Identifying a cemetery

The cemetery of Rennes-le-Château… indeed. But which one? It may be a strange question, for it seems obvious what we are discussing. Everyone “knows” that the cemetery is right next to the church – though it has recently become off-limits to tourists. We note that a quick glance at the chronology of the area of what is known as the cemetery reveals a recent extension on the right hand site as we enter. The cemetery in Saunière’s time was to be found in front of the entrance and then to the left, going as far as the wall, beyond which are the grounds of the Villa Bethania. The Villa, of course, is a recent addition – installed by Saunière. It is right here, at the separating wall, that Saunière and Marie Dénarnaud were buried, though in recent years (2004), Saunière’s remains were transferred to the grounds of the Villa Bethania.
The cemetery is on the northern side of the church and comes right up to the wall of the church. It is here that the first two family tombs of the family of Hautpoul, the lords of Rennes-le-Château, with the tomb of Marie de Negri d’Ables, were located. The remaining question is now to locate a third tomb, about which we were informed through the Italian descendents of the Hautpoul family; this tomb is undoubtedly the oldest and it has left not a single trace on the ground. The archives in Italy neither provided details about its precise location.

Primitive and old cemeteries

When we talk about the “old cemetery”, we are actually not talking about the cemetery as it was at the time of Saunière. The “old cemetery” no longer exists, no doubt since a very long time. We would like to call this the “primitive cemetery” and we are talking here of a time when the “primitive church” of Rennes-le-Château was not the present one, but the church of St Pierre aux Liens, in the centre of the village. To refresh our memory: originally, what is now and what was at Saunière’s time the village church, dedicated to Mary Magdalene, was originally the chapel of the castle of Hautpoul. At that time, it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was following the destruction of the church of St Peter (by Catalan mercenaries) that the chapel of the castle became the parish church. As such, we should be careful about trying to push back the date of the usage of this cemetery too far into history. We know that it were the mercenaries of Henri de Trastamare, who, in 1362, convened near the church of St Peter. It is actually extremely intriguing why this troop descended on – or had ascended to – the village: they seemed to have heard of rumours, or possessed privileged information, about the whereabouts of an “immense treasure”, located in, under or near the church… of St Peter – not the church of Mary Magdalene. And it was during their “archaeological excavation” that the entire church was destroyed, desperate as they were for the booty. So, when Marie Dénarnaud said that the villagers did not know they were walking on gold, it may indeed have been the case that the actual village, rather than the church of Mary Magdalene, the presbytery, the cemetery or the Villa Bethania was the repository of a great treasure. Of course, it is possible that one underground cavity leads to another… or can lead to another. But, in short, it does strongly suggest that the underground network underneath “Saunière’s installations” only contained the tombs and crypts of the lords of Rennes-le-Château.

The Lords of the manor

When we talk about the lords of Rennes-le-Château we think of the Hautpoul family. But they were not always the local lords. At the time of the attack of the Catalan mercenaries, the local lord was none other than Pierre III de Voisins. In fact, the Hautpouls have never been, since the earliest times, the sole owners of the site. We therefore need to note, as the Hautpouls have been considered as the ones that hold or are the key to the enigma of Rennes-le-Château, that the famous crypts, funerary caches, codes, etc. are either relatively recent or predate the Hautpoul family and thus did not belong to them originally.
This is an important observation: this secret is either a family secret, in which case it came to Rennes-le-Château relatively recently; or they became the owner of it when they moved into the village. If they discovered something in the religious buildings of the village, it is quite certain that they took ownership – custodianship – of it. If they brought it with them, then it means that the secret of Rennes-le-Château has nothing to do with the village and its past, is transportable… and may have been transported since. This suggestion, however unpopular it may and will be, is the one that is the most logical: if there was a secret, than the de Voisins family must surely have made safeguarding it a prime preoccupation and they won’t have left it behind in Rennes-le-Château. If they did leave it behind, than it is clearly not that an important treasure. Finally, we note that the first lords of Rennes-le-Château, once they abandon the village, disappear into oblivion, never to be connected again with this enigma…

New – but better? – Lords

In this hypothesis – based on logic – the secret is therefore linked with the Hautpoul family, and brought to Rennes-le-Château with them. It would be a family secret, possessed perhaps throughout the ages, or perhaps acquired by them through certain marriages into other families. Which also means that the site of Rennes-le-Château is not really linked with the mystery; it is a mystery of a family, not of a village.
This will undoubtedly not be something that some people want to hear, but it is something that needs to be said, and which is backed up by other details. The village, the church and the village as a whole have always been in a state of abject poverty. The priests that preceded Saunière never distinguished themselves in anything; not in money, not in their strange behaviour… nothing. The same applies to the village, which never had anything fanciful and of all miserable places it had, the church is known to have been just short of a ruin at the time when Saunière came. We add the precarious state of the presbytery, which was in a constant state of requiring essential repair work. The local archives reveal this was the case as far as they date back.
So how stupid do we need to be to believe that a colossal treasure was linked with this church, linked with the sequence of priests that preached in it, yet all of whom do not seem to have had the slightest knowledge about the importance of their church and their home (the presbytery)? And that no-one ever pondered the thought that perhaps he should use this knowledge, if only to do the most basic of essential repair works to the church, to provide a fitting sanctuary for the local community. It is impossible to imagine…

Treasure…

The church archives, still accessible at the time of Bigou, at no point state or suggest an abnormal or important aspect about the building. The mystery, indeed, begins with Bigou… but not before. It begins when Bigou hears the final confession of the Lady of Hautpoul, and learns something that he apparently is totally unprepared to hear. It leaves him flabbergasted, he requires much time to think, this at a time when the trouble of the Revolution can be heard in the distance… but seems to become louder and closer.

This scenario – which is more than logical – must infuriate those who think it is all about a “quick and easy” treasure, deposited in the village at some point and forever remaining there, just waiting to be collected; or those who believe in the story of Mary Magdalene and her popular connections to the village. These often argue that it is important that the church is dedicated to her, even underlining the village records speak of a church existing in the 11th century and hence “very old”, whereas we know that this was a relatively recent change and that originally, Rennes-le-Château had little or nothing to do with her. The secret may be connected to her, but the village itself had no such bond.
The scenario at the same time explains why no-one has ever found anything of this kind, despite the avalanche of hypotheses that have fallen on the village. But it is equally clear that despite all of that, there are certain details that are important and which we do underline:
- discoveries that have been made when certain parts of the church and the cemetery have been dug up or repaired.
- the story of the Catalan mercenaries who know what they are looking for, and where to look.
But that’s all.

Make room for the new arrivals

Let us make some easy and indisputable statements: from the Middle Ages, this village had a castle, a chapel, a church and a cemetery. As to the local Lords, we know that there was a crypt, underneath the chapel of the castle (the present church). This site was “frequented”, most likely by the local lords who entered it to remember their ancestors, and by default at the time when the local lord died and was placed amidst his ancestors. We can imagine how this crypt must have very old coffins, if not sarcophagi, perhaps dating back to the Visigothic era. Some of these coffins must be quite large and as the crypt is without doubt not “extensible”, it is clear that strict and after several centuries, clever “space management” is required to fit a new lord in. Perhaps, at some point, it actually became impossible to store yet another lord in a predefined amount of space. It is also possible that at some point, some “crypt cleaning” had to occur; perhaps very old ancestors were taken out and placed elsewhere, or perhaps their coffins were dismantled, their remains transferred to a smaller coffin, or perhaps an even smaller container, like an urn… or a large box, containing the bones of several ancestors mixed amongst each other: an ossuary.
Let us note that access to these crypts was strictly controlled – and controllable: first, it had been the crypt under the chapel of the castle… and thus accessible only by those living in the castle. Second, it was normally only the priest, the lord and his closest family – and sometimes not even those – that entered the crypt. But it is equally clear that even they must often have had difficulty to resist the temptation to open an especially nice coffin, or see what or who is there, with what he may have been buried, etc. Perhaps for some, the temptation was too strong. And if ever there was something here, it is clear that the Hautpoul family would have totally cleared out whatever they found to be in there, which had belonged to their predecessors, the de Voisins. At best – and most likely – their remains were removed from the crypt and buried elsewhere.

The past

The lords of Hautpoul arrive in the village and install themselves. They take possession of the castle, which includes the chapel and the crypt. The presence of any other underground network is of major importance to these lords: refuge in case of attack, storage of precious relics, food, arms, etc., water provision, an escape route, etc. Quickly, the lords of Hautpoul realise the benefits and drawbacks of the various aspects of the site; the former they will stress, the latter they will try to minimise and turn to their advantage, if possible. But – we assume – the family not only carries with it worldly goods, it also brings with it a certain knowledge.
Times change; whereas the castle could withstand a prolonged siege, with the arrival of new weapons and hence methods of warfare, the castle is not as secure as before. Worse: its maintenance and required upgrades have been neglected. The castle is not as impregnable as people would have to believe. But then perhaps the castle as such was never the place to store precious items. Precious things… are they not best kept with precious people? Their ancestors? People have an innate fear of the dead and in a crypt, there are several of them; furthermore, it is a spooky, underground place… dark, often full of cobwebs, insects… ghosts? Perhaps even trapdoors, to scare off tomb robbers? The latter are hardly ever installed, but why not launch it as a rumour, if it needs launching at all. Anything that is placed in there, is pretty safe… and it is by far the safest place of all possible places. For let us not stray too far in the other direction: Rennes-le-Château is not Fort Knox.

The story begins…

Location of the first Hautpoul tomb

We know that there has been a sequence of cemeteries in the village: a primitive one, dating back to the earliest traces of Christianity in the region – if not before, if the site had a pagan sanctuary that formed the centre of a pagan cemetery. This was located near the church of St Pierre aux Liens. There was a second cemetery, near the present church, to which was added a recent extension, giving us the cemetery as we know it today – though it is off-limits to visitors at the moment.
Let us now follow in the footsteps of Bigou and Saunière, as they step around – and in – the funerary remains of the Hautpoul family. This family takes possession of the site on June 3, 1422, with the marriage of Pierre Raymond d’Hautpoul to Jeanne de Montesquieu, daughter of Jacques, baron of Rennes. We see that they are far from being the first lords of the manor. Nevertheless, between the early part of the 15th century and the end of the 18th century, they have more than enough time to transfer, deposit and secure the site…

The Calvary and the Cross of the Hautpouls

The Italian document belonging to the archives of the Hautpoul family is interesting as it states that there were three Hautpoul tombs, apart from the crypt. The problem is that the oldest seems to date from before the 15th century, and thus before their official arrival in Rennes. Nevertheless, perhaps we need to “interpret” this document and its translation, and it may be that this is a tomb that was “recuperated” from elsewhere, and transferred to Rennes, so that this dead ancestor was closer to his family, so that it could look after his grave, rather than be entrusted to a third party.
Then there are two “concessions” that merit our attention. One of these is a tomb which has a “perpetual nature”. What is most revealing about this note is that the site is briefly, but clearly described. And this may allow us to locate the two locations. And this detail is very important, for the location is given from a third point, which so far no-one has mentioned: it is a Calvary Cross that is located in the cemetery and which is known as “The Cross of the Hautpouls”.

Location of the second Hautpoul tomb

It is this Cross that allows us to locate the two tombs. We will, in a later essay on the subject, reproduce the page on which we found this information. The first tomb (identified as A on the map) is the one that has the “perpetual concession” and which is located against the wall of the church, a short distance from the clock tower and in front of the Cross, looking north. The second (B on the map) is situated in the cemetery itself. The three points form almost an isosceles triangle, with the Calvary on top.

The departure of Bigou and the mystery of the disappearing Calvary

The document, as could be expected, provides us only with the most basic of information; it is an administrative document, nothing more… though equally, nothing less. First observation: nothing remains from this “mortuary triangle” of the Hautpouls. Not a single trace, not a single tomb, and – most remarkable of all – no sign of the Calvary Cross. Where did it all go to?
We note two stages in this “Bermuda Triangle” – though in the case of the cemetery, the actual triangle itself disappeared! First, it is permissible to assume that the “problem” of the tombs was “taken care of” by Bigou before his departure into exile. Having taken ownership of the secret at the final confession of the Lady of Hautpoul, he decides to leave a text behind, which expresses this knowledge (and which can be read by those who “know”) on tomb B. We note that it is possible that he displaced the horizontal slab of tomb A, situated next to the church, and joined it to tomb B. Who, indeed, at that time, would note anything ominous about taking one part of a tomb and incorporate it into a second tomb, both of them ancient, and belonging to the same family? As both were ancient, perhaps the new composition wasn’t even noticed. As for Bigou, with one simple action, two tombs had suddenly become one. And, as such, location A, about which Bigou had discovered the importance and the danger, no longer existed and the risk of it ever being found had dramatically decreased as well.
Nevertheless, an important aspect remains, and that is the second stage of our explanation. Even though the tombstone is moved from its original location, there remains a document which allows one to discover the original location: the location can be calculated from the Calvary Cross, the Cross of the Hautpouls. We do not suggest that Bigou destroyed it, for there is no evidence to support this serious accusation. We do note that between the time when Bigou leaves his message on the tomb and leaves his parish for good, and the moment when Saunière arrives and discovers the anomaly on the tomb… the Calvary Cross had disappeared!
If it was still there, there would be a record of it, and there would definitely be mention of it in the notes of the “expedition” of the Société d’Etudes Scientifiques de l’Aude, and the report that Elie Tisseyre wrote about his visit to the cemetery in 1905. In short, there is not a single account that mentions its existence in Saunière’s time. Which means it was gone.

Saunière’s lifeline

If Bigou left a coded message on a tomb (or rather: the tomb being the code itself) for someone who is able to read it correctly, then it is equally clear that whoever can decode it, equally knows that someone else after him may do the same. Furthermore, he – Bigou – knows that his code may never survive the perils of the Revolution, which in certain regions was best known for its wanton destruction. So, as he is a priest with an eye for detail (and leaves the coded tomb for a man of similar disposition), perhaps he needs to leave another element, which will be solely accessible to one of his successors… if ever there is going to be one. And where better to leave this clue than in the register of the church. It is perhaps here that Saunière discovers the clue… and realises he can soon be a wealthy man! In this case, there is no need – or no longer a need – for the Calvary, for he knows precisely where he is looking and what he is looking for.
Saunière is now the only one who knows, and the next step is to carry out the project on site… underneath the cemetery. Furthermore, location A is placed against the north wall of the church where, at night, no-one will see or suspect anything. As for inspections, or “guarding” the site during the daytime: isn’t it normal to find a priest walking around in the cemetery? What a good priest he is! If only all of them did so! Unfortunately, it doesn’t really happen like that. By night time, the parishioners find out, Saunière is doing things in the cemetery… moving and desecrating the tombs. They complain, for they believe it is theirs – and their sole – desire that should decide what happens to the tombs of their ancestors; the priest – Saunière – should not interfere… he should leave the tombs alone.

So what happened to the Calvary? Perhaps it was destroyed during the Revolution. Perhaps stolen. It was what we thought and assumed to be the most logical explanation. Until a few years ago. At that time, a journalist from Narbonne put us into contact with a retired lawyer, whom, for family reasons, had taken a personal and close interest in the story of Saunière. It was the reason why and how he had found out that the Calvary had indeed been taken at the time of the Revolution… but had been taken into the hands of “pious” people, whom had a certain regard for what we shall label “memories”.

An archconfraternity to the rescue

This detail, about which the “high priests” of Rennes-le-Château know nothing about, is of such nature that they will argue that this is another example of “Douzetology”… as certain malicious rumours still circling in and around the village like to label those that upset the balance, each move revealing their ignorance but especially their inability to control… a last attempt which failed in 2003… but let us not digress.
So out of ignorance, they deny. So, some years ago, under the fake excuse of restorations and saving the tomb of Saunière, those who initiated this movement wanted my help and assistance. I attended several meetings and visits to the cemetery, which allowed me to follow the indications that were given to me by this informer. Thanks to his clues, in a few months, we were also able to find out where the Calvary had ended up. After some initial trepidation and the usual delays, we finally were able to see what remained of this Cross: the barrel and the cross on top. It is of course a shame that we cannot name the “religious confraternity” that has this cross in its position and which took it from the cemetery, to place it in storage with a person in Narbonne… still, those who follow our research will not have too many difficulties in finding out about what organisation we are talking about.
At that moment in time, we were also able to negotiate the “surrender” of the “Cross of the Hautpouls”. Of course, sceptics will argue there is not a single piece of evidence of this claim. So let us reassure them that soon, we will publish a series of photographs that will prove our point… and that perhaps at some point in the future, the Cross will surface…

In the know…

When that contact was established, we informed a member of the local community about what we were trying to do and the milestones we met. After two or three contacts, it was proposed that if we were able to recover the pieces of the Calvary, we would donate it to the municipality. This milestone was never met, as so many things are in Rennes. Nevertheless, we remained in contact with those who possessed it and at this moment in time, it is merely a question of finances. That is the reason why we have been allowed to show and publish some photographs… in our own time.
Let us repeat that at this moment in time, there is nowhere any evidence available about the existence of this cross… about which no-one has publicly ever heard anything before. Indeed, to know that it was there, you need to know who knew… and those who knew and know, don’t speak about it… But let us give some more hints… why not ask, for example someone who say lives in Carcassonne, and who owns an extensive amount of documents, archives and information about Rennes… if he has never heard, or read, about this subject. Do we need to say more? As to the resident tenors in the opera of Rennes, let us note that this act played itself out in Narbonne… You always need to carefully select the stage on which to perform…
Let us also note that it was in a religious college of this town that Saunière was positioned at the time of his suspension. Bored and upset, he spent the long nights not alone, but in certain family circles… and attended other gatherings. It is in Narbonne that there were certain events that involved certain local bishops. It is in Narbonne that there are one or two discrete societies that watch from the shadows. It is in Narbonne that certain documents are stored… It is from Narbonne that Saunière goes back to Rennes, in the certitude that he will soon find what he wants to find… and which will lead to his wealth. It is in Narbonne that we stumble upon an archbishop, Fouquet, the brother of… It is in Narbonne that the Chefdebiens (well-known by Alfred Saunière) have their properties, have their Masonic lodges… and much more. In short, it is in Narbonne that no-one was searching, but where it was all for the taking!
In Narbonne, the Calvary of the cemetery was found out to be hollow. This in itself could mean, for example, that something could have been hidden inside… for example some documents… or parchments. We merely mention this because we know that those who propose that there are parchments “somewhere” in this mystery have never been able to come up with a fitting feature that was able to hold the parchments which were supposedly hidden somewhere; we are specifically referring here to the Visigothic pillar… Indeed, Saunière will not have seen this Calvary in his cemetery… for it was no longer there. But perhaps he did see it while he was in Narbonne. Or perhaps some people in Narbonne had the parchments and simply gave them to him, in the hope that he was able to do certain things with them?
There is another detail which we need to underline. The “Cross of the Hautpouls” has, on its northern side, some sort of dedication, a religious phrase, with the name of those who donated it, and a date. We should argue that this name can be pronounced phonetically, but perhaps has certain orthographic errors… perhaps intentional, such as may be the case on the tombstone of the Lady of Hautpoul! On this short dedication, we read the name Hautpoul written as OTPOUL. Indeed, written as such, it will be pronounced correctly. But when we look more carefully, it reads more like OPOUL… the village near Perillos, which is at the centre of our research… though of course this should immediately be classified as Douzetology by our opponents!

Let us conclude by giving two final observations. The first is that at present, we do not know where the Hautpouls received this knowledge from. We do know that it is knowledge that has a direct correspondence with Perillos. But we do see a certain hypothesis developing, which is based on the genealogy that we could briefly consult with the Hautpoul family in Italy.
As to the primitive church of Rennes-le-Château, St Pierre aux Liens, it is important to briefly note what properties Saunière bought in Rennes. They are mostly located towards one end of the plateau, and they became his “domain”, i.e. the Villa Bethania. But one plot that he acquired does not sit in or along this ensemble; it sits elsewhere, on its own. And it is precisely the plot of land that sits on the site where the first church was located! As Saunière never did anything with this piece of land, was it merely something he acquired for the fun of it… or was it because he knew where the cemetery of this church was located? Who can explain this inconsiderate acquisition by Saunière… one which has been ignored so far ignored by all.

continued >>

André Douzet
We would like to thank certain people in Narbonne: René M., journalist; Jean-Marie Menoz and Mr. Christophe B. As usual, Jean Brunelin for his photographs of the cemetery. In Italy: Vincenzo and Mr. Lorenzo D.P.