“A cave of Christ”

 

Avenging Jesus

In his recent book, “La Tombe Perdue”, French author Christian Doumergue focuses on a manuscript known as “The Avenging of the Saviour”, an apocryphal document that exists in several versions. The original is believed to date from the pre-Carolingian era, between 700 and 720, written in Latin.
Largely, the document is famous for its focus on Veronica, who herself is most famous for her veil given to Jesus during his Calvary, and which retained a miraculous image of Him. Details of the legend are known to be at odds with historical facts – but is therefore not without interest.
For starters, Doumergue has focused on the role of the Roman Emperor Tiberius in the legend, rather than Veronica – the usual focus of the story. The legend states that Tiberius was confronted with the wonders that could be performed in the name of, and those who believed in, Jesus Christ, and was hence converted to Christianity. Noting that Tiberius died in 37 AD, one might think that there is indeed a small chance that this occurred. However, the legend states that he converted to Christianity earlier in his life, stating that upon his conversion, he left his position as Emperor – something which occurred much earlier, in fact, at a time when Jesus had not yet begun his missionary work in the Middle East.
Nevertheless, the legend states that Tiberius set out in a boat, with Velosianus (largely the main character of the legend), towards Septimania, where he had a cave constructed in the name of Christ. He died shortly afterwards. Septimania, of course, is the region that is currently known as the Languedoc-Roussillon, where so many – specifically because of the story of Rennes-le-Château – now believe the tomb of Christ can be found. However, Doumergue has shown, in the same book, that the belief that the body of Jesus was somewhere in Southern France, is not a post-Holy Blood, Holy Grail obsession, but existed even at the time of Saunière.

“A cave of Christ”

The bridge at Saint Thibéry

Doumergue queries what a cave in the name of Christ was meant to represent; and, indeed, it appears as if the writer of the legend is referring to a type of construction that was well-known at the time, yet, when trying to find other writers that speak about such type of cave, there are no such references to what a “cave in the name of Christ” is meant to represent.
What we do know is that in a section of the document that is less quoted than the references to Veronica, Tiberius is said to have sailed to Septimania, where he came to land in a town known as Noire, i.e. Agde, where he followed the course of the Herault, and where he came upon a river that in Latin is known as Tincta and today as the Tongue.
Today, that area of the confluence is known as “Saint Thibéry” (34630) and though the town pretends to be named after a saint of that name, it is indeed more likely that the town was named after Tiberius. Noting that at the time of Tiberius, the region was under Roman control and that elsewhere, towns were named after Tiberius, it is not illogical to assume that one town in France might have been named after him too. In Roman times, there was a town, Cessero, believed to be derived from “Caesar”, a title used by the Roman Emperors.

The account seems to relate that after having arrived at the point where the Tincta joins the Herault, the cave was built. Logic assumes that the site is therefore Saint Thibéry, though – to be brutally precise – the account does not specifically mention he built the cave there – merely that he built it “after” having gone to “Saint Thibéry”.

Caves galore

Sperlonga

Tiberius is linked with a number of caves. The most famous one is perhaps that of Sperlonga, between Naples and Rome. Tiberius had a summer villa there. The cave itself had numerous sculptures that were inspired by the Odyssey, and was sometimes used as a dining room by the Emperor. One day, a stone fell from the roof, narrowly missing the Emperor. Tiberius noted that of all those men who were meant to protect him, only one man actually did, and he soon promoted him largely to run the Empire for him.
He himself moved to Capri, where he built another villa (actually, a complex of villas). Capri's most famous cave is the Blue Grotto, or La Grotta Azzurra, which is, like Sperlonga, a waterline cavern. It was generally ignored by the islanders until a German tourist, Augustus Kopisch, told the world about it in 1826.

With only a tiny entrance above water, most of the sunlight that comes into the Blue Grotto is reflected from the bottom of the sea. This gives an eerie, milky blue cast to the water in the interior lagoon. Tiberius transformed the cave into his personal nymphaeum. A nymphaeum was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These structures were originally natural grottoes, which tradition linked with the habitats of nymphs. In later times, artificial grottoes were also created to become nymphaea.
The statues of pagan gods found at the bottom of the Blue Grotto date back to the Roman times. Later, almost nothing was known of the grotto, also because the local fishermen believed it to be haunted by evil spirits. It is also stated that from this nymphaeum, a tunnel exists/existed – or Tiberius had one constructed – that ran to his villa.

Back to France

Tiberius

To find a cave system in Septimania linked with Tiberius is therefore, at first, not out of character. We note that the site of Saint Thibéry is linked with two rivers – and hence sufficiently watery to be linked with nymphs. Still, we note there is no historical evidence Tiberius ever came to this region, nor that the site had a nymphaeum. This begs the question why precisely this site was chosen by the legend, so, perhaps, there is indeed something in or near Saint Thibéry that is still left to be discovered.
But perhaps a different scenario needs to be envisioned. For example, Saint Thibéry may indeed have had an elaborate cave system, linked with a deity, and with Tiberius building at least two such cave systems near Naples, might people in France have named the structure after Tiberius? And might the town later have been named after the name given to this structure?
Noting that Roman Emperors would later close down all underground complexes linked with the Roman religion and Christianity too was ill-pleased with such sanctuaries – which were extremely popular in Greek and Roman times – there are several known occurrences in which such sites have only recently been discovered. The underground complexes of Baia and Cumae are two perfect examples.
Hence, the absence of evidence at this moment in time should not at all be read as evidence of absence – nor, however, should anyone see it as evidence of presence.

Rennes-les-Bains, or Perillos?

Doumergue however has argued that the “cave of Christ” is not in Saint Thibéry, but should be searched for in or near Rennes-les-Bains. He claims this has to be so, based on a known interest by the likes of Pierre Plantard and Philippe de Chérisey, of Priory of Sion fame, in that town and their apparently personal conviction that an important tomb was located there. However, he has been unable to find evidence for his claim, or of such a cave. Of course, Doumergue is not alone in this.
When, however, we strip the legend down to its components, we note how a Roman Emperor, notorious for cave complexes, is connected with a cave system in France. The one he allegedly built in France, was built “in the name of Christ”. What he meant is up for interpretation, though for Doumergue, it is a cave in which the body of Jesus (Christ) was buried: the – or a – Tomb of Christ therefore.
The label “Tomb of Christ” is of course precisely what we find written on Saunière’s model, which maps an area near Perillos. And we know that this site marks a cave – the entrance to a cave system. Though we do not suggest Tiberius did not build his “cave of Christ” in Saint-Thibéry or Perillos, we merely wonder whether “another” “cave of Christ” might have been in operation in Perillos – an area next to one of Rome’s most important highways (the Via Domitia) – and hence within the sphere of influence of Rome.
But that a cave in Perillos was linked with Christ and that a similar cave in Saint-Thibéry was, in legend, linked with Christ is not the most enigmatic “coincidence”; there is another one, and one that Doumergue seems to have missed altogether.

Perillos in exile, or on a quest?

Though the Lords of Perillos were, of course, in possession of lands in Southern France, at the height of their power, Ramon de Perillos went to Ireland and apparently realised that there was an entrance to “another world” on his domains, but then made the somewhat curious decision to emigrate. Where to? Remarkably… to Sperlonga.

As related elsewhere, Ramon de Perillos emigrated to Gaeta, the town that exerts control over Sperlonga. Gaeta had a castle that belonged to the Aragon family and there can be little doubt that Ramon IV must have often visited it, if not stayed there, as he worked for that royal family. Elsewhere, we wrote: “We also note, as an aside, that the Montagno Spaccata, on Mount Orlando, has a fissure in the rock which, according to legend, opened at the moment when Jesus died.” So even in Gaeta – where the Sperlonga is located – we come upon a curious reference to Jesus. A fissure in the rock, of course, is a cave.
It was in Gaeta that Perillos had an important seat in the council of the town and it became a cherished location for the Perillos family. The site is also mentioned in the biography of Michel de Perillos. Indeed, it is in the Sperlonga itself that the antipope Clement placed the red hat of cardinal on the head of Pierre de Sarracenas… and the mitre of bishop on Michel de Perillos! It highlights the importance of the “Tiberius’ Cave” within the Perillos family history. Coincidence? Or indications of a type of knowledge that was in the possession of some?

Filip Coppens