Stone Visigoth Pillar
The pillar was on of two that supported the original altar in the church. The second pillar has disappeared, but it is know that it had no inscriptions (Jean-Luc Robin, Rennes-le-Château - Saunière’s secret). It is said that in this pillar, Saunière found four parchments. The first containing Latin text fragments of Luke VI, 1-5 and Matthew XII, 1-8, Mark II, 23-28, the second containing the story in which Jesus visits Lazarus in Bethania from the Gospel of John and two genealogies of Dagobert II, dating from resp. 1244 and 1644. It is sometimes claimed there was a fifth document: the will of Henri d’Hautpoul dated 1695.
On the 21st of June 1891, 24 children of the village received first communion. Since this was a major event for the small village a ‘Mission’ was organized. A statue of Notre Dame de Lourdes was carried around the whole village by four men in a procession that included most of the villagers and their children. At the end of the procession, the statue was placed on a piedestal, consisting of the decorated pillar that once supported the original altar of the Eglise Madeleine. Oddly enough he placed the pillar upside-down and had it engraved ‘Pénitence, pénitense, Mission 1891′.
The placement of the pillar has led to a much speculation. It was a Visigoth custom to bury their kings below an upside-down cross. It is today believed by some researchers that the pillar marks the outer wall of the crypt of the Eglise Madeleine.
Abbé Saunière used a number of inversions while decorating his domain, church and particularly this pillar as attested by this article on Société Perillos.
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Rennessence News
June 30th, 2008 at 20:15
Could you confirm all the markings visible on this stone pillar please. What are the designs?
Thank you, Sheila