by Mary Alice Bennett

The newly discovered artifacts from Rennes-le-Chateau are controversial and disputed. Do they rank alongside the huge crystal sphere and legendary gold bees from the tomb of Childeric I, son of Merovee, as genuine Merovingian treasures? Indeed, they could be the first century vessels upon which the dynasty was founded.

With the discovery of new clues in the Rennes-le-Chateau mystery, the Da Vinci Code is in the news again. Archaeologists have brought to light messages from the Abbe Beranger Sauniere and a new Templar tomb. The messages consist of a letter from Sauniere buried in a wine bottle and a coded map drawn by him, sealed in a small amber glass medicine bottle and buried in a cave. The little map pointed to a cave location of a small wooden chest, also buried in a cave, which contained first century artifacts from Jerusalem, including coins, an ancient glass anointing vessel, and a hand-turned clay cup said to be the cup of Jesus.

One of the paintings obtained by Sauniere at the Louvre after his discovery of coded parchments in a Visigothic pillar inside of his church was of the cave of St. Anthony. The image of a cave was one of the main clues to the location of the hidden treasures. The archaeologists also broke through to a Templar tomb, which is as yet unexcavated. Footage of the tomb is revealed in their new movie "Bloodline."

It is to the credit of Abbe Sauniere that the chest containing the Jerusalem artifacts remained buried for posterity and was not sold by him to collectors. The handwriting of the letter and map has been determined to be his. In the letter he states his heretical beliefs that the producer of the movie attributes to his discovery of mysterious caches that he found within the Rennes-le-Chateau church during his renovations.

It was not what Beranger Sauniere found, but who he met after he displayed his coded parchments in Paris, that shook his faith. His heretical statements of disbelief were inspired more by his new connections and by the local Cathar attitude than by any of his archaeological findings.

"Religious Differences"

It was Catholic Rome that preserved the memory of the Resurrection and divinity of Christ. The Visigoths in southern France were Arian Christians – followers of Arius, an Alexandrian Gnostic. Alexandrian Gnosticism included influences from many world religions, Greek, Egyptian, and Persian and did not include the doctrines of Christ’s divinity and resurrection. Rome fought against this heresy in the Gnostic Cathar stronghold of southern France where it had taken hold. This area is still known as "Cathar Country" and is home to the Catharama, a museum. These pagan Christians had once controlled Sauniere`s parish of Rennes-le-Chateau.

It was a Blanchefort family tombstone that Sauniere had defaced because the geometric map engraved upon it could have led to the legendary treasure. Bertrand de Blanchefort, the 4th Grand Master of the Knights Templar, came from a Cathar family, which was related by blood to the Merovingians. His descendants fought with the Cathars against the Catholic Albigensian Crusade 1209-1255 led by Simon de Monfort at the command of Pope Innocent III. DeMontfort eventually defeated the Cathar fort of Montsegur, which was built on a solitary peak in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Montsegur had seemed impenetrable due to the sheer rock face, which protected it. The ruined walls of the fortress still stand today; archaic goddess pentagrams are carved into the rocks from where it can be viewed.

"The Renovation of Rennes-le-Chateau"

Some say that it was the treasure of the Cathars that funded the Abbe Sauniere`s extravagant building projects and the redecoration of his church. Besides building the mansion house for retired priests called "Bethania", he raised the beautiful Tower Magdala named for Mary Magdalene whose name translates as "The Tower of Our People". The tower is part of the wall that surrounds the church complex on the top of the mountain. The glass tower – the "Orangerie" greenhouse made of wrought iron and glass, architecturally balances it. The priest was very important to the Priory of Sion, his church held some of their documents. They had deposited parchments in three locations, at Mount St. Michael, the great church built on a tiny coastal island on the French coast; at Gisors, the location of the Elm of Gisors from the history of the Templars; and at "an Arch called Beth-Ania" which was the name of the new mansion.

There was a secret treasure room behind the closet wall in Sauniere`s sacristy where he changed into his vestments. The room is bare and the dirt floor was excavated long ago. Perhaps the church had been built over a hidden cache. A symbolic yellow stripe marking is embedded into the foundation of Rennes-le-Chateau signifying that someone of royal blood is interred inside the church. It is a very out of the way spot for a royal tomb. Beranger Sauniere had discovered a grave beneath the altar aisle with a carving of a Templar knight on the cover stone. This stone was turned over and re-cemented into place.

Sauniere was the first priest to have the run of Rennes-le-Chateau without aristocratic supervision, he was appointed to the parish when the church was nearly in ruins. Having grown up within sight of the area, he knew of the tales of treasure buried there. Rennes-le-Chateau hides a subterranean world of hidden passageways and natural faults, which connect the buildings on the property. It was the church of Hautpoul castle built by the king of the Visigoths after the fall of Rome. The Visigoths were said to have brought the Ark of the Covenant to France after capturing it from Rome. The neighboring town of Arques is named for the Ark, which was one of the rumored treasures of the Languedoc. The tunnel system beneath the church was a closely held secret and it made the local priest "The Keeper of the Vault". The entrance to the chamber below was under the chimney of the rectory and the kitchen fire burned on top of the trap door. This is why Sauniere and his mistress never moved into the villa Bethania; they remained in his rectory to guard the secret entrance.

"The 19th Century Neo-Cathars"

The founder of the Neo-Cathar church was a church librarian from Carcassonne named Jules Doinel. The Neo-Cathar movement raised alarm in the Vatican. There was a French occult revival going on and The Salon de la Rose + Croix was becoming more and more popular. In the Paris art world, the Symbolists were expressing these esoteric ideas in their paintings – they were dedicated occultists. When Sauniere discovered the encoded parchments in the Visigothic pillar in his church, he was sent by his presiding Bishop to St. Sulpice church in Paris to have them translated. St. Sulpice was named after a Merovingian bishop. Emile Hoffet was the cleric who decoded the parchments; he introduced Sauniere to Claude Debussy who was the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion at that time. Hoffet also introduced Sauniere to the opera singer Emma Calve, the famous diva who was also a high priestess of the Parisian esoteric underground, and a Cathar. She would visit him frequently at Rennes-le-Chateau. In the courtyard there is a fountain and a stone with here name and a heart carved on it. She was said to have been his mistress.

In the 1890`s and 1900`s the French esotericism Papus, along with Emma Calve, traveled to St. Petersburg with the French occult revival. They were the personal confidants of the Czar and Czarina of Russia in the era before Rasputin. Both Papus and Jules Doinel were bishops of the Cathar church. Was Berenger Sauniere also a covert Cathar bishop?

"Bizarre Décor"

Upon entering the door to Rennes-le-Chateau one encounters El Diablo himself who appears to be ready to challenge the visitor to a chess match on the chessboard floor of Templar design. Infernal themes abound in the place; bats` wings propel even the carved hourglass depicting fleeting time. The heretical idea of the twin messiahs is evident in the statues of Joseph and Mary who each hold a Christ-child. A Biblical tableau contains a figure that is wearing a kilt, which probably represents the French Templars who escaped to Scotland after King Philipe IV of France suppressed the order in 1307. This king arranged for the deaths of two popes in order to find a pontiff who was willing to go along with his plan to destroy the Templar knights. These are just a few examples of the unorthodox elements in the decoration of Sauniere`s church. Was the odd décor a result of local heretical Cathar influence, or was it something more?

"No Last Rites"

It is said that the priest who took the confession of Beranger Sauniere never smiled again. He emerged from the room visibly shaken after refusing to administer extreme unction. In the archives of the Vatican, there is no reference to Sauniere – no record his existence in the normally detailed files. All information concerning him has been deliberately extracted. Had the local Cathar heresy distanced the soul of the Abbe Sauniere from Rome?

Emma Calve had another association in 1893 with an occultist named Jules Bois, an advisor to MacGregor Mathers who founded The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Jules Bois was a lover of Emma Calve and a Luciferian Black Magician. How much influence did Emma Calve have on the religious attitudes of the Abbe Sauniere? Was it the Luciferian element that caused Sauniere`s confessor priest to go pale and become acutely depressed for the rest of his life?

"The Letter in a Bottle"

The small wooden chest containing the 1st century artifacts may have been what was hidden in the sacristy, the floor of that room had clearly been dug up. Even though Sauniere had lost his faith, those relics were still sacred to him. The letter that he concealed in the wine bottle attests to his disbelief in the resurrection of Christ and his belief that the Templars had found and moved his body. The crusade against the Cathars did not extinguish these beliefs: they still circulate today. If this is what he confessed to the priest on his death bed, no wonder he was denied extreme unction and purged from the records of the Vatican.

"More from Da Vinci"

How is it that a married Jesus negates the gospel plan? Did all of the followers of the mysteries believe this way? This whole saga began with Leonardo Da Vinci and there are more clues to be found in his work. In his "Adoration of the Magi", an historic grouping of characters is present including Dante and Virgil. Behind the Virgin and child is an odd construction out of which grows a tree. Under that tree sit Jesus as a grown man with his own bride who is making the sign of the womb with her hands. Jesus points upwards at the tree, which symbolizes the Tree of Life and the "continuation of the lives" in his own progeny. He points upwards indicating his descendants to come. Above him there is a skirmish going on between soldiers on horseback and to the left there are other figures working on the construction a building – a Templar occupation. Near these men is a mounted knight who seems to be a Templar as well. One of the onlookers is another youth who is on horseback gazing at Mary and the Christ child from the back of the crowd on the left side. Leonardo painted this masterpiece when he was young and it was never finished. He was obviously an initiate at that time.

Decades ago before Dan Brown’s book was written, I read that the Mona Lisa was actually a portrait of Mary Magdalene. The author pointed out that she was unadorned with any type of jewelry as in his other portraits of fine ladies. The Mona Lisa is dressed in black as a widow. In the background of the painting are ranges of mountains similar to the Pyrenees of southern France.

It would seem that those who hold to the theory of a married Christ do not believe in the resurrection, but this is not true of Leonardo. Observe his mysterious painting of St. John the Baptist with his knowing smile. He gestures upwards pointing towards heaven. This is the testimony of Leonardo that he believed in the resurrection. It is his powerful statement to the illumined cognoscenti that he did in fact believe in the gospel plan of salvation through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is said that the Templars worshipped Sophia as the bride of God and that the Priory of Sion worships the feminine aspect of the divine. It was the Coptic Gnostics who hid the Nag Hammadi library in Egypt, which contained the "Gospel of Mary Magdalene". They regarded the Sophia of Wisdom as the "Sophia of Jesus". The fact that Christ was married does not change his divine status. In "The Revelation of St. John the Divine" known as the Apocalypse, there appears a persecuted woman who is about to give birth. Does this represent Mary Magdalene?

"The Tribe of Benjamin"

Mary Magdalene was said to have been of the tribe of Benjamin most likely because Jerusalem and Bethany were in the territory of Benjamin. This tribe has a tie-in with "The Shepherds of Arcadia II" painting by Poussin, which was mentioned, in the hidden Sauniere parchments. "Arcadia", the earthly paradise, is in the Peloponnese in southern Greece, the home of the Spartans. The Book of Maccabees states that, "It has been found in writing concerning the Spartans and the Jews that they are brethren and are of the family of Abraham". Robert Graves writes in "Belus and the Danaids" that "…the early arrival in Greece of the Helladic colonists from Palestine was by way of Rhodes" and that those immigrants brought agriculture to the Peloponnese. There had been a conflict with the tribe of Benjamin in Israel over their siding with the Phoenician worshippers of the goddess Ashtaroth. Part of the tribe of Benjamin left Israel and took their dedication to the mother goddess to southern Greece. According to Homer, there were Arcadians at Troy. Homer also stated that Troy had been founded by Arcadians. "Arkades" means "People of the Bear", worshippers of the Great Bear Mother Goddess URSA, the She-Bear constellation, or Callisto. This is the same goddess that was worshipped in ancient Rhedae – Rennes-le-Chateau, brought there by the Sicambrian Franks, descendants of Sparta and Troy and of the tribe of Benjamin. The names "Paris" and "Troy" from "The Illiad and the Odyssey" of Homer are found in France. The city of Paris echoes Arcadia’s royal house as does the French city of Troyes.

Both the Spartans and the Merovingians had long hair; Merovee had long yellow hair when he visited Rome. The brothers Benjamin and Joseph were both sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel who was called "bright-eyed" (blue-eyed) and maybe was blonde as well. Joseph was the father of Ephraim of the Lost 10 Tribes, which migrated north to Scandinavia. The Amazon queen Penthesilea who fought for the Trojans was also a beautiful blonde; perhaps she also was a descendant of Rachel through Benjamin. The Amazons ranged westward from the Euxine area on the Black Sea and were more Asian in culture, more tough and free than the Greek women. Helen of Troy and Mary Magdalene could have been blonde. There is even a legend from Utah, which says that some of the Lost 10 Tribes left the earth to live on a star and that they shall return to earth in the latter days. There is a race of extraterrestrials called "The Blondes", are these the "Lost 10 Tribes in Space"?

The tribe of Benjamin was the origin of the Merovingian kings and of the family of Mary Magdalene. They eventually reunited in southern France after a long journey through the ages.

"Merovingians in Red"

Clovis the king, son of Childeric I, was the first king of the Franks to be baptized. Portraits of him in his warrior regalia depict him clothed all in red from the plumes on his helmet to his red boots and cloak. This color is highly significant to the Merovingian dynasty because it symbolizes the bloodline. The name "Merovech" or "Merovee" means "Carrier of Mary’s Bloodline" – "Mer" or "Mar" as "sea", the root of the name "Mary" as "salty sea" or "bitter salty tears". The syllable "Vin" is the vine, which is the bloodline. "Vech" is "to carry", thus "Carrier of the Bloodline of Mary Magdalene". The bloodline is the underground stream, which surfaces, in western culture. It is the River Alpheus in Arcadia, so important to the Priory of Sion, which sails the Sea of Time as an ark preserving the tradition.

There are ornaments from the Merovingian tombs made of garnets and gold. Many pieces are of fine red cloisonné enamel in gold, like a mosaic work of rubies. They are of the same style as the clasps and metalwork from the Sutton Hoo ship burial which employ Celtic knot patterns as well as Viking intertwine abstractions. The gold bees from the tomb of Childeric I, son of Merovech, are reminiscent of the sacred gold bees of the Minoans and of the Egyptians – they are a very ancient symbol. In this century they are the insignia of the pioneer Utah church as a symbol of industry and cooperation. Large crystal balls and spheres of polished semi-precious stones are also found in Merovingian tombs and are of mystical significance.

Good King Rene de Anjou, a Merovingian Grand Master of the Priory of Sion employed Dr. Jean de St.- Remy, grandfather of Nostradamus. Dr. St.-Remy possessed a precious grail cup, which he called his "Red Grail". It was carved from semi-precious red stone and was obtained by him in Marseilles, the landing place of Mary Magdalene. Red is a very significant and symbolic color in the history of the Languedoc in southern France.

"The Red Serpent"

On the list of Grand Masters of the Priory of Sion is the name of Jean Cocteau. He was a friend and collaborator of Pablo Picasso and a contemporary of George Gershwin whom he met during Gershwin’s "American in Paris" stay. If one is searching for proof of the existence of the Priory, it can be found in a poem by Jean Cocteau called "The Red Serpent", "Le Serpent Rouge". The poem consists of 13 verses, one for each of the constellations of the zodiac with the added figure of Ophiuchus, the serpent, between Scorpio and Sagittarius. The style has been compared to that of the poet Rimbaud and is of impressive literary quality. "The Red Serpent" was found in the great Paris library on January 17, 1967 along with a Merovingian genealogy, two Merovingian maps, and an architectural plan of St. Sulpice church of Da Vinci Code fame. The poem is an allegorical pilgrimage through the constellations of the zodiac, the significant Rennes-le-Chateau date of January 17 falling in Capricorn. The red snake uncoiling across the centuries is the sacred bloodline or lineage. The one called Our Lady, Notre Dame, the Mother Goddess, Isis, is Mary Magdalene. It was she for whom the great Gothic Cathedrals were built for she is the mystery of the Templars. From #7 Leo we read of the healing balm with which Mary anointed Jesus for his burial and the quote, "Come to me all you who suffer and who are overwhelmed and I will comfort you, otherwise: Madeleine…The initiates know the true name: Notre Dame Des Cross." That causes one to wonder about the identity of the statue in New York harbor.

There are many references to the Sauniere parchments in Le Serpent Rouge and Cocteau mentions the "Shepherds of Arcadia II" painting by Poussin. The white mountain and the black mountain are names of legendary features near Rennes-le-Chateau. "The Red Serpent" is very similar to the famous Rosicrucian allegory called "The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosencruenz" which is also written in the symbolic alchemical style. "Le Serpent Rouge" is brilliant and could only have been written by a Grand Master of the Arcana Majora. The hidden followers of the mystery tradition had protégés in the arts. It is no coincidence that their work is full of clues.

"Blue Apples and Beyond"

Time will tell whether the newly discovered artifacts are authentic and belong in the collection of the mysterious Romanesque church of Rennes-le-Chateau where the sunlight still illuminates the famous blue apples stained glass window every January 17th. The ancient slender glass flask found buried could be the anointing wedding vessel of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The wooden chest in which it was found was sent to Britain for analysis – a violation of French archaeological laws. Critics also object to the producer breaking the bottles on camera to obtain the messages within. Attempts to unseal the stoppers might have damaged the papers inside. The letter written by Sauniere is still bright and white. A forger probably would have used an aged piece of paper or parchment which would appear more yellow than white.

Whatever the outcome of the new findings, the Rennes-le-Chateau mystery is still very real and is the subject of much contention. There have always been those who have questioned the death and resurrection of Christ, especially in that area of the world. The relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus in no way affects the foundation of the Christian religion. More attention should be given to prophecy and to the future, there is a third person in the Trinity. Will the latter days unveil the one to come? Will the personage of mystery whom the Templars, Rosicrucians, and the Priory of Sion have worshiped for centuries join us on the material plane? There are many clues to this in art, look closely at the representations of the Archangel St. Michael to determine whom this might be. The mystery of Mary Magdalene is just the beginning.

• Baigent, Michael, Leigh, Richard, and Lincoln, Henry. "Holy Blood, Holy Grail".
  New York; Dell, 1983.
• Kraut, Ogden. "The Gathering of Israel". Salt Lake City; Pioneer Press, 1974.
• Lunn, Martin. "Da Vinci Code Decoded". New York; Disinformation Co., 2004.

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