Book review of The Tomb of God
The Tomb of God approaches the perennial unsolved
mystery of Rennes-le-chateau from
a different perspective than other books on the subject. It delves into the sacred geometry of the area and explores this aspect intensively; the
authors attempt to analyse the famous Poussin Paintings and other miscellany like the Paris Meridian, etc. What transpires is a complex investigation of all of these technicalities which leads the authors to identify Mount Cardou as holding the solution to the
mystery.
From studying all of these documents, maps, formulae of trigonometry, sacred geometry of the landscape, the authors would appear to have discovered a trail of hidden messages and coded language through the centuries. They then conclude that the priest Berenger Sauniere of Rennes-le-Chateau had discovered this too: none other than the Mount called Mount Cardou (in the Occitan language) meaning heart of God contains the tomb of the remains of Jesus Christ.
Initially, this might seem a bit farfetched but when one starts to take cognisance of the litany of legends of Languedoc, it then seems less so; for example, that Jesus survived the cross, fled to the Languedoc with Mary Magdalene and sired a family (which the mystical Prieure de Sion, for instance, believe!); if one then adds to the mysterious equation some place names which have biblical connotations, it makes one wonder if it there is smoke without fire! For example, the aforesaid Mount Cardou, Arques (as in Noah’s Ark or the Ark of the Covenant), the Tour Magdala (the Magdalene tower) which Sauniere built in his residence.
But what makes the book povocative, is the fine decipherment of Poussins’ parchments - it is very convincing! They would seem to show that Poussin was aware of a secret and he was communicating it in the depths of his watercolours. In addition, the tomb in the painting Bergers D’arcadie does seem to replicate the position of Mount Cardou on the landscape. Also plausible were their theories about the angles and features in the painting, as if Poussin was working according to some secret code from an esoteric school. The meticulous precision with which the authors demonstrate this, through diagrams, illustrations etc is an example.
The one fault that I would have with the book, is the title Tomb of God; if, for supposition sake, the remains of Jesus do lie there, well then the title leads to a philosophical and theological question: was Jesus a man or a God? For instance, many of the so-called ‘heresies,’ one of which was prevalent in Languedoc, believed that Jesus was not divine but merely a man! The choice of the title is arquably hyperbolic. Also, despite their call for Mount Cardou, to be excavated, it’s unlikely anyone would do it; even if they did and found something, it would be impossible to conclude definitively that they were the remains of Jesus Christ himself!
In conclusion, whilst Tomb of God can’t claim to reach the heights of the pioneering, standard flag-bearer of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, it still is very thought-provoking and does justice to the great mystery and conundrum - that is Rennes-le-Chateau -, and to all the legends and mysteries of the Languedoc.