Ben Hammott Research - The Fleury Tableau from the Rennes-le-Chateau Church Of Mary Magdalene.

Option 4 - Saunière's Baluster.

The wooden baluster is one of the objects linked to the beginning of the 'Rennes-le-Chateau Mystery' as a possible location for the parchments Saunière is said to have found. The story goes that the bell ringer found a glass vial containing a small rolled up piece of parchment, fallen from a secret compartment in the Baluster. He handed this over to the priest Sauniere and never saw it again.

Antoine, the bell-ringer, used to recount this story to his grandson, also named Antoine Captier, ending with, “and it is thanks to me that the priest became rich!” Perhaps fittingly, the present day Antoine now has ownership of the wooden baluster. I was lucky enough to meet with Antoine and his wife Clair, who kindly let me view and photograph the Baluster, and for this I am grateful. More about the baluster and the Glass Vial HERE

Baluster Pillar Top and the Fleury pillar Top Comparison.

As you can see above there is a resemblance between the two. This could by why Sauniere included it in the tableau, to remind him of the object that changed his life. The baluster obviously held some importance to him as unlike the rest of the pulpit which was disposed of, the baluster he kept.

The complete Baluster.

Hidden Details.

To the left of the unknown figure are some painted marks. At first glance I thought it was simply grass, but with no other similar grass in the left or right sides of the tableau, I took a closer look. It could just be my imagination but if you look at this picture the marks seem to be indistinct letters and once could have formed a word. Faded with age or covered in dust and grime, like much of the tableau, the word, if that’s what it is, cannot be made out clearly. With all that has happened at Rennes-le-Chateau over the years, it is possible that if this was a word, and so a clue, it has since been made illegible by someone. The letters could be an R something YLH or II, which makes no sense but, as previously stated, they are the only single blades of grass painted anywhere on the two sides of the Tableau, why? They are also by the only figure that appears on the left and right paintings and by one of the only two bushes that appear in both. This little scene could be hiding more details. The two bushes have not been painted in the same amount of detail. The bush on this right side is so dissimilar it looks as if someone has purposely dabbed on blobs of paint to cover something up, if so what? Maybe what the figure is looking at originally wasn't a bush at all but a cave or some other landmark.

Notice the dissimilarity of this singular bush to the one in the right-hand side of the tableau, also how better detailed this one is.

1st February, 2007

A very interesting article 'The Rock of the Magdalene'  by Corjan de Raaf and Andrew Gough has just been posted on the Arcadia website, they examine the Magdalene, a strangely overlooked rock. Included in the article is an examination of certain paintings, one of which is by the Dutch Master Jan van Scorel who appears to have hidden a number of secrets in his painting of 'Mary Magdalene'. What is of interest to me is that this painting also features a solitary figure in the landscape that bears more that a passing resemblance to Saunieres unknown figure in the Tableau.

The Painting and the Person from the landscape compared to Sauniere's lone figure. Figure Research Here.

Connected or Coincidence? Read the full article HERE to find out more.

For more information on Sauniere's Baluster click HERE to visit the Société Perillos website and view the article posted 26th January, 2007

Lost Tomb of the Knights Templar by Ben Hammott

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Ben Hammott's Illustrated Guide to Rennes-le-Chateau No1	Lost Tomb of the Knights Templar	Illustrated Guide to Rennes-le-Chateau No2	AMAZON ADVENTURE by Ben Hammott

Rennes-le-Chateau - Famous for the mysterious antics of its former priest Berenger Sauniere.

I have filled in the missing part of the fallen pillar to form a completed view, enabling the pillar’s design to be
more easily visualised and a more accurate comparison.

The fallen ornate pillar or column in the foreground is commonly associated with with three events:
1 - The destruction of Holy Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans.
2 - The sacking of Rome when the Holy Treasure of Jerusalem was taken by the Visigoths.
3 - The Visigothic altar column that supposedly started Sauniere on his journey to fame and fortune.            4 - The church Baluster.

All three are equally of value to us interested in the mystery, as they are all linked to a treasure of some kind.

Unfortunately options 1 & 2 are impossible to prove or disprove at this moment in time.

                                                                                                            

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The position of the wording underneath the Tableau has been altered at one time. You can still see its original position. Probably just to keep VENEZ A MOI central. further evidence of Sauniere having details re-done if they were not to his liking.

Just who is this lone figure Sauniere has included here? Could it be the priest himself or perhaps even Boudet. It could also Marie Dénarnaud, Sauniere’s faithful housekeeper and lifelong friend.

Whatever the identity of this person is, they are holding something which looks like an umbrella, how strange. It could also be a badly painted walking stick. The figure is staring intensely at a bush. It, like all the other details in the church, must have been added for a good reason. Figure Research Here.

The figure is looking at the singular bush growing in this landscape. Is it a clue? A landmark? Or nothing more than artistic decoration?

Is the purpose of the group of buildings painted here to be identified as locations in the Rennes-le-Chateau area?