Secrets of the church of Perillos Part 3: The Open Secret

 

A diversion via Courtade

It is possible, if not certain, that the secret of the church of St Michael in Perillos was not merely owned by the lords of Perillos, but also a limited amount of religious people: the priests of Perillos. This possibility would not make them unique. In fact, it is this “alliance” between the local lord and the local priest that many have seen as the “key” to the mystery of Rennes-le-Château. Speaking of which…
Let us not forget that the notary B. Courtade had access to all the deeds and testaments concerning the property rights of Perillos in the 17th century. Courtade is also the name of a priest of Brenac, a village from where you can see Rennes-le-Château clearly. Courtade was a friend of Bérenger Saunière and was indeed a member of the same family from which the notary came. We can only ask what type of questions and requests Saunière asked of his friend – and whether Saunière befriended him for this reason alone, or whether Saunière’s interest in Perillos originated from his friendship with Courtade, or is just one factor of many. There is, at the moment, no evidence that proves that Saunière asked his friend to go through his family archives in search of documents relating to the property rights, but knowing that Saunière went to Durban and befriended families there in efforts to get into their family archives – which contained parts of the archives of the church of Perillos – it is not an absurd question. And we note that if Saunière was able to locate who would possess the Courtade documents that lists the rights of properties and their locations, it would be the easiest and quickest method of identifying the plot containing the two tombs – much faster than endlessly scouring the hill tops and valleys in and around Perillos, hoping to find them that way.

A layout reveals knowledge

But let us return to the church of Perillos, which was, as mentioned, the ancient chapel of the lords of Perillos… just like the church of Mary Magdalene in Rennes-le-Château had been at one point in its history for its local lords. Though the church of Rennes-le-Château changed its patron saint during this transition, in Perillos the sanctuary remained dedicated to its original patron: the Archangel Michael.
In previous parts, we have outlined how the church’s placement became established by its function: covering a series of cavities, leading to an underground network, which could be used for several purposes. Amongst these are a crypt for the deceased, an escape route in case of siege… perhaps even a method to get lovers into and out of the castle without certain eyes seeing… who knows. Though we have so far not yet identified through what mechanism access to this network could be – was – established, we have at least identified the location where this network was accessed.
Let us focus on the underground realms of this religious edifice. With the consent of the then mayor, we were able to accomplish an architectural survey of the building. This document is currently available for consultation and we have created it in a manner that only lists what is there, without any added interpretation or speculation. Anyone who wants to do so, can form his or her hypothesis from this document.
The drawings make clear that there was a narrow and short primitive foundation which can correspond to a kind of oratory. We then find a wider and broad layout, which must correspond to the structure that was the chapel of the castle. Finally, superimposed on the two first bases is the construction of the present church, realigned at ninety degrees in respect of the first building (chapel) worthy of that name.

First draft of a sanctuary

As to the first construction. One finds a stone base, forming a foundation, which is extra thick, on the right hand side while entering the church. This extends to the west from the nave, practically onto the baptismal font. It is a kind of rudimentary layout forming a right angle with what remains of two extremely old walls. They may be the last vestiges of a consequent construction, if one judges by the thickness of these foundations. If it is a wall it can, at most, be that of a non-angular tower, but certainly not the remains of a rampart of a defence, precisely because of the angle, which would not have been at this place. If this solution is hardly satisfactory, we can nevertheless admit that we find ourselves on the site of a small religious building, like a small sanctuary. It would be a totally satisfactory solution, if it were not for the thickness of the wall, which consistently measures approximately 1.50 metres – very thick.

On the other hand, a small building with strong walls becomes acceptable if it is taken into account that there must be, in its basement, an entrance towards a natural fault which must, from time immemorial, have been obscured. Let us note that it is possible that the site was sacred from time immemorial, for this very reason: that it was an opening towards the entrails of the earth. In other cultures, such sites are known to have been very sacred to the local population, specifically as the cave was seen as an entrance in “Mother Earth”. In this case, a small sanctuary, or another monument, dedicated to some divinity could have been superimposed on the opening. It is logical to assume that with the advent of Christianity, this site was “converted” and made into an oratory. The presence of a small pagan structure that was converted into an oratory may also explain why the axis of the construction was directed towards the North, and not aligned East-West, as would be customary if Christianity had built its oratory on virgin soil.
The northern alignment may also have had a mystical or mythical origin, or result from a polar religion. We note that this “direction” was carefully “occulted” by deliberately orientating the three chapels of Perillos towards the North. It suggests that the local lords must have possessed privileged knowledge about what had gone or was going on on their territories. It suggests that they continued to allow or support this cult. Furthermore, we note that Christianity was also used to obscure the specific and secretive character of the site’s subterranean network: first the oratory, than a chapel and eventually a church were placed on top of the opening so as to obscure, but also regulate access to the underground network. Let us add that it was also Christianity that was at the foundation of, or the excuse for, naming two or more tombs on Perillos’ territory that were deemed to be both dangerous and royal. It is our qualified opinion that there is a direct connection between these two locations (identified on Saunière’s model) and the access from the church. Knowledge of the latter would normally have resulted in more detailed knowledge about the former. In short, it is expected that the lords of Perillos were always aware of the existence of two precious locations on their territory. It is likely that they shared this knowledge with the local clergy, namely the resident priests of the village, who was someone who would logically have or require to have access to this structure.

The second construction

Time passes… and the first lords of Perillos are conscious of what presents the secret, but they can do nothing but protect it, try to profit from it (if desired) and (if desired) use it as a means with which to accomplish their own goals. To some extent, this is exactly what they did, for they turned part of the underground network into their family crypt. As elsewhere, women will be excluded from the site – if not the knowledge. Their necropolis is elsewhere; this crypt is reserved for the men of Perillos.

St Barbara

As such, on top of the vestiges of the first religious construction, i.e. the oratory, the chapel of the lords of Perillos is constructed. This structure was built with its axis aligned north-south, following the alignment of the oratory. It is most likely that it is in this era in which the first chapel of St Barbara and the oratory dedicated to St Theresa (listed as existing in 1654, built on the domain of la Belle Oriole) were constructed. As mentioned, all three religious buildings of Perillos were orientated towards the poles, rather than orientated according to the Church’s norm, i.e. east-west.

Obstinate points

Later, the castle’s chapel is re-orientated. Though traces from its former alignment remain visible to the trained eye (the untrained eye will see the anomalies after repeated exposure to the site), for a casual observer, nothing makes it apparent that before, the church was orientated north-south.
Amongst some of the more obvious traces of the re-orientation are the locations of the entrance. It is to the north, and it is ascending. We note that there is “flat surface” behind the bell-tower, as well as behind the church (south side), an area which has some structures that would originally have been attached to or have been part of the church/chapel, if possible allowing direct access from these structures to the church, rather than having completely separate entrances. This level access would have been desirable over the current type of entrance.

The survey makes it clear that some of the present walls were built on top of the foundations of earlier structures – or incorporated some of the earlier structures and walls. On the right side of the entrance, towards the small baptismal font, we are largely on the old layout of the oratory and the chapel. The old chapel walls used the same foundations as the oratory before. The most visible evidence remains identifiable when we turn from the chapel towards the cemetery. That western wall, at its foundation, shows a line of masonry that is thicker than the current wall. It is a remnant of the previous constructions. It is obvious that there is no need to make use of expensive tools or other machinery to see this.

We know what the current structure looks like: its entrance is to the north, the altar to the left (east), a baptismal font and a “mezzanine level” on the west side. The chapel of the castle had the choir to the south. As such, the altar was against a wall which was strengthened by two exterior “contreforts”, which still exist. The wall still (partially) exists and can be seen on the left hand side of the entrance gate to the cemetery. That flat area, currently of no use, was originally part of the church – the choir. Inside, there was an arch spanning the width of the church. This arch is still visible: it is a beautiful roman arch which at the moment does not serve any purpose. The arch rests on a column that is probably visigothic. The arch originally marked the end of the choir and the rest of the church, which extended further north (towards the present entrance). The entrance to the chapel was therefore the entrance which we still use today. The entrance of the chapel was thus located in the north… like today, but unlike today, the original entrance was at the “end” (width) of the building, not its side (length).
Finally, we note that the remaining walls from this previous structure show a better quality of workmanship, as well as being executed with greater care than the current shape of the building.

A gate for the dead?

From what remains of the old chapel, we can deduce that there was never any opening of any kind that would serve as a window. It is therefore permitted to conclude that this building, when the door was closed, was completely shrouded in darkness – which is remarkable in itself.

Serres, gate of the dead

In medieval times, a doorway in the north wall was known as a “gate of the dead”. This architectural feature is on occasion still seen in some Roman churches in the Languedoc region, such as at Serres, Rennes-le-Château and in ancient chapels of the Minervois region. These types of doors were systematically walled in at the time of the construction of the sanctuary. Its use was symbolical, reserved for the souls of the deceased; it was the gate that the soul used to take from its mortal remains during the funerary ceremony and go to the other world. [The concept of this “false door” is very old and examples exist in ancient Egyptian tombs and elsewhere.]
The gate was solely meant for the souls of the dead and to make sure that the living would not use, it was sealed from the very beginning. The gate that had to be used by the living congregation was located elsewhere, normally in the west. In the case of the church of St Michael in Perillos, the entrance – and only door – is located in the north wall, as if the local population did not follow the local traditions – indeed, the congregation, which must have been aware of these customs, may (perhaps likely) have wondered whether they were not inviting bad luck into their community by using this doorway normally reserved for the dead. Once again, we note a deviation from the norm when it comes to observing religious customs in Perillos…

The third edifice… a tree obscuring the forest

Finally, we arrive at the present building, which is the church that we can visit today… at least if it were open. It was the church of the village that had replaced the previous religious buildings: probably a pagan a temple at first, which was turned into an oratory and then into a chapel.

Of the chapel, few things remain:
- the entrance porch, above which a “repair stone” has been installed, either indicating when the reorientation occurred or when other repair works were carried out.
- the west wall. This wall has been further extended by building a clock tower on top, into which two bells were placed. One bell has been stolen a very long time ago. The second was taken into “care” by someone who wanted to preserve it for posterity. Nevertheless, that “caretaker” has so far failed to mention that it is he who has the bell in his possession and is taking good care of it. Still, even if it were returned, no-one would be able to ring the bell, for that part is in the possession of someone else!
Hoping for the time when both are reunited, perhaps even in their proper place, let us meanwhile look at the western wall. We clearly distinguish the line that indicates where the old building was. Upon the old wall’s foundation, someone has rather precariously placed the wall that we see today. This “uncleanliness” in execution of the work has thus left us with a very visual reminder of what was there before. On the outside of the south wall we can distinguish quite clearly the roman arch that is so clearly visible from inside the chapel. The manner in which the work was carried out is once again of inferior quality. And when looking upon this wall from the outside, the visitor needs to realise that he is standing in what was the choir of the chapel of the lords. All of these details, still visible, show how the old orientation was north-south. By changing its location, various clues as to the whereabouts of some structures was cleverly removed from the observing eyes that scanned across the structure.

The primitive altar and the chapel of the lords

Let us now return to the interior of the church of St Michael in Perillos. We note another anomaly which hardly anyone seems to have observed. In the choir that was added in the east (we note the bad building work that links the old and new structure) there is the baroque altar. Nothing too remarkable, were it not for the fact that on our immediate left, there is a second altar… which isn’t really an altar, if only because that altar doesn’t sit in a side chapel. When we look more closely to this “altar”, it is more like a series of stones that have been placed together and covered with plaster. Upon even closer inspection, it becomes clear that at floor level, this is a raised platform, upon which an altar has been placed. This is remarkable. Why was it built? It is almost as if the builders had a certain amount of stones left and without knowing what to do with it, heaped them up and then placed a small altar on top? This makes little sense.
In our opinion, this is the original altar, the one used in the chapel of the castle, which people obviously would not have wanted to get rid off. It could obviously not be left where it was, for it would find itself outside the religious perimeter and open to the elements. But for some reason, it was not “good enough” to serve as the main altar of the “new” church. So it was converted into this “second altar”. But that does not explain everything. Why place it here? It could have been placed on the western wall, which would have looked peculiar – though we note that such a peculiarity can be found inside an important church in Perpignan. But there is another observation to be made: is it a coincidence that this raised platform sits on the old axis of the chapel… opposite the location where it would have stood originally? As the old choir was removed and sat on the exterior of the church, the old altar nevertheless remained on its old axis, but inside the new building.
The old elements of this chapel are still all there… it just takes a little bit of effort to see what is there and reconstruct what was there before.

A church paved with good intentions

We now need to look at the floor of this church. We will consider the floor level in the nave to be “base level”. When entering, we have the choir on the left (in the east), which was added and which sits, because of the needs of the new church, on slightly elevated ground. This is just one step, with the main altar positioned on a further step up.
In the west, i.e. to the right, along the pinion, we still find the edge of the old base level, across the entire length of this wall. The old baptismal font is also located on slightly raised ground. Opposite sits the small staircase that leads to the mezzanine. There are therefore several raised parts, one the result of the addition of the choir, the other because it sits on top of… something. What?
We stare at the floor, not because we can’t look someone in the eye, but because there are some peculiarities. It is paved with old, baked stones. The floor has several signs of having been “touched up”; it is evident as the stones are slightly different in size, colour, shape, etc. Nevertheless, as a whole, the stones are square… though a small amount is rectangular.

In general, we can note that the floor has relatively well survived the test of time. There are few broken stones in the nave, the choir or the entrance. But it is around the entrance that there is a major anomaly. From the entrance porch, going towards the right (west), the stones seem to have withstood the test of time worse than their colleagues elsewhere in the church; their colour is less intense, and they look the worse for wear. We could argue that this is merely the result from the fact that this part of the church has seen more people standing and walking on that area than elsewhere. But, if this were the case, than we should see this elsewhere, such as in the aisle between the pews. Indeed, we do find that some of the stones in that location are broken or chipped, but they are not as “discoloured” as those towards the entrance are. And that is an oddity. The discolouration should therefore be seen not from wear, but the result of another reason.

Broken stones… but why?

First, the broken tiles. This type of “broken tiles” is quite often caused by a weakness of the underlying surface, which cracks or gets displaced, causing the tile to break when pressure is applied on top, like someone walking. There are several possibilities why the underlying layer would become displaced. Most likely is that the quality of the materials used, and specifically that the mixture of cement, plaster and lime is inferior. The ingredients of this mixture fuse quickly, but sometimes it breaks if the underlying layer, normally sand, moves. As such, the sand moving (for example because of insects or animals) is the main cause of why this layer breaks and the tiles on top break too.
But this explanation cannot explain these problems, for elsewhere in the church, the quality of work performed is of sufficient quality and has withstood the test of time. So whatever the problem is, it is localised to one particular part of the church’s floor. The solution to the problem may therefore be that certain “faulty” areas are located above certain “less stable” locations; in short, the space underneath the floor is not uniform; some parts are more stable than others.

Rectangular stones

Another observation regarding the floor of the church shows other interesting aspects. These are the rectangular slabs. These tiles have a type of gloss which gives the stones a type of enamelled appearance. Actually, they are merely slabs that have come from the interior of a glass oven. That which could be mistaken for enamel is actually a glassy paste which became “placed” on these stones during their fabrication.
We have been able to trace the site of production of these slabs back to the glass oven elsewhere on the territory of Perillos. Such “tracing” of where a type of stone is fabricated is a simple process and anyone with a minimal amount of expertise in glass making is able to quickly and easily identify certain specifics that lead to a positive or negative identification of point of origin. When certain conclusions cannot be so easily reached, there are further identifiers which can point to the source of origin of a specific made material.
But that is not the problem we are faced with here. The problem is a question: why travel to the “nearby” glass oven – which itself is still quite far from the church (several kilometres) – to retrieve rather common material from not a specifically ingenious glass oven, to make the floor? Why did they not use the same slabs across the entire floor space of the church? Indeed, perhaps they ran prematurely out or they were unable to buy the right amount of required stones. But it is clear that such an explanation is quite unrealistic, for the type of stones used – apart from those coming from the glass oven – are so common that it’s impossible they ran out of them or that they could not buy more of the same. Furthermore, we note that these rectangular slabs only cover about two square metres. If the builders did not have sufficient material, then it would have been better to pave the area around the altar differently, or place the second type of stones in a slightly different and more appealing layout than the manner in which they are now placed.

The reasons for an enigmatic decision

So, why was this area of the floor different from the rest of the floor? Was it perhaps to signal something to the observant eye? Did it “indicate” something? Was it the remnant of something? We also note that when we look at the level of the floor in this area, we note that there is a shallow yet clearly visible depression where these rectangular stones are. The reason must be obvious by now…
Finally, let us note that where we are, we are located in an area of the old chapel. We also see that this place is right in the middle of the old and the new building; in fact, it is one of the few locations, including the area immediately surrounding it, which is common to the old chapel and the new church. Now that is intriguing, not?

The location of the cavity

What purpose does it serve to continue to hide that which everyone has already realised? That the location where the “vitrified” stones are located, is where the entrance to the crypt of the lords of Perillos is. It is where our infrared photography, used in the detection of cavities, as well as other non-invasive tests, showed the existence of a cavity.
Critics may argue that there is no definitive proof in our hands that proves that the entrance to the crypt is located here. And specifically, that there is no evidence that the crypt extends in a southern direction, as we argue. Let us see… The south is marked by the small baptismal font. And it is there that we make another observation. We note that it is of basic design and does not seem to have aged at all. The font displays a particular curiosity. For this to manifest itself, we need to have a strong wind – which is quite a common feature here on the top of the hill. On such days, you can go to the church, taking a piece of paper with you. Place the paper at the bottom of the baptismal font, where there is an opening which seems to have been installed there for the sole reason that the water of the baptismal font can be drained after the baptism has been performed. But where does the wind come from… and where does the baptismal water go to? To cut a long story short: the “hole” of the baptismal font is nothing more than an “air vent” for the crypt underneath.

Do not hide the saints that show us the way

St Michael, lord of summits, should be seen as an apt choice as patron of this small elevation. Inside the church, he is standing above two angels; inside the church, the angelic hierarchy has been correctly displayed. In the niche in the middle of the southern wall, where the roman arch remains, is a statue that is dear to the hearts of La Sanch. It is a statue of the Dolorous Virgin, where the Virgin’s heart is pierced by seven swords, representing the seven pains of Christ. What is this statue doing in the church of Perillos? Is it a clear “wink” from the archconfraternity of La Sanch towards the mystery of Perillos, who has never strayed from watching closely over the area from time of Saunière onwards?
And what exactly is it that John the Baptist is guarding, dressed in his usual outfit, but pointing his right index finger towards the sky, in a gesture that Picknett and Prince have labelled “The John Gesture”.
And what is it about the presence of a small statue of Joan of Arc, installed in the church before Pentecost 2006, in a small niche just above the Dolorous Virgin? Why did she arrive at a moment in time when the mayor decided to close access to the church for everyone?

Let us also not forgot another patron saint that was chosen by the lords of Perillos as guarding over part of Perillos: St Barbara. This saint is specifically called upon by those involved with or for the purposes of the subterranean world, and as such, miners. For some, St Barbara is merely seen as the patron saint of shepherds, who were afraid that their herd was going to be decimated if struck by lightning… an explanation which is highly implausible. We note that at all times and in all circumstances, the lords of Perillos displayed a calm and calculated attitude and did few if any things without thinking them through and without having a solid reason if not argument behind the decisions they made. Let us also note that this saint guards over explosives and related substances. By sheer coincidence, we find that in Opoul, there is one of France’s largest and most important storage facilities for “gunpowder”. So what is the reason behind this choice?
This chapel sits at the foot of the village and we note that the roof of her building can only be seen from the entrance and steps leading into Perillos church – it is invisible from – for example – the path leading to the village and church. Is her installation there meant to be interpreted as that she was guarding over an entrance that is below the sanctuary of the village, a subterranean world underneath Perillos… and la Mourtre (“death”)? It is a very visual description of something that is better experienced on the site…
Yes, there is indeed enough for St Barbara to watch over for when it comes to mines and other subterranean structures in Perillos! Furthermore, it was lightning that was officially responsible for the first fire, on July 28, 2006, and thus this incident has a direct bearing on the bailiwick of her patronage – in which she seems to have failed. But with so many things to guard on this territory, we note that it is rather unfair of us to think that a single saint will not drop the ball occasionally, confronted with so much work!

Does everything need to disappear?

In this story, several items seem to strangely disappear. In a short space of time, almost all documents disappeared about the mining activity in Perillos. This disappearance was so extensive that it even seemed to extend to the memories of the local people, who had forgotten or were unaware of these facts. Equally having disappeared from memory and the landscape was the Calvary and its 14 stations, still present on the boundary of the territory in the 19th century and seen on maps of the time. There was the perimeter of a mining enclave, at the foot of the village and the area that leads towards la Mourtre.
It almost seems as if the truth of this “obscured” history is meant to be forgotten… and most of the elements of this story are not so much destroyed, but “displaced” or “lost”… only to turn up somewhere else, in a location or with people whom should not have had such information in their possession at all! Take, for example, the parish records, which we found in Durban… which is also where Saunière found them.

Shortly after we made a survey of the church, the ancient chapel of the lords was closed. One local story goes that this was done precisely so that I and members of our organisation would not have access to this site. It was a decision made by the leader of the local community, who made sure that all keys of the church were accounted for, and remained in his personal possession at all times. Let us note that this measure also stops those who respect the law diligently and which live locally from entering the building… but that it does not stop anyone who wants to force his way into the church and ransack or pillage it. It is specifically towards stopping such actions that energy should be directed… we think. If it was directed solely towards us, surely there must be specific procedures through which we could be forbidden from officially entering the building… without having to penalise every other visitor, including tourists, the faithful, as well as the old inhabitants of Perillos who want to remember the past?
As far as we are concerned, we have completed our work and we have had, for more than fifteen years, certain material in our possession which no-one else has ever seen, with which we can underline our arguments. The closure of this sanctuary does not penalise us in any shape or form and we want to state as much in public, so that no innocent tourist is a victim of a decision for which there is no logical explanation, from his perspective. In fact, from our perspective, this dictatorial edict assures us exclusivity about the work presented here! But, indeed, if the church is closed… is it because of another reason than just to deny us access? Are we more of an excuse, rather than the reason? If we are the excuse, what is the real reason? Is it perhaps to make sure that the knowledge of the underground parts of Perillos do not become validated on the ground? After so many centuries, is someone still intent on making sure that even he or they cannot stop this knowledge from coming out, at least they can stop it from being tested on the site itself.
Let us also note that when the door is closed, there are no windows inside the church that reveal what is going on inside… John the Baptist continues to point towards the sky, the Dolorous Virgin grasps for her chest… looking down…

André Douzet