Cassini and the lost knowledge

 

A country without maps?

In 1681, Colbert underlines to the king of France the urgency to establish “geographical maps of France, more exact than those which have been done up to now”. Initially, Picard sees himself entrusted the task to draw up the “general framework” of this operation, whose innovative value is unique in the history of France. Picard is the instigator of the principle of triangulation on the scale of a department, a region or even a country. This scientist, in 1668, was able to demonstrate how to measure “the arch of a terrestrial meridian line” over a distance equivalent to 130 modern kilometres, between Malvousins (Essonne region) and Sourdan (Somme).

Cassini

It is around this time that a project is initiated to establish a “zero meridian”, the “baseline” from which all future calculations can be made and which will climax with the establishment of the essential triangulations that are required to create the detailed maps of France that Colbert requires. This gigantic topographic survey will be achieved from a fixed point in Paris: a then non-existent observatory, which itself will need to be built. Thus is born, in 1667, under the auspices of the Royal Academy of Sciences, the Royal Observatory.
The chosen site is located on religious grounds: the abbey of Port-Royal, the noviciate of the Fathers of the Oratory and the noviciate of the Capuchins. The plans for the building are drawn up by Claude Perrault, the brother of the famous author Charles Perrault. Some of the people involved also seem to belong to an organisation known as “the Fog”, or “Le Brouillard” in French, and certain dignitaries of the observatory itself will also become members. Why is a question that has been posed for four centuries.

Triangulations by Cassini

The crowning moment… and monument

Various places need to be selected and specialists retained, trained and sent to these sites to do their observations and create their maps. To ensure and manage this project, it is necessary to find a master who is skilled both in astronomy and geography.
Colbert submits just one name to the king of France; only one man has the knowledge and the capabilities to achieve such a task, he states. After much negotiations and initial refusals, this man, Jean-Domenica Cassini (1625-1712) accepts the work order. Louis XIV then entrusts to him the responsibility of running the Paris Observatory, the headquarters of this project. Thus begins a true dynastic saga that will involve four Cassinis, each of which will succeed its predecessor: Jean-Domenica Cassini, Jacques Cassini (known as Cassini II; to him we owe a lot of gratitude towards mapping the shape of the Earth), César-François Cassini de Thyry (who will draw up the charts of the kingdom of France on the scale 1/86400°), and finally Jean-Domenica, count of Cassini (1748-1845), who will complete the cartographic work of “French State”.

The construction of the meridian immediately brings out certain intriguing details. For sure, this can only be the fruit of chance or divine providence. Chance, therefore, has it run through the northernmost part of France in Dunkirk, and still is able to pass through Paris, the capital. It ends, in the south, in Prats-de-Mollo, the last town before the Spanish border. Let us note that this town still retains a fort that belonged to the Perillos family, who drew up the first defences of this site at their own expense. Prats-de-Mollo also retains, on the side of the church, a bone of the famous Babaos, the monstrous beast that devastated the Perillos area, destroyed by Ramon de Perillos upon his return from the crusades.

The axis mundi

The great sextan of Cassini

The axis of the world. In the skies, the constellations of the Great and Little Bear govern it; the Polar star is the immovable axis around which the vault of heaven turns. The bear: as in the Roussillon, the country whose first lords have blended in with a legend that all revolves around a bear. Roussillon, as in “roux sillon”: russet-red furrow, which is of course a red line… or a meridian. Coincidence? Irrelevant; we find such thoughts in the writings of Cassini himself, when he admires the enigmatic past of the regions he is mapping. And it is in ca. 1630 – just before the time of Cassini – that a royal notary Courtade writes that the grounds of the Roussillon, specifically the lands of Perillos, shelter the tomb of a monarch whose resurrection would save the world.

Characters of the Fog… or Angelica

Let us look more closely into whom the actors are in this gigantic operation. First, we have Picard. He is listed as a member of a company known as the “Brouillard” – The Fog. Those who had access to the company’s register (Gasthon de Mérancourt, Oron Boujeville, Mathieu Cristin Motter, and others) themselves belonged to satellite “circles” of the same company, or another organisation that would soon rise to prominence. Still, his esoteric alliances in no way lessen his scientific qualities… if anything, they may add to it?

The entrance to the Chapel of the Angels, in the domaine owned by the Cassini family

We note that two brothers – Perrault – are affiliated with a company that is known as “Angelic” – Angelica. They are also founders of the first Masonic Lodge, the “Errant Knights”. They also have a specific veneration for June 21: it is on that day that the ground plan of the observatory is established – “solar logic” is thus applied to the enterprise. Finally, we note that the four directors of the observatory (Jean-Domenica Cassini, Jacques Cassini, César-François Cassini de Thyry, and finally Jean-Domenica count of Cassini (1748-1845) are all members of the “Angelica” society, where they occupied the highest ranks (lic arch. Angé - Barret and Mitlot, 1825). Even more curiously, the family retains, to this date, a personal document, never published, which seems to have fallen through the cracks of time – but is it really forgotten, or an intentional omission? This series of “Meridian books” (of which, to our knowledge, there remain only numbers three to six and seven) was added to during the uninterrupted series of four Cassinis as director of the Observatory.
It is in this work, amongst other places, that there are certain accentuated references about certain points of the land; one notes that there is an insistence for sites that are referred to as “archaeological” and that are only located on the Paris Meridian. These sites will later enter into various works that discuss historic events, and specifically in those “histories” that tackle esoteric or Fortean subjects.

Cassini’s curiosity for certain details

Throughout their series of books, the Cassinis will insist that these are important sites – that they are “crowned”, a term they use when referring to them. Not only do they map these places, they also add remarks that can only be described as curious. Moreover, they made archaeological collections of objects that they called “engines” and “antique machines”, though no-one can distinguish the relationship between these technical terms and the functions of these old pieces of furniture.
We also note that a significant part of this collection – the Cassini documents – can be found in the South of France, and not in Paris, in the Bibliothèque Nationale – or the archives of the Observatory. It is the part that is preserved in the region of Perpignan that the Paris prefect Xavier Guichard uses to write, in 1936, Eleusis Aleia; as he notes on page 119, he reuses the “Cassini layout” for sites close to the Observatory, like the passage of the Meridian through Groslay, Montmagny, Deuil, St Denis, Arcueil and Hay. All are sites on which Cassini worked…

The mysteries of a card deck and the Great Monarch

One of the optical instruments used by Cassini

Can one say that the Cassinis could be unaware of what the creation of Meridian would represent for France and the points through which it passed? Certainly not, seeing how intelligent these people were – needed to be for their job. They must have known that the meridian would come to represent much more than just a line on a map.
A meridian has a religious aspect. It expresses the idea that God, the geometrician, measured the earth using a compass. Where he placed the needle was the omphalos, from which he measured the world.
A meridian therefore has a magical aspect. The omphalos is the centre of the world, the navel from which the axis mundi not only divides the world, but also provides a point of access to the higher realms, from which men can ascend to Heaven – God.
The meridian also points toward the pole, which is equally indicated by the iron needle of the compass: it is thus said to be red in colour, as red is the symbolic colour of iron – rust – which is attracted to the pole. We should remember the legend of Christian Rosenkreutz, the guest of the royal wedding, who arrives at a crossroads and needs to decide which road to take to the Bridal Palace. He decides to eliminate the “wrong road” with the help of his compass, refusing to deviate from the meridian. (As can been found in the last part of the Rosicrucian trilogy, the “Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz”)
The meridian marks time and space. Each is an aspect of the other. Time = Space. The meridian connects the two poles. All points on any meridian – longitudinal line – have the same hour and are in “phase” with each other, from the point of view of the sun. Though in different places, they are in the same “time”.
At the pole, all “meridians” – longitudinal lines – meet up; it is a place where both time and space seem to be suspended. Here one comes in contact with the celestial pole, with the motionless pivot of the universe.
The meridian also has a metaphysical component, linked with the “Heavenly City”, “Sion”, the Heavenly Jerusalem. It is here that the legend of the “Great Monarch” comes into play; the man who would rule the Heavenly Jerusalem – Sion – and rule Earth from the centre of the world. This “End of Times” is therefore linked with time… and thus with space?

The fascination of Cassini for Opoul

The next problem is to know what type of information Cassini held. It seems evident that they possessed some type of knowledge about the why and how of creating a “proper” meridian line, its consequences and the mythology that it would create – or emphasize. It is thus necessary to believe that not only were they aware of some knowledge, but that they were also required to intervene in the creation of the meridian, so that this knowledge could be shared – and incorporated into the maps. It almost seems that when France was mapped and the Meridian created, certain people realised they “had” to pass through this family.
It initially seems that Cassini refused the offer of Colbert, but then, on the insistence of the king de France, accepts this mission. This family is powerful and rich. It is known that it was not a financial reason that changed the decision of Cassini… although the last offer that he is proposed is a salary for the rest of his life, in which he will earn every month what he normally earned in a year – a financial incentive that is not easy to neglect.
Another curious detail is to be retained. At the time of the statements and triangulations, Cassini permanently supervised the work. However, work was to proceed slowly since it all revolved around triangulation and the technique itself meant that the team making all the notes never remained for long at the same place. Very curiously, we know that Cassini remained more than two years in Opoul… with his wife and children! This duration does certainly not correspond to the time required to finish his survey. Furthermore, Opoul, at that time, is a village without a noble representative, nor a palace or stately home where he would like to live, together with his crew. Opoul had nothing to offer a man of his taste and surroundings. So why did he willingly downgrade? Finally, if the work did require a topographical station in this area, and this for two years (which is impossible), Perpignan would have been a far better choice when it came to providing him with a nice residence… and he would be more than welcomed by the local aristocracy there. So… why did Cassini, rather than opt for the princely surroundings that he is accustomed to, can afford and must surely prefer, opt to stay in the small village of Opoul, in lodgings that do not correspond to his status, for such a long period, and with his wife and children? What unusual reason pushes this man to remain here? What, furthermore, could he do in Opoul to fill his time? For sure, the landscape and the local wines are not to be neglected, but these seem most illogical candidates to retain as the genuine reason of his interest.

The last visit of a… Cassini to Opoul

The above question went unanswered for a very long period of time. We had to wait until a conference that we organised in November 2005 to find out that we had the privilege to welcome amongst our attendants some of the descendents of Cassini. This man honoured us with his presence and came to discuss with us our work and several elements that had surprised him when he consulted our Internet site. It resulted in a surprising discussion and we soon learned many details about the life of the Cassinis at the time when they were mapping France. One specific document was given to us as “proof”. And this single document immediately clarified – answered – many of our questions. This one document are two pages, themselves part of a larger whole, that forms the compendium of all the “bases” that were used for the triangulations that were necessary to draw up the maps of France; Colbert and the king were waiting for these maps. We have page 358, which is a map, and page 359, which lists the points from the “base of Perpignan”. We can find Bugarach, Canigou, Forceral, Quéribus, Tauch, Tautavel, four maritime signals and… Opoul. Most astonishing is that, on this map, the sector of Opoul is not recorded! How to explain the strange presence of Cassini for more than two years on the only place not shown in the triangulations?… Two years he stayed, and he has nothing to show for it!?

When Cassini refuses to play Opoul in his cards

It means that in the end, Cassini has nothing to show for his work in Opoul. Which begs the question what he did with his time, if not cartography. Did Cassini have an imperative reason to prospect the area as a recluse? If so, why and what precise area?

Admittedly, if the man considered it significant to leave out “certain things”, his position enabled him not to enter data about a specific location. And that is exactly what he did with an area near Opoul. The sceptics will argue that the “white zone” near Perillos, where the map shows no details, could be an error or an unintentional omission. Yes, of course. Alas, it is impossible that Cassini or his seconds would have admitted an error of this size, without demanding that the error would be immediately rectified. Furthermore, between the time of triangulation and the printing of the books with the maps inside, there was time to check the work and make sure that no errors remained. For sure, there must have been some errors, if only through the printer’s manipulation, which Cassini and his aides needed to rectify. But in this instance, it is clear that the “error” cannot be the printer’s, but is native to the maps, which means that it somehow bypassed all checks. Only Cassini could engineer this.
The zone near Perillos is depicted as a white area: “unknown ground”, as if he never set foot on it and did not know what was inside. But his descendents gave us the proof that he did map and triangulate it. Knowing that he spent two years in the area, it is impossible that of all possible areas in France, he would never have ventured into this area. Therefore, logic dictates that Cassini was trying to hide something. Did he have access to specific knowledge about this area? Did someone tell – or ask – him not to divulge certain information about this zone? Or did he agree that it was the only logical and safe thing to do?

Cassini: poet or “centurist”'?

A religious painting in the hall of the castle of the Cassini, which has pears painted on it

There remain other elements that still need to be taken into account. In the files of Cassini exists a text, written by the man himself. At first glance, it appears to be someone trying to be a poet. Though the man is intelligent, it is equally clear that the art of rhyme does not come as easy to him as triangulation and topography. The result will not inspire many, on its poetic power alone. But it is equally clear that the poem resembles a “quatrain”, better known as a “centurie”, a form of poetry made famous by Nostradamus. In this possibility, it would mean that Cassini was trying to convey a message in cryptic format. Furthermore, it is known that this passage of only three lines is also found in one of the smaller registers of the church of Perillos, which was recovered in Durban and which is covered with a red wax seal. This text talks about an event that would occur in the future – and does not seem to have occurred to this day. The question – the important question – is how three lines, word for word, of a poem written by Cassini in Italy end up in a small register of the priests of Perillos.
But this is not all. Let us remember that this is very similar to another aspect of the mystery, in which there is the famous letter from Fouquet to his brother, reporting about a secret that Poussin had transmitted to him… in Italy. There are some similarities here… for a similar letter to that of Fouquet is known to exist in Italy, in the archives of the Cassini family.

An assumption

If we consider each element in an isolated way, we could perhaps conclude that this is all just a coincidence. But taken together, it is clear that this explanation does not stand the test of logic, and a credible scenario emerges if we collate all the pieces…
The Cassini family is somehow (and we do not know how) aware of a type of knowledge. Let us note that the King does not accept anyone else but Cassini, even though others had similar credentials to Cassini. The family meets, when they arrive in France, members of some societies that are more or less secret, or discrete, such as Le Brouillard, Angelica and perhaps others.

A tower in the property of the Cassinis... which resembles a tower in the Aude

Soon, the family becomes aware of “ground zero”, close to Perillos, i.e. Opoul, when they are triangulating France. Cassini stays in the area for two years, but when he produces his map, he cannot reveal (either voluntarily or forced) any detail about “ground zero”. It suggests that for two years, Cassini did visit and scan that area, perhaps solely to understand or verify that what he “knew” is still in situ.
Shortly afterwards, Cassini does mention that what he knows in the form of an awkward poem that contains the truth, the core of the mystery, in the form of a prophecy. The priest of Perillos is either already aware or informed of this text and he reproduces it, without perhaps knowing the reason why, and enters the three lines of text in a small register of the church, which is – centuries afterwards – found in Durban.
When then note a strange similarity between the letter sent by Fouquet to his brother, and another, similar one, known to be in the archives of Cassini in Italy. It speaks of certain knowledge that is of such significance that it could influence even the king of France… which just happens to be the man who sent Cassini on his mission. And we know what fate befell Fouquet, who received the wrath of the King, perhaps because he indeed tried to influence the king with this secret knowledge… Specialists who have analysed the letter furthermore believe that it involves an archaeological secret… and we note that throughout the mapping project, Cassini takes special care in noting down archaeological sites.
It seems that in knowing this secret that could rock kings, Cassini played his card more carefully and used his eraser to leave a blank space on one of his maps. Can it be a coincidence that two centuries later, this exact area is reproduced on order of Bérenger Saunière, priest of Rennes-le-Château, who creates a 3D-representation of that landscape on a model?

André Douzet
We would like to thank Vicenzo and Marialuisa for the hospitality they have shown, as well as opening up their archives, and granting us the right to reproduce this material here.

NB: the illustrations of this article, and in particular the maps of Cassini, cannot be used or reproduced without specific authorization.