Henri Boudet: the mystery priest of Rennes-les-Bains

 

Another priest, but not just any priest

The man who would go down as the “other priest” and potentially the one who controlled Saunière, was born Jean-Jacques Henri Boudet, on November 16, 1837 at Quillan. In fact, Boudet’s life could be described as a north-south movement: his father was the director of the iron works near Axat; he was born in Quillan; he would work in Rennes-les-Bains. At the end of his life, he would eventually move down south again, to Axat, where he lies buried.
Remarkably, though his family came from Axat, and he himself was buried there, his mother, Marie Antonia, was buried in Rennes-les-Bains, as was his sister, who worked as Henri’s housekeeper. His mother died in 1895, his sister in 1896, underlining that those two years must have been troublesome times for Boudet.
In fact, Boudet had to cope with much loss. His younger brother Edmond died before him, in 1907. Edmond worked as a notary in Axat and his name has become part of the mystery, as he produced the maps and sketches for one of Henri’s books – which is seen by many as to why Boudet is part and parcel of “the mystery”.

The enigmatic book

Boudet is now included for his enigmatic book "La Vraie Langue Celtique et le Cromlech de Rennes-les-Bains". The book argues that English is the original Celtic language. The book reads like a rather bad joke, or a new age book several decades before they became popular. It also argues that around Rennes-les-Bains, there is a cromlech, which is equally a long stretch of the imagination, as an absolute majority of the structures Boudet includes are natural, not man-made megalithic constructions.
An extra-ordinary amount of interest has gone towards this book, which is largely because it is believed to contain a code: that the madness is like a layer of veneer, which, when removed, or broken, will reveal a wonderful painting, or the answer to the mystery. For originally, Boudet was seen as being as enigmatic as Saunière. For example, it is known – and a fact – that Boudet channelled money to Saunière. Though some have immediately seen this as bizarre, Rennes-les-Bains was a popular spa town, with rich visitors. Boudet and his colleague Sarda therefore often dealt with people that were dying, or ill, found or rediscovered their religion, and expressed their thanks in their faith by offering donations, some of which seem to have gone not directly to the bishopric, but were instead “managed” by Sarda, Boudet and, it seems, Saunière. That can be proven, but all the rest – why Boudet shared this money with Saunière – is speculation. Why, indeed, would you share money with a fellow priest who receives far more than he should…

And its history

However, back to “the book”. The book was completed in 1880 and published in 1886, roughly the time when Saunière became stationed in nearby Rennes-le-Château. Boudet had to finance the project himself: 500 copies were produced at a cost of 5382 gold francs. Of the 500 copies, only 98 were sold, underlining how poor the book was received, reflecting the standard of the material in it. A further 100 copies were donated to libraries, while 200 copies were distributed by Boudet as gifts to friends, as well as visitors to Rennes-les-Bains. Indeed, one might argue that Boudet had seen a potential gap in the market: people coming to Rennes, who are ill, have little to do, often want to read, and read something about the local history. If that were the case, Boudet could definitely have made his book better accessible. And perhaps he did realise as much, eventually.
The remaining 102 copies were destroyed in 1914, when Boudet was old, and the book almost two decades old and therefore unlikely to sell. Still, some argue that it was Bishop de Beauséjour who had ordered Boudet to accept their pulping. As one might expect, questions are asked as to the bishop’s possible involvement, to heap mystery onto something that does not seem to warrant any: if de Beauséjour wanted this book urgently destroyed, he would have done so much earlier, not more than a decade into his posting as bishop of Carcassonne.

Other history books

However, Boudet also wrote more mainstream books on local history: The Name of Narbonne / Du Nom de Narbonne, published in 1880, Remarks on the Dialect of the Languedoc / Remarques sur le Dialecte Languedocien (1894) and The Book of Axat / Le Livre d’Axat (1896). It seems that after La Vraie Langue Celtique, he had grown up, intellectually, and was now able to write “non-fiction”.
He is also accredited as the author of “Lazare Véni Foras”, which some argue has two editions, one from 1891, the other 1914. However, as outlined elsewhere, this work is usually regarded as a hoax, and not at all of Boudet’s hand.
His interest in archaeology – in evidence from his publications – made him become a member of the Société des Arts et des Sciences de Carcassonne, where he gave two presentations, one on November 5, 1893 and another on November 3, 1896.

The archaeologist

Boudet made extensive walks in the area, was interested in archaeology and photography – interests he definitely shared with Saunière. Though Saunière and Boudet knew each other, the extent of their friendship remains unknown. But seeing they had so many common interests, it seems quite likely that the men met quite regularly. If not, that would have been quite remarkable… and might even suggest there was a reason why the two colleagues and neighbours avoided each other.
Boudet’s interest in archaeology were widely known, and when a sculpted head was found near the town, it was brought to Boudet, who had it placed in the garden wall of the presbytery, where it is now known as the “Tête du Sauveur”.
His long walks made him very familiar with the local area and will have led him to see the various megalithic and other ancient monuments of the area, many of whom were written down in his articles and books. He is also known to have taken an interest in the history of Notre-Dame-de-Marceille, and liaised with the local priest, who was writing his own history of that site. Some of this material ended up in La Vraie Langue Celtique, which shows that his interest in this site existed early on.

Prehistory

For a man who was interested in history and prehistory, Boudet’s own prehistory, prior to his arrival in Rennes-les-Bains, has been ill-studied. He studied at the Petit Seminaire, then the Grand Seminaire, in Carcassonne and was ordained priest on Christmas 1861. His first posting was as vicar of Durban-Corbières, a position he took up on January 1, 1862; he was transferred to Caunes-Minervois on June 16, 1862, followed by a posting to Frestes on November 1, 1866. On October 16, 1872, a decade after his ordination, he arrived in Rennes-les-Bains, where he would remain until the end of his calling.
As we keep underlining: as vicar of Durban-Corbières, he was also responsible for the community of Perillos and in Durban itself, the archives of the old parish of Perillos had been relocated, so he would have had access to these, if he so desired – or was instructed to do. And he was not the only person with a prehistory in Durban, as the famously murdered priest Gélis, who lived in Coustaussa, had equally been posted there. And we know that Saunière would at one point in his life frequent Durban, speaking to prominent local families, apparently in search of documents to do with the history of the region. This would suggest that even in casual conversations, without Boudet fully aware, Saunière might have been trying to find out “things” about Durban.

Boudet’s name also comes up in the “transmission account”, a document which tries to argue how information in the possession of Bigou, the priest of Rennes-les-Château at the time of the French Revolution, ended up being known by Saunière. The account is unsubstantiated by historical facts even though, it has to be said, too few “researchers” have delved into this stream.
Remarkably, this transmission account focuses on the role of another enigmatic priest, Cayron, whom, the account argues, financed the education of the young Henri Boudet. There is no direct evidence for this either. As to why Cayron financed Henri’s education: it is said that he was a family friend of the Boudet family, allowing him to enter the seminary in Carcassonne. It is added that he was even a student of Cayron, who was apparently instrumental in allowing Boudet to study English – the language he would greatly abuse in his “masterwork” “The True Celtic Language”. The account argues that it was Boudet who told Saunière of the secret that was present in his village of Rennes-le-Château.

A history of notaries

The extent to which his brother Edmond was involved, is hard to estimate. But we can make a few basic observations. First, Edmond was a notary in Axat. We know that one well-known aspect of the mystery is a will of François-Pierre, Baron d'Hautpoul, which was registered by Antoine Captier, a notary of Espéraza on November 23, 1644. This is the timeframe of royal notary, Courtade, who at the same time is collating inventories of possessions in the region. Courtade was based in Quillan. These documents would later end up with a notary in Durban-Corbières. There is no evidence that Edmond Boudet ever visited Durban, but it is not a stretch of the imagination that Edmond visited his brother during his posting in Durban. It is nevertheless unlikely that a brief encounter with a notary of Durban occurred, though, as it has to be mentioned, in 1862, Edmond was only 22 years old. Either way, it is clear that some key information was in the hands of notaries, and Edmond’s job gave him certain privileges which would have come in handy, if Boudet was indeed looking for something. Even leaving Durban-Corbières and Courtade outside the scope, the possible involvement of Edmond Boudet with the Hautpoul will has received too little attention, specifically as this will is more than likely at the very core of the mystery.

The end

Boudet’s posting at Rennes-les-Bains ended on April 30, 1914. He was in poor health, but apparently, he was also unable to pay the rent on the presbytery. Indeed, though Saunière’s monetary problems late in life have been widely reported, that Boudet seemed to have a lack of funds at the same time, is less widely reported.
Boudet moved to his family home at Axat. On March 30, 1915, he died, from intestinal cancer.
Even in death, Boudet continued to create havoc. Buried at Axat in the grave of his brother Edmond, the tomb has a somewhat enigmatic raised section, which has the inscription IXOIS and a carved open book. Various theories about what this supposedly means, have been posited, including the popular – though highly unlikely – theory that the open book and the inscription somehow are a coded reference – a key – that one needs to study a specific page of La Vraie Langue Celtique, and that, as such, all will become clear. However, those who have applied this technique, have became anything but illuminated.

It is said that upon his death his books and papers were thrown upon the rubbish dump at Axat, where they were recovered by a local family in whose possession they remain today. If this were true, the question remains whether they contain anything of value. Were these more wanderings of his archaeological mind, or might some of his papers indeed contain information that provide us with insights into his own finances, or clues about his role, or not, in the mystery?
In the end, Boudet, however much he wrote, remains a closed book: far more enigmatic than Saunière, he is often seen as true centre of the mystery… but he is definitely a mystery all of his own.

Filip Coppens