Jean Pierre Jacques Auguste de Labouïsse-Rochefort was born in Saverdun (Ariège) on 4th July 1778 and died in Castelnaudery (Aude) on 22nd February 1852. He was a French historian. In 1832 he published a book entitled ‘Voyage à Rennes-les-Bains’ in which he described a treasure, guarded by the devil close to the Château de Blanchefort. According to the locals, he recounts, it concerned nineteen and a half million pieces of gold.

Once a nice sunny day, the devil put the gold on display where it was spotted by a young sheperdess who lived close to the site. When she returned with her parents, the treasure had disappeared. A sorcerer was called in for help. The sourcerer tells the villagers he is prepared to help if he gets half of the treasure and the help of the villagers in catching the devil.

The sorcerer went on a search for the devil. When the villagers heared a great noise they got afraid and fled. The sorcerer left for Limoux, disappointed and angry.

Labouisse-Rochefort then describes that the Marquis de Fleury, who owned the ruins of Blanchefort, threatened to sue the villagers for violating his terrains, linking this tale to actual facts.

Labouisse-Rochefort ends with a little poem about the treasure:

Comme un misérable nu
Avec sa mine hagarde
Le front chauve et biscornu
Armé d’une hallebarde
Au pied de ce mont chénu
L’ange de race bâtarde
Au ton sec et saugrenu
Tient constamment sous sa garde
Cet immense revenu
Que de ce roc je regarde
Comme si j’étais venu
Pour lui monter une garde
Et voler ce contenu
Que de céder il n’a garde

Labouisse-Rochefort’s description of this local legend demonstrated that the historical roots of the Mystery of Rennes-le-Château are much older than the story of Abbé Saunìère. There was talk of a local treasure long before he surfaced.

Noel Corbu was clearly inspired by this book. In the tape recording he made to entertain the guests of his hotel he too spoke of nineteen-and-a-half million pieces of gold.

©2007-2008 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved. Book cover of ‘Voyage à Rennes-les-Bains copyright Morgan Roussel

Nicolas Pavillon (1597-1677)

It was during the reign of Pavillon as bishop of Alet-les-Bains that allegedly the Shepherd Paris fell into a hole while chasing a sheep and found gold. It is in this story that the mystery of Rennes-le-Château finds his historical roots. According to French researcher and author Franck Daffos, the shepherd discovered the hiding place of the material and spiritual treasure of Jerusalem. What followed was a fierce legal battle between Blaise d’Hautpoul on whose land the gold had been discovered, King Louis VIX, the brothers Nicolas and François Fouquet and Pavillon. According to some researchers it was no coincidence Pavillon was sent to the Languedoc. It is claimed that he was sent there with the specific purpose to recover the treasures and relics of Jerusalem by the secret society Compagnie du Saint Sacrament. If you want to understand the mystery of Rennes-le-Château and what the stakes could really be, you should start investigating this corner of French history.

Pavillon, a follower of Saint Vincent de Paul, made history as the French icon of Jansenism. Some time after he had been sent to Alet by Richelieu to become the new bishop he converted to Jansenism and became a fierce advocate of orthodox catholicism. Jansenism took a stand against France portraying itself as the ‘most christian nation’, while at the same time allying with the protestant Netherlands and Germany for the sole purpose of bringing down the Austrian House of Habsburg. This was no small thing. By choosing Jansenism the bishop not only allienated himself from his King and Country but also from pope Alexander VII.

According to Daffos, Pavillon had much of the treasure hidden in a specially made vault below the sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Marceille in Limoux. It was this money that was used to build Saunière’s estate and to code and record the nature and location of what has become known as the treasure of Rennes-le-Château.

The whole story is explained (in French) by Franck Daffos in this video I made for Radio Rennessence:

©2007-2008 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved

Charles de la Cropte de Chanterac was the last Bishop of Alet-les-Bains.

On 12th July 1790, just after the French Revolution, the French National Assembly signed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. This bill required all priests to swear allegience to the nation, above all other authority. This meant Rome and the Pope and would certainly result in excommunication of those who signed. The French priests were forced into an impossible position and strongly divided. Many refused to sign, either fleeing or remaining to incite counter-revolution among the peasantry in already largely royalist regions like the Vendée and Brittany. When the pressure became unbearable in August 1792, De Chanterac, accompanied by a group of some 20 priests from the Alet region fled to Spain. Among them was Antoine Bigou, priest of Rennes-le-Château. Other priests from the area of whom their presence in Spain has been documented include L. Raynaud, F. Ginette, J. Loubet and G. Cairol.

De Chanterac died in the Spanish town of Sabadell during his voluntary exile on 27th April 1793 at the age of 70. He lies buried in the Church of Sabadell.

©2007-2008 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved

Abbé Bernard Mongé was the village priest of Niort-de-Sault. He was found dead at the entrance of his garden on 27th May 1732. Investigations showed he had been murdered by François de Montroux, bailif of the Pays du Sault. De Montroux was also the uncle and appointed tutor of the young Marie de Nègre d’Ables at the time of the incident. François was not a popular man and he had been trying to buy a house that was intended to help expand Mongé’s presbytery. The Abbé had refused to sell it. De Montroux was sentenced to exile for his crime, but the sentence was later revoked because he convinced the court someone had falsely accused him. François d’Hautpoul, who married his niece Marie in November 1732, spent almost 3 years, cleaning up the administrative mess De Montroux had left behind in Niort. In the last year he bought the very house De Montroux and Mongé had been quarelling over with money that François has left behind.

Niort-de-Sault lies very close to Le Clat, the first parish in which Bérenger Saunière served as a priest.

©2007-2008 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved

Georgette Roumens-Talons (1889-19740)

On 28th August 1974, 85 years old Georgette Roumens-Talon was brutally murdered in her Paris apartment. After being strangled with an electrical cord, her head was smashed in with a chandeleer. Allegedly a golden Visigoth bracelet and necklace were stolen during the event that she had been given by her aunt Marie Dénarnaud. According to the newspaper article in France Soir of 31st August, this armed robbery soon turned out to have been act of family vengeance. At the time of her death, Georgette was a secretary at the Frères-des-Hommes charity organisation.

©2007-2008 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved