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Rennes
Location
Pentagram Point: Ignis / Fire — Lower-Left Point of the Pattern
Historical Accuracy
Bérenger Saunière's unexplained 19th-century wealth is a genuine unresolved historical curiosity, but the elaborate 'Priory of Sion' mythology built around it — bloodline conspiracies, secret guardians, and the rest — is a documented 20th-century hoax fabricated by Pierre Plantard and exposed as such in 1956, later popularized (and treated far too credulously) by the 1982 book Holy Blood, Holy Grail. The series' use of Rennes as the 'Fire' point of its fictional Sacred Pattern draws on this later legendary material as inspiration and atmosphere, not as a claim that any of it reflects genuine Merovingian-era history.
Historical Significance
Sources:
- Henry Lincoln, Baigent & Leigh, Holy Blood, Holy Grail (1982). Handle with care: the Priory of Sion is a documented hoax, not history.
Rennes-le-Château's legend began with one real, unexplained fact: a 19th-century village priest who grew inexplicably wealthy.
Historical Era
Book I
Novel Relevance:
- Represents the 'Fire' anchor and is the namesake/inspiration for the pentagram concept as a whole.
Timeline:
- 19th c. Saunière's wealth; 1956 Priory of Sion fabricated; 1982 Holy Blood, Holy Grail.
Key Facts:
- Sits near a claimed geometric triangle with Château de Blanchefort and Château de Bézu
- The 'Priory of Sion' was exposed as a 1956 hoax fabricated by Pierre Plantard
rennes
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