What do you think?
Rate this book
The Church of Mary Magdalene: The Sacred Feminine and the Treasure of Rennes-le-Chateau
An extensive examination of the religious anomalies and lost treasure of the Mary Magdalene Church in Rennes-le-Château
• Looks at the connection between the Templars, Cathars, and other enigmatic groups in the history of this church and the surrounding area
• Maintains that Mary Magdalene was the high priestess who anointed Jesus into his priesthood, in accordance with ancient religious tradition
• Explores the role of the Sacred Feminine in early Christian Church history
The small church of Rennes-le-Château, in a remote village in southern France, may well hold the key to the proof of Mary Magdalene’s marriage to Jesus and the bloodline they founded. In 1885 the village of Rennes-le-Château welcomed a new priest, Abbe Saunière, for its church dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. Abbe Saunière ordered very strange restoration work for the church, and it is thought that he discovered something during this renovation that brought him to the attention of the power brokers of that time and made him a very rich man. Possible identifications of his discovery range from the gold pillaged from Delphi in Roman times; the treasure brought out of Jerusalem by the Templars, who had a strong presence in this area; and the missing Cathar treasure, spirited out of Montségur mere days before the fall of that fortress.
Yet even more curious and compelling is this church’s ambiguous portrayal of Mary Magdalene. Markale explains that the unusual depictions of Mary in the church hint at an even more archaic role performed by Mary that could shake the very foundations of the Church if it were fully that of the high priestess who anoints the priest king into his spiritual duties.
• Looks at the connection between the Templars, Cathars, and other enigmatic groups in the history of this church and the surrounding area
• Maintains that Mary Magdalene was the high priestess who anointed Jesus into his priesthood, in accordance with ancient religious tradition
• Explores the role of the Sacred Feminine in early Christian Church history
The small church of Rennes-le-Château, in a remote village in southern France, may well hold the key to the proof of Mary Magdalene’s marriage to Jesus and the bloodline they founded. In 1885 the village of Rennes-le-Château welcomed a new priest, Abbe Saunière, for its church dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. Abbe Saunière ordered very strange restoration work for the church, and it is thought that he discovered something during this renovation that brought him to the attention of the power brokers of that time and made him a very rich man. Possible identifications of his discovery range from the gold pillaged from Delphi in Roman times; the treasure brought out of Jerusalem by the Templars, who had a strong presence in this area; and the missing Cathar treasure, spirited out of Montségur mere days before the fall of that fortress.
Yet even more curious and compelling is this church’s ambiguous portrayal of Mary Magdalene. Markale explains that the unusual depictions of Mary in the church hint at an even more archaic role performed by Mary that could shake the very foundations of the Church if it were fully that of the high priestess who anoints the priest king into his spiritual duties.
328 pages, Paperback
First published June 9, 2004
About the author
Jean Markale
189 books43 followersJean Markale is the pen name of Jean Bertrand, a French writer, poet, radio show host, lecturer, and retired Paris high school French teacher.
He has published numerous books about Celtic civilisation and the Arthurian cycle. His particular specialties are the place of women in the Celtic world and the Grail cycle.
His many works have dealt with subjects as varied as summations of various myths, the relationships of same with occult subjects like the Templars, Cathars, the Rennes le Château mystery, Atlantis, the megalith building civilisations, druidism and so on, up to and including a biography of Saint Columba.
While Markale presents himself as being very widely read on the subjects about which he writes, he is nonetheless surrounded by controversy regarding the value of his work. Critics allege that his 'creative' use of scholarship and his tendency to make great leaps in reasoning cause those following the more normative (and hence more conservative) mode of scholars to balk. As well as this, his interest in subjects that his critics consider questionable, including various branches of the occult, have gained him at least as many opponents as supporters. His already weakened reputation was further tarnished in 1989, when he became involved in a plagiarism case, when he published under his own name a serious and well-documented guide to the oddities and antiquities of Brittany, the text of which had already been published twenty years before by a different writer through the very same publisher.
Also a source of controversy is his repeated use of the concept of "collective unconscious" as an explanatory tool. This concept was introduced by Carl Jung, but in modern psychology it's rejected by the vast majority of psychologists.
He has published numerous books about Celtic civilisation and the Arthurian cycle. His particular specialties are the place of women in the Celtic world and the Grail cycle.
His many works have dealt with subjects as varied as summations of various myths, the relationships of same with occult subjects like the Templars, Cathars, the Rennes le Château mystery, Atlantis, the megalith building civilisations, druidism and so on, up to and including a biography of Saint Columba.
While Markale presents himself as being very widely read on the subjects about which he writes, he is nonetheless surrounded by controversy regarding the value of his work. Critics allege that his 'creative' use of scholarship and his tendency to make great leaps in reasoning cause those following the more normative (and hence more conservative) mode of scholars to balk. As well as this, his interest in subjects that his critics consider questionable, including various branches of the occult, have gained him at least as many opponents as supporters. His already weakened reputation was further tarnished in 1989, when he became involved in a plagiarism case, when he published under his own name a serious and well-documented guide to the oddities and antiquities of Brittany, the text of which had already been published twenty years before by a different writer through the very same publisher.
Also a source of controversy is his repeated use of the concept of "collective unconscious" as an explanatory tool. This concept was introduced by Carl Jung, but in modern psychology it's rejected by the vast majority of psychologists.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 31, 2018
First, the content of the book is not at all what the title or what the back cover description says it is...this book should be called The life of Abbé Saunière and the mystery of Rennes-le-chateau.
Also, the opinions and judgments of the authors are almost unbearable and it was a big disappointment to see that the only part that was the reason I wanted to read the book was barely 15 pages in the whole book and was the only subject he didn’t know anything about and are just a bunch of personal deductions from bible phrases. This book is like a history book, geography book, fact telling book and yes the author has a lot of knowledge of historical facts but nothing to do with what the title or back book prologue tries to promote.
Also, the opinions and judgments of the authors are almost unbearable and it was a big disappointment to see that the only part that was the reason I wanted to read the book was barely 15 pages in the whole book and was the only subject he didn’t know anything about and are just a bunch of personal deductions from bible phrases. This book is like a history book, geography book, fact telling book and yes the author has a lot of knowledge of historical facts but nothing to do with what the title or back book prologue tries to promote.
April 10, 2026
i’m giving it an extra star for his passion but honestly not sure why this book was published. terrible marketing & very misleading. this is more his adventure & his lose informal thoughts on the treasure & a little on the church of mary magdalene. save yourself & read a few wikipedia articles or look for other books. attempting to read this book (i could not finish it, it was that bad) was like listening to uncle colm from the show derry girls speak. if you don’t know what i’m talking about, look up a clip on youtube & you will understand this book. also no reference section at all for any of what he says. some inaccuracies, & even spends time beefing with his critics who say he writes historical BS. i’m inclined to agree with them now.
May 15, 2019
Interesting but found 2 errors in just the first 50 pages. For example, if Bugarach was 40,000 feet high, it would be much taller than Everest. It certainly is not, I have seen it. Espéraza was spelled Esperanza.
March 28, 2023
Fascinating if somewhat alternative history. Worth a read if you're a fan of the whole Rennes-le-Chateau mystery. Does it offer a solution? You will see!
July 21, 2013
This book disappointed me. Well, to be honest, Chapter One, and several paragraphs of the remainder disappointed me. The title and the description on the back tell nothing of the scoffing, pompous travel diary that lurks between the cover.
May 17, 2010
Horrible writing. Questionable scholarship
February 6, 2012
This writing is so bad! There might be good information in there, but I could not stand reading another word. Only got to page 14 and gave up.
April 23, 2012
Dry...but very very interesting.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews