CHAPTER 7

LANDSCAPE

Anyone researching the mystery of Rennes-le-Château should visit the area and walk the land to get a sense of place. Much is invisible to ‘armchair archaeologists’ and only a direct experience of the landscape gives a true feel for the mysteries of the region. As we will see, it is a landscape that bears all the hallmarks of a ritual space – on a grand scale.

Even in the harsh light of the day it is a romantic land, in places possessing a mythical feel, like a lost world. When I first planned to visit I looked over the map of the region and delighted in the bizarreness of names and locations. The Dead Man, the Devil’s Armchair, the Valley of God, the Valley of Paradise, the Fountain of Love, the Circle, the town called the Serpent, the River of Colours, the town called Light and the Farm of the Dead. The place names read like one of Charles Perrault’s fairytales, among an ancient landscape of standing stones and ruined fortresses. The region is evocative, beautiful and harsh to traverse. With so much in one small area you can understand why authors have claimed this as the home of everything from King Arthur to the cult of Isis.

I return time and again to the region. Like nowhere else on earth it resonates with some deeper peace within me. A local man once told me that the land calls to it those who were here before, like Cathars and Templars reincarnated, whose memories are stirring in the blood.

But if you too are drawn to explore this area, take heed. There are rules to adhere to for those who visit:

• Take nothing.

• Leave nothing.

• Change nothing.

However much a part of you this place may seem, it also belongs to others yet to come. Anything found here belongs here and anything taken should be returned. The reason why will become apparent over time to those who have contemplated the meaning of the landscape.

VIEWS AROUND RENNES-LE-CHÂTEAU


For a moment let us return to the church of Rennes-le-Château. Father Bérenger Saunière was said to have put his hand to only one work of art in the restoration of his church – the altar painting showing Mary Magdalene in a cave with a landscape visible in the background. Many take this location to be the Grotto of Mary Magdalene, a square cave in the cliff to the south of the town. It is visible from the Tour Magdala and very prominent above the Ruisseau des Couleurs or River of Colours. The grotto itself is quite shallow and has been well dug in the past. If you choose to visit be prepared for a slightly precarious journey; access is probably easiest from the plateau above.

In the altar painting the landscape beyond the grotto directs us to a different location. It shows a low hill to the left with a ruin and sharp peak beyond and to the right. Upon leaving Couiza for Rennes-le-Château if you stop and admire the view east from the second turn in the road you will see to the left the ruined château of Coustaussa, and to the right the peak of Blanchefort and beyond to Pech Cardou. The view can be aligned to match the image on the church altar (see plates section).

Coustaussa is also visible in the church’s fresco of the Sermon on the Mount. This tiny village was the residence of Father Gélis, whose demise was covered in an earlier chapter (see page 75). The importance of this view will become apparent later.

Blanchefort is the site of a château that was home to the Blanchefort and de Negri d’Ables family. Its ruins can still be seen along with the remains of what looks like a watchtower. The ‘white tower’ of Blanchefort is mirrored by the ‘Black Rock’, Roc Nègre, a little way to the south. At Roc Nègre there is land known to have been owned by Pierre Plantard in the 1970s. There is a small cave and a chamber of sorts here that could have been used in past times. It is known that the area is riddled with caves and that mines were cut beneath Blanchefort.

If you walk from Rennes-le-Château toward Blanchefort and Rennes-les-Bains you will likely encounter some strange stone ‘igloos’ scattered on the hillside. There are over a hundred of these, many in good condition, but they are difficult to date as they consist of natural flat stones piled high into domes. They are known as ‘Les Capitales’ and have so far confounded any attempt to explain their purpose. Explanations range from grain storage and sheep shelters to hermitages, but the inconsistent design and lack of proximity to one another seems to exclude these ideas. Some have clearly defined doorways, others have windows and some have neither. I suggest not getting too attached to these as a part of the mystery as they could have been reused and modified many times and in some cases they may have served simply as a way to gather the stones that litter the farmlands hereabouts and impede the plough.

The circle of churches


The ‘circle of churches’ is another pattern on the landscape and was first publicized by Father Henri Boudet in his book La Vraie Langue Celtique (see page 82). This was also picked up by David Wood in Genisis [sic], which presents his own theory of the design and purpose of the circle.

More work needs to be done to interpret the circle of churches in the impenetrable text of Boudet’s book, but an important feature of the circle is Espéraza, a small town to the southwest of Rennes-le-Château. Espéraza has recently become notorious in the region for its installation in the church of an ambiguous sculpture of Jesus in a grotto tomb. Designed as a cross-section it looks more like a burial in a mountain cave, a more natural-looking site than the traditional depiction of Christ’s tomb, squared off with a lintel and a door. It is a sizable piece of work, around ten feet (3m) across and six feet (2m) high. Also of note in Espéraza is the statue of St Roseline, whose feast day is on January 17 – that date yet again. She is explained further in the chapter on Art and Symbolism as she also appears in a relevant painting (see Chapter 16). For now it is enough to say that the statue is in keeping with the style and design of those commissioned by Saunière for the church of Mary Magdalene and can therefore be considered contemporary. Also, the name ‘Roseline’ is more than a coincidence for the ‘Rose Line’, which runs parallel to the Paris Meridian (see page 53) near Rennes-les-Bains.

A final point about Espéraza is that opposite the ‘grotto’ sculpture is a particularly good rendering of a skull and crossbones, an emblem of death also used by the Templars. It also appears above the entrance to the graveyard at Rennes-le-Château and as Gérard Thome has pointed out, it could also be employed to signify the entrance to a tunnel (see page 105).

Lavaldieu


Lavaldieu or ‘La Val Dieu’ translates as the Valley of God. It is located southeast of Rennes-le-Château toward the Château des Templiers (Templar Castle) and consists of a single road lined with occasional farms culminating in a small farm estate perched on an outcrop of rock. The recent collapse of part of this outcrop revealed an underground chapel. Should you be tempted to explore it I must stress that it is both empty and on private land.

I have a pilgrim’s badge that was discovered near Lavaldieu during the filming of the Bloodline documentary, buried close to a water source near Rennes-le-Château. The small metal badge features the head of the crucified Jesus. Badges were often sewn onto the pilgrim’s robe and deposited near or in water once their destination had been reached to signify the end of the journey. (When the River Thames in London was dredged, thousands of pilgrim badges were found near the bridges). Pilgrims en route to Santiago de Compostela would usually wear a scallop shell, the symbol of St James, and one of these can be found in use as the smaller font in the church at Rennes-le-Château. By coincidence, at our first meeting with Nic Haywood for the documentary, he gave producer René Barnett, a small metal badge that illustrates the 13th Station of the Cross. It is a pietà, depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the body of Jesus in her arms, flanked by two palm trees that form a natural arch. This is a copy of an original pietà that was also found near Rennes-le-Château.

The Priory of Sion gave many indications about the site of what may have been a Roman-era necropolis at Lavaldieu. However, we undertook no exploration or excavations, having received strong warnings that any such structure would be prone to collapse, so any work undertaken here would need to be a professional affair. I identified the location as a shrine based on its proximity to the natural spring close to where we found the pilgrim’s badge. Much of this area is also private land, so if you go exploring you must again seek permission and respect the privacy of those living there.

To the south of Lavaldieu is a field with a pagan-style circle of bushes with an old tree at the centre and a standing stone to the east. This is visible from the Château des Templiers. Although its date cannot be easily ascertained there is no reason to suspect it is a recent addition to the landscape. The field looks contrived and I think the bushes have been maintained from an earlier site.

The sacred pool


Heading north from the location of the badge, we were directed by Sion to a secluded pool among some trees. Old photographs of this location can be seen in the updated edition of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, whose authors originally seemed at a loss as to why they had been directed here. At the head of the pool is a sizable stone, often mistaken for an altar. The truth of the matter is that the stone was used to re-enact, possibly symbolically, the Flagellation of Jesus by Pilate’s soldiers, an event marked by the First Station of the Cross in the Via Dolorosa. In former times this place was clearly used as part of a wider initiation and this will be covered in the chapter on pilgrimage (see Chapter 9).

The pool has a second function in that the copse it sits in was entirely contrived. As Sion put it:

‘We must conclude its importance by virtue of its blatantly man-made/man-sculpted surroundings for, if you permit yourself to wander [?wonder], you will doubtless forge a connection between the Sacred Coign of Vantage, the All-Seeing Eye – the reality of which is but the reflection of one’s self in the eyes of the Beloved – and the notion of a sacred pool. It is the Underground Stream made manifest, risen from the ground. It is a fittingly sacred place.’

The ‘Coign of Vantage’ or ‘All-Seeing Eye’ is represented by an eye in a triangle: the pool is in a field that is triangular in shape. It is a symbol that appears in Freemasonry to represent God, but it is also known to have been in earlier use by the Rosicrucians and alchemists. The meanings of the eye in the triangle are many, but in churches it usually represents the Eye of Providence or God. In alchemy it is the eye of God in which the alchemist sees himself reflected. The symbol suits the Masonic concept of God as expressed through geometry and architecture. Unfortunately the pool is also on private land so permission is needed to access it.

Old photographs show the pool as being surrounded by trees and having a stone altar at one end. However, this formerly sacred and secluded place is now a sad sight to behold. The land around the pool has been developed, the trees that surrounded it have been cut away to a bare few and the pool itself has been lined with concrete and fenced in. The plinth or ‘altar’ that stood at the head of the pool has been removed. On discovering the site it looked so far removed from anything remotely sacred that I ignored it completely until I confirmed its location with a map. The destruction of the site came as a surprise to Sion but it is further evidence that the sands of time are shifting, slowly covering what had been revealed among these hills in times gone by.

Jaffus


A little further to the north there is an area of land marked on the map as ‘Jaffus’. This is due west of Rennes-le-Château and its similarity to the Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem seems more than a coincidence. From Jaffus continuing east one climbs the hill to the ruins of the Château de Blanchefort. There was once a row of carved stone heads on Blanchefort, and there still exists a rock named ‘head’ here. But of the original carved heads I know only one that has survived. This is kept in private hands at a house in a nearby town. It cannot be reinstated for fear of theft or vandalism but should probably make its way to the Carcassonne museum to be shared with the public. Stone heads are often a feature of Celtic finds, the ancient Celts having great reverence for the severed head, believing the head to be the source of spiritual power in humans.

The heads of stone may be linked to the summit of Blanchefort, which appears on the map as Caput, Latin for ‘head’ or ‘skull’. It is not a stretch to see the link between this and the name Golgotha or Calvary, the ‘Place of the Skull’, where Jesus was crucified.

Looking east we face Pech Cardou, the mountain that overlooks much of the area, situated just north of Rennes-les-Bains. Here is another pointed reference to Jerusalem: the word ‘Cardou’ is of similar origin to Cardo, the main street of Roman and Byzantine Jerusalem. This street, with columns along its entire length, was a long avenue that crossed the whole city from north to south.

As Nic Haywood warns, we can go too far in our quest for links between the region and Jerusalem. There are a few pointers, enough to indicate the existence of a symbolic route through the area. The landscape was adapted, certain features added, others modified to create a mirror of Jerusalem. The importance of the location would have been well established prior to the crusades, but the Middle Ages saw the area revived. ‘Such locations’, said Nic, ‘are but vehicles used to carry a timeless truth’.

Blanchefort


It is at the ruins of the Château de Blanchefort that we begin the most esoteric aspect of this journey, as it is the starting point for Le Serpent Rouge, ‘the Red Serpent’. This is the name of a Sion publication where all the threads of the mystery come together. It is cryptic and strange and I consider it the most important document of the entire mystery, and I have devoted a whole later chapter to its meaning (see Chapter 10).

For now, it describes a journey through the landscape as an initiation, with the church of Rennes-le-Château acting as a place of initiation and its plan being mapped onto the landscape as if it were a vast temple:

‘That whole area [around Rennes-le-Château] was elaborated and carved out and added to and sculpted in order to allow a three-dimensional journey, as Masonic lodges enact rituals in lodges, but in the real world. The labyrinth [an underground system of mines and tunnels] is Rennes-les-Bains, the ‘Devil’s Armchair’ is where it finishes – that is where your feet are washed; it involves crossing a river. It is an initiation into a mystery – the closest Masonic ritual is the AASR [Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite] Rose+Croix degree, alluded to in the church by the plaid.’

The Rose+Croix degree is said to be the closest ritual to enacting the Via Dolorosa, the re-enacting of the journey that Jesus took from his judgment by Pilate to his crucifixion and placing in the tomb. It is this journey that is mapped out in the Stations of the Cross in the church with anomalies including the presence of tartan as mentioned above (see page 97).

Rennes-les-Bains


Following the crest of the hill south we pass Rennes-les-Bains in the valley to the east. This is the site of the Roman baths, still in use today and close to the old Paris Meridian. It is also home to the church where Henri Boudet, apparently the leading light behind Father Saunière’s restoration of Rennes-le-Château, was priest. Boudet’s own church has a few interesting features including what appears to be a compass design in the floor beneath the altar. The outstanding items of interest here are in the graveyard. There are two graves bearing the name Paul-Urbain de Fleury, each marked with different dates. One is inscribed with ‘he who passed in doing good’, a phrase used to describe Rosicrucians, as do the grave’s symbolic roses. The tomb of Boudet’s predecessor, Father Jean Vié, can be read in such a way as to be ‘janvier 17’ (January 17) – In French, Jean Vié and janvier are homophones. The graveyard also once held a grave marker for a plot owned by Pierre Plantard, but this was lost during a storm in the early 1990s.

The Devil’s Armchair


Continuing south from Blanchefort down past Rennes-les-Bains we come to a large carved rock called Le Fauteuil du Diable, the ‘Devil’s Armchair’. On the hillside is a natural stone, partly carved to represent the shape of a giant chair. Its origins are unknown but other features of the nearby landscape, such as the terracing further south, are likely to have been Celtic. The ‘chair’ is situated beside an iron-rich spring that can be used to bathe the feet of anyone sitting in the chair, presumably an initiate.

Carved into the chair’s weathered stone are a number of devices, the oldest of which appear to be an alpha and omega (AΩ). As seen on the Visigothic pillar at Rennes-le-Château church, this symbol – the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet – represents the beginning and end, marking a circular route that we will explore in Le Serpent Rouge. There is also a triangle that may relate to the triangular field with the pool (see page 112), although as a general symbol it usually represents a mountain. It is possible that the pool itself is a representation of a location within the mountain – an image, in cross-section, revealing where something important is buried. There are two notable mountains in the vicinity. Facing north is the sharp peak of Pech Cardou, visible in the Rennes-le-Château altar painting (see Plates).

As for the name ‘Devil’s Armchair’, it serves to remind us of Saunière’s demon Asmodeus, the keeper of secrets, but it also relates to the archetype of the Trickster or Fool, who undertakes a journey of spiritual awakening – from alpha to omega.

According to Sion, the view from Le Fauteuil du Diable at full moon of a Lammas Eve was ‘a sight to behold’, with the area’s many streams and rivers brightly illuminated. Unfortunately a programme of tree planting and the advent of artificial light have polluted the view at night.

Château des Templiers


Looking south from the Devil’s Armchair we follow the River Sals as it snakes its way to the foot of another mountain. On the crest of this stands the ruin of an old Templar outpost, the Château des Templiers or Templar Castle. Between the château and the Devil’s Armchair is a place called the Dead Man, which hints that someone is buried nearby.

The château is one of a number of structures in the region credited with being a Templar fortress after their return from the Crusades. Sion claims that it was Templar stronghold, although locally some argue that it belonged to the Knights of St John (the Hospitallers). However, both are possible, since most Templar lands and properties were eventually handed to the Hospitallers. Its location, on a hill to the south of Rennes-les-Bains, is important for a number of reasons. It commanded views over Rennes-les-Bains and Lavaldieu, and during the time of the Templars, Château Blanchefort would also have been visible to the north beyond the Devil’s Armchair. Rennes-le-Château can be seen to the northwest. The significance of this will become clear in later chapters, but for now it is sufficient to remark that the castle presides over the entire landscape and is, according to Sion, directly linked to the Templars. The secret of this landscape, which we will come to later, was known at least as early as the time of the Templars.

According to Sion a second Templar keep was located at Arques to the northeast, providing comparable views across this region. The impression we get is that the Templars knew the area’s secret and for a time kept watch over it.

On their return from the Holy Land, a number of Templars took up residence in the Languedoc and much of the region’s land was owned by Templar families. Following their persecution and dissolution in the early 14th century (see Chapter 2), Templar lands were confiscated and distributed to other orders, notably the Knights Hospitaller, who later became the Knights of Malta.

We cannot tell for sure exactly which sites were occupied by the Templars, but from the echoes of Jerusalem in several place names it would seem possible that they greatly influenced the landscape.

CONCLUSION


The land sometimes holds our memories, the traces of those who came before us in sediments of society through the ages. The landscape of Rennes-le-Château has changed and every excavation brings into the light of the present day traces of ancestors who once stood in these same fields. In the last hundred years, centuries of slow progress have given way to an onslaught of development and the landscape has changed dramatically. Old roads are remade in concrete and tarmac and old tracks are lost to the plough; clear crests punctuated by outcrops of rock are now obscured by forestation; markers have been moved or become buried and broken; and at night the amber glow of electric street lighting obliterates many of the stars and the moon no longer brings the rivers to glistening life like serpents of mercury. When everything is lit, it seems the way is lost.

The last word on the ritual use of the landscape is bound up in a tract called Le Serpent Rouge, a text that marks the link between what has passed and what we are about to discover. But before we embark on the next stage of our journey we should pause to consider what we have learned so far. Looking back over the past few chapters we can see a number of themes emerging that we can use as a foundation for the thoughts and ideas of subsequent chapters.