The Rochefoucauld family, the Holy Grail and Oak Island

The Rochefoucauld family and their involvement in the stories of Rennes le Chateau, Oak Island, and the Priory of Sion. By Cort Lindahl 12/1/22

 

About four years ago I became acquainted with the illustrious history of the Rochefoucauld family of France via my studies of Oak Island Nova Scotia. I had found some interesting information that displayed how Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were associated with Louis Alexandre Rochefoucauld the duc d’Anville (Sometimes spelled Enville). Louis Alexandre had actually printed the Declaration of Independence in French for the first time. Oak Island researcher Doug Crowell had speculated that the Oak Island treasure may have been deposited there by the duc d’Anville, Louis’ father Jean Baptiste Rochefoucauld the previous duc d’Anville. This made a lot of sense given the family’s association with these American patriots

It was very interesting and supported a theory I had been working on that stated the Oak Island treasure in part had been missing funds from the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland. I further speculated that this money was used to foment the early stages of the American Revolution ten to fifteen years before it actually occurred. This had been facilitated by a group of mysterious Scottish Doctors who were all also Catholic Jacobites. Indeed just a little later in history many of the symbols of the United States would be created by Jacobites including the Great Seal of the United States and the American flag. As part of this history the French had delivered all the gold donated by the Vatican and Spain to Scotland for use in the rebellion.

I believe these Scottish Doctors came into possession of Jacobite funds and that some of these funds still may be left on Oak Island. There are also many hints that missing funds from the second siege of Fortress Louisbourg may have also been involved in the over all story. There are some very strange American tales associated with these Scottish doctors that this author has detailed in past works. National Treasure anyone? I have identified some specific lost items these men are associated with.

Jefferson and Franklin’s friendship with Louis Alexandre R. may have also made them privy to the truth of the Oak Island story. In fact they may have been made privy to additional funds that were still hidden there at the time of the American Revolution. It is possible the Oak Island story involves Jacobites hiding funds there all the way back to the time of King James II of England, Ireland and Scotland in the latter seventeenth century. Eventually the Jacobite cause became allied with that of others who wished to create a republic out of the American colonies.

Benjamin Franklin was a British intelligence asset prior to becoming an American patriot. He was actually granted twenty-thousand acres in Nova Scotia long before the war. He had associated and was close friends with Sir Francis Dashwood who in turn held close ties to the Anson family. If there were knowledge of a repository of wealth on Oak island or anywhere else Franklin would have been privy via these means as well as his friendship with the Rochefoucauld family. He was in a unique position to have gained intelligence from both sides over a long period of time.

James II was the namesake of the Jacobite movement whose goal was to reinstate him or one of his descendants as King of England, Ireland, and Scotland. The Jacobite movement operated somewhat like a shadow government without any physical domain. As a result they also developed a highly organized and efficient intelligence service. Almost as soon as James II was exiled to France an organization sprang up funded in part by Louis XIV to aid James in regaining his crowns as well as confounding his British enemy. Interestingly James II was aided in his final escape from England by a member of the d’Abbadie family. This will become more relevant as the story unfolds.

This may also explain why the d’Anville Expedition may have been bringing funds to America for the Jacobites in 1746. In addition to that there is some evidence that specific Christian relics had also been brought to America at the same time. This historical possibility may be the seed of truth to the many theories and legends associating the Ark of the Covenant or the papers of Sir Francis Bacon with the Oak Island story. The truth may be somewhat less spectacular but may also include relics valued by the Knights of Malta of which the duc d’Anville was a member.

Bringing some of the relics to New France would not have been abnormal at all. The Knights of Malta were known to have come into possession of the relics once owned by the original order of Knights Templar as well. In addition some of these relics may have been moved to America after the French Revolution. The Knights of Malta were disbanded in France by Napoleon in 1792. Malta was invaded by Napoleon in 1798 and it took over a century for the order to reorganize itself into the Sovereign Military Order of Malta still associated with the Latin Church today.

The Rochefoucauld family has somewhat of a traditional association with the Knights of Malta. Over time many of their family members were Knights of St. John which also later came to be known as the Knights of Malta. Even today family members are part of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM). This association with the Knights of Malta later in history is often confused for the influence of the original order of Knights Templar in the minds of many popular authors.

What may be surprising and somewhat undiscussed is how the Rochefoucauld family sprang in part from Merovingian origins. Their genealogy and heritage may explain why they were likely involved in the stories of Rennes le Chateau and Oak Island. Here we have seen how the entire story may also involve the family being associated with the legendary Priory of Sion.

The below genealogy chart is very revealing in this manner. This shows how the namesake of the Rochefoucauld family known of as Foucauldus was of direct descent from the Lusignan family in addition to his relations to the de La Roche family. In turn Foucauldus had descended directly from Merovingian King Dagobert II via Sigisbert of Razes. This family connection links the family directly to the story of Rennes le Chateau.

Many readers may already know that the treasure spoken of in the parchments found by Father Sauniere in the Rennes le Chateau Church suggest the existence of a treasure once possessed by Merovingian King Dagobert II is hidden in the environs of Rennes le Chateau. Other versions of the Sauniere story suggest that the Abbe had found the treasure thus explaining his great wealth as expressed in his construction of the Tour Magdala and Villa Bethania. The genealogy of the Rochefoucauld family puts them right in the thick of the story told in the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail. This even though they are scarcely mentioned in that book. In association it is odd that both the stories of Rennes le Chateau and the Cremona Document include parchments hidden in tubes.

This is very interesting given what we know about the Rochefoucauld family’s possible involvement in the Oak Island treasure story. In fact over a wide span of time we do see members of the Rochefoucauld family involved in esoteric activities that seem to include a cast and crew described in the famous book by Baingent, Lincoln, and Leigh Holy Blood Holy Grail as having been part of the storied Priory of Sion. This involvement stems from the time of Foucauldus to the at least the mid twentieth century if not still going on today.

 

Note above the name Plantard also being present in this very same line extending from Sigisbert of Razes. This is the same family of Pierre Plantard who claimed to have been the grandmaster of the Priory of Sion in interviews with Henry Lincoln and others. In reality if M. Plantard was related to this bloodline he was also directly related to the Rochefoucauld family.

Previously we have exposed a direct connection between the modern story of Oak Island, Zena’s Map, and the Le Formula document to the world of Pierre Mariel, poet Paul Valery and the Priory of Sion. In reality these documents are also suggesting this is true. Though Zena Halpern states the map and le Formule came from a man named Tim McInnis Don Ruh states in his book these documents were obtained from Armand Rochefoucauld by Mr. William Jackson originally.

The le Formule document is also written in a colloquial form of French that makes it highly unlikely this document was produced by Tim McInnis.

The name Francois Rochefoucauld is present on Zena’s Map. There are several prominent members of the family over time who were named Francois. Francois Rochefoucauld is named on the upper right portion of Zena’s Map. But which one is this referring to? Could it be Francois R. who had written the famous book “Maxims?” This Francois lived in early to late seventeenth century and was close friends or paramour of Madame Lafayette a direct forebear of the Marquis de Lafayette famous in the American Revolution.

One priory of Sion theorist (Rob Howells) suggests that the Rochefoucauld family had somehow come into possession of the papers of Nicolas Poussin. Mr. Howell’s also espouses the notion that later members of the family were privy to this information and how it may have possibly applied to the Rennes le Chateau and Oak Island stories. If true this would indeed provide an explanation for why Oak Island has been made such a phenom over centuries now.

The fly leaf of Francois R.’s Maxims does include is what is said to be a copy of an etching of an original work of Poussin. This is as close to a direct connection this author was able to find between Francois R. and Poussin who lived during the same time frame. Still this story may be true as another prominent member of the family was Cardinal Rochefoucauld who lived in Paris and Italy during the life of Nicolas Poussin. It also makes sense that someone connected with the Latin Church as Poussin was could have come into possession of these papers. It is possible that both of these prominent family members were involved in obtaining Poussin’s papers after his death.

Poussin’s papers may be important due to a great secret he discussed in a single letter that has been scrutinized for years by fans of the Rennes le Chateau story. This letter suggests that Poussin was in possession of some great secret that could have been a threat to the Church overall. The letter does not expose what the “secret” is. This is somewhat reminiscent of similar stories that espouse the fact that the Knights Templar were in possession of similar information.  Note that Poussin was part of a very powerful Catholic faction that may have opposed the Merovingian Priory of Sion. Poussin was part of a Vatican artists guild known of as the Academy of Arcadia that was not aligned with the Priory or the Merovingian faction which they considered heretical.

Is it possible that members of the Rochefoucauld family were also members of the Priory of Sion? As the evidence builds, we may see that is entirely possible if not probable.

Here we have yet another tenuous hint that the Rochefoucauld’s were involved in or had knowledge of the true version of the legendary story of Rennes le Chateau including the Knights Templar, Priory of Sion and a cast of subsequent Merovingian lost kings and family members. Now we have some evidence that infers the family was also involved in the true story of the Oak Island treasure.

This also includes family relations between the Stuart family of Jacobites including Bonnie Prince Charlie and some of Foucaldus’ most prominent ancestors and descendants. They are all “of the blood” so to speak. Note the use of the name Melusine in the above brief genealogy of Sigisbert of Razes. This bloodline also extended to almost every royal house in Europe to one extent or another. This includes the royal line of Scotland and England where Royston Cave is located.

The Rochefoucauld family even expressed their beliefs or association with the Merovingian bloodline via their possession of two pieces of fine art that display said beliefs. The Rochefoucauld Grail illuminated manuscript and the storied Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries they once owned both include the concept of Christ surviving after the crucifixion complete with references to the Holy Grail and other lost relics. They also would have identified with the concept of Arcadia via their Merovingian heritage. Their possession of these valuable pieces of fine art do display that they had a value of their heritage in this context. (I am dying to go to the Cloisters Art Museum in NYC to see the tapestries in person).

Note that Francois Rochefoucauld author of “Maxims” in the seventeenth century was noted as possessing the Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries at that time.

As this story goes the Greek Arcadians had actually been the lost Hebrew tribe of Benjamin. After colonizing Troy and becoming Trojans the Arcadians then migrated up the Black Sea and Danube river where they ended up settling in what is now the borderlands between France and Germany including the duchy of Lorraine. In this way the authors of Holy Blood Holy Grail also associated the Merovingians with having created the storied Order of Knights Templar. In addition this is the importance of the theme of Arcadia in our studies with regard to both the Poussin painting and the book “Arcadia” by Philip Sidney.

In my book The Prophecy of Dante and the New Jerusalem of Ravenna this author also documents some significant intermarriage between Merovingians and Byzantine Roman Emperors and other nobility prior to Merovingians even adapting Christianity. This resulted in the naming of Emperor Arcadius in the fifth century. So it may be that the noble blood of the rulers of Rome then became part of the Merovingian bloodline and mystique. It is entirely possible that this noble Roman faction is also associated with the Rochefoucauld family and other noble houses in Europe.

Subsequently many of the “mysteries” we are fascinated with may have been contrived to reveal some of this information in a mystery school quest that at first glance means something else. None of these people would come right out and tell you the truth. It would have been left in initiatory fashion for those that had been trained to recognize specific cues or earmarks of the story at hand.

The Rochefoucauld family does not have any recorded members of the Chivalric orders during the Crusades. But their relations the Lusignan and de La Roche families did include several members that were Knights Templar including one who actually recruited Jacques de Molay into the order.  The Rochefoucauld’s and another sept of the Lusignan family de La Tour d’Auvergne seemed to concern themselves with more domestic issues in France during the era of the Crusades. The de La Tour’s have extensive family relations to the Stuart family of Jacobite Kings even before the Jacobite era.

Via their friendship with Louis Alexandre Rochefoucauld Jefferson and Franklin may have at least been exposed somewhat to the family’s value of their heritage along with any secrets that may apply to Oak Island and Rennes le Chateau. In fact Louis may have shared this secret with Franklin and Jefferson because after 1755 France had lost control of Acadia and the English officially controlled the region. It is likely that at this time at least some of the funds left from the Jacobite hoard and d’Anville expedition were still present on Oak Island along with funds from the first siege of Louisbourg. There is also a possibility that those associated with the Knights of Malta had left more in the form of relics or other valuable historical items.

Still we don’t know who had actually left the funds. Was it the duc d’Anville himself? Or had he gotten intelligence that the Jacobites and later British had used Oak Island as sort of a repository of valuables captured during times of war? Is it possible there was kind of a consortium of people from both sides who profited somewhat as in the plot of the WWII movie “Kelly’s Heroes?” There are some hints of cooperation between French factions and the Naval intelligence apparatus of Admiral Anson. In the end the duc d’Anville’s presence in the waters of Nova Scotia is a historical fact during this important time frame.

Either way it is suggested that both sides may have held knowledge of the truth of Oak Island. Admiral Anson had an extensive array of spies in Acadia and France that warned him of the movement of any large amount of gold specie. Anson had made his fortune by being the third Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. In so doing he captured the Spanish Manila Treasure Galleon and returned to England a wealthy hero. Subsequently his fleet had recovered fortunes from French shipping during the same era. The captain and crew were of course allowed to keep a significant part of the spoils.

In the end this author feels that the Jacobites had created the Money Pit on Oak Island and their French allies became aware of this. As a matter of course British intelligence services also learned of this at some point and may have used it themselves or possibly had attempted to clandestinely retrieve whatever was hidden there before this news got out into the public domain.

There are many possibilities, but it is sure that there are many hints and clues that the Rochefoucauld and Anson families had become aware of this over time. There is also some solid evidence that Prince Edward, the father of Queen Victoria was aware of the entire story. His personal secretary was none other than Sir George Anson a direct descendant of the earlier Admiral’s family and named for Admiral Anson.

Looming in this story is the presence of a man named Pierre Anson who seems to have been the only French member of the Anson family according to his friend Auguste Labouisse-Rochefort. Rochefort was a said member of the Priory of Sion and wrote a story about the Rennes le Chateau treasure in 1832 many years prior to the Father Sauniere version of events there. Pierre Anson was a member of the Assembly National of France at the same time Louis Alexandre Rochefoucauld was.

And so this now brings us forward in time to the nineteenth century. During the Civil War era a woman named Mattie Mitchell married the duc de La Rochefoucauld Francois. Mattie Rochefoucauld was the daughter of U.S. Senator from Oregon John Mitchell. Her progeny or grandson Antoine Rochefoucauld would be a famous artist and occultist in the early to mid twentieth century.

Antoine was involved in the direct circle of Claude Debussy the said grandmaster of the Priory of Sion at that time. He was also directly associated with poet Paul Valery whose imagery is part of the brief note at the bottom of the Le Formule document signed by Mariel. Antoine Rochefoucauld was closely associated with the Priory of Sion if not a member. Antoine’s life had significant overlap with the adult life of Pierre Mariel and it is highly likely that they knew each other. They were members of the same orders for example in the same city.

So here we have traveled a road from the Merovingian origins of the Rochefoucauld family to their involvement in the most well documented era of history involving the Priory of Sion in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This sphere of influence can now be extended to the Oak Island story via the evidence at hand. No matter if one believes in the “authenticity” of the Cremona Document or not someone is suggesting the names of Paul Valery and Pierre Mariel to us and that person is most logically the same person who wrote the note at the bottom of Le Formule. I do believe this is Pierre Mariel himself.

Antoine even sponsored the first Rosicrucian Salon or art exhibition that included many artists and public figures associated with the story of Father Sauniere and his membership in the Martinist Order and Rectified Scottish Rite. In tandem with this information there is a high probability that Father Sauniere and Antoine Rochefoucauld had at least met each other at some point. Antoine had certainly socialized with Emma Calve whom Father Sauniere is said to have had a romantic relationship with.

At this point it has been proven that Father Sauniere had become a Freemason and member of the Martinist order. A Masonic collar with symbols related to Martinism was found in Father Sauniere’s possessions after he passed. The entire modern Sauniere version of the Rennes le Chateau story had been a political play to promote the existence of people who felt they were the true bloodline of French Kings. They had now also applied some of this imagery to nineteenth century views of Vikings, Templars, and Welshmen having come to North America in tandem with their involvement in the Oak Island story. The Cremona document also alludes to a marriage between Christ and Mary Magdalene.

Given this point of view and their secret society affiliations one may jump to the conclusion that this is all a fake story.

In some ways that is true but what is also evident in the whole string of mystery is that these people had encoded the truth about these things in a bogus story such as that told in the Cremona Document. This means there is a real treasure to be found. They would not make it as easy as reading a supposed copy of a medieval document. The whole document is full of clues just as those uncovered via a thorough examination of the brief note at the bottom of the Le Formule document which both authors Zena Halpern and Don Ruh failed to address in their books on the subject. This is the way the truth was left. Not in the story as told in the document narrative.