"Wer war der Thor, wer Weiser, Bettler oder Kaiser?
Ob Arm, ob Reich, im Tode gleich."
History, for a creative Martinist, then, can be almost like a plaything: a Game, in fact with a serious inner meaning. You can play with the history to reveal a greater truth. - Tobias Churton Invisibles
Of all the hoaxes, mysteries and conspiracies going around in this world, the Rennes-le-Château secret could very well be designated to be the Mother of all Mysteries.
The Martinists...admired by the wise...feared by the tyrant...persecuted by the dictator...respected by the mystic...sought by the Seeker. Since the XVIIIth century, the Martinists have been found at the very heart and center of esotericism and mystical belief in all its various expressions. While the Martinist Order is not a secret society, rarely do individual Martinists allow themselves to be seen directly; generally, only a hint of their presence is noted. Yet always, their influence is great, and their charisma is felt by those who know. Frequently are they discussed by the uninitiated who have little knowledge or understanding of the Martinists or their abilities. Today, Martinism flourishes, and its portals are still open to the Men and Women of Desire who wish to exit the Forest of Errors and enter the Light to be found at the Gates of Mercy.
Der Martinismus ist ein Resultat der Aufklärung und proklamierte, dass der göttliche Ursprung nur durch den Weg des Herzens wieder gefunden werden könne. Es ist die Suche nach dem "göttlichen Ich". Seine Anhänger wollten eine neue Weltordnung basierend auf Jesus Christus vorantreiben, die verschiedene Glaubenssysteme nicht nur tangiert, sondern auch integriert – inklusive der jüdischen Kaballa. - André Douzet - Das Grab des Christus
It’s the well known story of the Abbé Francois Béranger Saunière, who discovered “certain things” and which made him a very wealthy man.
Where one hand there’s the ones like Paul Smith who simply dismiss the whole affair as a hoax, I belong the the critical believers, who feel that there’s more to this mystery than meets the eye.
After a long study of this mystery I've found that the only constant thing of it, is that those involved invariably had something to do with rosicrucianism and or martinism. For the rest I could very well quote Goethe: "Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor, und bin so klug als wie zuvor."
The first ones who described this phenomenon i.m.o. (links with martinism and rosicrucianism i.e.) were Guy Patton and Robin Mackness in Web of Gold. Soon to be followed by Picknett & Prince.
More specific details have been given by French author André Douzet (The tomb of Christ and Saunière’s model).
However what these authors have in common though is that they, to my best knowledge, are not Martinists themselves and therefore see these things only from a hearsay perspective (their given information as such being quite accurate nonetheless).
In the pages of the Lodge Minutes book of the Martinist Order of Lyon it says: Dans La registre de la Très Révérente Loge à l’Orient de Lyon “La Haute Philosophie”…sur la liste le présent d’honneur l’Abbé Saunière.
Where Douzet quotes the minute book of a Martinist meeting(s) which Sauniere allegedly a.o. attended on 11 May 1900, he all together avoids to produce the relevant paper and which I’d like to see for verification. Certain details which I can't reveal here, would probably give me a fairly accurate impression of its authenticity. So, if the Douzet document is authentic, it proves that Saunière was a Martinist and a very important one (présent d’honneur) at that...
His interest in Martinism b.t.w. isn't surprising since others in his cercle of friends were Martinists such as Emma Calvé. In a document made in Paris on November 11th, 1892, at the cabaret "Chat Noir", we can see the signature of Emma Calve just before the sign of S:.I:., Supérieur Inconnu; the third degree of the Martinist Order.
Ignorami sometimes claim that his adherence is without any evidence whatsoever. Still subscribing to the romantic but completely false idea that if you’re just interested, you could simply go to and attend a Martinist meeting, by stating that it would interest you. Well: No Way!
No one, not him/her self duly initiated, will ever find his way into a Martinist heptad!I can guarantee that!
Where Saunière's Martinist adherence doesn't necessarily solve the mystery, it at least points us somewhat in the right direction.
Where even as a martinist myself, I find it rather difficult to properly define martinism so that no doubt is left to the intended meaning. Therefore in a previous post: Dialogues avec un Serviteur Inconnu... I've made an attempt by quoting several people/scholars who've shone their light on this mysterious subject. Since the romantic perception that it's simply Christian Mysticism, well I just don't find this view satisfactory. I rather support the idea of Charles Barlet who once stated that martinism was "a circle whose circumference was everywhere and the centre nowhere." This much better expresses the apparent discrepancies that seem to exist in martinism.
Dear gentle readers, soon I'll be returning to the Rennes-le-Château story, discussing some of the seemingly incongruent ideas which you'll find within martinism, such as synarchy, monarchy, and the bizarre movement of Naundorffism... or to quote Prof. Karl R. H. Frick: Man könnte ebenso die Quadratur des Kreises versuchen, um die widersprüchlichen Lehren des Martinismus im 19. Und 20. Jahrhundert in völlige Kongruenz zu überführen.
NAUNDORF: The lost King of France or just an other Imposter?
Where Louis Claude de Saint-Martin could hardly be called a royalist himself, only read his works “Lettre à un ami, ou Considérations philosophiques et religieuses sur la révolution française” & Le crocodile (1799) or the excellent paper The Crocodile Strikes Back: Saint-Martin's Interpretation of the French Revolution by Dr. Fabienne Moore, many of his followers were! They were monarchist or even worse Naundorffist.
Many French martinists believed Karl Wilhelm Naundorff's claims to the French throne. They joined the Synarchy movement and formed the Ordre Martiniste et Synarchie (OMS).
Karl Wilhelm Naundorff, was buried in 1845 in the Dutch town of Delft with the epitaph: "Here lies Louis XVII, King of France." DNA analysis later disproved his claim though.
Lot’s of indications show us that Saunière supported Naundorff from 1891 as did two Popes, Leon XIII and Benoit XV. However there was no real proof of the identity of Naundorff, only assumptions. (Well hell, as a martinist, you ought to know that one should NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING)
By the time of his death, Naundorff was recognized by many including the Dutch government as Louis XVII and, thus, the heir to the French throne – but, alas, not by his own country of France.
Naundorffism has always flabbergasted me. I’ve always found it very difficult to believe, that this German watch- and clockmaker who hardly knew any French could possibly have been Prince Louis Charles (Louis XVII).
Nevertheless the Naundorffists did and even now some still believe this. So where Naundorffism, was never ever a part of martinism, a considerable number of martinists were staunch Naundorffists. "Il nous a été révélé que le destin de la renaissance européenne était attaché à la restauration de la monarchie française et que la branche directe des descendants de Louis XVI appelée Naundorff était élue par Dieu.”
In 1998 Belgian genetics professor J.J. Cassiman of the Leuven University) conclusively proved by means of DNA testing that Karl Wilhelm Naundorff was not a descendent of the Bourbons and therefore most definitely not Louis XVII. Dr. Cassiman and his associates compared DNA material taken from Mr. Naundorff's body with hair of the queen and two of her sisters that was found in lockets that had belonged to their mother. They found no matches.
But Naundorff's descendants do not give up though. Website for Naundorff, whose family is still trying to press through his claims that he’s the Lost king of France: http://www.louis-XVII.com
In 2004 Cassiman announced that tests conducted on the heart of the boy who died in prison proved once and for all that he was, in fact, Marie Antoinette’s son and Prince Louis Charles (Louis XVII).
