Embres and Castelmaure Part 1: From Perillos to Durban, via Dr. Paul Courrent

 

Between viscounts and barons

Dr Paul Courrent

Embres and Castelmaure are two locations that are tucked away in the hinterland of the Corbières. You only arrive here either when lost, or when looking for these two settlements. But because of its geographical location, it is actually close to the “hinterland” of Perillos – which means that these two communities all of a sudden take on an altogether more interesting picture. Hence, physical remoteness does not equal unimportance. On the contrary…
Indeed, though there was once a border separating them from Perillos, such lines on the ground are only thought forms, placed by Mankind, but unknown to the natural lay of the land. Once the border was erased, this community depended on the land of Durban, ruled by the lords who, upon the annexation of the Roussillon to France, would also take on being the nobility of Perillos.

Marching towards the “old king”

It was once the border that separated Durban and Embres-Castelmaure from Perillos, but such political divisions did not result in social animosity or other problems. Indeed, it seems as if the communities were united, despite the border that was meant to separate them. Still, even though there is animosity between the French and the Catalans, in this very sector, it appears such controversy was lacking. Hence, at the start of the 20th century, there are accounts how some elder people remembered certain “walks” that they did, such as, for example, towards Perillos at the time of the summer solstice.
Though such events are nothing out of the ordinary, in most cases, the organisers do generally make sure that the march can be held peacefully. Border crossings are, therefore, not ideal. Still, in this case, both communities seem to have decided not to worry too much about possible problems, and focused their efforts on climbing the height of the “mont des Oliviers”, the highest mountain in the region. As such, there literally was a “summit meeting” of the youths of France with the youths of Catalan, of those of Perillos with those of Embres/Castelmaure/Durban. When the elders were queried about this event, they not only turned nostalgic, but added that the custom was very old, “as long as anyone can remember”.

Indeed, it is likely that this march was nothing more than a very old, folkloric tradition, in origin linked with pagan rituals of fertility, the seasons, and hence the power of the sun and its effect on Mankind. But within this tradition, is – as is so often the case with folklore – a nugget of gold. These people tell us that they performed the march “to honour the old king”. What king? That, they did not know, and they quickly added that actually, they have never posed themselves that question, equally adding that everyone just used that expression, and it seemed to be as such for generations.
Is it a local remnant of a solar cult, in which the kings were indeed associated with the sun, or here, perhaps, the sun became associated with the king? Or was it a reference to the Catalan kings, in memory of these “old kings”, before the crown of France took this territory? Or something else?

Traditions

Folklore has thus literally shown “the way” and revealed a unity between these two political and administrative groups. And perhaps the people of Perillos and Embres-Castelmaure were indeed very friendly people, but the question is then why they did not extend this friendship to neighbouring communities, such as St Jean de Barrou, Villeneuve and Villesèque. It is clear that there is a specific bond between the population of Embres and Perillos, divided as they are by a large hill, yet at the same time united by it, making it the object of an annual cult, in honour of the “old king”. But let us also note that this “march” has all the hallmarks of a ritual walk, or a pilgrimage, and that there are other records that a local priest of Perillos, Laborie, in the 17th century held an annual pilgrimage to a local cave, whose precise whereabouts are currently unknown, but whose general location sits on the slopes of this same mountain, but on the Catalan side.
Furthermore, as the trek up this hill is a community event, it means that the pace is set by the slowest members of society – though already, it is clear that some were meant to be excluded from the arduous trek, as only young(er) people were selected. Hence, it meant that the walk would not have taken endless hours, but still would have taken them several hours – four to five hours, according to our information.
At the midsummer solstice, the days are very long, and hence, it is likely that the entire trip could be done by the light of day, but no doubt, the general rendez-vous would have been given at dawn, on both sides of the hill, so that the two groups could arrive at their destination largely around the same time. Noting it was the summer solstice, dawn, noon and sunset must have been powerful ingredients for this festival, as it are indeed moments linked with the solar deity, as is in evidence in several megalithic monuments across the world. And though these people might not have had a local Stonehenge, they nevertheless celebrated the sun in their own special way.

The past

Long before the youth of Embres began to walk, the area was walked by the Romans, who left an undeniable presence in this area. Even they were not the first, as it is, of course, a fact of life that the general region – as can be seen from cave paintings elsewhere in the larger area – was occupied since at least 20,000 years ago. In this specific area, some fascinating discoveries were made by local amateur historians, approximately seventy years ago. When we traced them down, they fearfully opened some drawers, revealing some Neolithic stones, bronze in the same style that was discovered in Durban, at the time of the construction of the station – since then, demolished – and other objects.
Evidence of other periods exists, some of it in more quantities than others, but nothing out of the ordinary or of any significant value. Still, nothing of out of the ordinary nevertheless means that the land had several mines, but seeing we are at the borders with the territory of Cascastel, and of the even richer grounds of Palairac, Davejean and other mineral-rich sites, it is not illogical to find their presence here.
Still, if there is a lot of metallurgical activity in Embres, it is clear – or, at least logical – to assume that these underground ores did not stop abruptly, and continue towards Perillos as well, especially the nearby Mont des Oliviers. Of course, we know that there are mines, largely because we have the plans of where the mines were, and we assume the implantation of a chapel to Saint Barbara in the very valley where some of the mines were located, is further indication that political borders are indeed arbitrary lines, not conform to the “real world” – unless, of course, you are an island like Great Britain. And this “Valley of St Barbara” is precisely on the Catalan side of the hill.

Another aspect that both Embres and Perillos share is that both have never been the subject of proper archaeological excavations, and hence several aspects of its history not only remain intact, but also enigmatic and outside the domain of hard facts. As there is no longer any such thing as amateur archaeology, in Perillos, we can only map and analyse what is visible above ground. The same has to be said about Embres, where it is clear that the events of history have occurred, but remains to be written by archaeologists of the future.
One such site can no doubt be the so-called “four à verre”, written as such on a map of the slopes of the “Montoullier de Périllou”, on the side of Embres. Indeed, as we noted some time ago, for a long time, we searched for the Perillos glass ovens on these slopes, on the Perillos side, only to realise that, in fact, the glass ovens in Perillos were literally miles away, and elsewhere.
But in the case of the glass ovens of Embres, we note that in 1218, the count of Narbonne, Master of Castelmaure, gave the right to glassmakers to settle in his territory. We also find another place name, “village des juifs”, “Jewish village”, which is assumed to be the location where a Jewish community settled, employed in the exploitation of the glass that was made. Indeed, if this is correct, then Embres had a similar set-up to nearby Perillos, and with two sites that are so close to each other, such similarities should be expected, and help to substantiate individual theories and observations.
Alas, in the early 14th century, Philip the Fair denied them the right to stay there and had them chased away. Local history relates that they fled to Spain, but of course, we should note that this might seem at first very long, until we realise Spain was merely a few hundred metres away, on the other side of the mountain – in the land of the Perillos family. We merely note, to paint the larger picture, that they would have arrived there at a time when the lords of Perillos were about to begin their ranks within the ranks of Spanish nobility. It is also reported that these same lords welcomed the Jewish community with open arms, especially the “knowledge” they brought with them. We have already queried whether this type of knowledge was purely to do with the art of glassmaking, or with other “knowledge”, which might be seen as typically Jewish, such as aspects of their history, religion, esotericism, etc.

A Christian past

The location of the cave visited by Laborie in Perillos is unknown; a little cave in Embres is little known. Still, this too seems to have had a religious history, for one can still see traces of an altar worked into – or out of – the rock. This altar seems to be generally aligned to the location where the sun sets, on top of one of the hills that are located in the neighbouring community of Villeneuve.
In the centre of Embres itself, the parish church of St Etienne no longer holds anything from its past. This is largely explained because lightning struck in 1933, destroying several if not most original aspects of this building. Fortunately, such disasters did not strike the religious buildings that are outside the centre of this town.

St Martin

Les Canelles is the location where there was an oratory, dedicated to St Martin. It appears that the purpose of this structure was merely to Christianise an older, pagan temple, which was dedicated to deities that were no doubt linked to a spring on the site.
From here, but higher up, one can find an opening in the rock, apparently natural in origin. We hope to one day be able to discover whether there is some solar display visible from here, but initial checking so far suggests nothing of the type can be witnessed on the key – solar – dates.
We note that members of the Société Perillos, while prospecting in this area, also found a similar “perched rock” nearby, and we hope to add their acquired knowledge on this topic… once more knowledge about this site has been acquired.

Notre-Dame de l’Olive

To the north-east of this community, we find the chapel of Notre-Dame de l’Olive. It is perhaps the most visible aspect of Embres-Castelmaure, as it is located on the “main road” between Durban and Opoul. On that road, there are two signs to a small chapel – perpetually closed, it seems, to the casual passers-by – some distance from the main road, which nevertheless attracts visitors, if only because of the two signposts.
The building dates back to the 10th century, which makes it amongst the oldest in the region. Since its beginning, or at least since many centuries, the building is the object of an annual pilgrimage, which occurs – to this day – on September 8. The people in Perillos have another tradition, which states that they walked from their village all the way to this site, to participate in this pilgrimage.
Tradition has it that the structure was built upon the wish of a certain Olivier, close to Charlemagne, who went to fight the Moors, apparently chasing them from Castelmaure, though other accounts have it he fought them in Spain. The legend has it that after the battle, the Count threw his sword into the air, and where it landed, the first oratory was to be, and was, constructed. What the legend omits, is that the site itself has remains that are much older than the 10th century. And hence, it is clear that this religious building too, was a Christianisation of an earlier pagan sanctuary, and that the beautiful legend was invented, so as to mask its pagan past.

St Félix

The final sanctuary of this area is St Felix, a church that is in the little commune of Castelmaure, some distance away from Embres. Indeed, like Opoul-Perillos, which have little if anything in common, the same can be said for the community of Embres and Castelmaure – the latter being some distance from the former.
This rather magnificent church dates to the 11th century, though there are suspicions that its origins are even older than that. On top of a hill nearby, we find the remains of the old castle – the “castle of the Moors” – and it is suggested that there was some interplay between the castle and the church in the valley below. This castle has vestiges that predate the Visigothic era, underlining its antiquity. Its first occupation is probably even older than this, for there are several funerary remains in the perimeter of the castle, remains that date from Gallo-Roman and even Bronze Age settlements. Nevertheless, it is a bronze cross, decorated with unworked stones that is the most impressive object, which underlines that a small, largely forgotten cavity on the slopes of the castle held an importance to these old inhabitants that is not at all apparent to modern visitors. We can only surmise what other forgotten aspects this site might hold, but in the absence of evidence…
Inside, the church of St Felix is largely empty, apart from a wonderful altar, worked from stone, no doubt original. Its “table” could well resemble the table of the altar that confronted Saunière when he first laid eye on the interior of his church in Rennes-le-Château.

Nothing new

This sanctuary’s name, St Felix de Castelmaure, reflects the link between the site and the old castle of Castelmaure nearby. We note that it is a church, and not a chapel, underlining that in the past, this site must have had a relatively large community for services to be held here regularly, and a priest to have been assigned here to say mass. It is clear that today, that is no longer the case. We also note the presence of a cemetery nearby.
Lest we forget, we are once again confronted with a church that is exterior to the castle, a set-up that is similar to Perillos, Durban, Aguillard, or the castle of Nouvelle… and Palairac… and many other sites. As unimportant as this observation might seem, for the aficionados of the genre, this brief remark will no doubt be appreciated.

An immense treasure

The fortified site of Castelmaure is still able to impress the visitor; though in ruins, its ancient appearance is still apparent - implied. And it must have been a formidable defence, no doubt built in case of problems between the crowns of Aragon and France. But in origin it was a “Moorish castle”, as the name of the settlement implies, for the Moors did indeed occupy the site from 711 till 759, long before Aragon existed as such an entity.
The site became abandoned after a vicious murder, committed around 1880, which seems to have been the final reason why the few that remained on the slopes and the top of this hill left. Still, there are some legends that speak of a long, subterranean passage, that leads to an immense lake, where one can enter a boat – if, of course, you bring one with you – and that hence, you can travel all the way to Canigou, where for the adventurers, a treasure “sufficient enough to calm the appetite of all kings” was said to lay in wait. Echoes of the Fouquet brothers’ letter, making a reference to Poussin? Who can tell.
Other legends state that there is another underground gallery, which leads to the “treasure of Abraham”. However, the legend adds that this treasure brings more pain than happiness to the one that will lay his hand on it. The legend states that the walls of this gallery are shiny and smooth, as if they were glass. We can only wonder whether this has anything to do with the remains of the glass ovens both here and in Perillos. The heat of the oven, of course, has made the walls turn to glass…

We can of course all laugh at such legends, and take them as ridiculous inventions or exaggerations. But what to make of the fact that some of these stories are linked with stories told by the local gendarmes, who warn certain tourists not to venture in or near certain sites, and even to leave and never to return?
We were also told that a serious incident occurred in the past, when “geological prospection” was in progress. Apparently, the incident meant that all work was stopped, and the authorities were told to warn off certain people not to venture towards or near certain locations. Interestingly, we were told this information when we recovered the Courtade register, which is of course a document that contains interesting information about a certain site in the general area that was off-limits. One might almost argue that the person who owned this register still followed events in this region with a certain level of interest? Perhaps.
Even if some do not wish to believe these unconfirmed rumours, let us all agree that there are several legends, some recent, some old, that claim that this area’s underground realm contains interesting things… much like Perillos.

From history to research: Paul Courrent

Proving legends and rumours to be true is hard at best and impossible as the norm. But amidst the soup of legends, rumours and facts, there is one tread that needs to be followed, for it will bring about a dimension to the story of Rennes-le-Château that is more than interesting – and which is completely verifiable. It is the story of Dr. Paul Courrent.
Courrent was born in 1861 and lived until 1952. For the Rennes-le-Château researchers, he will be best remembered as a doctor who lived in Rennes-les-Bains, where today, a garden is still dedicated to his memory. He was primarily also a man interested in history, and wrote a number of books on the history of Rennes-les-Bains, amongst which are:
- “Etude générale sur Rennes-les-Bains", 1928.
- “Station hydrominérale de Rennes-les-Bains - Thermes romains (ancien Bain Fort)", 1934.
- “Notice historique sur les bains de Rennes connus anciennement des Bains de Montferrand - Leur origine gallo-romaine et leur évolution jusqu'à la fin du XVIIIe siècle", 1934.
- “Rennes-les-Bains (Aude) : monographie historique, scientifique, médico-thermale et touristique", 1942.
- “Découverte d'une mosaïque à Rennes-les-Bains." Bulletin de la société d'études scientifiques de l'Aude. Tome XLIX, 1948.
- “Un morceau de mosaïque provenant de Rennes-les-Bains." Bulletin de la société d'études scientifiques de l'Aude. Tome XLIX, 1948.

His interest in Rennes-les-Bains is hence without doubt. And his connection to Bérenger Saunière is also uncontested, for it is known that in the final few days of the good priest’s life, Courrent was one of his primary caretakers, a man who spent more time with the dying priest than e.g. Rivière, the priest who is claimed by some to have given – or refused to give –the last rites and who was shaken by his confession. Indeed, if there ever was one person who could have been stunned by what Saunière might have revealed in his final days, it seems it was Courrent. If ever a person changed his life, we note that Courrent’s actions and demeanour in later life are in contrast with his early days, or the speculation that exists around the likes of Rivière.

First of all, Courrent had much in common with Saunière: he lived in Rennes-les-Bains, but was no stranger to Durban, Perillos or Castelmaure. For a long time, we have underlined the link between Gélis and Boudet, who were both stationed in Durban, and Saunière’s visit there. But when we leave the world of the Church, it is clear that Courrent falls in the same category of “commoners” – and like a priest, a doctor is of course bound by certain oaths of confidence and privacy.
Second of all, we know that Courrent not only wrote about the history of Rennes-les-Bains, but also did a very interesting work on the Lords of Durban, especially their genealogy and their headquarters. As is the norm in the study of Rennes-le-Château, each new discovery by default will be claimed as a hoax (except those that are hoaxes, which are originally held to be as potentially large revelations). And hence, when we showed this handwritten document on the Durban-Gléon family to the research community as a whole, it was claimed that someone had immediately been able to prove that this was clearly a false – hoaxed – document. When we then were able to show that Courrent had published this document, and it was widely available, our previous accusers then accused us of a new crime, namely, not having found the published document sooner! The mind boggles, for that way, apologies are never in order by those seriously in error and exposed as commentators, rather than researchers.

Still, the manuscript in question is approximately 90 pages, in 19x30 cm format, entitled:
Généalogie
De la famille
Treilles – Gléon – Durban
Par le Docteur Paul Courrent

The document is of interest, for there are several references to the Perillos family, as of course the title of Perillos was transferred to the Durban-Gléon family, upon the acquisition of the Roussillon to France. We can wonder whether Courrent’s primary interest was therefore the Durban family, or the Perillos family, or both.

The links between Courrent and Embres

The interest Courrent had for this area is easy to explain, some will argue. Indeed, he lived in Rennes-les-Bains and wrote about its local history. It was in Embres where he spent the latter years of his life, and where he would die in 1952. Hence, to fall in love with the local history of Embres, would have been nothing but normal for this man. And we agree. As to why he came here? Well, again, there is a simple answer, which is that in 1888, he married Elise Fontanel, who was native from Embres. We have, it seems, come full circle and that’s all there is to it. No mystery. Of course not. How could there be, seeing we are so far from Rennes-le-Château. Right?

Yet, we should underline that the good doctor writes the history books about the Razès and Rennes-les-Bains only once he is settled in Embres. One might argue he had more time on his hands. On the other hand, it shows that his “writing career” began after his encounters with Saunière, and that Courrent writes the history of Durban-Perillos, and the two Rennes only after this fateful meeting. An intriguing coincidence, which, if it weren’t for Saunière’s model, might have gone unnoticed.
A further intriguing coincidence is that Courrent’s wife, the Fontanel family, are related to the two families that Saunière frequented in Durban. Another coincidence? Still, if only coincidental, we note that as such, this Durban family had a thorough understanding of local history, and Courrent therefore had such access as well – in a much easier way than Saunière ever had.
So Courrent and Saunière both had access to local history records, which seemed to be of great interest to Saunière… and could have been to Courrent. And it is likely that Courrent must have seen these documents, if only because he was writing about the local history. Unless, of course, some documents were already gone, as it is known that some disappeared from the parish records roughly at the time when Boudet was stationed in Durban. Perhaps Courrent might have found this something of intrigue?
Let us note that in 1930, Courrent was the president of the Société Scientifique de l’Aude and of the Société des Arts et Sciences de Narbonne. Let us also note that others have made allegations that upon his death in 1952, certain archives were stolen from Courrent’s home, which were never recovered, and which others – not us – have said have a direct relevance to the mystery of Rennes-le-Château. Another coincidence?
So even though his wife’s family was from Embres, we note there were several other sites where he could have stayed instead: in Rennes; he could have moved to Narbonne; he could have gone to Tuchan, where he practiced medicine after the War. So however explainable Embres could be, it could also serve as a great excuse to be near to… ground zero. Indeed, we don’t know how fond the good doctor was of constitutional walks, but if he was, it would have provided the perfect excuse to make some long treks into the hinterland of Perillos.

From Perillos to the ovens and the windmills of Rennes-le-Château

Another pearl in the life of this good doctor is the fact that his visits to Perillos are not only recorded, but notorious. Around 1888, he successfully treated a typhoid epidemic there. It is interesting to note that this was a major event, for the entire village seemed to succumb to a mystery disease. The villagers were making preparations to leave, as it was felt that abandoning Perillos seemed like the only action that might stop the villagers from dying. But Dr. Courrent came to the rescue, stopped the disease, yet at the same time making some observations about the spread of the disease, as if it was not conform to the normal manner in which typhoid spread and created havoc. All of this is a matter of fact, and as Courrent had the proper qualifications, we are allowed to query what he was implying: was he saying that somehow the village inhabitants were engineered to be killed? Was someone engineering to make Perillos into an abandoned village as early – or late – as 1888? It is of course a question. But let us note it is about the same period of time in which a brutal murder forces the people of Castelmaure to go. And it is the timeframe when the mystery of Saunière will occur. No doubt, nothing more than chronological coincidence?

After having received the Légion d’Honneur, in 1919, Courrent became municipal leader of Embres, a position he held until 1941. Let us note that 1919 is coincidentally just two years after Saunière’s death, but, of course, that can only be another chronological coincidence. Let us also note that this position comes with an “access all restricted areas” pass, meaning he can boldly go where others can’t tread.
And we find that from here onwards, he spends more time in the Corbières than in the Razès, even though he wrote extensively about Rennes-les-Bains. Which brings us to the interesting conclusion that most researchers and people see Courrent as a “local” to Rennes-les-Bains, even though he actually is more local to Embres.

So we know that Courrent was close to Saunière, at least for the final few days of his life. But it is less known that in his own later life, Courrent was visited by another interesting player of the Rennes-le-Château enigma: one Pierre Plantard, soi-disant Grand Master of the Priory of Sion. And that connection too seems to be little known amongst Rennes researchers – without good cause.
Courrent was one of three people, together with Cros and Courtauly, that could have possessed or known information about or from Saunière and who were still alive at the time when Corbu and Plantard began to mix their little salad, which would result in the publication of Gérard de Sède’s book in the late 1960s – at a time that all three sources had died. One can almost wonder whether they waited for the death of their final informant before committing some rather daring theories to paper. R.R. Dagobert, now dead too, came to the conclusion that there was this “threesome” of sources for Plantard and Corbu – and it is clear that to this, we need to add the role of Marie Dénarnaud, who was of course – or at least appears to be – Corbu’s principle or original informant.

Following Paul Courrent

Let us also note that Courrent was not the only doctor present with Saunière during his demise: another doctor, Roché, was also present. But let us also note that it was Courrent who was present during the final days of Boudet, and that he had, of course, known Boudet, as Boudet was priest, and Courrent doctor, of Rennes-les-Bains. If ever these two priests – Boudet and Saunière – felt they had to unburden some of their secrets, the local doctor was an obvious choice. Finally, if the secret these men were involved with were to be a secret related to the Church – and there is of course no evidence that it is – then perhaps a man of the cloth, might prefer to “confess” to a doctor, rather than a fellow priest, knowing that the doctor is more likely to take it all in… without being shaken to the bone.

The interest that the “Priory of Sion” had in Courrent is also in evidence in some of the “Dossiers Secrets” that they deposited in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Indeed, if our reading of these files is accurate, then there are no less than six references in these files to Courrent.
Some of the claims made by the Priory relating to the good doctor are interesting, such as how in the 1920s, together with Lobineau – the name of the alleged writer of one of the “Dossiers Secrets” – Courrent had entered “several levels of underground galleries and immense rooms”. It is easy to argue that Plantard and co. purely invented all of these events. For sure, perhaps there isn’t a fire, just smoke. But why did the Priory involve Courrent? And why have Rennes researchers so rarely focused on Courrent? Possible answer: because they fear it will take the mystery away from Rennes-le-Château? We are, of course, not qualified psychologists to draw such a conclusion.

A final doctor’s visit

Even if we assume that Courrent became interested in the local mysteries purely because he ended up living in Embres, then it is clear that the local histories – which we too have reported above – speak of the closeness between one side of the mountain – Embres – with the other site of the mountain – Perillos. Still, let us note that if all of this local history obsession was coincidental and purely to pass time, then why did Courrent not write about Embres itself, making it the sole scope of his passion? After all, it was his place of residence, where he was “citizen number one”, and might have been even more highly regarded if he was to promote its history too. Instead, indeed, we find that local to Embres he is not that well remembered, or at least he does not have a communal garden named after him like he had in Rennes-les-Bains. He does, however, have an impressive tomb in the cemetery of Embres.

Finally, we need to ask another question. Who was the doctor that attended to Father Gélis? It is clear that he was a local doctor, and that the likeliest candidate is our good friend Dr. Courrent. But we cannot be sure.

Embres… and from doctor Courrent to Mr. Cholet

Even if there is nothing but coincidence, as some line of reasoning will go, then at least it has to be admitted that the “main axis” that is normally seen as the three priests – Saunière, Boudet and Gélis – requires a fourth man, equally well-versed in the secrets of confessions: Dr. Paul Courrent.
But there is one final player we need to add, and he is introduced via Embres as well. That man is none other than Cholet, who is seen as one of the main and rare witnesses who can attest to the existence of the crypt of the church of Rennes-le-Château. It is claimed that it was specifically this knowledge that brought his life in great danger. Isn’t it remarkable to run into this individual in Embres as well?

continued >>

André Douzet