Saint-Félix-Lauragais: the alpha and the omega?

 

Cathar roots

Saint-Félix-Lauragais is an important site. It is here that in 1167, the first Cathar Synod was held. The event was attended by many local notables and presided over by the Bogomil papa Nicetas of the dualist church of Constantinople, assisted by the Cathar bishop of (Northern) France and a leader of the Cathars of Lombardy. The main item on the agenda was how to divide Southern France into bishoprics, appoint bishops, and guarantee that the area was properly looked after by travelling Perfects, spreading the Cathar message. “After the Balkan, Southern France” is reported to have been their rallying cry.
The town thus marked the first organised attempt to convert Southern France, which would lead to the Albigensian Crusade. By 1244, organised Catharism was dealt a decisive blow, when many of the remaining Perfects were arrested after the Siege of Montsegur. The hope of the dualist church to convert France had therefore been squashed in less than a century.

Coincidence, or design?

The castle of Saint-Félix-Lauragais is not only the site of the First Cathar Synod, it is also the site that the French entrepreneur Noel Corbu bought, after having sold the Villa Bethania of Rennes-le-Château. Few – if any – have looked into the life and times of Corbu. The standard view is that he chanced upon the Villa Bethania, and then either discovered its mystery or – if you are sceptically inclined – began to milk it for all that it was worth. There are, of course, other options: for example that he did not stumble on Rennes-le-Château by accident. That perhaps he too had a mission, and was tasked with buying the Villa – perhaps “merely” to resolve the problem of its aging owner, Marie Denarnaud – or for another reason. Another theory might be that he was the first true “seeker” of the mystery, and that he was trying to find out what the mystery might be. Or that Marie late in life did tell him certain things, and that for the rest of his life, he tried to find “the truth”. They are all possibilities, most of them hardly explored.
But for the moment, the most important question that needs to be asked is this: after selling the Villa (why?), did he buy the castle of Saint-Félix for mundane reasons, or was it part and parcel of his quest – and is there a link with Rennes-le-Château?

A visit

It is remarkable how few researcher of the Rennes mystery seem to have visited Saint-Félix-Lauragais. If they have done, then most remain awkwardly silent about it. You might think that this silence would hence be because the town has provided nothing to discover. But that is definitely not the case, as a visit to the town will make abundantly clear.
For one, it has a rather nice market square, which – to some extent – makes one think of Saint-Croix-en-Jarez. There are two nice restaurants, next to each other, serving the traditional local cassoulet. One restaurant’s cassoulet is of such dimensions that for the fans, it is worth the visit alone.
But if you are able to look up from your dinner plate, you will see that on the side of the market square, there is a cross. It appears to be a regular cross at first, except for the cock on top. But a slightly more detailed look at the cross, will clearly show that this is a cross of interest: it betrays its allegiance to… La Sanch, the penitentiary movement that still retains a prominent presence in Southern France and Northern Spain. Coincidence? The cross even comes with a reversed N - in INRI - another ingredient which some favour to spice up the mystery.

More religion

A town like Saint-Félix-Lauragais cannot be without a church and it is an impressive one at that – visible even from great distance. It is dedicated to Saint Felix, and it is this saint that gave his name to the town. Saint Felix is not part and parcel of the list of “enigmatic saints” that have been worked into the mystery, but by simply reading the explanatory panels in the church, the visitor will learn of a link with Gerona – for he is the Catalan’s city primary saint.
Until two years ago, that might not have meant much, but today, it does. Gerona, of course, is the town where according to information uncovered by British author Patrice Chaplin, Saunière had certain vested interests. From the information she was able to uncover, the mystery of Saunière was not a one-man show, but was performed in league with a secretive group of people in Gerona. After her book was published, it became clear that the moving hand behind the town’s shady past were members of the resident La Sanch – which has direct and close links with the Archconfraternity of La Sanch in Perpignan – founded by Vincent Ferrer in the 15th century.

So, what a coincidence – if it is – that Corbu ends up acquiring the castle in this town. And whereas some might argue that a coincidence it is: a mere trip through the French countryside will reveal he could have acquired hundreds of castles and estates, all of them without any significance whatsoever… yet Corbu decides to settle in Saint-Félix-Lauragais, and its castle at that. Might it be that this was a very calculated buy?

The castle

If some of the information provided to tourists is incorrectly – or hastily – read, it might appear that the castle was originally a Visigothic settlement. However, that settlement was on the neighbouring hill, now crowned by a windmill.
The castle is, of course, old, and was, as mentioned, the site of the First Cathar Synod. The Synod was held here, because it was not only near Toulouse, but the local lord was apparently a convert to Catharism and thus willing to provide a safehaven for these important religious leaders.
Then, in the 14th century, the castle was transformed into a palace by a brother of Pope John XXII. When Corbu acquired it – and his death shortly afterwards – the castle was in private hands, though in the past two decades, it has become a classified monument. Though the castle is therefore not open to the general public, parts of the gardens are open to the public. And when one enters that area, the immediate thought that should come to mind, is that this garden looks very much like that of the Villa Bethania. It is set on the edge of a “cliff”, there is a belvedere, which provides similarly beautiful views of the surrounding landscape. The corner of the Belvedere does not have a Tour Magdala, but does have a circular foundation, and is hence similar in groundplan to the Villa. Underneath the Belvedere, is an impressively deep well, no doubt of ancient origins and no doubt at one point the main water point for the castle..
But despite its similarities to the garden of the Villa Bethania, no great meaning should be given to it, and it might merely be one of the reasons why the Corbu family fell in love with the csstle – reminding them of their times in Rennes-le-Château

Views

Isaac ben Jacob in his studies of La Sanch, its magical connotations and Bérenger Saunière has underlined that Bugarach was an important mountain for this priest. To this, we will add that Corbu lived at Bugarach before buying the Villa Bethania. Magic is also what the mystery of Saunière was about – according to Patrice Chaplin. She argues that the magic focused primarily on the highest mountain of the region, Canigou.
The orientation table on the Belvedere confirms that the distinct shape of a mountain on the horizon is none other than Bugarach, with the tops of Canigou a bit to its right. Again, one can wonder whether the visibility of these hills from the castle was at any point in time important – and whether it mattered to Corbu, even for sentimental reasons.

Quest?

As mentioned, few if any have considered the possibility that Corbu’s arrival in Saint-Félix-Lauragais was not an accident, but a stage along a quest, one that might have begun at Rennes-le-Château, or much earlier. If that is the case, than the references to La Sanch and St Felix – so connected to Gerona – might be more than a coincidence. Alternatively, there is also the castle itself, which should be seen as one of the most important symbols – together with Montségur – of the Cathar efforts to organise a powerful alternative to the Church on French soil. If the mystery of Rennes-le-Château – or Saunière – was indeed linked with religion and would pose a “threat” to this religion (as some argue), then it is clear that what happened in 1167 in Saint-Félix-Lauragais was primary historical evidence that a threat to Christianity could be organised, despite the fact that in the end, it did not succeed. But if at first you do not succeed, try again?
The important question then is whether there was a secret layer to this threat. Was there something hidden, known or connected to the castle that might help or explain certain things to Corbu? That might help him find answers, or gain influence? Going where Saunière may have gone before – or was at least planning to go? Though it might seem unlikely that Saint Felix holds any secrets, it is as likely as assuming that underneath a small village like Rennes-le-Château some treasure or like was hidden – and was discovered by Saunière. Alternatively, it might “merely” be the case that Corbu bought the castle for its historical significance, as a symbol of what it was – a type of talisman?
Finally, let us not forget that it was Corbu who forced the Vatican to pay for the education of his children… a “deal” engineered with Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII, the man who would later reform Christianity with “Vatican II”, whose primary focus was the redefinition – adaptation – of Christianity to modern times… and which was, of course, another Synod.

Filip Coppens