A Tomb on Oak Island?

 

A Tomb on Oak Island?

By Cort Lindahl  June, 2, 2021.

 

There are some aspects of Oak Island lore and speculation that may indicate the entire root of the treasure story there is associated with the remains of someone that was intentionally entombed on the island. Of course, some of the speculation presented here is only based on far reaching ideas that suggest the theme of Arcadia is part of the story of Oak Island. Based on that we can make a few guesses as to the possibilities of this being true. Both the story of the Bruton Vault in Williamsburg and the story of Rennes le Chateau also include the idea that lost remains of someone are part of the story.

 

What may be suggested is that a French citizen had been the basis for all of this attached imagery in the land of French Acadia or Arcadia. Through a strange series of events this Frenchman was also associated directly to the Baron of Nova Scotia, King Charles I, Queen Henrietta Maria and even his third wife who was said to have been a lady in waiting of Queen Henrietta Maria. Strangely the identity of this woman is not known even though she is connected to the Royal Court of Charles I and Henrietta Maria. How is this possible?  

 

The assumption that a person is entombed on Oak Island is part of a long value of the Arcadian theme as applied to places like Oak Island, Rennes le Chateau and even Shugborough Hall in England and its famous and mysterious Shepherds Monument. In an earlier chapter the entire range of a value of Arcadia and its memento mori overtones was detailed that may apply to the notion that a person of significance in the overall story of Oak Island may have been entombed there for various reasons.

 

I have also detailed how the book “Arcadia” by Philip Sidney was valued over a long span of time by English monarchs who also seemed to have used various plot elements of the book to create real historical places, events, objects, and even architecture. This author believes that even the Newport Tower’s design has its roots in the description of star shaped lodges in the pages of Sidney’s book. The book also contains a narrative of a Money Pit that is also associated with the folklore story and description of the Money Pit on Oak Island. Sidney’s “Arcadia” was said to have been published between 1580 and 1582.

 

The painting of Nicolas Poussin variously referred to as “Les Bergers de Arcadia” or “Et in Arcadia Ego” has also been associated with Oak Island by this author and others. In fact the Louvre Museum where the painting is today displayed in Paris actually includes an orientation on the globe that can be used to create an arc that transects the Atlantic Ocean and reaches Oak Island Nova Scotia while also accurately matching the orientation of the famous feature on the island known of as Nolan’s Cross. The Louvre and the painting actually point the way to Oak Island and Nolan’s Cross. In this way Poussin’s painting is but an icon of a larger and more far reaching story.

 

Poussin was associated with a group of artists and Latin Church figures that would eventually form the Academia degli de Arcadia of the Vatican. This is illustrative of a long held fascination with the mythical Greek province of Arcadia and its simple pastoral lifestyle which in turn was a point of fascination or admiration on the part of many European nobles for span of history going back to before the time of Christ. This value had its origins in the pastoral poetry of Virgil who had defined the Arcadian ideal in his works.

 

The person this author believes could be entombed on Oak Island is Claude Turgis St. Etienne de La Tour. Claude de La Tour’s father had been a stonemason in sixteenth century France. Claude was the father of first Acadian governor Charles St. Etienne de La Tour. As we will see both Claude and his son Charles at various times supported the French settlement of Acadia and also eventually went over to the other side and supported the Scottish and English efforts to make Nova Scotia a colony of theirs. In the process, we may see that Claude de La Tour had been an agent of the English Crown the entire time and had actually dedicated himself to the establishment of their domain in the lands that Nova Scotia encompasses.

 

Initially when Claude and Charles were making their way to Nova Scotia the ship that Claude was traveling in was waylaid by English Captain Kirke. Kirke was also a French national who had gone over to the English side in the dispute over Acadia or Nova Scotia. After Claude’s capture he was taken to England where he quickly became friends with the Baron of Nova Scotia Sir William Alexander. Some aspects of the story of Claude de La Tour’s capture may suggest this had all been planned prior.

 

The Baron offered Claude and his son Charles Baronetcies of Nova Scotia as part of a deal that included their support in his efforts to establish a colony there. As the story goes initially Charles refused this offer resulting in a military confrontation with his father at that time. Eventually Charles via a series of events and conflicts with other French leaders in Acadia did go over to the English and Scottish side. Some accounts have Charles accepting the baronetcy of Nova Scotia that had been offered to him at that time while other accounts suggest he eventually inherited his father’s baronetcy.

 

Note here again that it had been Sir William Alexander the Baron of Nova Scotia and Earl of Stirling that had amended Philip Sidney’s book “Arcadia” with a new chapter in 1613. We know The Baron’s benefactor and King, Charles I last words prior to his beheading were “Pamela’s Prayer” from the pages of Sidney’s “Arcadia.” We also know that three months prior to his capture Charles I had used Virgil’s Aeneid to perform bibliomancy or the random selection of a page from a volume meant to divine the answer to the seekers question. In this case the selected passage did in fact foreshadow the imminent demise of Charles I. Here we may be given a “clewe” as to how the story included here could actually be true while at the same time conforming to this said value of Arcadia. Here the memento mori theme of Arcadia was related to the death of Charles I not once but twice.

 

Interestingly the land that was included in Claude de La Tour’s baronetcy of Nova Scotia included the region where Oak Island is located. It is entirely possible that Claude’s land grant so to speak had even included Oak Island itself. It then follows that Claude’s son Charles had decided to entomb or bury his father on Oak Island. In so doing part of this activity may have also included the intentional propagation of an Arcadian themed Rosicrucian mystery.

 

After the time Claude was captured he did have a close association with Sir William Alexander the Baron of Nova Scotia and other aspects of this story also suggest he had actually spent time in the Court of Charles I and was known as well by the king and Queen Henrietta Maria. Subsequent to his capture as stated Claude was then married to a woman that though nameless was a lady in waiting of the Queen. This is very strange and does indicate that Claude de La Tour had direct interaction with the King and Queen as well as the Baron. No one ever thought to record the name of a lady in waiting who married Claude de La Tour and subsequently went to Nova Scotia with him?

 

The ladies in waiting of the Queen are well documented and none of the women known to have been in this position had any relation or marriage to Claude de La Tour. The identity of his third wife is just as much of a mystery as to what the Oak Island treasure really may represent. What we may see in reality is that after his death that Claude de La Tour may have been entombed on Oak Island as one of a series of Arcadian references that were valued by the English and French monarchies over a wide span of history. Logic dictates this would conform to a long standing tradition or folklore as seen in the last words of Charles I for example. Charles’ son Charles II also has some interesting connections to this notion of Arcadia.

 

If this theory is true then at some point after his death someone had opted to entomb him on Oak Island as it was part of his legal domain in Acadia or Nova Scotia. In the official record of Claude’s life his place of burial is unknown. This may have also been intentionally done if someone or some group of people had intended all of this to be a kind of Rosicrucian mystery.

 

In fact, this kind of mystery involving the missing remains of specific individuals is part of the legends of C. Rosenkreutz being entombed in an unknown location with a vault of relics, documents and riches also may infer some of what is known about the Oak Island story. These kinds of initiatory quests are meant to be solved following specific clues that had been left behind by the deceased person or those associated with them. This lore does match the mythology of Oak Island. This notion also includes the presence of a treasure guardian or ghosts that have been reported in association with Oak Island. Even that part of the story may have been intentionally told if we are correct in our assumptions here.

 

This tradition is also apparent in the many “Man in the Mountain” mysteries that are associated with Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne in turn a great part of the cultural heritage of France and Germany (as well as other associated countries). Subsequent Holy Roman Emperors also descendant of Charlemagne also are said to have solved the mysteries left behind. This would in include Frederick Barbarossa and Frederick II both of whom held a direct descent from Charlemagne. There are unsubstantiated stores of both Fredericks searching for something that Charlemagne had left behind along with specific clues.

 

In this way, we may see this kind of lore in myth or reality being associated with those that decided to weave a mystery out of where Claude de La Tour’s remains are located much later in history. Naturally they may have also left a series of Arcadian and Rosicrucian clues as to the location and content of any tomb that may be associated. This could explain why the Poussin painting and the Louvre both “point to” Oak Island Nova Scotia and Nolan’s Cross.

 

The mystery of the remains of Colonial Rebel of Virginia Nathaniel Bacon has also taken on many of these “Man in the Mountain” overtones over time. It is clear that after his death Claude de La Tour would have been more appreciated by British interests than the French interests he had seemingly betrayed.

 

A survey of other similar stories also may reveal that later people who may have discerned that Claude was entombed on Oak Island may have added to this story in their own way which in turn may have revealed that they were privy to the entire story. This may even be what the Shepherds Monument at Shugborough Hall is really attempting to portray with regard to Oak Island. The Shepherds Monument does display the Poussin painting in mirror image bas relief with the inclusion of what this author feels is Aristomenes box atop the tomb in that rendering. Aristomenes box is in turn part of the description of the Money Pit story in Sidney’s book “Arcadia” that also includes an analogue to the famous 90ft. Stone of Oak Island lore.

 

Remember, Sidney’s book had been printed over two hundred years prior to the discovery of the Money Pit on Oak Island. This date range includes the life of Claude de la Tour, The Baron of Nova Scotia as well as Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria. The book Arcadia continued to be valued in obvious ways by all the remaining Stewart Kings of England well into the eighteenth century even including Queen Victoria.

 

The idea that Claude de La Tour was entombed on Oak Island also fits many of the items that have been found at depth as part of the Curse of Oak Island TV show via the efforts of the show’s hosts Rick and Marty Lagina. Human remains have been found in a deep subsurface context including remains of one European male and one female of Middle Eastern descent. There are many instances of Middle Eastern people being present in this period of French and English history so that is not too much of a stretch to imagine. It is not hard to speculate that even Claude de La Tour’s Lady in Waiting wife held this type of heritage.

 

Is it possible these are the remains of Claude de La Tour and his unidentified wife who was said to have been a lady in waiting of Queen Henrietta Maria of Charles I? The Queen was the progeny of Marie de Medici Queen of France. The de Medici family itself has a long and storied association with the theme of Arcadia in literature and art as well. A study of this appreciation of the Arcadian theme is directly related in turn to the memento mori or remembrance of the dead that was very popular in seventeenth and eighteenth century Europe especially in noble circles that were literate art collectors and sponsors. The same European nobles also have many bizarre funerary practices such as having different parts of their bodies interred at different locations.

 

Had someone after the French Revolution who was aware of this situated the Poussin painting at the Louvre as a clue that all of this is true? Previously we discussed the possibility that it could even be Louis XVI who is entombed on Oak Island yet the notion it was actually Claude de La Tour does also fit the story in many regards. The fact that any study of Arcadia leads to the remembrance of past people is also suggestive of any possible funerary overtones at Oak Island. The theme of Arcadia is most often associated with making sure past people are remembered.

 

The story could have begun as a simple Rosicrucian styled memento which later had been conflated into a treasure story. Alternately since British concerns would have also been aware of this they too could be responsible in some ways with regard to the propagation of this myth or reality. In addition the said Rosicrucian overtones may also suggest that any number of other objects, books, relics or “treasure” could have been included in any such tomb be it Claude de La Tour or Louis himself. Alternately other later people who were aware of this historical oddity could have chosen to hide other things on Oak Island later in history.

 

There is some question to the provenance of the remains of Louis XVI and no one is absolutely sure if his remains were ever actually found. Equally we have no clue as to the location of the remains of Claude de La Tour or if he even passed in Acadia though that seems likely. Since Claude was somewhat of a traitor to France it would be more likely that his remains had stayed in Nova Scotia after his death. The fact that Claude was a traitor to some could have also compelled his son to hide his remains. There was a tradition in that era of history for opponents to disrespect and often display in public the remains of someone like Claude de La Tour who some considered a traitor. There were likely still French nationals in Nova Scotia who felt betrayed by the de La Tour family at the time of Claude’s passing. All of this could have also been done to hide his remains from people in France who may have gone looking for them.

 

Why would the location of the grave or tomb of such an important figure in Canadian history have gone unnoted or unmarked? It may be that the entire scope of the Oak Island story is the way we are supposed to figure this out. Many Oak island theories are miles away from what is assumed here. No one previous has suggested what is being suggested here as this theory is also well outside the scope of many of the most popular theories regarding Oak Island as presented on the popular tv show. Claude de La Tour is likely too boring for fans of the television show.

 

If the entire notion that the Oak Island story is all about an Arcadian memento mori then we may never know. There may be records in France or England laying on some dusty shelf that could lend a lot of information as to the truth of this theory. At this point no one associated with the popular notion of what Oak Island is may be willing to search for such information. For some reason theories that involve the history of Nova Scotia that is more contemporary with the discovery of the Money Pit go unnoticed and unappreciated while theories involving remote antiquity seem to have been promoted instead. This author certainly does not have the resources to go to France and England in search of information in this regard.

 

Anyone out there have a pile of unused airline miles they want to contribute?

 

At this point in time someone could solve the entire Oak Island enigma and it would go unnoticed and unappreciated by the public at large that has been fed a steady diet of more hard to explain and historically unsustainable theories with regard to whatever really went on at Oak Island. At this point all of the previous research this author has done could easily match the notion that a Rosicrucian mystery was propagated at Oak Island that involves the remains of a significant individual in the overall story.

 

Was it Claude de La Tour who was entombed on Oak Island?

 

Maybe the dna from the bones found at depth on the island could be matched with descendants such as the progeny of one Louis de La Tour who was from Maryland in the latter nineteenth century? Louis de La Tour’s biography states that he was of direct descent from Claude’s son Charles de La Tour. There are undoubtedly remaining members of this family still alive today. Though Charles was the progeny of Claude’s first wife any of his descendant’s dna would also match Claude’s.

 

Interestingly Louis de La Tour lived in Lynchburg, Virginia right at the time the Beale Papers were being revealed to the public thus exposing a treasure quest in the form of the Beale Treasure that is very similar in some ways to the story of Oak Island, Nova Scotia. Another treasure story that promises great riches concealed in a vault with only strange clues like the Declaration of Independence and other unknown manuscripts that incidentally famous Scottish author Sir Walter Scott seemed to be aware of? Author Scott could have easily been privy to any number of odd historical stories like Oak Island and is suspected by many as having been a British intelligence asset.

 

This also matches my assumption that it is possible that there are distinct American influences in the Oak Island story that are commonly overlooked. In fact if what is being said here is true the story of Claude de La Tour may have even inspired what is known of as the Bruton Vault legend in Williamsburg which I in turn associate with the missing remains of Colonial Rebel Nathaniel Bacon.