History

L’Aude is a wilderness of majestic and raw beauty, unfortunately stained by the Catholic Church’s systematic genocide of the naive Cathare, the only Christian crusade to have ever taken place in Europe.

This Albigensian Crusade was named after the town of Albi (65 km away) and includes such horrific deeds when the Crusading forces who broke through the town’s defences besieged the town of Narbonne and when they asked their Commander who to kill and who to spare, he replied, ‘kill them all as God will spare those he wants’.

Montsegur

To visit the Cathare stronghold castles, especially Montsegur is an important experience. Here a couple of hundred Cathars were besieged for almost two years by the massed crusading forces. Offered a chance to live if they renounced their beliefs and returned to the Catholic fold, all chose death by fire. Every midsummer day/evening in this 'Field of Fire', at the foot of Montsegur, drummers from Barcelona, the Catalan capital and the surrounding territory, gather to beat out a constant drum tattoo through out the night in memory of those harmless martyrs. Visitors from all over the world arrive only for this special night. The Cathare faith just asked to be left alone, but their common sense belief in 'dualism' made them an extreme danger to the Church who believed and still believe that only they have the absolute right to absolve sins.

Montsegur

It was from Montsegur, the night before the surrender of the Cathars that history hints at three Parfaits (Cathare Councillors) making their escape, abseiling down the rock face and were reportedly carrying the treasure of the Cathare. Since they were non-materialists, such a treasure could only been of spiritual importance: The ‘Grail’ or scriptures?

These Gnostics who believed in dualism, that God and the Devil resided in everyone and of the eternal battle between good and evil for control of our souls, built their citadels on majestic peaks guarding either side of the Aude valley that reaches out from Perpignan to Carcassonne. Their lives eradicated, their culture almost quashed, this region then sank back into centuries of timelessness with the Cathars existence and way of live only in the last 60 years being fully appreciated and researched. Requesting only to be left alone to practise their faith, flanked either side by the two major Catholic powers of the time, France and Spain, why did they place themselves in so much danger? Various theories exist, some so volatile that if they could ever be proven, would pull away that very cornerstone of Christianity, the resurrection of Jesus. It is now well known that this part of France was a Roman Empire penal colony and various outlawed and suppressed gospels refer to Jesus not being crucified due to the Roman fear of making a martyr, but instead sent into exile with his wife Mary Magdalene and their twin sons.

Carcassonne

Jesus was a Rabbi and it was expected for all Rabbis to be married. The royal bloodline of the House of David perhaps continues to this day which may explain why King Louie XIV maintained that he was a direct descendant through the Bourbon lineage to Jesus of Nazareth. If the Cathars were aware of this simplified non-messianic concept of Christianity and knew of their mortal teacher’s burial place which some researchers are intent on discovering and believed to be in this immediate area, then we can conjecture perhaps why they lived here and of the non-materialistic treasure they protected. It is interesting to observe that Holy Grail in French is ‘San Graal’ and Holy Blood is ‘Sang Raal’.

Another interesting event is the construction of 5 churches in this immediate area, each situated on the point of a pentagram dedicated to a prostitute, the Mary Magdalene.

All these facts and conjectures can be explored by walking the routes of the Parfaits, who were the Councillors of the Cathars. Trails that take you to all their castles, that link undisturbed villages, that connect with old Roman roads rarely seen by the inexperienced eye, once used by Hannibal and his elephants on his military campaign as they crossed one of the lowest passes, the Col St Louie, which is 16 km away. Trails that take you through one of the largest forests in Europe where you can see a profusion of wild life, deer, sanglier (the wild boar) and the heavily protected European brown bear and insects, especially butterflies that live off fields that have never been tainted by artificial fertilisers. Fields that are subsequently full of wild flowers and orchids, 120 different varieties on our land at the last count.

Col St Louis

Then we have the mystery and perhaps related Cathare treasure of the famous village Rennes le Château (15 km), with its now decoded manuscripts and bizarre 'Masonic' church. Recommended reading, 'The Holy & The Holy Grail' 'The Tomb of God' and the latest fascinating book to be published which I highly recommend ‘Rex Deus’ written by Marilyn Hopkins, Graham Simmons & Tim Wallace-Murphy, Published by Element Books Ltd, ISBN 1-86204-472-4. I have no literary or financial connection to any of the above mentioned authors or publishers, but was so impressed with the last book as it cuts right through to the heart of the question without overtly ridiculing previous research, which unfortunately too many authors and researchers spend their time doing. I do suggest that this book is your first choice of reading if you wish to maximise your enjoyment, exploration and fascination with this area during your vacation.

This mystery of Rennes le Chateau (just go on-line to see how deep and extensive the story is) brings up intriguing topics such as:

• An isosceles triangle connecting Rennes le Château, Bornholm (Danish Island) and Jerusalem?
• The burial place of Jesus Christ at Peche Cardou?
• Was a pregnant Mary Magdalene in fact the Holy Grail?
• Sang Raal or San Graal?
• Does the royal line of the House of David continue to this day?
• Rennes le Château and the Great Pyramid. Prior knowledge of latitude and longitude?
• The Cathar Parfaits, who escaped from the besieged fortress of Montsegur and perhaps carried documentary evidence of their Messiah's final resting place?