In 1998, British author and playwright Patrice Chaplin published
Happy Hour,
Cover of Chaplin’s Happy Hour
Amazingly, Happy Hour went unnoticed in esoteric circles, despite introducing a number of Rennes-le-Château bombshells. Namely, the book recounted how Bérenger Saunière’s project manager, Elie Bot, studied the design of the 1851 Torre Magdala in Girona (Spain) before constructing the Tour Magdela in Rennes-le-Château (France).
Elie Bot
In support of this theory, Chaplin has in her possession a series of sketches that predate the more detailed illustration in her new book, City of Secrets. (Note 1). The drawings depict a rudimentary design of a tower, the earliest version of which is marked Girona, 1901; the same year that construction commenced on the Tour Magdela in Rennes-le-Château.
Early design document of the Tour Magdela, dated October 31, 1901 – Girona
Even more alluring than a possible connection between the towers in Rennes-le-Château and Girona is Happy Hour’s offhand suggestion that Josep Tarres I Fontan (Jose, in the City of Secrets) - an alleged custodian of a Girona based society that maintains and practices Grail rituals, may in fact be the grandson of Saunière and a mysterious French woman by the name of Maria Tourdes.
Those familiar with City of Secrets will recall that Tourdes is from Quillan; a town near Rennes-le-Château where Saunière owned property. She moved to Girona in her teens – on her own - and lived behind the cathedral in a house constructed over a cemetery reserved for priests. Chaplin, too, was in her teens when she first came to Girona – more in search of the New Bohemia than the New Jerusalem, although that has since reversed.
Here, at the age of 15, Chaplin first met Tourdes, who by then was a woman of mature age. Letters uncovered by Chaplin during her 30+ years of research, and which have been certified by experts, suggest a relationship between Tourdes and Saunière. They also reveal that Tourdes was an important figure in a private society that conducted Grail rituals in her house behind the cathedral. Tourdes was also known by Tarres – Chaplin’s former lover and a figure believed to be the one-time custodian of the society. In the context of Chaplin’s research, this makes perfect sense; Tourdes was Tarres’s grandmother.
Maria Tourdes’ house behind the cathedral in Girona – the Torre Magdala to the left
Enthusiasts of Rennes-le-Château are aware that Saunière – a priest – is believed to have had sexual relations with women and to have fathered children. And while this is not the first time that an alleged offspring of Saunière’s has surfaced, it is the fist time that we are provided with any semblance of detail.
Chaplin’s research reveals that Tarres’ mother was conceived by Tourdes in 1907 and that Saunière was the father. As Tarres was born in 1929, the math does not negate the possibility that Tarres is their grandson, but what actual proof do have? Well, none, actually, however three different individuals over the span of a decade have informed Chaplin that this was the case - and I have personally met two of them. However, when confronted with this prodigious assertion, Tarres’ response has been curious, simply stating ‘there is a relation.’
Tourdes and Saunière and their alleged Grandson: Josep Tarres
So while Happy Hour flew under the esoteric community’s radar, City of Secrets has created quite a mêlée, dividing researchers into camps of sceptics and believers. Chaplin’s view of the book is mixed, too; part pride and part frustration. This stems from the fact that City of Secrets was massively edited. Its beginning and ending were replaced and its more abstruse content homogenised, leaving the significance of many strands, such as the Guerin - Boutron chocolate advertisements, virtually incomprehensible. The real test however, is how the book would be received in Girona, where its story and characters originate – and play out to this day. So when Chaplin asked if I would be interested in accompanying her team to Girona for the Spanish launch of City of Secrets, I could hardly say no. Hell – I jumped at the chance.
City of Secrets – in Catalan
Much had transpired since I first met Chaplin at an interview in London’s affluent Primrose Hill. I’d toured Girona extensively and validated her claims in the archives and bars of Girona’s old town. I’d even travelled to Greece and explored her account of a Catalan connection with Rennes-le-Château and Arcadia. Along the way we became good friends. We laughed at the accounts on the internet that discredited my research into her work. There are so few facts in the Rennes-le-Château genre that some have lost the patience to siphon through yet more sensational claims. I understood this - even agreed, but my sense of Patrice and my initial findings in Girona told me to keep looking. That said, I had certain, preconceived expectations about what the trip would reveal – or not – and much to my surprise, I would be wrong.
Chaplin was joined in Girona by her long time friend and colleague, Tove Frisvold. The two have collaborated on research for City of Secrets for nearly 20 years. Frisvold was present when Tarres first revealed the details of the private society and its Grail rituals, after the two happened upon him by chance in Girona’s old town. Frisvold has independently interviewed many of Chaplin’s sources and has been a catalyst in nurturing Chaplin’s often turbulent relationship with Tarres. Her presence in the story increased my confidence in the whole affair.
Tove Frisvold – Chaplin’s friend and research partner
Chaplin and Frisvold were staying south of the Girona in the ancient spa town of Caldes, where they prefer to conduct their research when possible - away from Girona’s all-seeing eyes.
Chaplin and Frisvold; enjoying the calm in Caldes
Coincidently, Caldes was a favourite spa destination of Maria Tourdes. In City of Secrets Chaplin reproduced letters received by Tourdes while staying at the Vichy Catalan spa and resort. The place is grand – even by today’s standards - and its twin towers dominate the village skyline.
Vichy Catalan in the Girona suburb of Caldes – a spa frequented by Maria Tourdes
A letter sent by Maria Tourdes while staying at the Vichy Catalan spa in Caldes
Chaplin was scheduled in two days time to present to an audience of friends and acquaintances she has known for decades, many of whom are featured prominently in her book. Her anxiety is palatable, yet understandable, for her former lover – Tarres, is featured more than any other - and was rumored to be in attendance at the event. As a result, Chaplin was keen to provide Tarres with an advance copy of her book, recalling all too well what happened the last time she was published in Catalonia. Nearly 20 years ago, Chaplin’s autobiographical book, Albany Park was released in Girona, creating such a fury that Tarres – who was married to the artist, Pia Crozet, was marched into the cathedral and instructed to kiss the feat of Jesus as penitence.
Jose Tarres – artist, poet and according to Chaplin - custodian of the Grail
Copyright www.piacrozet.com
Although Chaplin had hoped to brief Tarres prior to her book launch, securing a meeting was proving to be difficult. However Tarres was around, and had in fact just met with Juan Carlos, King of Spain (and by title - King of Jerusalem), who visited Girona a few days earlier and presented Tarres with an award for his work on the annual Girona Flower Show. The clandestine meeting struck most as curious – not to infer that Tarres’ impressive work on the annual Flower Show is not culturally important, but an audience with the King of Spain seemed incongruous with the circumstance.
The Cathedral steps: a scene from Tarres’ Girona Flower Show
While speculation on Tarres’ meeting with the king heightened, so did the protests. A Spanish King in Catalonia is not exactly a popular concept at the best of times, and to make matters worse, a few days earlier – on the 13th of September - a youth by the name of Jaume Roura had been arrested for publicly burning a photograph of the king and the queen. His arrest was met with further protests, and not surprisingly, the burning of dozens more photos of Carlos and his wife, Sophia, the Princess of Greece and Denmark.
‘Alerta Solidaria’ - Girona protests the arrest of Jaume Roura
The fact that protesters also vented against Carlos’ wife, Sophia was a cause of great concern to Girona authorities. The queen is a fascinating figure in her own right and has her own following. The Princess spent her childhood in Egypt and enjoys the privileged status of Catholic Monarch, or Privilège du blanc, meaning she is permitted to wear white, not the customary black, in the presence of the Pope.
Sophia, with Carlos; the privilege to wear white in the presence of the Pope
Unlike the blasé reception that City of Secrets received in Britain, interest from the Spanish media was actually quite intense. On this particular day Chaplin gathered in the French woman’s garden behind the cathedral for interviews with a variety of local and national television networks. One after another, they asked the same question:
‘How do you compare City of Secrets to Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code?’
‘Well, for a start, Dan Brown’s story is fiction, inspired by the mystery of Rennes-le-Château. City of Secrets is non-fiction, and reveals the truth behind the Rennes-le-Château mystery – that is, the fact that the real mystery was always in Girona.’
‘What mystery is that?’
‘Well, you’ll have to read the book for that darling, but essentially you’re standing in it. This is the black cemetery, where priests from Girona have been buried for hundreds of years. This is where rituals were performed that enabled initiates to see stars during the day. This is where the French woman from Rennes-le-Château lived and entertained dignitaries from across Europe. Jean Cocteau and Salvador Dali visited her here on many occasions. Cocteau in particular was quite obsessed about the French woman’s house – he tried to gain entrance repeatedly but Josep would have none of it.’
Chaplin continued: ‘I met the French woman in her house in this very garden when I was 15. She was an important part of a Girona based private society that practiced rituals that transported initiates into another realm where they experienced the Grail. The ritual opened a portal on Mt Canigou, the half way point between Girona and Rennes-le-Château. And that’s where they kept the artefacts used in the rituals. A frequent side effect of the ritual is apparitions, such as the one commemorated in the shrine just up the hill from here. Oh, and the French woman was visited by the priest in Rennes-le-Château – Saunière; the two appear to have been very close.’
‘Ok – that’s a cut. Next!’ Shouted the event manger. Chaplin repeated the drill for the next group…
Chaplin in the French Woman’s Garden, where the House & Torre Magdala once stood
With the press conference complete, Chaplin prepared for her next media event - the book launch at Llibreria 22, a popular Girona book store located in a district where Tourdes once lived for a spell in a hotel. While Chaplin prepared for the launch, Frisvold and I strolled though the old town and stumbled on an artist who displayed miniature La Sang figurines in full regalia in his shop window. The man was a member of La Sang; the Spanish death cult that performs rituals on the deceased in order to free their soul to the next phase in the afterlife, although their public image is far more civic than esoteric.
The man was kind enough to show us around his workshop and let us examine volumes of old La Sang photo albums. We spoke of many things and he confirmed the relationship between La Sang in Girona and La Sanch in Perpignan (France) – an important link to establishing a connection between Rennes-le-Château and Girona according to some researchers. (Note 2).
‘There are 1500 members in Girona’, he offered. ‘But when I die, nobody will replace me.’
‘Is Josep Tarres part of La Sang’ I asked nonchalantly. ‘No, but he has helped the society in the past.’
‘Do you know him?’ I asked. Do you know where I might find him? We want to present him with a copy of Patrice Chaplin’s new book about Girona – before he attends the launch.’
‘I really don’t know him well,’ the man replied, choosing his words carefully. ‘Jose is a man of extreme sensitivity. That I do know. But no, sorry, I don’t know where you can find him.’
Frisvold with the La Sang figurine maker and a La Sang Plaque on his shop wall
I contemplated what would prompt one man to refer to another as a ‘man of extreme sensitivity’, as we returned to the café where Chaplin was selecting excerpts from her book for use in the recital at the launch. That afternoon we visited Lluis (known in Chaplin’s book Siesta, as The Wolf), owner of the Arc Bar – an establishment of long standing tradition in Girona, located at the bottom of the cathedral steps. Inside the bar I’m bemused by two La Sang figurines on a shelf next to a lamp. ‘How had I not seen them before?’ The visit afforded Chaplin the opportunity to chat with the Wolf about old times and to confirm his attendance at the launch.
La Sang in the Arc Bar & the Lluis and Patrice outside the Arc Bar
The following day, newspapers and television were filled with coverage of City of Secrets. One newspaper, El Punt, ran an article that revealed the name of the City of Secret character, Lucia Stillman, an heiress of considerable importance to the story. Stillman died on Mt. Canigu while returning the society’s Grail artefacts to the portal on the summit. Later, Tarres was sent to retrieve her body from the mountain.
Rennes-le-Château researchers believe that Stillman’s role was more important than Chaplin indicates, and my previous encounter with The Wolf would have me believe that she may still be alive and living in Barcelona.
El Punt and Girona TV Channel 3
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