Gérard de Sède
Encyclopedia
Géraud Marie de Sède de Liéoux (5 June 1921 – 29 May 2004) was born in Paris
to parents who supported the right-wing politics
of Action Française
.
He was a French
author and member of various surrealist organizations. He authored more than 20 books and contributed articles to various magazines, sometimes using the pseudonyms Pumaz, Allard, Gillot and Simon. He is best-known for his 1967 book L'Or de Rennes, ou La Vie insolite de Bérenger Saunière, curé de Rennes-le-Château ("The Gold of Rennes, or The Strange Life of Bérenger Saunière, Priest of Rennes-le-Château"), published as a paperback in 1968 entitled Le Trésor Maudit de Rennes-le-Château ("The Accursed Treasure of Rennes-le-Château"). A revised and updated version entitled Signé: Rose+Croix was published in 1977.
The group published a series of pamphlets. Its third issue, in 1943, included Gérard de Sède's L'Incendie habitable ("The Inhabitable Fire").
Gérard de Sède was active in the war during the German occupation of Paris. Despite his parents supporting the Vichy regime
, he worked with the Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur
(FFI), for which he received two citations. He was imprisoned by the Germans in Bourges
.
He married Marie-Andree in 1946, commonly known as 'Sophie', whom he met while in the resistance.
Attracted by the politics of Marshal Tito
, de Sède moved to Yugoslavia
with his wife and children, working there as a journalist before returning to France to become a Farmer.
It was during his period as a farmer that he employed and got to know Roger Lhomoy - Lhomoy had previously worked since 1929 as a tourist guide at the Château de Gisors
in Normandy
and claimed to have discovered under the tower donjon
in March 1946, a secret entrance to a long basement thirty meters long, nine meters wide, and approximately four and a half meters high, saying it was a subterranean chapel dedicated to Saint Catherine
. He alleged it contained nineteen sarcophagi
of stone, each two meters long and sixty centimeters wide, with 40 metal coffer
s arranged in columns of ten. Lhomoy said it was the treasure of the Knights Templar
These allegations inspired Gérard de Sède to write a magazine article about Gisors, that caught the attention of Pierre Plantard
, who wrote to de Sède. They collaborated together on Les Templiers sont parmi nous, ou, L'Enigme de Gisors ("The Templars are Amongst Us, or The Enigma of Gisors"), that was published in 1962, containing passing references to the Priory of Sion
. Lhomoy was dismissed as a liar when in 1964 an official excavation produced a negative result.
De Sède and Plantard collaborated next on the subject of Rennes-le-Château
, resulting in the publication of L'Or de Rennes in 1967.
Originally a Pierre Plantard manuscript that failed to find a publisher, and extensively rewritten by Gérard de Sède, L'Or de Rennes presented as fact various claims about Bérenger Saunière
and Rennes-le-Château that were the authors' inventions, in order to embellish a story about the discovery of a hidden secret. The book was most famous for its reproduction of two "parchments" that were allegedly discovered by the priest: but for a variety of different reasons they have been identified as forgeries by Philippe de Chérisey
, a friend and associate of Pierre Plantard.
The central claim in L'Or de Rennes was that Saunière found parchments proving that the lineage of the "last" Merovingian king, Dagobert II
, assassinated on 23 December 679, did not die with him as had previously been thought. His son was presumed to have escaped the massacre and took refuge at Rennes-le-Château, where he founded a line of descent before being buried in 758 in the church crypt. These genealogical documents implicated to an exceptional degree the Priory of Sion, a secret organisation working behind the scenes ever since the Carolingian and Capetian
usurpations for the recognition of the legitimacy of the Merovingian line of descent to the throne of France. Pierre Plantard claimed to be descended from Dagobert II.
De Sède and Plantard fell out over book royalties relating to L'Or de Rennes and never worked together again, at the same time Philippe de Chérisey announced the "parchments" were his creations that he later elaborated upon in his 1978 unpublished document entitled L'Énigme de Rennes, claiming they were originally made for his friend Francis Blanche, as material for a French radio serial entitled Signé Furax. The story about the parchments was previously given in the 1977 document by Jean Delaude entitled Le Cercle d'Ulysse.
L'Or de Rennes was to have a lasting impact on British script-writer Henry Lincoln
, who read the book while on holiday in the Cévennes
in 1969, leading him to inspire three BBC Two
Chronicle
documentaries, as well as working some of its material into the 1982 bestseller Holy Blood, Holy Grail which itself was used as source material for the bestselling 2003 novel by Dan Brown
, The Da Vinci Code
.
. He claimed the "Merovingian romance" was a parody where Dagobert II replaced Louis XVI
, his son Sigebert IV
replaced Louis XVII
and Pierre Plantard replaced Charles-Guillaume Naundorff
.
He afterwards moved to Nicaragua, then to Belgium, before returning to France during the 1990s.
Gérard de Sède died in Désertines
(Montluçon), in 2004. He was buried in Lieoux
.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to parents who supported the right-wing politics
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
of Action Française
Action Française
The Action Française , founded in 1898, is a French Monarchist counter-revolutionary movement and periodical founded by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois and whose principal ideologist was Charles Maurras...
.
He was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
author and member of various surrealist organizations. He authored more than 20 books and contributed articles to various magazines, sometimes using the pseudonyms Pumaz, Allard, Gillot and Simon. He is best-known for his 1967 book L'Or de Rennes, ou La Vie insolite de Bérenger Saunière, curé de Rennes-le-Château ("The Gold of Rennes, or The Strange Life of Bérenger Saunière, Priest of Rennes-le-Château"), published as a paperback in 1968 entitled Le Trésor Maudit de Rennes-le-Château ("The Accursed Treasure of Rennes-le-Château"). A revised and updated version entitled Signé: Rose+Croix was published in 1977.
Early life
His initial writing was as a Surrealist. In 1941, he was a member of the Surrealist group known as "La Main à Plume", which was named after a phrase by Rimbaud, "La main à plume vaut la main à charrue" ("The hand that writes is equal to the hand that ploughs").The group published a series of pamphlets. Its third issue, in 1943, included Gérard de Sède's L'Incendie habitable ("The Inhabitable Fire").
Gérard de Sède was active in the war during the German occupation of Paris. Despite his parents supporting the Vichy regime
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
, he worked with the Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur
French Forces of the Interior
The French Forces of the Interior refers to French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation of these groups to FFI occurred as France's status changed from that of an occupied nation...
(FFI), for which he received two citations. He was imprisoned by the Germans in Bourges
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
.
He married Marie-Andree in 1946, commonly known as 'Sophie', whom he met while in the resistance.
Attracted by the politics of Marshal Tito
Titoism
Titoism is a variant of Marxism–Leninism named after Josip Broz Tito, leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, primarily used to describe the specific socialist system built in Yugoslavia after its refusal of the 1948 Resolution of the Cominform, when the Communist Party of...
, de Sède moved to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
with his wife and children, working there as a journalist before returning to France to become a Farmer.
Gisors
Château de Gisors
The Château de Gisors is a castle in the town of Gisors in the départment of Eure, France.-History:The castle was a key fortress of the Dukes of Normandy in the 11th and 12th centuries. It was intended to defend the Anglo-Norman Vexin territory from the pretensions of the King of France...
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
and claimed to have discovered under the tower donjon
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
in March 1946, a secret entrance to a long basement thirty meters long, nine meters wide, and approximately four and a half meters high, saying it was a subterranean chapel dedicated to Saint Catherine
Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
. He alleged it contained nineteen sarcophagi
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
of stone, each two meters long and sixty centimeters wide, with 40 metal coffer
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
s arranged in columns of ten. Lhomoy said it was the treasure of the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
These allegations inspired Gérard de Sède to write a magazine article about Gisors, that caught the attention of Pierre Plantard
Pierre Plantard
Pierre Athanase Marie Plantard was a French draughtsman, best known for being the principal perpetrator of the Priory of Sion hoax, by which he claimed from the 1960s onwards that he was a Merovingian descendant of Dagobert II and the "Great Monarch" prophesied by Nostradamus.-Surname:Pierre...
, who wrote to de Sède. They collaborated together on Les Templiers sont parmi nous, ou, L'Enigme de Gisors ("The Templars are Amongst Us, or The Enigma of Gisors"), that was published in 1962, containing passing references to the Priory of Sion
Priory of Sion
The Prieuré de Sion, translated from French as Priory of Sion, is a name given to multiple groups, both real and fictitious. The most notorious is a fringe fraternal organisation, founded and dissolved in France in 1956 by Pierre Plantard...
. Lhomoy was dismissed as a liar when in 1964 an official excavation produced a negative result.
L'Or de Rennes
Rennes-le-Château
Rennes-le-Château is a commune in the Aude department in Languedoc in southern France.This small French hilltop village is known internationally, and receives tens of thousands of visitors per year, for being at the center of various conspiracy theories, and for being the location of an alleged...
, resulting in the publication of L'Or de Rennes in 1967.
Originally a Pierre Plantard manuscript that failed to find a publisher, and extensively rewritten by Gérard de Sède, L'Or de Rennes presented as fact various claims about Bérenger Saunière
Bérenger Saunière
François Bérenger Saunière was a Roman Catholic priest in the French village of Rennes-le-Château, in the Aude region, officially from 1885 until he was transferred to another village in 1909 by his bishop, a nomination he declined and subsequently resigned...
and Rennes-le-Château that were the authors' inventions, in order to embellish a story about the discovery of a hidden secret. The book was most famous for its reproduction of two "parchments" that were allegedly discovered by the priest: but for a variety of different reasons they have been identified as forgeries by Philippe de Chérisey
Philippe de Chérisey
The marquess Philippe de Chérisey was a French writer, radio humorist, and actor...
, a friend and associate of Pierre Plantard.
The central claim in L'Or de Rennes was that Saunière found parchments proving that the lineage of the "last" Merovingian king, Dagobert II
Dagobert II
Dagobert II was the king of Austrasia , the son of Sigebert III and Chimnechild of Burgundy. The Feast Date of St Dagobert II is 23 December -Biography:...
, assassinated on 23 December 679, did not die with him as had previously been thought. His son was presumed to have escaped the massacre and took refuge at Rennes-le-Château, where he founded a line of descent before being buried in 758 in the church crypt. These genealogical documents implicated to an exceptional degree the Priory of Sion, a secret organisation working behind the scenes ever since the Carolingian and Capetian
Capetian dynasty
The Capetian dynasty , also known as the House of France, is the largest and oldest European royal house, consisting of the descendants of King Hugh Capet of France in the male line. Hugh Capet himself was a cognatic descendant of the Carolingians and the Merovingians, earlier rulers of France...
usurpations for the recognition of the legitimacy of the Merovingian line of descent to the throne of France. Pierre Plantard claimed to be descended from Dagobert II.
De Sède and Plantard fell out over book royalties relating to L'Or de Rennes and never worked together again, at the same time Philippe de Chérisey announced the "parchments" were his creations that he later elaborated upon in his 1978 unpublished document entitled L'Énigme de Rennes, claiming they were originally made for his friend Francis Blanche, as material for a French radio serial entitled Signé Furax. The story about the parchments was previously given in the 1977 document by Jean Delaude entitled Le Cercle d'Ulysse.
L'Or de Rennes was to have a lasting impact on British script-writer Henry Lincoln
Henry Lincoln
Henry Lincoln is an English author, television presenter, scriptwriter and former Supporting actor. He co-wrote three Doctor Who multi-part serials in the 1960s, and —starting in the 1970s— authored a series of books and inspired documentaries for the British television channel BBC2,...
, who read the book while on holiday in the Cévennes
Cévennes
The Cévennes are a range of mountains in south-central France, covering parts of the départements of Gard, Lozère, Ardèche, and Haute-Loire.The word Cévennes comes from the Gaulish Cebenna, which was Latinized by Julius Caesar to Cevenna...
in 1969, leading him to inspire three BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
Chronicle
Chronicle (UK TV series)
Chronicle was a BBC Television series shown monthly and then fortnightly on BBC Two from 18 June 1966 to its last broadcast in May 1991.Chronicle focused on popular archaeology and related subjects.The BBC have made some editions available ....
documentaries, as well as working some of its material into the 1982 bestseller Holy Blood, Holy Grail which itself was used as source material for the bestselling 2003 novel by Dan Brown
Dan Brown
Dan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories...
, The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to...
.
Later years
Gérard de Sède returned to the subject matter of Bérenger Saunière during the late 1980s writing Rennes-le-Château: le dossier, les impostures, les phantasmes, les hypothèses, discounting the Plantard-related material that had appeared over the previous 20 years. He claimed Saunière obtained his wealth from the Habsburgs in return for parchments containing "politico-genealogical secrets" about the descent of Louis XVIILouis XVII of France
Louis XVII , from birth to 1789 known as Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy; then from 1789 to 1791 as Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France; and from 1791 to 1793 as Louis-Charles, Prince Royal of France, was the son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette...
. He claimed the "Merovingian romance" was a parody where Dagobert II replaced Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
, his son Sigebert IV
Sigebert IV
Sigebert IV was the son of Dagobert II and a Saxon duchess called Mathildis , and the grandson of Sigebert III of the Merovingian dynasty...
replaced Louis XVII
Louis XVII of France
Louis XVII , from birth to 1789 known as Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy; then from 1789 to 1791 as Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France; and from 1791 to 1793 as Louis-Charles, Prince Royal of France, was the son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette...
and Pierre Plantard replaced Charles-Guillaume Naundorff
Karl Wilhelm Naundorff
Karl Wilhelm Naundorff was a German clock- and watch-maker who until his death claimed to be Prince Louis-Charles. Naundorff was one of the more stubborn of more than thirty men who claimed to be Louis XVII.-Biography:...
.
He afterwards moved to Nicaragua, then to Belgium, before returning to France during the 1990s.
Gérard de Sède died in Désertines
Désertines, Allier
Désertines is a commune in the Allier department in central France.-Population:-References:*...
(Montluçon), in 2004. He was buried in Lieoux
Lieoux
Lieoux is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.Until the end of 1973, Lieoux was a commune in its own right, but on January 1, 1974, it was merged with the commune of Saint-Gaudens. It became a separate commune again on February 13, 2008.-References:*...
.
Priory of Sion
In a 2005 TV documentary, de Sede's son Arnaud stated categorically that his father and Plantard had made up the existence of the Priory of Sion — to quote Arnaud de Sède in the programme, "it is absolute piffle".Works
- Gérard de Sède, L'Incendie habitable (Paris: La Main à Plume, 1942).
- Gérard de Sède, Petite Encyclopédie des grandes Familles (with Sophie de Sède, Paris: Société des Éditions modernes). No date.
- Gérard de Sède, Les Templiers sont parmi nous, ou, L'Enigme de Gisors (Paris: René Julliard 1962). Reprinted by Éditions J'ai lu in 1968. Revised and amended edition by Plon in 1976. ISBN 2-259-00116-5
- Gérard de Sède, Le Trésor Cathare (Paris: René Julliard, 1966).
- Gérard de Sède, L'Or de Rennes, ou La Vie insolite de Bérenger Saunière, curé de Rennes-le-Château (with Sophie de Sède, Paris: René Julliard, 1967). Also published by Le Cercle du Nouveau Livre d'Histoire, 1967.
- Gérard de Sède, Pourquoi Prague? Le Dossier Tchecoslovaque 1945-1968 (with Antoine Berman, François Lourbert, Michel Abrami, Paris: J. Tallandier, 1968).
- Gérard de Sède, Le Trésor Maudit de Rennes-le-Château (with Sophie de Sède, Paris: Éditions J'ai lu. "L'Aventure mystérieuse" series, 1968).
- Gérard de Sède, Magie à Marsal (with François Lourbet, Paris: René Julliard, 1969)
- Gérard de Sède, La Race Fabuleuse, Extra-Terrestres Et Mythologie Mérovingienne (Paris: Éditions J'ai lu, 1973).
- Gérard de Sède, Le secret des Cathares (Paris: Éditions J'ai lu, 1974).
- Gérard de Sède, Le Vrai dossier de l'énigme de Rennes, réponse à M. Descadeillas, avec des documents inédits (Vestric: Éditions de l'Octogone, Collection Le Douzième arcane, 1975).
- Gérard de Sède, Aujourd'hui, les nobles (Paris: Alain Moreau, 1975).
- Gérard de Sède, Le Mystère gothique: des ruines aux cathédrales (Paris: Éditions Robert Laffont, 1976).
- Gérard de Sède, "Henri Boudet ou le jouer de Meaux." Preface to Henri Boudet, La Vrai Langue Celtique et le Cromleck de Rennes-les-Bains (Paris: Éditions de la Demeure Philosophale, 1978).
- Gérard de Sède, Le Sang des Cathares: l'Occitanie rebelle du Moyen âge (Paris: Plon, 1976). Reprinted by Paris: Presses pocket, 1978.
- Gérard de Sède, Du trésor de Delphes à la tragédie Cathare (Pygmalion, 1976) ISBN 2-85704-038-5
- Gérard de Sède, Signé: Rose+Croix: l'énigme de Rennes-le-Château (with the collaboration of Michèle Deuil, Paris: Plon, 1977).
- Gérard de Sède, Fatima: enquête sur une Imposture (Paris: Alain Moreau, 1977).
- Gérard de Sède, L'Étrange univers des Prophètes (Paris: Éditions J'ai lu, 1977).
- Gérard de Sède, La Rose-Croix (Paris: Éditions J'ai lu, 1978).
- Gérard de Sède, Saint-Émilion insolite (Saint-Émilion: Office de tourisme-syndicat d'initiative, 1980).
- Gérard de Sède, 700 ans de révoltes Occitanes (Paris: Plon, 1982). ISBN 2-259-00943-3
- Gérard de Sède, Rennes-le-Château: le dossier, les impostures, les phantasmes, les hypothèses (Paris: Robert Laffont, Les Énigmes de l'univers collection, 1988). ISBN 2-221-05522-5
- Gérard de Sède, L'Occultisme dans la Politique (with Sophie de Sède; Paris: Robert Laffont, 1994). ISBN 2-221-07561-7
- Gérard de Sède, Vues hérétiques sur l'héraldique: le blason, son écriture, son symbolisme et sa phonétique (with Sophie de Sède, Paris: Éditions Dervy, 2003). ISBN 2-84454-172-0