The name Hautpoul as most of you will know, is intimately
connected with Rennes-le-Château. It was Marie de Negri D'Ables, Dame d'Hautpoul
along with her gravestone inscription that created much of the interest we have
today. The Château of Hautpoul is also still visible in the
village of Rennes-le-Château.
The Hautpouls were an ancient family and one that had
connections far and wide. As a consequence it is perhaps to be expected that we might run
across references to them here and there. However to find a small, remote
village located in the Pyrenees Orientales with "Opoul" in the name is
somewhat surprising. The phonetic similarity between Hautpoul and Opoul is
startling to say the least. There is only one other occurrence of the name
Hautpoul and it is to be found in the black mountains of the Aude.
Geographically we are no more than a short car journey between
Rennes-le-Château and Opoul-Perillos. Even in those bygone days it was
commonplace for people to travel by horse or by carriage for
many hours between locations. During the 19th century for example a
postman would commonly walk on average some 30Km per day. Geographical proximity of
course does not necessarily imply a link but the similarity in names as
well as the uniqueness of this name seems to confirm that a link does
indeed exist. In the 17th century, there were two distinct villages, Opouls and Perillous and their positions can be seen on this 17th century
map drawn by Cassini:
What is particularly
interesting to note on this map is that the entire region has been mapped
in great detail with the exception of the lands belonging to the Perillos
family and those also of the Opoul family. Mapping techniques in those
days were every bit as good as those we have today and highly accurate
maps could be produced as a matter of course. The only logical conclusion
as to the existence of regions which we can call "terra incognita", is
that the owners refused permission for mapping to take place. It is hard
for us to comprehend the exact reasons why this would have been but, if a
family wishes the disposition of their land to remain secret it does of
course immediately suggest that there must be something on those lands
they would rather not have the world know about.
The ancient village of
Opoul-Perillos is hidden in a remote and almost inaccessible region some 6
or 7 miles from the modern village.
Even by car it is a tortuous route. At
about half way to the ancient village can be seen the Castle of
Opoul-Perillos. It sits on a flat plateau protected by sheer vertical
cliff walls all round.
Throughout its history it was never once taken.
What is even more surprising is that this castle was only ever manned by
7 professional soldiers and three dogs. On the plateau where the chateau
stands was also to be found a small village called Salvaterra which can be
translated as sacred land. Today there is almost
nothing left of it but in the days when the region was active, the soldiers
of the castle would, in times of conflict, act a commanders and the villagers in turn would
act as soldiers.
From the high ramparts one can see all the
way to the Mediterranean while in the other direction we have spectacular
views to the foothills of the Pyrenees. Castles were nearly always built to
protect something or someone. Here we have a mystery. A vast monument that
must have been constructed with both difficulty and at great expense and yet
that seems to protect nothing in particular. The Perillos family were in
those early days immensely rich but even so one wonders why it was
necessary to build such an imposing fortress. If this were the only
fortress to protect the family one might understand but within the village
of Opoul-Perillos can still be seen the ruins of their second castle,
their residential castle. Two castles? Almost side by side?
Was this a family who
prized their privacy or did they perhaps have something of such great
value that merited two castles for protection? We cannot say for
certain but what is still more strange is that the Perillos family were
seldom in residence in this part of the world. Instead they lived in
Spain, Italy, Malta and various other locations only rarely returning to
their native soil.
In the early 12th and 13th
centuries the land here was as inhospitable as it is today. For sure there
was some agriculture, there were woods and forests, there was game to be
had but despite all this there was much the land did not have. Trading
would have been essential in order to provide all of their other
necessities. And yet, here we have a rich nobleman who establishes himself
in such a forbidding region and in addition builds two impressive castles.
There is no doubt that this region affords an excellent vantage point.
From the old chateau in the now ruined village you can for example see right out to
the high Pyrenees.
The Perillos or Perellos family as they were
known then, date
from well before the 7th Century. During the 12th century they held
such titles as the count
of Barcelona and later, François
de Perellos
became ambassador to the King Juan the 1st of Aragon. His duty in
this regard was nothing less than to take charge of the royal treasure! Some 30 years later
and another Perellos, Ramon, now boasted the exalted title of Governor of
the
Roussillon and Cerdagne and was also the field
marshal of Aragon and Sicily.
A fairly spectacular rise in fortunes for the family in such a short time.
We must move forward now to the years between 1697 and 1720. Here we find
Ramon de Perellos who has somehow been instated as the Grand Master of the
knights of St. John of Jerusalem (the order of Malta). In the town of
Valetta in Malta can be seen the magnificent church of St. John. In
the small side chapels can be seen the tombs of all the past
grandmasters of the order. At one end of the church is a chapel called the
Province of Aragon and here can be seen the mausoleum of Ramon de Perellos
and it has to be said it is the most imposing of all the tombs in the
church. At its centre is a bronze medallion bearing his bust and
surmounted by the Perellos family crest, three heraldic pears. At the foot
of the monument can be seen his shield on which is yet another crest
consisting of four incomplete circles. This it has to be said is an
extremely rare crest and if there is anyone who well versed in this
science, I would love to hear more about the design.
The shield to the right contains a solar face with rays emanating in all
directions.
It is worth mentioning here
that the crest of three pears is also exceedingly unusual. Because of the
shape of the pear with its voluptuous curves, the church always regarded
it as being symbolic of the female form and as such completely
inappropriate for a heraldic device. In addition the type of pear
portrayed is one that locally has never been used for eating since it is
rather bitter. As such it was used for animal feed. You can just see the
crest of three pears on the photo to the left in between the
banners. As with the other heraldic devices here too we are none the wiser
as to why three pears should have been chosen.
Mystery compounds mystery
and it is here
that we are presented with yet another startling event in the history of
this family. Traditionally all grand masters were
interred within the church of St. John. It was an inviolable law of the order. The body of Ramon however was returned to
France and was laid to rest, we believe, in the crypt of the private
chapel in the remote mountain village of Perillos. How was it
possible for Ramon to break the age old traditions of the Knights of
Malta? It shows I think the remarkable influence and power he must have
wielded.
We now have another
fascinating account, namely that of Ramon de Perellos who made a trip in
1397 to St. Patrick's Purgatory in Ireland. The following article is
reproduced by kind permission of André Douzet and the Perillos Society:
Life and career
Ramon de Perillos, the
man who would be remembered for his “Voyage to St Patrick’s Purgatory”,
was a diplomat and a soldier. His date of birth is unknown, but his death
is placed ca. 1419. He was First Viscount of Perillos, the viscountcy
having been granted in 1391. He was second viscount of Roda (Rueda or
Rodes, near Barcelona) and Lord of the Barony of Céret (near Le Boulou on
the Spanish border). The Barony was the result of the suppression of the
viscountcy by king Sanchez de Majorca (1321), which was sold to Andreu de
Fenouillet in 1371, and then to Perellos.
Though his estates were
in Southern France, Ramon himself spent little time in his home regions.
He was brought up at the French court, and was a page of Charles V
(1364-1380). Charles V, born in 1338, was the eldest son of John II the
Good, who reigned from 1350 to 1364. He remained at the French court until
the death of the king in 1380, when he returned to his home region and
entered the service of Peter the Ceremonious (King of Aragon from 1336 to
1387), and his son, John I.
We know that in 1374, Ramon was taken prisoner in the Moorish kingdom of
Granada, and had to be ransomed by Peter the Ceremonious. Upon his return,
Ramon’s friendship with John blossomed, both sharing a deep interest in
the arts and literature.
In 1378, John wrote to Perellos, at that time in Cyprus, to ask for a book
called “On the marvels of the Holy Land” (De Mirabilibus Terrae Sanctae).
In 1379, he wrote to Perellos, after a visit to the latter’s house in
Perpignan, telling him that he had found there a copy of the romance of
Lancelot, which was so beautiful that he decided to take it. That same
year, when Perellos was in Avignon, John sent Perellos a letter dated
August 12, requesting seven singers from Avignon to be sent. These
apparently arrived on October 3. One of these singers appears to have been
Jean de Watignies, formerly in the chapel of Pedro de Luna at Avignon, who
still appears to be in John's service on 5th May 1384 and who returned to
Avignon sometime between that date and his subsequent employment in the
service of the Duke of Burgundy in 1391.
On August 13, 1386, John
wrote to Perellos, who at the time was in Paris, to ask him to send a copy
of the knight who had entered St Patrick’s Purgatory. It was this book,
the account of Henry of Saltrey, that would be worked into Ramon’s voyage.
John I ascended to the
throne in 1387 and chose Perellos as his chamberlain. Perellos was often
sent abroad on a number of foreign missions. King John I (1350-1396)
neglected his state and even sold strategically important border castles
to raise funds for life at court. Music, literature, hunting and astrology
were among the king’s passions.
Ramon became governor of Roussillon (1390) and would continue to be the
most trusted employee of the king. In 1390, he was in France as ambassador
from the court of Aragon. In 1394, he was sent to Cyprus to arrange a
marriage between the sister of John I and the son of the king of Cyprus.
In May 1396, Perellos was sent to Avignon to confer with Pope Benedict
XIII, an Aragonese who supported John and Perellos. Perellos also
conferred with the Dominican preacher, St Vincent Ferrer. Perellos’ task
was to try and divert French troops that were poised to invade Catalonia,
and redirect them towards Italy.
But on May 19, 1396, John I was dead, allegedly “frightened to death by
the sight of an enormous she-wolf when he was out hunting alone”. When the
news of John’s death reached Ramon, he ceased all negotiations and
returned to Aragon.
The immediate outcome of
the death of the king was confusion; several people around the king were
arrested and put on trail. Perellos himself was called to account for
himself, and accused of having made potentially treasonable contacts with
the Count of Foix. The charge was never pressed and Perellos was never
seriously out of favour. It is believed that his voyage to Ireland may
have been a public act to show his innocence. Convinced that he should
visit the Purgatory, Ramon returned to Avignon, to seek papal approval for
his voyage.
After his return, Ramon
remained in Avignon, in the service of Pope Benedict XIII, a man whom he
had known when the Pope was only a Cardinal. Ramon would be made
Captain-General of Avignon (1403). The last mention of him is as a deputy
in the Generalitat de Catalunya 1416-1419.
The Voyage
Though some scholars
have argued Ramon never made the voyage, the consensus is that he did make
the voyage. However, it is accepted by all that his description of what
occurred in the Purgatory itself is literally copied from the Tractatus.
The first recorded reference to St Patrick’s Purgatory occurred in
Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii, The Treatise on St Patrick’s
Purgatory, written in 1184 by an unnamed Cistercian Anglo-Norman monk in
the abbey of Saltry, Huntingdonshire, England. The monk’s name has been
given as Henry of Saltrey. The account contains the story of the Knight
Owein and his entrance into the Otherworld at the Purgatory. The story is
a second hand account, told for the first time to the writer between 1148
and 1150. The island on which the Purgatory was located was settled by
Augustinian Canons who were certainly responsible for the creation of the
pilgrimage. The Canons were introduced into Ireland in 1140 by St Malachy.
As mentioned, Ramon went
to Avignon and informed the Pope of his decision. He tried to dissuade
Ramon. Ramon then spoke to “Tarascona”, who was of the Galniello family
(believed to be Fernando Perez Calvillo), and Jofre de Sancta Lena.
Ramon’s brother, Pons de Perillos, was also present. Pons de Perillos
would later die in Millars in 1416. He was majordomo to John I and
chamberlain to John’s wife Violante.
Ramon left Avignon on
September 8, 1397. Ramon was accompanied by some members of his family:
- His sister’s son, Bernat de Sentelhas, who was a doctor and a clerk and
a sacristan of the church of Mallorca. He was the son of Brunissenda,
Ramon’s sister, and Eimeric III, Baron of Centelles.
- His two sons, the elder Loys, the younger Ramon. The elder died in 1437,
the younger in 1441/44.
From Avignon, the party
headed to Paris and court of the king. There, he received letters of
commendation from the king and his uncles, the duke of Berry and the duke
of Burgundy, to use with the king of England. He then set off to Calais,
to cross the Channel. He left on All Saint’s Day (November 1) to London,
passing by the church of St Thomas of Canterbury. In London, he was told
that the king was in “Got” (Woodstock Manor), some 8 miles from Oxford,
Estanefort, where he was received by the king.
After several days at the court, he left for Sextrexier (i.e. Chester),
where a ship was chartered for the crossing. The ship kept along the Welsh
coast, until Holyhead, where it crossed to the Isle of Man, and a few days
later he landed in Dublin. In Dublin, he met Roger Mortimer, the earl of
March, who was a first cousin of King Richard of England (1374-98). The
earl give Ramon two squires, one called John Devry, the other John Talbot,
to aide him in the rest of his voyage.
It was now time to visit the archbishop of Armagh, in the town of Durdan
(Drogheda). He visited the man a second time, shortly afterwards, in
Dondale (Dundalk), when he sent a message to the Court of Niall O’Neill,
the Irish king, who was in Armagh.
Everything was now in
place to knock on the door of Purgatory, which he did. The account of his
visions in Purgatory were taken from the Tractatus, making it impossible
to note whether he had no visions, or whether he did not wish to share
those with the rest of the world. Still, some personal details of his
“vision quest” are known. In Purgatory, he saw some deceased friends and
relatives:
- Brother Franciscan del Pueh, a Franciscan from a convent in Gerona,
closely connected to Perellos.
- Na Aldolsa de Quaralt, a niece of Perellos. Two of his sisters married
members of the Quaralt family, lords of Santa Coloma.
After the visit, he went
back to the Irish king, where he spent Christmas. He then spent New Year’s
Day with the countess of March in one of her castles. He then returned by
same route, to meet the English king in Liquefiel (Lichfield), then went
onto Dover, to Calais, and to the court of the king in Paris. He stayed
there for four months, by order of the Pope. When the king returned from
Rheims, Ramon left to Avignon, where he was received by the Pope and
entered his services, it seems, until the end of his days.
---------oOo---------
The importance of this
journey has today assumed great importance and to this end a plaque
commemorating the epic voyage can be seen in the village of Opoul-Perillos
right next to the church.
As a footnote to the above
account of Ramon's journey, it was reported that during one of his visions
he saw the doorway to an other world and during the vision he also
recognized that this doorway was to be found on his own lands near the
village of Perillos. It is worth mentioning here that just before
and also during the second World War, the Nazi high command carried out
systematic searches in this area surrounding the village. Anecdotal
references state that the Nazi high command arrived at the large
concentration camp located near Rivesaltes where they rounded up a large
number of interned Jews. They were apparently given very comfortable
accommodation which even had hot water laid on. They were well fed,
treated politely and with respect but each they were obliged to accompany
a large group of heavily armed German soldiers. Together they went in to
the remote country side near to the present day village of Perillos where
they carried out excavations. It was reported that at the end of the day
the men would be seen returning covered from head to foot in mud. The work
went on for some considerable time and then quite suddenly the men were
released from captivity and allowed to go on their way. Some days later a
large convoy of military vehicle was seen traversing the inhospitable
interior region near Perillos. Maquis harassed the convoy to such an
extent that they were forced to split up and all head in different
directions. The Maquis reported that the convoy was made up of one large
truck and numerous armored vehicles that appeared to be guarding it. It is
believed the truck did not manage to leave the region but what became of
it or indeed what it was carrying has never been established.
There are still more
mysteries surrounding the Perillos family and these revolve around the
church to be found in the village.
The church was the private chapel of the
Perillos family and dates from about the 11th century. It is extremely
small with seating capacity probably for less than 20 - 30 people.
The
inside of the church presents us upon entry with a magnificent stone arch
made from extremely well dressed stone.
The arch is of very early
construction and its quality implies that it was to be of some
importance. In relation to the doorway lies in an east-west direction but as you can see from the photo it leads
nowhere. The wall within the arch is actually the exterior wall
of the church. Clearly the church was originally intended to be
oriented in an E-W direction but then for some reason this
decision was abandoned. Traditionally Catholic churches are of
course oriented in a North-South direction and if we now look
toward the present day altar we see that the construction did in
fact take this form.
However unlike the original stone
archway that was of extremely high quality we now have a highly rustic
arch that appears to have been made so crudely one could be forgiven
for thinking it was the work of a peasant farmer. Only one column is
present and it is not even vertical. The altar that can be seen is a
modern day piece. The original altar is still present but now stands near
to the door and acts a support for statues of several saints.
The church is also very curious for
another reason; it has no windows whatsoever other than one small window
that was added in recent years. Originally however the church would have
been totally dark within.
You may be forgiven for thinking that
all one needed to do in order to have light would be to keep the door open
or use candles. Certainly the use of candles would have been current
practice but although the original door no longer remains, the holes for
substantial locking bolts can still be seen.
This implies that a door of some
considerable substance once allowed the faithful to enter and leave this tiny chapel.
Why would such a small chapel have such a robust door. If it was for
defense then perhaps it would have resisted assault for an hour or so but
certainly no more. There was at some time in the past another small door
leading in an out and it is to be found near the present day altar. It is
today sealed but the opening is still visible.
I think it is safe to say that the door was
probably not meant for defense but instead to keep out prying eyes. Remember
that it was the chapel of the Perillos family and would have been for
their private use only. The peasants would never have been privy to the
religious ceremonies that took place within. Equally we may be forgiven
for perhaps suspecting that religious rituals other than those normally
prescribed by the church may also have taken place. Certainly there would be no need of such
heavy security
if the regular Catholic mass and services were followed. It may also have
been the case that the church was the home of relics or other valuables in
which case a moderate amount of security would have been called for.
For those of you who would like to
follow developments in the Opoul-Perillos mystery, which incidentally is
extremely closely related to Rennes-le-Chateau, I would urge you visit the
site of the Perillos Society:
http://www.societe-perillos.com
There you will find an English and
French version although the French version is by far the more complete.
I would also heartily recommend anyone
interested in this mystery to join the society. Membership is a nominal 38
€ for regular members or 106 € as a benefactor. Membership entitles you to
4 bulletins a year with a bonus 5th bulletin only issued to members. The
bulletin is currently in the form of a professionally printed and bound
magazine of some thirty or so pages. It contains a number of articles by
members of the society and is of a very high standard. Additionally you will receive information concerning
other publications such as the RLC dossiers, Perillos and also the Babaos
library (re-publication of out of print or obsolete works). The society
also hosts conferences several times a year and there is an annual reunion
that usually takes place at Opoul-Perillos and I for one can vouch that
a truly splendid time is had by all. This year it is likely to be held in
an extremely isolated mountain top retreat near Prats de Mollo. Having
been there once already I can certainly recommend everyone to participate
as the location is spectacular beyond belief.
You can join the society on line at the
following URL:
http://www.societe-perillos.com/membre.html
Or if you have questions on this or any
other matter relating to Opoul-Perillos you can write directly to André
Douzet at :
