1850. Abbé Henri Gasc is himself believed to have changed the St. Augustine back into St. Antoine around 1870 by removing his torch and overpainting the name of the artist with a rock (left corner). Was he removing possible clues? It is known that St. Augustine was present during the sack or Rome on 24th August 410 by Alaric I and the Visigoths. Perhaps it was this, David Teniers painting that is connected to Saunière in some way. Many thanks to expert on Notre Dame de Marceille, Frank Daffos. ### St. Antoine l'Hermite URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/st-antoine-hermite This painting of St. Anthony the Hermit was painted by an artist from Toulon in Saunière's time. It belonged to a very close friend of the Abbé. It was tracked down by Jean-Luc Robin, who ran the guesthouse in the Villa Bethania for a long time and is very well introduced in the mystery. The scene shows remarkable similarities with the Grotte du Fournet dite de la Magdeleine, close by in the Ruisseau des Couleurs in both the rectangular entrance and the setting of the ravine. , photo shown with kind permission of Jean-Luc Robin ### The Ideal Landscape URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/the-ideal-landscape Our colleagues from Grailseekers report a great discovery in the painting The Ideal Landscape by Nicolas Poussin. In this painting that was probably created by the artist between 1645 and 1650 we see a landscape with a great mountain in the back. In the front a lying figure shows the way to what appears to be two shepherds. Centrally in the painting there are two figures riding one horse. The two riders on a single horse is of course reminiscent of the seal of the Knights Templar. The symbol was used to exemplify the vow of poverty that each Templar Knight took. The symbol also evokes the notion of sacrifice for one's brother and therefore for the order. Moreover, the mountain in the back bears some resemblance to Mount Bugarach, the identifying landmark in the region of Rennes-le-Château. UPDATE 22/1/2012: Long live the internet. Gino Oliviero of the Italian Facebook Rennes-le-Château group did some further research. He found a high resolution scan on which you can clearly see that it's not one horse but two, one carrying a woman in a blue dress. That's another mystery gone! Picture shown here with kind permission.                 ### The True Celtic Language URL: https://renneslechateau.nl/art/la-vraie-langue-celtique For the first time, this book is available to the English language audience. Marcus Williamson presents you The True Celtic Language and the Stone Circle of Rennes-les-Bains. In 1880, Abbé Henri Boudet of Rennes-les-Bains published a strange book. La Vraie Langue Celtique et le Cromleck de Rennes-les-Bains (The True Celtic Language and the Cromleck of Rennes-les-Bains) was half a language study, half a description of the immediate surroundings of the village. In short, in the book Boudet makes the case that the names of villages, mountains, valleys etc. can be traced back to an old celtic language which he tries to prove by taking them apart to phonetically relate them to modern English. Mount Cardou for example is taken apart into to cart and how. According to Boudet, those two words depict exactly what the Celts must have thought when they first saw the mountain: how are we going to get across that with a cart?. Apart from these wordgames, the book is littered with Biblical references, numbers and long lists of words. Even in his own age, the book was met with surprise and criticism. It wasn't considered a serious study of languages and people didn't know what to make of Boudet's references to the Celts. Boudet knew the area around Rennes-les-Bains extremely well. He spent much time walking every inch of the hills surrounding the village. Sometimes he would be seen leaving the village with a large ladder on his back. According to Boudet a giant Cromleck lay around Rennes-les-Bains. A Cromleck was a circle created by the Celts, delimited by menhirs and strange stones like the Trembling Rocks. Boudet claimed in his book that the first Christian missionaries in the area had changed this Pagan place of worship into a Christian temple by engraving crosses in most of the monoliths many of which can still be seen today. They crowned this now become Christian temple by a statue of Christ on the Cap de l'Homme. The first 500 books were printed in 1880. Boudet paid for them himself and gave most away. As a printer he used François Pomie who was the house printer to the Bishop of Carcassonne. According to some sourced Boudet spent the next 6 years making amendments to his book, to have another 500 copies printed in 1886. He paid 5.382 Goldfrancs for the printing which was a very considerable amount at the time if you consider that a priest made approximately 900 Goldfrancs per year. It appears that only 98 books were sold, while some 100 copies were sent to... ## Media Documentaries, interviews, photographs and resources. --- # TIMELINE Key dates in the Rennes-le-Château mystery: ## 17th century - **1621**: Guercino paints first version of Et In Arcadia Ego - **6 Aug 1623**: Pontificate Urban VIII - **1627**: Nicolas Poussin paints his first version of the Shepherds of Arcadia - **1639**: Nicolas Poussin paints his second version of Shepherds of Arcadia - **1640**: Rebuilding of the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Rennes - **14 May 1643**: Death of Louis XIII, reign of Louis XIV, le Roi Soleil - **15 Sep 1644**: Pontificate Innocent X - **23 Nov 1644**: Registering of the testament of Francois Pierre d'Hautpoul by notary Captier of Espéraza - **1645**: A shepherd called Ignace Paris falls in a cave in search of a sheep and comes out with a large number of gold coins in his hat. He tells people he has discovered a room full of gold but when he refuses to tell where he is stoned to death on the charge of theft. - **1646**: Baron Blaise d'Hautpoul has the church of Rennes-le-Château restored, supported by the bishop of Alet Nicolas Pavillon - **1651**: Bishop of Alet Nicolas Pavillon gives a diamond the size of an egg to the city of Toulouse for fighting the plague. - **1653**: Discovery of the tomb of Childeric I in the Church of Saint Brice in Tournai. The treasure buried with him consists of a richly ornamented sword, a torse-like bracelet, jewels of gold and cloisonné enamel with garnets, gold coins, a gold bulls head and a ring with the inscription CHILDERICI REGIS (of Childeric the king), which identifies the tomb. Most special find are 300 golden bees, that Napoleon I later uses to decorate his mantle for the coronation as Emperor of the French - **7 Apr 1655**: Pontificate Alexander VII - **Apr 1656**: Abbé Louis Fouquet, the brother of Nicolas Fouquet, superintendent of finances to King Louis XIV of France, sent a letter to his brother describing his meeting with Nicolas Poussin. He and I discussed certain things, which I shall with ease be able to explain to you in detail – things that will give you, through Monsieur Poussin, advantages which even kings would have great pains to draw from him... - **1659**: François Charles Fouquet is nominated bishop of Narbonne (brother of Nicolas Fouquet, Treasurer under Louis XIV) - **1659**: Signing of the Treaty of the Pyrénées, the Roussillon is given back to France - **1660**: The church of Notre Dame de Marceille in Limoux is transferred from the diocese of Alet to the diocese of Narbonne - **19 Nov 1665**: Death of Nicolas Poussin in Rome - **Nov 1661**: Blaise d'Hautpoul goes to court against Nicolas Pavillon, bishop of Alet to prevent the King's troops to search his grounds and mines - **1662**: The possessions of Blaise d'Hautpoul include Rennes, St. Just, Le Bézu, Les Bains, Montferrand, Montazels, Moissan, Dent, Sainte Eugénie, Lavadieu and Belfort de Voisins - **20 Jun 1667**: Pontificate Clement IX - **29 Apr 1670**: Pontificate Clement X - **1670**: Mgr. François Charles Fouquet allegedly has a St. Antoine tableau by David Teniers the Younger overpainted with a St. Augustine by Ambroise Frédeau - **1673**: Death of Mgr. François Charles Fouquet, Louis XIV starts 4 years of trials to remove the Jansenist bishop Nicolas Pavillon from the diocese of Alet but doesn't succeed - **21 Sep 1676**: Pontificate Innocent XI - **8 Dec 1677**: Death of Nicolas Pavillon bishop of Alet - **1678**: Colbert, Louis XIV's new treasurer erects La Compagnie des Mines de Blanchefort, to prospect the lands of the Hautpouls - **1685**: Louis XIV buys the original of the second version of Shepherds of Arcadia from C.A. Herault. He puts it on display in his private quarters - **5 Oct 1689**: Pontificate Alexander VIII, birth of François d'Hautpoul Rennes, marquis de Blanchefort - **12 Jul 1691**: Pontificate Innocent XII - **1694**: Entry in the parish registry of the burial of a high ranking individual in the church of Rennes-le-Château registered by Abbé Vernat ## 18th century - **23 Nov 1700**: Pontificate Clement XI - **1705**: Death of Dame Anne Delsol, aged 75, buried in the church of Rennes-le-Château au Tombeau des Seigneurs (Tomb of the Lords) - **1713**: Birth of Marie de Nègre d'Ables, daughter of François de Nègre d'Ables de Niort - **1715**: Death of Louis XIV, reign of Louis XV, le Bien Aimé - **8 May 1721**: Pontificate Innocent XIII - **1724**: Death of Messire Henry du Venret buried in the church of Rennes-le-Château au Tombeau des Seigneurs - **1724**: Abbé Bernard becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **29 May 1724**: Pontificate Benedict XIII - **12 Jul 1730**: Pontificate Clement XII - **May 1732**: Abbé Bernard Mongé of Niort-de-Sault is murdered by François de Montroux, uncle and appointed tutor of Marie de Nègre - **17 Nov 1732**: Marriage of François d'Hautpoul (43) and Marie de Nègre (18) - **1734**: Birth of Marie daughter of Marie de Nègre and François Hautpoul - **1735**: Birth of Elizabeth daughter of Marie de Nègre and François Hautpoul - **1736**: Abbé Jean Bigou becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château, succeeding Abbé Verger - **1737**: Birth of Joseph son of Marie de Nègre and François Hautpoul - **8 Mar 1739**: Death of Joseph d'Hautpoul, aged 17 months. He is buried in the cemetery of Rennes "near the big cross". This marks the end of the male line of the Hautpouls-Rennes family. - **1739**: Birth of Gabrielle daughter of Marie de Nègre and François Hautpoul - **1740**: Church furnishings of Rennes are renewed, the Tombeau des Seigneurs (Tomb of the Lords) is sealed up - **17 Aug 1740**: Pontificate Benedict XIV - **1748**: Admiral George Baron Anson commissions the Shepherds Monument at Shugborough Hall, UK - **26 Sep 1752**: Marie d'Hautpoul Rennes marries her cousin Joseph Marie d'Hautpoul-Félines - **15 May 1753**: Sudden death of François d'Hautpoul-Rennes, seigneur of Rennes-le-Château, Marquis de Blanchefort - **1753**: Marie de Nègre sells the Seigneuries of Niort and Roquefeuil to pay her late husband's debts - **6 Jul 1758**: Pontificate Clement XIII - **1767**: Marriage of Gabrielle d'Hautpoul-Rennes and Paul Vincent de Fleury - **19 May 1769**: Pontificate Clement XIV - **10 May 1774**: Death of Louis XV, reign of Louis XVI - **1774**: Abbé Antoine Bigou becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **15 Feb 1775**: Pontificate Pius VI - **1776**: Death of Abbé Jean Bigou in Rennes-le-Château - **17 Jan 1781**: Death of Marie de Nègre d'Ables, Dame d'Hautpoul, Marquise Blanchefort - **1790**: Elisabeth Hautpoul Mademoiselle de Rennes flees the Revolution to Toulouse - **1790**: Death of Gabrielle d'Hautpoul - **1791**: Abbé Jean Antoine Camp becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **31 Jul 1791**: Start of the French Revolution - **1791**: Antoine Bigou leaves Rennes to hide in Quillan - **1 Sep 1792**: Last bishop of Alet, Charles de la Cropte de Chanterac flees to Spain - **10 Aug 1792**: Fall of Louis XVI - **Sep 1792**: Clandestine emigration of Antoine Bigou and Abbé Cauneille to Spain - **9 Oct 1792**: Charles de la Cropte de Chanterac arrives in Sabadell - **21 Jan 1793**: Execution of Louis XVI - **21 Mar 1794**: Death of Abbé Antoine Bigou in Collioure - **5 Apr 1794**: Execution of Danton - **28 Jul 1794**: Execution of Robespierre - **1797**: Elisabeth Hautpoul returns to Rennes, signing over the Château Hautpoul to her stewards Michel Captier and Julie Avignon - **10 Nov 1799**: End of the First Republic, Napoleon Bonaparte declares himself First Consul ## 19th century - **17 Jan 1800**: Oppression of royalist revolt in the Vendée - **14 Mar 1800**: Pontificate Pius VII - **1803**: Abbé Marsan becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **1804**: Napoleon Bonaparte declares himself Emperor of the French people - **1805**: Abbé Rouger becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **1812**: Tragic end of Napoleon I's Russian campaign - **1814**: Abdication of Napoleon I, exile to Elba - **20 Mar 1815**: Napoleon I returns to power, start of the One Hundred Days - **18 Jun 1815**: Defeat of Napoleon I at Waterloo, second abdication and exile to St Helena - **1815**: Reign of Louis XVIII - **1816**: Michel Captier and Julie Avignon buy the possessions of Elisabeth Hautpoul - **20 May 1820**: Death of Elisabeth Hautpoul aged 85 - **1820**: Abbé Sabarthes becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **1822**: Louis de Coma is born in Foix - **1823**: Abbé Sadourny becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **28 Sep 1823**: Pontificate Leo XII - **1824**: Death of Louis XVIII, reign of Charles X - **31 Mar 1829**: Pontificate Pius VIII - **19 Jul 1830**: The Virgin Mary appears to Catherine Labouré in the Rue du Bac in Paris - **29 Jul 1830**: Abdication of Charles X, reign of Louis Philippe de Bourbon, le Roi Citoyen - **2 Feb 1831**: Pontificate Gregory XVI - **1832**: French historian Labouïsse-Rochefort publishes Voyages à Rennes-les-Bains, comparing the landscape with Arcadia - **1832**: Abbé Pagès becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **1834**: Abbé Blanc becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **1836**: Abbé Pons becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **16 Nov 1837**: Birth of Jean-Jacques Henri Boudet in Quillan - **1840**: Birth of Edmond Boudet, brother of Henri Boudet - **16 Jun 1846**: Pontificate Pius IX - **Sep 1846**: The Virgin Mary appears to Mélanie Calvet in La Salette - **24 Feb 1848**: 2nd revolution in Paris, Second Republic proclaimed - **10 Dec 1848**: Louis Napoleon elected President de la République - **1851**: Coup d'État of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon III), proclamation of the Second Empire - **11 Apr 1852**: Bérenger Saunière is born in Montazels as the first of 7 children - **1855**: Alfred Saunière is born in Montazels - **1856**: Louis de Coma starts construction of the Carol Estate - **Feb 1858**: The Virgin Mary appears to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes - **1860**: A piece of gold weighing over 50 kilos is found near Bézu - **25 Dec 1861**: Henri Boudet is ordained a priest - **1 Jan 1862**: Henri Boudet becomes the curé of Durban - **16 Jun 1862**: Henri Boudet becomes the curé of Caunes (Minervois) - **1 Nov 1866**: Henri Boudet becomes the curé of Frestes - **1867**: Château Hautpoul is sold to the Dalbiès family of Couiza - **12 Aug 1868**: Birth of Marie Dénarnaud - **21 May 1870**: Napoleon III capitulates - **31 Aug 1870**: French Republic is proclaimed, start of the Third Republic - **17 Feb 1871**: Thiers President de la République - **1 Jul 1872**: Death of Jean Vié curé of Rennes-les-Bains - **1872**: Henri Boudet becomes curé of Rennes-les-Bains - **1873**: Failed attempt to restore the monarchy by Henry V, Comte de Chambord - **1873**: Start of the great depression - **Feb 1876**: The Virgin Mary appears to Estelle Faguette in Pellevoisin - **20 Feb 1878**: Pontificate Leo XIII - **1879**: Abbé Cézac becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **1879**: A new sacristie is built against the Church at Rennes - **16 Jul 1879**: Bérenger Saunière becomes chaplain of Alet-les-Bains - **1880**: Discovery of a Neolithic graveyard, proving man's presence in the area for at least 3,000 years - **1880**: Henri Boudet finishes his book La Vraie Langue Celtique - **1881**: Mgr. Billard becomes Bishop of Carcassonne - **1881**: Abbé Mocquin becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **1881**: Antoine Gélis is assaulted in his house by two masked men - **16 Jun 1882**: Bérenger Saunière becomes curé of Le Clat - **8 Feb 1884**: Papal Encyclical Nobilissima Gallorum Gens - **1884**: Abbé Croc becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **1885**: Louis de Coma completes construction of the Carol Estate - **1 Jun 1885**: Bérenger Saunière becomes curé of Rennes-le-Château - **4 Oct 1885**: Bérenger Saunière preaches against the Republicans - **2 Dec 1885**: Bérenger Saunière is suspended because of his anti-republican speech - **1886**: Henri Boudet's book La Vraie Langue Celtique is published, 500 copies - **1 Jul 1886**: Bérenger Saunière returns to Rennes-le-Château as curé - **27 Jul 1887**: Bérenger Saunière installs a new altar from Maison Monna for 770FF - **Jul 1887**: Antoine Captier finds a small glass tube with parchment in a Wooden Baluster - **30 Sep 1887**: Bérenger Saunière installs new stained glass window - blue apples - 1350FF - **1888**: Emergency reparations carried out in the church - **1889**: Mgr. Billard visits Rennes-le-Château, thanks Saunière - **Jan 1890**: Village council approves Saunière's request to refurbish the public square - **Feb 1890**: Bérenger Saunière is visited by Archduke Johann von Habsburg - **1891**: Mgr. Billard inherits 1,200,000FF of Victorine Sabatier of Coursan - **21 Jun 1891**: 24 children of Rennes-le-Château do a mission tour through the village - **21 Sep 1891**: Saunière Journal: Lettre de Granes. Découverte d'un tombeau, le soir pluie (Discovery of a tomb) - **29 Sep 1891**: Saunière Journal: Vu curé de Névian-Chez Gélis-Chez Carrière-Vu Cros et Secret - **2 Mar 1892**: Bérenger Saunière allegedly visits Paris, attends mass at Saint-Sulpice - **1892**: Saunière and Marie Dénarnaud are seen digging in the churchyard at night - **1893**: Saunière buys new confessional 700FF - **17 Jan 1893**: Mgr. Billard buys the Sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Marceille - **12 Mar 1895**: Official complaint filed against Saunière's nightly excavations - **3 Jan 1897**: Death of Abbé Emile Cayron - **11 Feb 1897**: The Cross of the Calvaire is erected - **6 Jul 1897**: Eglise Madeleine inaugurated by Mgr. Billard - **1 Nov 1897**: Antoine Gélis curé of Coustaussa is brutally murdered - **Dec 1898**: Saunière buys terrains around his church in the name of Marie Dénarnaud ## 20th century - **1900**: Village council approves Saunière's request to build a caveau - **May 1901**: Start of construction of Villa Bethania (finished in 1905) - **Jul 1901**: Start of building a caveau (crypt) for Bérenger Saunière - **3 Dec 1901**: Death of Mgr. Billard in the Monastery of Prouilhe - **1902**: Mgr. Beuvain de Beauséjour becomes bishop of Carcassonne - **1902**: Bérenger Saunière loses sight in one eye, replaced with a glass eye - **1903**: Tomb of les Pontils built by Jean Galibert at Serres - **1903**: Start of construction of Tour Magdala (finished in 1906) - **1905**: Split of church and state in France - **19 Sep 1905**: Alfred Saunière dies from effects of alcohol abuse - **1906**: Bulletin SESA appears with transcript of tomb of Marie de Nègre d'Ables - **1907**: Bérenger Saunière starts collecting stamps, amounting to 100,000 pieces at death - **5 May 1907**: Death of Edmund Boudet (at the age of 67) - **1908**: Workmen discover a giant mass-grave while working on the access road - **1908**: Much of the year dedicated to Saunière's vast library in Tour Magdala - **28 Jan 1909**: Bérenger Saunière resigns as curé of Rennes-le-Château - **9 Jul 1909**: Abbé Marty arrives to replace Saunière - **27 May 1910**: Mgr. de Beauséjour starts official investigations into Saunière's finances - **5 Dec 1910**: Saunière refuses to reveal evidence for sources of his spending and is sentenced - **1 Feb 1911**: Bérenger Saunière is relieved of the priesthood suspens a divinis - **14 Nov 1911**: Louis de Coma is found dead - **1912**: Eglise Notre-Dame de Marceille is made a Basilique by Pius X - **1914**: The remaining 102 copies of The True Celtic Language are destroyed - **30 Apr 1914**: Henri Boudet leaves Rennes-les-Bains to return to Axat - **28 Jun 1914**: Archduke Franz Ferdinand is killed in Sarajevo, start of World War I - **30 Mar 1915**: Death of Henri Boudet from intestinal cancer (at 78) - **17 Jan 1917**: Bérenger Saunière is found by Marie Dénarnaud, lying on the Belvedere after a stroke - **22 Jan 1917**: Bérenger Saunière dies. His last words are said to be "Jean 23" (Jean Vingt-Trois) - **24 Jan 1917**: Bérenger Saunière is buried - **1917**: Saunière's parchments allegedly inherited by Madame James de Montazels - **1918**: End of World War I - **1929**: A half melted golden statuette is found in the region of Rennes-le-Château - **1929**: German author Otto Rahn settles in Lavelanet to explore Montségur - **1931**: Otto Rahn discovers chambers in the grottoes of Sabarthes with Templar and Cathar symbols - **1934**: Otto Rahn publishes Kreuzzug gegen Gral (Crusade Against the Grail) - **1936**: Otto Rahn joins the Waffen SS Heritage Bureau the Ahnenerbe - **1937**: Otto Rahn publishes Luzifers Hofgesind (Lucifer's Court) - **13 Mar 1939**: Otto Rahn is found dead in the Tyrolean mountains - **16 Mar 1944**: German Nazis fly swastika patterns over Montségur 700 years after its fall - **1946**: The Château Hautpoul is sold to Monsieur Fatin - **22 Jul 1946**: Marie Dénarnaud sells the entire property to the Corbu family - **1948**: The library of Emile Hoffet is allegedly acquired by the International League of Antiquarian booksellers - **29 Jan 1953**: Death of Marie Dénarnaud in Rennes-le-Château - **15 Mar 1955**: The Villa Bethania is transformed into Hotel La Tour - **12 Jan 1956**: Noel Corbu publishes the story of Saunière in Dépêche du Midi - **1956**: Monastère de Carol is destroyed with dynamite by Henri Baure - **28 Oct 1958**: Pontificate of Angelo Roncalli or John XXIII - **1965**: Madame James de Montazels allegedly sells Saunière's parchments - **2 Jul 1966**: International League of Antiquarian booksellers sends letter claiming documents proving Dagobert II left a son Sigisbert IV - **1967**: Gérard de Sède publishes l'Or de Rennes ou la vie insolite de Bérenger Saunière --- # FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ## Evidence **Q: What primary sources actually exist?** A: Separating fact from fiction requires examining what documentation survives: Verified primary sources: • Saunière's account books and correspondence (held by descendants of Antoine Captier) • Church records, parish registers • Saunière's personal journal (brief entries, including the famous "tomb" note) • His trial records from the ecclesiastical court (1910-1911) • The SESA bulletin from 1905-1906 describing the de Nègre tombstone • Birth, death, and marriage certificates • Property records and notarised documents • Contemporary newspaper accounts Questionable sources: • Les Dossiers Secrets (demonstrated fabrications deposited 1964-1967) • The parchments as published (admitted forgeries by de Chérisey) • Le Serpent Rouge (deposited 1967, authors allegedly died suspiciously) • Much of Gérard de Sède's book (based on material from Plantard) Lost or inaccessible: • Whatever Saunière actually found • Marie Dénarnaud's knowledge • Most of Saunière's library (dispersed after death) • The original de Nègre tombstones (defaced/destroyed) • Boudet's notes and the destroyed copies of his book Serious research must distinguish between these categories. **Q: How much money did Saunière actually spend?** A: Saunière's surviving account books record specific expenditures. Researcher analysis suggests: Recorded spending: • Land and construction: approximately 229,000 gold francs • Living expenses over 10 years: approximately 465,000 gold francs • Total recorded: approximately 694,000 gold francs For context: • A parish priest earned about 900 francs per year • An account clerk earned about 127 francs per month • A luxury automobile cost about 8,000 francs • A château with 383 hectares sold for 100,000 francs Unrecorded spending: His accounts don't include personal expenses, travel, his extensive collections (books, stamps, postcards), or the large cistern built under the reposoir. His actual expenditure was certainly higher. Known income sources: • Salary: approximately 28,000 francs (32 years × 900 francs) • Mass trafficking: maximum 150,000 francs • Countess of Chambord: 3,000 francs • Other documented gifts: unclear amounts The gap between documented income and recorded spending remains substantial—at least 500,000 francs unaccounted for. **Q: Are there genuine unsolved questions?** A: Putting aside the later fabrications, legitimate historical questions remain: Definitely unexplained: • The source of funds that exceed mass trafficking income • What Saunière found in September 1891 (his diary entry is genuine) • Why he refused to explain his finances even under Church sanction • Why Marie Dénarnaud lived in poverty rather than accessing any remaining wealth • The source of Antoine Gélis's money and the motive for his murder • What Henri Boudet actually meant by his strange book Probably explainable but uncertain: • The unusual church decorations (possibly standard catalogue items with custom painting) • The reversed Stations of the Cross (done elsewhere, possibly decorative choice) • The Habsburg connections (possibly just wealthy donor networks) Likely fabricated: • The Priory of Sion and its Grand Master lists • The parchments as published • Specific treasure locations derived from "decoded" messages • The ancient bloodline of Christ narrative A mystery remains, just not necessarily the one popularly portrayed. **Q: What is the skeptical explanation?** A: Skeptics, including historians like René Descadeillas, propose that the mystery has mundane explanations inflated by later mythmaking: The skeptical case: • Mass trafficking alone could explain substantial income, especially if Saunière had a network of agents soliciting requests • Wealthy legitimist donors may have funded him (records incomplete) • The "discoveries" were either minor or invented • The church decorations were standard religious catalogue items • The parchments are proven 20th-century forgeries • The Priory of Sion is a documented hoax • Later authors (De Sède, Lincoln, Brown) created the "mystery" for commercial purposes Weaknesses of pure skepticism: • Mass trafficking income calculations still leave a significant gap • Saunière's refusal to explain to authorities suggests something to hide • His trial records show the Church itself couldn't account for his wealth • Something sparked his activities in 1891 • The murder of Gélis remains genuinely unsolved The truth probably lies between "he found the treasure of Solomon" and "there's nothing mysterious here." ## Key Figures **Q: Who was Marie Dénarnaud?** A: Marie Dénarnaud (1868-1953) entered Saunière's service as a teenage housemaid and remained with him until his death—a relationship spanning over 30 years. Villagers nicknamed her "La Madonne." She was seen helping Saunière with his mysterious nighttime activities in the cemetery and reportedly wore expensive Parisian fashions and unusual jewelry. When Saunière died, she inherited everything—the domain was registered in her name, perhaps to protect it from Church seizure during his legal troubles. Marie lived in increasing poverty after Saunière's death, unable or unwilling to access whatever wealth might have remained. In 1946, she sold the estate to Noël Corbu in exchange for a life annuity and care. What did she know? Marie reportedly told visitors that "the people of Rennes-le-Château walk on gold without knowing it" and that the secret would make its possessor "powerful." She promised to tell Corbu the secret on her deathbed, but a stroke in January 1953 left her unable to speak. She died without revealing anything concrete. She allegedly managed to whisper three final words: "Pain, Sel, Vase" (Bread, Salt, Vase)—which may mean nothing, or may be a final cryptic clue. **Q: Who was Bishop Billard?** A: Monseigneur Félix-Arsène Billard (1829-1901) was Bishop of Carcassonne from 1881 until his death. He is significant because he apparently supported and protected Saunière during the period of his greatest expenditure. Billard inaugurated Saunière's renovated church and gardens in 1897. He seems to have asked few questions about the money being spent. However, Billard had his own financial mysteries—he privately inherited 2,000,000 francs from one Victorine Sabatier under circumstances that led to legal challenges from her family. Billard also purchased Notre-Dame de Marceille (a sanctuary near Limoux with its own mysteries) in his personal name rather than that of the diocese. He spent his final years developing the Dominican monastery at Prouilhe. Was Billard complicit in whatever Saunière was doing? Did they share knowledge? Or was he simply an inattentive administrator? We don't know. **Q: Who was Bishop de Beauséjour?** A: Monseigneur Paul-Félix Beuvain de Beauséjour (1839-1930) succeeded Billard as Bishop of Carcassonne in 1902. Unlike his predecessor, he took an active interest in Saunière's finances. Following a visit to Rennes-le-Château in 1906—during which he received complaints from parishioners and noted "suspect persons" at the presbytery—de Beauséjour demanded Saunière account for his spending. Saunière refused. The resulting ecclesiastical trials (1910-1911) found Saunière guilty of trafficking in masses. He was suspended from priestly duties. Crucially, Saunière never revealed where his money came from, even when it would have helped his defense. De Beauséjour's pursuit of Saunière suggests either genuine concern about financial impropriety, or perhaps an attempt to discover and control whatever secret Saunière possessed. Some see him as a conscientious administrator; others as someone trying to get his hands on the treasure. **Q: What role did Emma Calvé play?** A: Emma Calvé (1858-1942) was one of the most celebrated opera singers of her era, particularly famous for her Carmen. She was deeply involved in the Parisian esoteric scene and had relationships with prominent occultists. The claimed connection: According to Gérard de Sède, Calvé and Saunière met at Saint-Sulpice in Paris and conducted an affair. Villagers reportedly heard operatic singing during lavish parties at the Villa Bethania. The evidence: • There is no documented proof that Calvé ever visited Rennes-le-Château • No correspondence between them has surfaced • The story rests entirely on local oral tradition and De Sède's account What we know: • Calvé bought a château at Cabrières, where the legendary book of Nicolas Flamel was supposedly hidden • She was a member of a Martinist order (a form of esoteric freemasonry) • Saunière may also have had Martinist connections The Calvé connection adds glamour to the story but remains unverified. It's possible they met; it's equally possible this is romantic embellishment. **Q: What Habsburg connections existed?** A: Several Habsburg connections to the mystery have been documented or claimed: Documented: • The Countess of Chambord (née Archduchess Marie-Thérèse of Austria-Este) donated 3,000 francs to Saunière in 1886 for church restoration. She died the same year. • Saunière had an account at Bank Veuve Auriol et Fils in Perpignan and corresponded with Bank Fritz Dörge in Budapest. Claimed: • Archduke Johann Salvator of Austria allegedly visited Saunière between November 1889 and February 1890, travelling incognito as "Monsieur Guillaume." French police in Couiza reportedly recorded this visit. • Johann Salvator later renounced his titles and disappeared in 1890, officially lost at sea near Cape Horn. Interpretation: The Habsburg connections might indicate that Saunière possessed something of interest to legitimist (royalist) circles. The Bourbons and Habsburgs were connected through marriage, and the Countess of Chambord was widow of the last Bourbon pretender to the French throne. Alternatively, Saunière may simply have been skilled at soliciting donations from wealthy Catholics sympathetic to his traditional views. ## Places **Q: What can I see in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene?** A: Saunière's church is small but densely packed with unusual features: The entrance: • "TERRIBILIS EST LOCUS ISTE" (This place is terrible) over the door—a quote from Genesis 28:17, referring to Jacob's dream • The notorious demon statue (often called Asmodeus) supporting the holy water font • Four angels making the sign of the cross, with the inscription "PAR CE SIGNE TU LE VAINCRAS" (By this sign you will conquer him) The interior: • Colourful statues of saints, including two carrying infant Jesus figures (unusual) • Stations of the Cross displayed in reverse order (counter-clockwise) • A large bas-relief over the altar showing Mary Magdalene in a grotto • The elaborate pulpit and confessional • A checkerboard floor of black and white tiles • Stained glass windows including the Lazarus window (source of the "Blue Apples" effect) The bas-relief (west wall): A large painted plaster scene showing Christ on a hill surrounded by figures, with the inscription "Venez à moi vous tous qui souffrez..." (Come to me all who suffer) Whether these decorations contain coded messages or simply reflect Catholic (and perhaps Masonic) symbolism of the period is debated. **Q: What is the Tour Magdala?** A: The Tour Magdala is a neo-Gothic tower Saunière built on the cliff edge of his property between 1900 and 1906. The name "Magdala" means "tower" in Aramaic (and is also the traditional birthplace of Mary Magdalene). The tower served as Saunière's library and study, replacing an earlier workspace in the reposoir. It contains: • A spiral staircase leading to the top • Built-in wooden bookshelves (Saunière was an avid book collector) • A small tower (échauguette) on top providing panoramic views • 22 battlements around the roof terrace From the top, you can see the Château de Blanchefort, Mont Cardou, the valley below, and on clear days, the Pyrenees. Some researchers believe Saunière positioned the tower specifically for sightlines to significant locations. The tower is connected to the Orangerie (a glass-walled pavilion) by the Belvedere walkway with its distinctive low walls. The entire construction cost a substantial portion of his fortune. **Q: What is the Villa Bethania?** A: The Villa Bethania is the large house Saunière built between 1901 and 1905, named after the biblical village where Jesus raised Lazarus—and where Mary Magdalene lived according to tradition. Curiously, Saunière never lived in it. He continued sleeping in the old presbytery until his death. The Villa was used for entertaining guests—and Saunière did entertain lavishly, with shipments of rum, fine wines, and exotic foods documented in his accounts. Visitors can tour the ground floor and see period furnishings, though most original contents were sold after Marie Dénarnaud's death. The building later served as Noël Corbu's hotel and is now part of the museum complex. Why build an elaborate home and never occupy it? Some suggest it was intended for retired priests (as Saunière claimed). Others see it as primarily a venue for meetings with important visitors. Its emptiness adds another layer of mystery to an already enigmatic life. **Q: What is significant about the cemetery?** A: The small cemetery adjacent to the church features in several aspects of the mystery: Saunière's activities: Multiple witnesses reported seeing Saunière and Marie Dénarnaud digging in the cemetery at night. The village council filed official complaints. Saunière claimed he was reorganising graves, but his nocturnal work and subsequent installation of a locked gate suggested he wanted privacy for other reasons. The de Nègre tomb: This is where Marie de Nègre d'Ables was buried. Her tombstones (now gone or defaced) allegedly bore coded inscriptions. The horizontal slab was later used as a roof for the ossuary. Saunière's tomb: Saunière built a double vault (caveau) in 1901, where he was buried in 1917. Marie Dénarnaud was later interred beside him. In 2004, his remains were moved to a new location under the belvedere and sealed under concrete after concerns about vandalism. The ossuary: A small bone-house where skeletal remains from cleared graves were stored, as was common practice. **Q: What other sites are connected to the mystery?** A: The mystery extends well beyond Rennes-le-Château itself: Rennes-les-Bains: The spa town where Henri Boudet was priest. His book describes a "cromlech" (stone circle) in the surrounding landscape. Sites include the Devil's Armchair, the Source of the Circle, and various carved stones. Château de Blanchefort: Ruined castle visible from the Tour Magdala. Legends associate it with Templar gold mines and Visigothic treasure. The Blanchefort family owned much of the region. Château de Bézu: Another ruin, historically associated with the Knights Templar. Mont Cardou: The prominent mountain visible from Rennes-le-Château. Some believe it contains secret chambers or the tomb of Christ himself. Les Pontils: Site where a tomb remarkably similar to Poussin's painting stood until demolished in 1988. Its construction date (1903) postdates Poussin by centuries, raising questions about which came first. Notre-Dame de Marceille: A sanctuary near Limoux with its own mysteries, including a Black Madonna and underground vaults. Bishop Billard purchased it privately. ## The Mystery **Q: What is the mystery of Rennes-le-Château?** A: The mystery centres on Abbé Bérenger Saunière, the parish priest of Rennes-le-Château from 1885 to 1917. During and after renovations to his dilapidated church in the late 1880s and early 1890s, Saunière began spending money far beyond what his modest clerical salary of approximately 900 francs per year could explain. His surviving account books record expenditures of at least 660,000 gold francs, equivalent to several million euros today, on construction projects, land purchases, collections, and lavish entertaining. He built the neo-Gothic Tour Magdala, the Villa Bethania (which he never occupied), elaborate gardens, a belvedere walkway, and extensively renovated his church with unusual decorations. The source of this wealth has never been definitively established, spawning over a century of theories ranging from discovered treasure to trafficking in masses, from blackmail to secret society funding. The mystery gained international attention through BBC documentaries in the 1970s and the bestseller "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" (1982), later inspiring Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code." Today, Rennes-le-Château receives approximately 100,000 visitors annually. **Q: Who was Bérenger Saunière?** A: François Bérenger Saunière was born on 11th April 1852 in Montazels, a village near Couiza in the Aude department of southern France. The eldest of seven children, he was destined for the priesthood and entered the seminary at Narbonne in 1870. He was ordained in 1879 and served briefly in Alet-les-Bains and Le Clat before being assigned to Rennes-le-Château in June 1885 at age 33. Saunière was known as intelligent, headstrong, and politically outspoken. Within months of his arrival, he was temporarily suspended for making anti-Republican speeches during elections. Contemporary accounts describe him as athletic, charming, and possessing a keen sense of humour. He was also meticulous, his surviving account books and correspondence reveal careful record-keeping. His relationship with his housekeeper Marie Dénarnaud, sixteen years his junior, was the subject of village gossip. She remained devoted to him throughout his life and inherited his entire estate. Saunière died on 22nd January 1917, five days after suffering a stroke. He was 64 years old. **Q: What did Saunière actually discover?** A: This is the central question of the mystery, and honestly, we don't know for certain. What is documented is that during church renovations between 1887 and 1891, Saunière had workers lift flagstones and move the old altar. His journal entry for 21st September 1891 cryptically notes: "Découverte d'un tombeau. Le soir, pluie" (Discovery of a tomb. In the evening, rain). According to testimony from Antoine Captier (the bellringer's grandson), his grandfather found a small glass tube containing parchment inside a hollow wooden baluster. The contents were given to Saunière. What happened next is disputed. Popular theories about what he found include: • Ancient documents or genealogies • Visigothic treasure (the region was once the heart of the Visigothic kingdom) • Templar gold or artifacts • The tomb of an important historical figure • Religious relics or proof of heterodox beliefs • Simply access to the church crypt and its contents Skeptics point out that no physical evidence of any discovery has ever surfaced, and that the famous "parchments" shown in books were later admitted to be 20th-century creations. **Q: What are the famous parchments?** A: Two parchments were first published by Gérard de Sède in his 1967 book "L'Or de Rennes." They appear to contain Latin Gospel texts with hidden coded messages. The "small parchment" supposedly yields: "A DAGOBERT II ROI ET A SION EST CE TRESOR ET IL EST LA MORT" (To Dagobert II King and to Sion belongs this treasure and he is there dead). The "grand parchment" allegedly contains a longer message referencing "Poussin," "Teniers," "blue apples," and the number 681. The critical problem: Philippe de Chérisey, a Belgian artist and associate of Pierre Plantard, later admitted in court documents and private correspondence that he fabricated these parchments in the 1960s. The encoding methods he used were his own invention. However, some researchers argue that de Chérisey may have based his forgeries on genuine documents he had seen, documents that have never surfaced publicly. Others suggest the entire parchment story was a 20th-century invention with no historical basis. The prudent approach is to treat the published parchments as modern creations while remaining open to the possibility that Saunière found something—we simply don't have reliable evidence of what that might have been. **Q: Where did Saunière's money actually come from?** A: This question has several possible answers, and the truth may involve a combination of sources: Mass trafficking (documented): Saunière accepted payment for masses he couldn't possibly have performed. His records show he received over 100,000 mass requests. At 1-1.5 francs each, this could account for perhaps 100,000-150,000 francs, significant, but only about a quarter of his recorded spending. The Church tried him for this practice in 1910-1911. Wealthy donors (partially documented): The Countess of Chambord (a Habsburg) donated 3,000 francs in 1886. Other wealthy visitors are recorded but amounts are often unclear. Some researchers suggest he received substantial funding from legitimist (royalist) circles. Selling antiquities (speculative): If Saunière found valuable items in the church or crypt, he may have sold them discreetly. The region has yielded Visigothic artifacts. Treasure discovery (unproven): The romantic explanation, that he found hidden wealth, remains possible but unsubstantiated. The uncomfortable truth: His recorded spending exceeds any single explanation. Either his records are incomplete, some funding sources remain unknown, or we're missing part of the picture. His refusal to explain his finances to Church authorities, even under threat of suspension, suggests he had something to hide. **Q: What is the Priory of Sion?** A: The Priory of Sion presents two very different stories depending on your source: The claimed history: According to documents deposited in the Bibliothèque Nationale (Les Dossiers Secrets), the Priory was founded in 1099 in Jerusalem, predating and secretly controlling the Knights Templar. Its Grand Masters supposedly included Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Jean Cocteau. The organization allegedly protected the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene through the Merovingian dynasty. The documented history: French police records show Pierre Plantard registered an association called "Prieuré de Sion" in 1956 in Annemasse. Its stated purpose was social housing. Plantard later admitted in court (1993) that he had fabricated the Grand Master lists and ancient lineage. The Dossiers Secrets were demonstrated to be his creation, with assistance from Philippe de Chérisey. Why it matters: The Priory story became central to "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" and subsequently "The Da Vinci Code." While these are fascinating narratives, treating the Priory as a genuine ancient organization is not supported by historical evidence. This doesn't necessarily invalidate all aspects of the Rennes-le-Château mystery—Saunière's unexplained wealth predates Plantard by decades—but it does mean claims specifically linked to the Priory documents should be viewed with considerable skepticism. **Q: Who was Henri Boudet and what is "La Vraie Langue Celtique"?** A: Abbé Henri Boudet (1837-1915) was the priest of nearby Rennes-les-Bains from 1872 until 1914. He and Saunière certainly knew each other—both attended the funeral of Antoine Gélis, for instance—though the exact nature of their relationship remains debated. In 1886, Boudet self-published "La Vraie Langue Celtique et le Cromleck de Rennes-les-Bains" at considerable personal expense (over 5,000 francs for 500 copies). The book presents a bizarre linguistic theory: that place names throughout the region derive from English (!) words, which Boudet claimed was the original Celtic language. The book's thesis is linguistically absurd and was dismissed by scholars even in his time. This has led many researchers to conclude the book's true purpose lies elsewhere—perhaps as an elaborate coded guide to locations in the landscape. Boudet was an avid hiker who knew every stone and stream in the area. Some researchers see Boudet as the mastermind behind whatever secret Saunière discovered. Others view him as a brilliant eccentric whose strange book is merely that—strange. The truth may never be known, as Boudet left no explanatory notes and all but 98 copies of his book were destroyed. **Q: What happened to Antoine Gélis?** A: Abbé Antoine Gélis, the 70-year-old priest of Coustaussa (a village visible from Rennes-le-Château), was brutally murdered on the night of 31st October 1897. He was struck at least 14 times with fire tongs and his skull was crushed. The murder remains officially unsolved. The strange details: • Gélis was known to be secretive and kept his presbytery locked • He let his killer in—suggesting he knew them • Despite a thorough search of the house, nothing valuable was taken • Papers were scattered, some blood-stained, suggesting the killer searched for specific documents • The body was carefully arranged, with hands folded • Gélis had been planning to move to a new parish within days Both Saunière and Boudet attended his funeral. Gélis was known to have had large sums of money, the source of which was also unexplained. Some researchers see his murder as connected to whatever secret the priests of the region shared; others believe it was unrelated—perhaps a dispute over inheritance or a personal vendetta. The timing and proximity to Saunière's activities make it intriguing, but no evidence directly links the two. **Q: What does "Et in Arcadia Ego" mean and why is it important?** A: The Latin phrase "Et in Arcadia Ego" translates roughly as "Even in Arcadia, I am"—with "I" understood to mean Death. It's a memento mori: even in the ideal pastoral paradise of Arcadia, death is present. The phrase first appeared in painting with Guercino (c.1618-1622) and was made famous by Nicolas Poussin in two versions of "Les Bergers d'Arcadie" (The Arcadian Shepherds), painted in 1627 and 1637-38. The second version, now in the Louvre, shows shepherds examining a tomb bearing this inscription. Connection to Rennes-le-Château: • According to De Sède (prompted by Plantard), Saunière purchased a reproduction of this painting in Paris • A tomb near the village at Les Pontils bore striking resemblance to the one in Poussin's painting until it was demolished in 1988 • The phrase appears encoded in the (disputed) parchments • It features on the (possibly authentic) tombstone of Marie de Nègre d'Ables Anagram theories: Some claim the phrase anagrams to "I TEGO ARCANA DEI" (Begone, I conceal God's secrets) or similar phrases, though this requires creative letter manipulation. Whether Poussin knew secrets about the region, or whether these connections are coincidental or manufactured, remains one of the mystery's most debated questions. **Q: Who was Marie de Nègre d'Ables?** A: Marie de Nègre d'Ables (1714-1781) was the last of the main branch of the Hautpoul family, the local nobility who had owned Rennes-le-Château for centuries. She married François d'Hautpoul in 1732 and became Dame d'Hautpoul de Blanchefort after his death in 1753. She died on 17th January 1781 (note the date—17th January recurs suspiciously often in this mystery). Her confessor was Abbé Antoine Bigou, Saunière's predecessor by about a century. According to legend, she confided a family secret to Bigou on her deathbed. The tombstones: Her grave reportedly had two stones—a horizontal slab and a vertical headstone—bearing unusual inscriptions with deliberate errors and coded elements. Saunière allegedly defaced these stones after decoding them (though they were recorded by the Société d'Études Scientifiques de l'Aude in 1905). The problem: The inscriptions as commonly published come from Les Dossiers Secrets. While some form of inscription existed (per the 1905 survey), the elaborate codes may be later embellishments. The horizontal stone supposedly read "ET IN ARCADIA EGO" among other text. Marie de Nègre represents a potential link between Saunière and older secrets of the region—but separating historical fact from later mythology is extremely difficult. **Q: What is the connection to the Knights Templar?** A: The Knights Templar were a medieval military order founded around 1119, suppressed by Pope Clement V in 1312. They were certainly present in the Languedoc region—the Château de Bézu above the village of Le Bézu was associated with them, and local noble families had Templar connections. The claimed connections: • The region was supposedly a Templar stronghold • Templar treasure may have been hidden here when the order was suppressed • The "Templar shaft" discovered on Mont Cardou allegedly bears Templar symbols • Some researchers link the treasure of Jerusalem (which the Visigoths took from Rome, who took it from Jerusalem) to Templar knowledge The documented facts: • Templars were present in the region, though Bézu was likely a minor site • No Templar treasure has ever been found in the area • The "Templar symbols" in local caves could date from various periods • The Templars' sudden suppression did lead to legends of hidden wealth throughout Europe Assessment: The Templar connection is largely speculative. While they were historically present, there's no documented evidence linking specific Templar activities to whatever Saunière found. The connection may owe more to the appeal of Templar mystique than historical evidence. **Q: What about the Cathars and Montségur?** A: The Cathars (or Albigensians) were a Christian dualist movement that flourished in the Languedoc from the 11th to 13th centuries. They were brutally suppressed in the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229) and subsequent Inquisition. Montségur, their last stronghold, fell in 1244 after a nine-month siege; 225 Cathars who refused to recant were burned alive. The Cathar treasure legend: • Before Montségur's fall, four Cathars reportedly escaped with "the treasure of their church" • This treasure was never found and its nature is unknown • Some identify it with the Holy Grail or other sacred objects • The nearby caves and mountains have been searched for centuries Connection to Rennes-le-Château: • The region was Cathar territory • Otto Rahn, a German researcher (later SS), explored the area in the 1930s seeking Cathar secrets • Some theories link Saunière's discovery to Cathar hiding places Reality check: The Cathars were ascetics who rejected material wealth. Their "treasure" was more likely sacred texts or perhaps the consolamentum ritual itself. Rennes-le-Château is about 50km from Montségur—connected by region but not by direct Cathar history. The link is evocative but unsubstantiated. **Q: What is the significance of the number 17?** A: The number 17, particularly the date 17th January, appears with unusual frequency in the mystery: • 17th January 1781: Death of Marie de Nègre d'Ables • 17th January 1917: Saunière suffers his fatal stroke • 17th January: A light phenomenon occurs in the church when sunlight passes through stained glass • 17th January: Feast day of St. Sulpice and St. Anthony • The tombstone of Jean Vié (Boudet's predecessor) appears manipulated to emphasise "17 Janvier" • "Le Serpent Rouge" was allegedly deposited on 17th January 1967 • The Declaration of the Rights of Man has 17 articles Is this significant or coincidence? Skeptics note that if you look for any number, you'll find it—this is confirmation bias. January 17th is also a common date in European Catholic calendars (multiple feast days). Believers see a deliberate pattern, perhaps marking an important anniversary or encoding a message. The truth likely lies somewhere between: some connections may be genuine (the light phenomenon, the feast days), while others may be coincidence or later fabrications to reinforce the pattern. **Q: What is the "Blue Apples" phenomenon?** A: On 17th January, around midday, sunlight passing through the stained glass window depicting the raising of Lazarus creates coloured spots on the church wall. This effect has been dubbed "Pommes Bleues" (Blue Apples), a phrase that appears in the decoded message from the Grand Parchment. The reality: • The phenomenon is real and can be observed on clear days around 17th January • The Lazarus window was installed in September 1887 • The colours are more multicoloured than blue • Light effects in churches with stained glass windows are extremely common The problem: If Saunière went to Paris in 1892 to have parchments decoded (as the story claims), the phrase "Pommes Bleues" would have been discovered years after the window was installed. This suggests either: • The parchment story is false (the phrase was invented to match the existing window) • The timing is wrong • It's coincidence that was later given significance The phenomenon is certainly atmospheric and worth seeing, but its evidentiary value for the mystery is questionable. ## This Site **Q: Who runs this website?** A: This website is maintained by Corjan Mol, a researcher who has been studying and documenting the Rennes-le-Château mystery since 2003. The site aims to be the most comprehensive English-language resource on the subject. Our approach: • Present documented facts separately from theories and speculation • Acknowledge uncertainties rather than pretend to have answers • Include multiple perspectives, including skeptical viewpoints • Provide access to primary sources where possible • Update content as new information emerges The site is not affiliated with any tour operator, secret society, religious organisation, or commercial interest beyond standard advertising. **Q: How can I contact you?** A: You can reach us through the contact page. We welcome: • Corrections to factual errors • Additional documented information • High-quality photographs (with permission to use) • Suggestions for improving the site • Translations of source documents Due to volume, we cannot respond to every message, but all are read. We cannot answer questions like "where is the treasure?" (we don't know) or verify personal theories (we're not qualified to do so). **Q: How accurate is this information?** A: We strive for accuracy but acknowledge limitations: What we try to do: • Cite sources where possible • Distinguish between documented facts and speculation • Identify disputed or debunked claims • Present multiple perspectives on controversial questions • Update information when errors are identified Challenges: • Much "information" about Rennes-le-Château derives from demonstrated hoaxes • Primary sources are scattered, in French, and sometimes inaccessible • Later books often repeat earlier errors without verification • Even researchers who've spent decades on the mystery disagree fundamentally Our approach: When sources conflict, we try to present both views. When evidence is lacking, we say so. We'd rather admit uncertainty than present speculation as fact. If you find an error, please let us know through the contact page. **Q: Can I use content from this site?** A: Content on this site is protected by copyright. Permitted without asking: • Brief quotations (a few sentences) with attribution and a link to the source • Sharing links to our pages on social media or forums • Referencing our work in academic or journalistic contexts with proper citation Requires permission: • Reproducing substantial text excerpts • Using our photographs or original graphics • Translating content into other languages • Any commercial use To request permission, contact us through the contact page explaining your intended use. **Q: What are the best books for further reading?** A: Skeptical/Critical analysis: • "The Treasure of Rennes-le-Château: A Mystery Solved" by Bill Putnam & John Edwin Wood—methodical debunking of many claims • Works by René Descadeillas—local historian, skeptical of treasure theories Classic narratives (read critically): • "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" by Baigent, Leigh & Lincoln—the book that made the mystery famous, but based largely on the Dossiers Secrets • "The Tomb of God" by Andrews & Schellenberger—geometric analysis of the landscape Primary source compilations: • Works by Antoine Captier—grandson of Saunière's bellringer, has family documents • "Histoire du Trésor de Rennes-le-Château" by Pierre Jarnac—comprehensive French documentation Boudet's book: • "The True Celtic Language and the Cromleck of Rennes-les-Bains"—English translation available; bizarre but potentially significant Avoid: • Anything treating the Priory of Sion as historical fact • Books presenting decoded "solutions" without acknowledging the parchments are forgeries • Works that don't distinguish between documented facts and speculation ## Visiting **Q: Where exactly is Rennes-le-Château?** A: Rennes-le-Château is a small hilltop village in the Aude department of the Occitanie region in southern France. It sits at approximately 500 metres elevation overlooking the Aude river valley. Getting there: • From Carcassonne: 40 km south (about 45 minutes by car) • From Toulouse: 110 km south (about 1.5 hours) • From Perpignan: 90 km west (about 1.5 hours) • Nearest train station: Couiza-Montazels (5 km) • Nearest airport: Carcassonne (40 km) The village is accessed by a winding mountain road. There is limited parking near the entrance. The village itself is small—permanent population around 100—and can be explored on foot in a few hours. GPS coordinates: 42.9290° N, 2.2620° E **Q: What are the opening hours and entrance fees?** A: The Domaine de l'Abbé Saunière (the museum complex including Tour Magdala, Villa Bethania, and gardens) charges an entrance fee. Hours vary seasonally—check the official tourism website before visiting. The church: The Church of St. Mary Magdalene is an active parish church. Access is generally free during opening hours, though it may be closed during services. Respectful behaviour is expected. The cemetery: Adjacent to the church, usually accessible during daylight hours. The village: The streets, viewpoints, and some exterior sites are freely accessible. Practical notes: • There are a few small restaurants and cafés • A bookshop sells mystery-related literature • Limited toilet facilities • Comfortable walking shoes recommended for the uneven terrain **Q: What else can I see in the area?** A: Within 10 km: • Rennes-les-Bains: Spa town, Boudet's church, natural thermal waters, mysterious stones in the surrounding landscape • Couiza: Larger town with amenities, the Château des Ducs de Joyeuse • Coustaussa: Ruined château, church where Gélis was murdered • Montazels: Saunière's birthplace Within 30 km: • Château de Blanchefort: Ruined castle, difficult access • Château de Bézu: Templar-associated ruins • Limoux: Charming town, Notre-Dame de Marceille sanctuary • Bugarach: The "mystical mountain," spectacular landscape • Arques: Castle, the Déodat Roché museum of Catharism Day trip distance: • Carcassonne: Medieval walled city (UNESCO World Heritage Site) • Montségur: Last Cathar stronghold, dramatic mountaintop fortress • Quillan: Market town, outdoor activities The region rewards extended exploration. Many sites require hiking or difficult driving on mountain roads. **Q: When is the best time to visit?** A: For weather and crowds: • Spring (April-June): Pleasant temperatures, wildflowers, moderate visitors • Summer (July-August): Hot, very busy, longer opening hours • Autumn (September-October): Excellent weather, harvest season, fewer crowds • Winter (November-March): Cold, some facilities reduced hours, very quiet For specific phenomena: • 17th January: The "Blue Apples" light effect in the church (weather permitting) • 22nd July: Mary Magdalene's feast day, special significance Practical considerations: • Weekends are busier than weekdays • The village is small; it can be toured in half a day • Combining with other regional sites makes for a better trip • Book accommodation in Couiza, Limoux, or Carcassonne—options in Rennes-le-Château are very limited Photography note: Early morning and late afternoon light are best for the landscape. The church interior can be dark—a tripod may be useful where permitted. --- ## Contact For more information about the Rennes-le-Château mystery, visit https://renneslechateau.nl Contact: contact@renneslechateau.nl