The crypt of Rennes-le-Château Part 1: the hidden crypt

 

“It’s beneath you!”

“All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts” is the beginning of a famous soliloquy from William Shakespeare's As You Like It. When it comes to Rennes-le-Château, we often think the entire spectacle is more pantomime than theatre.
Indeed, the tourist that lands at Rennes-le-Château is often like a rabbit caught in a headlight, unable to focus on what to look at first, and often overlooking the most obvious signs. The most often-heard question about the mystery of Rennes-le-Château is: “where is the crypt?” and many seem convinced no-one knows where it is – something these visitors share with their counterparts of Rosslyn Chapel. In truth, in both churches, the whereabouts of the crypt are well-known. And rather than shout “he’s behind you”, we will need to shout “it’s beneath you!”

“La litre”

People who have visited Rennes-le-Château in the company of Henry Lincoln will know that he points to two lines on the outside of the church and notes that this is evidence that someone of royal lineage is buried inside the church.
Yes… and no. The two lines on the outside of a building are in French known as “la litre”, and cause some consternation with those who hear it for the first time for “un litre” – one litre, masculine – is of course an expression everyone is familiar with. The French thus doubt whether someone does not know “a litre” is male, not female – or otherwise ask what it means.
“La litre” is, in short, a sign of recognition: it identifies a church as the resting place of a noble – and not necessarily a royal. The custom was specifically in vogue from the 16th century until the French Revolution, when all traces of nobility were officially scrapped from the record. “La litre” was a band of paint, or coloured bricks or stone, set on the outside of a church, often in black, and often containing the emblem of the royal family buried inside. At the time of the Revolution, the line often was left untouched – too much work to remove it no doubt – but the blazon was removed. And today, many churches, including that of nearby Brenac, continue to display “la litre” as an indication of that what lies beneath.

A crypt there is; where is the crypt?

This shows that Rennes-le-Château had nobles buried somewhere – and those nobles were the local Hautpoul family. So there was a crypt in the church, but the question is where it is, or rather, where the access(es) is/are.
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 – if not longer. It is thought that amongst the documents Bigou had concealed in the church before he left for Spain in 1792, was the parish register in which the burials were recorded and an indication how the entrance could be re-opened.

Today, some details of this crypt remain. In the will of Henri d’Hautpoul of April 24, 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 ancestors). The Hautpouls inhabited the Château d’Hautpoul from the 15th century onwards. The fact that in the 18th century there are still family members being buried there is an indication that the size of the crypt was substantial, and in constant use for several centuries.
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 was the wooden support pillar of the old pulpit that Saunière had removed. And when we note that Saunière was carrying out “repairs” so close to the entrance to the crypt, did he “accidentally” stumble upon the entrance?

A strange confessional

If it wasn’t for the demon guardian that meets the visitor when he enters the church, most would perhaps notice how odd the placement of the confessional is in this church. Though many have said that there are several odd decorations in this church, in truth, only one piece of church decoration is out of place, and it is the confessional. One would expect it to be located further from the door, away from prying ears – normally on a side wall. So why is it here? As mentioned elsewhere, it is because underneath, there is a tunnel that leads from the presbytery into – or rather under – the church. However, let us note that today, this access is blocked off; and seems to have been blocked off since at least Saunière’s times. We will, nevertheless label it access one.

The secret room

The second oddity, not visible inside the church, but visible from the outside of the church, is the so-called Secret Room. It is not very secret, as the small annex can be seen from outside, even though it is hidden from the inside. From the inside of the building, it can only be entered via the sacristy, where it is hidden by some clever wall decorations installed by Saunière.
In recent years, several television teams have entered this small room, and have pointed out that the room has no wooden or stone flooring. Indeed, it is “just sand” and anyone who would be inside, would be invisible to the outside world and could begin to dig his way down. For, indeed, it is suspected that here lies access two to the crypt. We will return to this later.

The Hautpoul tomb

Though the “tombstone of Marie de Nègre d’Ables” is instrumental in the enigma of Rennes-le-Château, most attention has been given to the inscriptions on the stone itself. Ask the tourist whether he knows where the tombstone was supposedly located, and a blank stare will normally greet you.
It is nevertheless known where it supposedly was, and the answer is that it was posed against the outside wall of the church. Let us note – before returning later to this topic – that this tomb likely obscured access three to the crypt. Let us also add that in those noble days, it were only the male lords that were buried in the crypt (though the above reference to Anne Delsol show that exceptions to this rule were made); the Lady Crypt was located normally some distance away (sometimes in the cemetery). It is likely that Marie de Nègre was buried in the Lady Crypt. Hence, her tombstone in the cemetery would have been a fake tomb – and Saunière might have realised this. If we are to assume that Bigou created this stone, the “key” to break his “code” would not have been deciphering what was on the tombstone, but simply destroying the tombstone, and revealing the access below it. This might put Saunière’s repeated attempts to interfere with various graves in the cemetery in a different perspective.

The main access

The main access to the crypt would normally have been from the interior of the church, and in the case of Rennes-le-Chateau, this seems to be no exception. This was the entrance near the baluster, where no doubt steps led. Let us argue, for the moment, that the crypt would thus be located roughly underneath the altar – which is where most of these crypts are located – and there is no suggestion that the crypt of Rennes-le-Château is the exception to this rule.

With this in mind, we have a clear visual, symmetrical layout: the main entrance from inside the church, with three other access points; one through the middle of the church, running from the presbytery through the length of the church; two coming from both sides of the church. The Hautpoul tomb is on the outside, and if it wasn’t for the Secret Room, so would any potential – and now filled in – opening there too. Let us note that some will deem four entrances to one crypt excessive, with which we will agree, but to which we will add that two entrances, specifically the “Hautpoul Tomb” and the “Secret Room” in origin might merely have been small openings, e.g. to allow a proper flow of air. Let us note that not all crypts were – or are – hermetically sealed. This would reduce four access points to two – though a man in search of treasure could of course enlarge the small airholes to work his way through them, into the crypt. The area has seen far weirder attempts by treasure hunters…

Dig-it

Though it is known that Noel Corbu and others have been excavating in and near the church, the last person to really dig for, and penetrate into, the crypt, is likely to have been Saunière.
Part of the reason why he was likely the last is that in the 20th and 21st century, regulations exist that clearly define what can and cannot be explored. Furthermore, the crypt is probably the last vestige of the mystery of Rennes-le-Château and however much people want to find out what’s inside, in truth, opening the crypt will completely change the mystery – into history. And it will also reveal whether there is still some treasure left, or not.
After all, didn’t Marie Denarnaud say that the parishioners without knowing it were walking on gold? And why did Saunière continue to occupy the presbytery, noting it had a tunnel leading into the crypt? Why did he make the secret room more secret than she should be? Indeed, why did he build it in the first place? And why did he build a wall around the cemetery and installed a metal door, of which he alone had a key? Though some tourists might find it harsh that the cemetery is now largely off-limits to them, they should remember that Saunière too sealed off the cemetery, rarely letting his parishioners inside – often only on Sundays. The same door that meets the modern tourist, met the parishioners of Saunière’s time.

Scan it

Still, non-invasive surveys have occurred. Soundings have demonstrated that there are indeed two large cavities beneath the church, and this, interestingly, on two levels.
Architect Paul Saussez also did extensive research into the church and the crypt. By studying the church, its architecture, its renovations, the parish register, the archives of the diocese and similar churches in the area, he composed a number of three-dimensional images which he published in 2002.

Cover it

Saussez’s drawing are to some degree speculative (which he states himself) and most will stare at his drawings to see what the crypt looks like – which is of course the most speculative of all. But what his drawings nicely show, is the location of the old pulpit and the location of the new pulpit. Indeed, the question needs to be asked whether the new pulpit was not squarely positioned on top of the main entrance to the crypt – thus sealing off the main entrance to it.
Most entrances to crypts were covered by a single slab of stone, which was pulled aside when the crypt needed to be accessed. Interestingly, the so-called “Dalle des Chevaliers” – the Knights’ Stone – conforms to just the right size, i.e. the most common size for such covering slabs. When we note that this stone was furthermore found in the church – though no-one is very specific where precisely – and that it was found upside down, the most logical scenario is that Saunière removed it, as after all he was not willing to reveal the location of the entrance to the crypt – which he had just covered with his new pulpit.

Manmade or natural?

In other articles, we have noted that the crypt is not the only cavity that sits underneath this side of the village. Take, for example, the cistern that sits further down, as well as other tunnels, or fault lines, that run through the domain, as well as near the new mayor’s office on the other side of the village.
Indeed, the question needs to be asked whether in Rennes-le-Château, what we have is a natural system of cavities and tunnels, only one of which was used – and sealed off – to be used as a crypt – though another might have been used for the Ladies Crypt? And if that were the case – and it almost certainly is – then this opens up some intriguing new perspectives.

continued>>

Filip Coppens
With thanks to Corjan de Raaf & André Douzet