... the Rennes-le-Château Historical Society
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The Rennes-le-Château Historical Society is free and open to everyone with a curiosity for history, mystery, and discovery within the Rennes-le-Château Affair and the wider region of the Aude. Whether you’re a researcher, enthusiast, or simply intrigued by the story of Rennes-le-Château and its local area, you’re warmly invited to join our growing community.
​Through this website, members can purchase the Society's Bulletin which carry upcoming events, talks, and research updates. ​Members will receive early notice of Society news, findings, and publications, staying connected to the latest discoveries and insights.
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Join us today — be part of an open community bringing history to life and exploring the enduring mysteries of Rennes-le-Château and the archeological history of the area together. We are currently based in the UK but our aim and dream is the opening of a research/education/study centre in the region in the future dedicated to Rennes-le-Château research and history in all its myriad forms. For more information see below.
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CONNECT WITH RESEARCHERS
The Rennes-le-Château Historical Society
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Join us on a journey into history’s most intriguing mystery. ​The Rennes-le-Château Historical Society invites you to be part of an extraordinary mission — to uncover the truth, preserve the past, and explore the enduring enigma that has fascinated researchers, historians, and seekers for generations.
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Founded in the United Kingdom, our Society will publish a bi-monthly magazine called The Bulletin - From the Rennes-le-Château Historical Society.
The Bulletin exists to:
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Document serious research into Rennes-le-Château and the wider Aude
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Preserve local memory and history
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Present new discoveries, hypotheses, and archival finds
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Balance rigour with narrative intrigue - to be neither credulous nor dismissive — but inquisitive.
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On the Founding of The Bulletin
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The Bulletin is founded in the belief that Rennes-le-Château deserves something better than either uncritical fascination or dismissive scepticism. For more than half a century, this small village in the Upper Aude has existed at the crossroads of history and imagination, attracting researchers, writers, archaeologists, sceptics, and seekers alike. Yet too often, serious historical inquiry has been drowned out by sensationalism on the one hand, or prematurely closed down on the other.
This publication seeks to create a different space.
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The Bulletin: Proceedings of the Rennes-le-Château Historical Society exists to encourage careful research, open discussion, and responsible speculation grounded in evidence. It is not a vehicle for profit, nor a platform for personal claims of ownership over ideas, discoveries, or narratives. It is, instead, an invitation: to historians, archivists, independent researchers, local residents, and thoughtful amateurs to contribute to a shared endeavour.
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The Society itself is conceived as an open community of inquiry. There are no hidden agendas, no proprietary mysteries, and no commercial imperatives driving its work. Contributions are offered freely, credited transparently, and preserved in good faith for the benefit of all who wish to understand the history and cultural landscape of Rennes-le-Château and the wider Aude. The only currency recognised here is evidence, argument, and intellectual honesty.
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We acknowledge, openly, that Rennes-le-Château occupies an unusual position. It is a place where archival documents, oral memory, landscape, literature, and myth have become entangled. To pretend otherwise would be disingenuous. Yet acknowledging this complexity does not absolve us of responsibility; rather, it demands greater care. Throughout The Bulletin, readers will find a clear distinction between documented history, interpretive hypothesis, and speculative exploration. Each has its place — but none should masquerade as the other.
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This first issue is intentionally foundational. Before claims can be assessed, before mysteries can be weighed, the ground itself must be understood: the village before its fame, the people before their legends, the documents before their interpretations. Future issues will build upon this groundwork, welcoming debate, correction, and new perspectives as the Society grows.
Above all, The Bulletin is offered in a spirit of collaboration. No single voice defines the history of Rennes-le-Château, and no single discipline can contain it. What follows is not a conclusion, but a beginning.
We invite you to read critically, to contribute thoughtfully, and — where necessary — to disagree courteously.
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The work begins here.
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Join us. Explore the mystery. Illuminate the past.
OUR MISSION
Statement of Principles
The Rennes-le-Château Historical Society
The Rennes-le-Château Historical Society is founded upon the conviction that the study of history, even in its most controversial or contested forms, benefits from openness, care, and intellectual honesty. The following principles guide the work of the Society and the publication of The Bulletin.
1. Commitment to Evidence
The Society is committed to the careful examination of primary sources, material remains, and reliable secondary scholarship. Claims presented in The Bulletin should, wherever possible, be supported by documentary, archaeological, cartographic, or contextual evidence. Where evidence is incomplete or ambiguous, this uncertainty must be acknowledged rather than obscured.
2. Distinction Between History and Hypothesis
Rennes-le-Château is a site where documented history, interpretation, and speculation have become deeply intertwined. The Society recognises the legitimacy of interpretive and exploratory approaches, provided they are clearly distinguished from established historical fact. The Bulletin will make explicit the difference between evidence-based conclusions, reasoned hypotheses, and speculative inquiry.
3. Openness and Collaboration
The Society is conceived as an open community of researchers, independent scholars, and interested contributors. Membership and participation are not contingent upon academic affiliation, professional status, or adherence to a particular interpretive framework. Contributions are welcomed from all who share a commitment to respectful discourse and careful reasoning.
4. Non-Commercial Ethos
The Society and its Bulletin are not established for monetary gain. Research shared through The Bulletin is offered in good faith, without claims of proprietary ownership over ideas, discoveries, or interpretations. Contributors retain authorship of their work, but knowledge itself is understood as a shared endeavour rather than a commodity.
5. Respect for Place and Community
The Society acknowledges that Rennes-le-Château is not merely a subject of study, but a living place with a local history, landscape, and community. Research should be conducted with respect for the village, its inhabitants, its environment, and its heritage. Sensationalism, exploitation, and unfounded assertions that risk harm to people or place have no role in the Society’s work.
6. Critical Engagement and Civil Disagreement
Scholarly disagreement is not only inevitable but valuable. The Society encourages debate, critique, and reassessment of claims, provided these are conducted in a spirit of civility and intellectual generosity. Personal attacks, appeals to authority without evidence, and the dismissal of alternative viewpoints without engagement are contrary to the Society’s principles.
7. Preservation and Continuity
The Society aims to preserve research, discussions, and documentation for future study. The Bulletin is intended as a cumulative record, allowing ideas to be revisited, corrected, or refined over time. Errors are not failures, but part of the historical process when acknowledged and addressed transparently.
8. Responsibility to the Reader
The Society recognises a responsibility not only to contributors, but to readers. The Bulletin seeks to inform without misleading, to explore without sensationalising, and to invite curiosity without demanding belief. Readers are encouraged to approach all material critically, and to draw their own conclusions.
Closing Statement
The Rennes-le-Château Historical Society does not seek to resolve the mysteries of Rennes-le-Château once and for all. Rather, it seeks to provide a framework within which history can be examined carefully, curiosity can be exercised responsibly, and inquiry can proceed without illusion or cynicism. The Bulletin stands as both record and invitation.