AMORC The Village of the Devil

7/26/2019 AMORC The Village of the Devil

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amorc-the-village-of-the-devil 1/11

ROSICRUCIAN PARK, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA

Consecrated to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian

LECTURE NUMBER SPECIAL SUBJECT

VILLAGE OF DEVILRAD-12

ROSICRUCIAN ORDERA M O R C

TRADE MARK

Supplementary MonographPRINTED IN ü. S, A.

The subject matter of this monograph must be understood by the reader or studentof same, not to be the official Rosicrucian teachings. These monographs constitute a seriesof supplementary studies provided by the Rosicrucian Order, .AMORC, both to membersand nonmembers, because they are not the secret, prívate teachings of the Order,The object of these supplementary monographs is to broaden the mind of the student bypresenting him with the writings, opinions, and dissertations of authorities in various fieldsof human enterprise and endeavor. Therefore, it is quite probable that the reader willnote at times in these supplementary monographs statements made which are inconsistent

with the Rosicrucian teachings or viewpoint. Rut with the realization that they are mere-ly supplementary and that tne Rosicrucian Organization is not endorsing or condoningthem, one must take them merely for their prima facie valué. Throughout the supplementary series the authors or translators of the subject will be given due credit wheneverwe have knowledge of their identity.



RAD-12Leeture One

AMORC - Rosícrucian GrderAIALYTICAL DISCUS SIOHS(Supplementary Leeture)

-C-faae Or. e

THE VILLAGE OF THE DEVIL

By H* Spencer Lewis, Ph. D .

All rights reserved by the Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M.O.R.C., Inc.

INTRODUCTION

The story as I now tell it contains all the verifications which were possible to obtain. I have written the story in the forra of a personally conducted tour of the Village, not in the way in which I

personally reached the place, but in the manner by which our students may reach it. :

My readers will note with what detail and exaetness 1 have giveri the location of the Village and of all the points necessary in reaching it and appreciating its existence. There has been no attempt to veil its ' location or withhold a single fact relating to my journey there o All that the student of the story will require to make plain the precise environment of the Village will be a map of Southern Francej and on the larger maps, such as those issued by the French government (and to

be found in all large American librarles}, one will find the cities of Montpellier and Montpellierette and the other villages mentioned. And, even on the comraon maps of Prance one may see in the south of the country the mountain range marked Cevennes Mountains and the River Tarn. In that section where the Tarn passes through the Gevennes are the Black Mountains--the canyons to which one must travel to visit the

Village of the Devil.

There is one question which will probably be asked by many readers unless I anticipate it. u\Jhj have you not shown some pictures of the Village?'* I cannot show thern because I did not make any. I was wamed not to attempt to make any pictures of the Village and accordingly I did not take my camera with me on this trip . Pictures have always

been forbidden, and I trust that none will ever be taken of this placel for those who would see the sights described herein must journey to the place and personally view the sights. The Village of the Devil is

more than a place which can be picturedj it is truly a condition of mind and soul as well, which cannot be pictured.

The whole Southern part of Prance was at one time part of the Román Empire, and Gaesar in his Commentaries describes these regions as Gaul, Its history from then until its possession by the Px-aiiks, the Normans, and the English is exceedingly interesting, but has no place here ' except to introduce into this story one of the characters heretofore unknown as associated in any way with the Village of the Devil.



RAD-12Leeture One

AMORC - Rosicr .. Jrder ANALYTICAL .DlL-'ü- SIONS

-C- page Two

During ’biie fír^t contarles aiter Christ, Prance was governed mostly by the various counts and lords of its provinees. A king at that time was n o m i n a l a s far a s his influence over t h e s e S o u t h e r n Senechausees

w a s concerned, ’

Tculouse and its c-oanty of the same ñame, known to the Románs as Tolosa. was always the center of external strife and warfare. Its

possession meant not only powerful rulership of vast lands and wealthytowns and produets, but such rulership gave inf luence to conquer and rule over other adjoining counties and towns. Thus, the zeal t.o be- come Gount or Lord of Toulouse was shown by leaders of every European nation, and after Pepin the Short ceased to exercise such rulership, Charlemagne. the great ruler of Prance and Germany, undertook toselect the second Count. This, of course, was a new method to those

who had believed that warfare and possession of the land gave goveming authority.

The man chosen by Charlemagie was Guillaume. :In these days there were no family or surnames and this Guillaume, like many others, was givena second ñame because of sorne peculiar!ty, and thus we find him called Guillaume Cor-tnez (from au cort nez).

He was a son of Count Theodoric, and as Count of Toulouse this Guillaume had mediate or immediate rule over the County of Toulouse

with its many villas, and aiso over the important and ancient citiesof Beziers, Nimes, Agde, MagueIon, Lo deve and Uzes, The history of this man, in the many peculiar French manuscripts, is remarkable for

its numerous legends, chronicles and poems of praise, notably: Le Charroy de Nismes and _Le Moinage de Guillaume. He was a sincerely religious man and a lover of peace and justice.

In a rare account of his life we find the following incident of interest to this story t ■

l!He sought a place for a monastery where those, like himself, sincere in their religious beliefs and desiring quiet and peace, íiiight worship undisturbed by the wars constantly being waged about them. He found, " in the mountains of Lodeve (in the very district where we shall “visit the Village of the Devil) one gorge closed and profound, favorable by its isolment, for meditation and prayer. In effect, in the middle of

the savage sight, surrounded by enormous masses of granite was this beautiful plateau, whereon Guillaume decided to build one of the most famous monasteries of Europe."

The monastery was built elaborately and magificently of that rare white granite which is so plentiful in this section of Prance, and it rose

majestically amid the other rocks of dark and tinted colcrs. Guillaume1intention was to cali this monastery the Abbaye de Ge 1Ion, a ñame which is of ten used for it in ancient m a n u s c r i p t s , ; but af ter Guillaume5sdeath, when it w a s c o n s e c r a t e d by the Pope, i t w a s named the abbey



RAD-12Leeture One

-C-Page Ihree

Saint-Guillera-du-Desert, ín honor- of íts founder and souvenir of itsdeserted location.

G-uillaume díed ín 812 or 813- In two ancient charts dated in the 34'thyear of the reign of Chariemagne (8OI4. A. D* ), the re appears the factthat he lef t, besides several sons, two daughters, Albane and Berthe.It is with these two sisters that we must begin the foundation of the known history of the Village of the Devil.

If we are to believe the troubadours and the monks of these days, who were so careful to chronicle the smallest detall, we must believe that these two sisters were extremely beautiful. Beauty in those days was not of the standard of today. These girls were Prenda, not of the Parisian, but of the Román type. It is features such as they possessed,the beautifully modeled chins, iips, nose and forehead, that we see in

the rare paintingsof

oíd masters|ít

wasthe

highest typeof that

Latin charra now almost extinct.

And they were young at the time this story begins, In these days knighthood was in flower. The ambition of every young man was to be- come a lord. The strong, the brave and fearless became the counts, the dukes, and prlnces. Professions there were nones and the trades with other manual work were left to the masses. Marfare* gallantry, and love were the occupations of the young men, and, consequently, the

beautiful and wealthy dames were fervently and steadily courted by these aspiring princes.

It was in these days that the art of serenading became so popular. To

be a successful troubadour was to be the admiration of all the noble and gentle ladies, and the envy of eVery man in the kingdom. Rere we find the origin of the beautiful romanee language and the weird and captivating poems of love. The troubadour, young cr oíd, with some

musical instrument strung over his shoulder and ciad in the knee breeches and cloaks so popular then, was always welcome at the royal ceremonies, and the queen1s chamber or court was always open to him. He would sit for hours, and, surrounded by these noble girls and women, would compose and sing words of love and admiration, while they would shower upon him flowers of many colors. Here, too, was the origin of the famous flower fetes and the courts of love.

It was in this manner that Albane and Berthe were courted. Beautiful, young, and noble, they were famed for their virtue. Thelr home was a strange oíd stone castle built upon the pinnacle of a large rock situated in the mountains leading to the Village of the Devil. Here they led a most enjoyable life, constantly courted by dukes, lords, counts, viscounts, and princes and at all times the center of every conceivable forra of entertainment.

in addition to their charras, they were wealthy- Considerable property had been given to them by their father, and since it covered a large



RAD-12 ::.,V - r --V;.,,: * ar* Crde- -C-Lecture One \̂~L¿i:c ¿I LI¿3rSS] GNS Page Four

and prosperous territory, there were always among their admirers thosewho sought to obtain possession of ít through marriage»

And thus the two sisters eventually 'becarne engaged to two brothers, MM.Jean and Fierre de Almond. Líttle is known of these two, except thatthey were gallant, romantic in their songs, and ardent in their seeminglysincere love for the two girls. They were not of noble birth, but"cunning as a fox, and diligent in their aspiring fortitude.n Alwaystogether, always intoxicated with plans for overthrowing kingdoms withtheir power, and always holding themselves aloof from the other gallantsof the day, it is little wonder that they were considered as suspiciouscharacters„

nThe Devil1s pair” was a common ñame for themj and "Preres du Diable"seemed to be the raost apt description of Jean and Fierre de Almond.

Their home was situated in the mountains in the vicinity of Millau, andthese Black Mountains seemed to cloak the actual location of theirclaimed chateau. At least no posltive knowledge is evidenced as to itsexact situation, but from circumstanees now to be related, it is apparentthat their chateau or castle must have been in the immediate vicinityof The Village of the Devil.

Certain it is, that all this land was owned by these two virgins,Albane and Berthe, a ñame given to them because of their undoubtedpurity even though in constant company with such suspicious charactersas these two brothers. And still more certain is the fact that thesetwo brothers desired to marry Albane and Berthe only that they mightobtain possession of this land.

Rumors began to spread that Jean and Fierre held nightly conferenceswith his Satanic Majestyj for did not many see, in the mountains nearLa Roque Ste„ Marguerite, midnight fires of brilliant red? And werenot these conferences and signáis followed by dire results in war andpestilence?

No wonder that these mountains became forsaken in the localities wheresmall towns were situated! The provincial French were a mystic peopleand were awaiting the predicted second coming of Christ or the end ofthe world| and the year 1000 (when this was to take place)was rapidlyapproaching, bringing with it every conceivable form of superstition.Thousands were forsaking their homes, their friends, and their wealthto journey to Jerusalem, that the coming of the Lord might find themwithin Holy precincts; and the thieving and cunning took advantage ofthese fears of the ignorant to secure power and wealth.

Just why these two brothers and two sisters never married is a matterof conjecture. But the legends relate that it became fairly wellestablished that Jean and Fierre were in some mysterious way associatedwith all that was evil, unfortunate, and repulsive, and that, lit-erallyif not in fact, they were Freres du Diable. i/Jhen this Idea hso im-planted itself into the minds and hearts of Albane and Berthe, and whenthey discovered that possession of their property was the brothers’ only



RAD-12Leeture One

AMORC - Rosicrucian Order ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS

-C-Page Five

motive, it was only natural that they should look with scorn upon their propos ais and reject thern with rebuke and disdain.

But this only added wrath to their many evil qualiti es and soon these two brothers were the subject of much discussion throughout the kingdoms of Southern France¿ and much attention at that time was directed to the canyons of the Tarn where, in the Black Mountains, these two

were supposed to dwell in sorne mysterious village.

Albane and Berthe, disappointed not only in their love, but in their faith in mankind in general, agreed henceforth to live a life of ■celibacy and religious activity, and a few months later retired to a convent built by order of their father sometime previous to his death, and which was located in the mountains some distance from that bearing his ñame»

Their chateau, built upon the rocks, and now deserted, was given the ñame of La Roche des Deux Vierges (The Rock of the Two Virgins). This chateau became famous as the birthplace of a brother of these two virgins, known as St. Fulcran, who was at one time a bishop of Lodeve.

In the Life of St. Fulcran, Bishop of Lodeve we find these faets set forth, and in a rare and precious manuscript which was discovered at Campous, where many monks retired after their expulsión from the abbey of Saint-Guillem-du-Desert in 1790, and which is now among the manuscripts possessed by M. Auguy de Vitry, of Gignac, Prance, we find the following interesting faets:

"There is a legend in a manuscript regarding St» Guillaume, entitled Le Gallia Christiana Nova le_ Place le 3h which states that the Two Virgins (Deux Vierges) were of the antique family of Montpeyroux. One can still see, on the cráter of a mountain, situated on one side of

Montpeyroux a hermitage in ruins and some vestiges of this chateau where was born Saint Puleran who was its Lord» It was called the Chateau des Deux Vierges because of two sisters of the same Saint Puleran who lived in celibacy AND ONE 0P WHOM IS TO THIS DAY KNOWN AS

A SAINT.n

But before these two virgins retired to the convent, they expressed their utter disgust for earthly matters by renouncing all claim to their property. Their particular motive was to make barren all that section of their property which was within the precincts of the Black

Mountains.

But in doing this they realized that the many little villas situated therein would suffer, and many would be deprived of their homes and lands o Consequently these two sisters decided to found a large city

where all who then lived in the Black Mountains might have free ground and the other necessities of life. After careful consideration they selected as the site for this new city two divisions of their land situated on the banks of the Lez, about ten miles from the Mediterranean



RAD-12L e e t a r e Cne

AMORC - Ro £ Í c-'.,loí&ix D r d e r ANALYT1r il. LISO'JC^IONS

-C -P a g e S i x

Sea. These two seetio^s ’:hey called MONTPELLIER and MONTPELLIERET (froxn memory cf the great, tala mountain, Mont-Pele* which wassituated ín the midst of the Black Mountains.)

These faets are verified by statements to be found in Verdale1s Records in the following words:

"From all time there has been a well-founded tradition supported by the public archives, which states that two sisters founded the city of Montpellier, One possessed Montpellier and the other Montpellieret adjoining. They were of ancient ncbility, for it is proven that they

were sisters of goodly Saint Fulcran, one time beloved Bishop of Lodeve.!i

In the testament of this St„ Fulcran, which may be found in the ancientarchives of Lodeve, and which is dated: "made on the lj.th of Pebruary

under the reign of Jesús Christ while hoping for a King," he mentionsthese two sisters, and calis them Dames de Montpellier, "because," says the commentor, !ithey were respoñsTbTe ror the origin of thisvillage."

The two sisters demandad that a commission be appointed to govern this city and that it should be built, managed, and maintained on Progressive lines for the general education and uplift of its inhabitants. How well these plans succeeded may be seen by visiting the city today and noting the many historical sights.

Gradually every home in the Black Mountains was deserted; and, when the year 1000 carne and God did not visit the earth or cause its destruc-

tion, thousands returned to France from the Holy Land to begin life anew. Montpellier, with its strange boundary walls, became thickly populated, and by the middle of the llth century all knowledge of the oíd villages in the Black Mountains, and especial-iy the village where lived the "Brothers of the Devil," was forgotten, and one part of Prance, once famous and infamous, was lost in oblivion.

Let us now journey to Millau, situated about 60 miles distant from Montpellier on the left bank of the River Tara. This city was called Aemilianum Castrum by the Romans and is today a city of about 16,500 inhabitants.

Here we enter the Canon du Tarn and the Black Mountains. As the ñame

indicates, the Canyon of the Tarn is comparable with the celebrated Canyon of Colorado and is as wonderful in beauty, if not more wonderful in construction, than the latter„ It is the most curious of the gorges produced in the Causses by the erosion of the streams during the glacial epoch in the Cevennes.

As we enter the canyon we notice the sheer rocks which rise to a height of from 800 to 1100 feet and that the distance between their



RAD-12Leeture One


-C-Page Seven

summits varíes from one-half to three-quarters of a rtiile. Here in

this section are the original Black Mountains, formerly mentioned,

and it is difficult to imagine anything more weird and impressive. Gigantic ramparts and perpendicular cliffs at one time overhang the River Tarn, and in other places they retire in terraces formed of several strata of the limestone and as varied in outline as they are in those peculiar and delícate colors which seem to vie with each other in assuming strange markings. The rorkb themselves are shívered into a thousand different shapes, and there '.ppear yellow limestone,

black schistous marl, and brown and pink dolomíte.

In passing through the canyon, and especially through the Black Moun- tain section, we must take strange winding courses in order to follow any semblance of a path. At times we are upon some high and mighty

ridge overlooking a vast and bottomless valleyj at other times we seem to be deseending into the very bowels of the earth, and as the way grows darker and the many small and uninviting caverns are brought to our notice, we now remember that this place was claimed as the domain of his Satanic Majesty. And, were it not for the occasional spring, the few beautifully colored flowers and some vegetation and vines, we would feel that we were passing through Jules Verne1s volcanic entrance to the center of the earth and immediately retrace our steps.

But we hasten on to the village of Peyreleau, situated on the banks of the Jonte, reaching there by way of modern paths and easing our walk

by riding upon the backs of mules. Here we prepare for our interesting journey to the strange, mysterious city of The Devil, which has been described as follows:

nWe cannot, without having seen it, form an idea 01 this collection of apparent ruins, where, by the side of rocks representing gigantic

monsters are facsímiles of imposing monuments. The whole entangled mass of streets, arches, passages, and pro jecting cornices, sometimes intersecting one another at right angles, as in a town laid out by line, sometimes forming a crescent or a square, is a veritable labyrinth of about $00 acres. Isolated rocks, in the shape of towers or pyramids, are more than 300 feet high and some of the streets pass

between rows of edifices 100 to 200 feet high. The whole of this

huge space is abandoned to complete solitude.u

This description presents the picture we see from the oíd citadel on its borders. Now let us descend the rock and enter the city itself

by way of the main Street, called the Boulevard Di abolo.

We are at once impressed with the fact that no hand of man ever laid out this city, for we cannot believe that there ever existed a brain so fertile in fantastic creation and so weird in constructive detail as the intelligence which must have guided the building or planning of this strange city. And yet1 Hho can say that nature alone, even in



RAD-12 W?. - ... -C-Lecture One ANALYTICAL 1.18G US Si 05! S Page Eight

her wildest dreams and most deiuding schemes, ever produced the mysti- fying sights we now see? We try to be logical, reasonable, and sane in our conclusions, but we are haunted with the possibility, yes even probability, that some diabolic power was manifesting itself when this city was built. The very atmosphere, heavy with the silence of death and laden with the pallor of solitude, mystery, and forgotten life,

makes us whisper in reverenee--reverenee for what was and what might have been. No revelry or mirth here and no heart that can help feeling that in this forsaken place God and Devil, happin.es s and sorrow, love and hatred, power and weakness, and life and death meet upon the

borderline.

The ground before us is level, smooth, and in some places actually presenting a stone surface, like a pavea Street. On either side rise

high buildings carved by the mysterious hand into the serablance of

chateaus, forts, and cottages. Windows, broad and imposing, doorways, passages, and even balconies are in evidence, and we cannot help wondering at the strange sight of an occasional stoop or arch at some entranees and at the finely projecting comices of the higher buildings.

Walking through this main street, we come to what might be called a córner, for here we notice a cross street, at exactly right angles, and faced on either side by similar structures. Purther on we come to an imposing structure with an enormous entranee, and we rightly ñame this Hotel de Ville, or City Hallj and with little stretch of the imagination we can picture the silent mysterious figures of the former inhabitants of this city walking slowly and dejectedly into

Its court to plan the diabolieal work accredited to them in the years

800 to 1000.

Further on we enter a Pirque or circle, such as are so artistically built in modern cities. We are told that this circle, one of the smallest in the city, is called the Cirque des Roquettes and that its longer di ame ter is 1652 feet, the shorter di ame ter 6fj0 feet and the

walls 380 feet high. As we gaze upon this sight, we allow our minds to wander and think of the legend of the Brothers of the Devil who lived here and try to picture the use they may have made of this cirque. Were the many men and women who strangely disappeared in their time brought here and put to an ignominious death? Were the fires of pestilence, plague, and suffering kindled here, or were these

brothers partly human after all and here worshipped a master of some kind? The human mind is fickle, its paths of reasoning.are oddly branched with byways of enticing illogical pietures. When awakened and alive with the subtle power of suggestion, we imagine many things„ This may account for our sudden aversión to this cirque, for, do we not see in the interior gloom of this arena the transparent and luminous figures of men and women on bended knees begging for merey and help? And cannot we hear the agonizing cries of children and the silencing groan of a life departing in agony while everywhere we see the dark crimson stain of innocent blood?



RAD-12Leeture One


-C-Page Nine

Horror filis our souls we try to rise above the power that grapples with our reason, but we are held fast, captive in the hands of the

same unseen and unknown might that wielded the instrument which carved the fantastic sights surrounding us.

We turn to the east and pass through another street unnamed but mag- nificent in its structures and passages covered with arches which darken the unknown interiors of the courts. Por while one may boast of having entered the various caverns of the Cevennes, especially those at Roquefort, where the famous cheese is made, and at other

places where the environment may be as gloorny, still one would never attempt an entrañee to the interior of these unknown courts, and we are held, it seems, in iron bonds, and our feet refuse the mental volition to trespass„

Before us we see the Cirque du Lac, which is similar in construction to the Cirque just visited, but which at one time contained water» Now, however, as if to add to the forsaken, forlorn, and cheerless aspect of the scene, the cirque is dry and we cannot help feeling that perhaps nature has refused to furnish to this ungodly place one of its most bountiful, sustaining gifts.

Near here are several Amats or public squares, and again we stop to question whether nature alone constructed this village, where these circles and squares are so logically arranged and attractively locatedj and for further circumstantial evidence of this possibllity

we need only to walk a short distance and view a perfectly propor- tioned forum, in outline and contour similar to those often seen on

the continent.

But perhaps the most weird and suggestive view of all is that of the Boulevard Monument, where are located seventeen obelisks or monuments, ranging in height from 100 to 300 feet. They stand at various open spaces between the numerous castles, and each is different in shape and apparently designed to express symbolically the incident in memory of'i-hich it was erected. Of course, these are likewise mere freaks of nature, like the trembling rock in the near locality, which trembles every midnight so violently that one fears it may fall and injure the

bystander. Yet like the trembling rock, legend says that these obelisks were erected by the Devil and his two brothers in memory of the terrible plagues, wars, deaths, and crimes planned and consurn-

mated by them.

As we stand here and view these strange monuments in the lifeless city, and note just outside of its boundary line the beautiful vines, the arbutus and holly flourishing at the base of the majestic pines, and, raising our eyes see the same blue sky, the same sun, and the same spotless groups of clouds as pass over more cheerful and divine dwell- ings, we marvel at what these strange streets may have once been, what the buildings may have contained, and what the inhabitants of this



RAD-12Lee ture One

AMORC - Rosierucian Order ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIOIS

-C-Page Ten

Village of t h e Devil may have d o n e that God and nature in e v i d e n t

chagrín# sorrow, and repulsión/ should have brought, death, barrenness,

infamy and disconsclate gloom upon only one section of the world-^andthis in the m i d s t of fertile regions, surrounded by wondrous beauty,God-fearing people and P r o g r e s s i v e , active, and religious nations.

Passing to the south, we leave the Village by one of its main entrancesconsisting of an arch typical of the Román port and flanked on eitherside by what may be called the Village Wall. ¥e stand for a fewminutes on a slight elevation which affords another general view ofthe streets and buildings, and it is only at this time that we fullyrealize that all'we’have, seen^ the remarkable... structures, the cirquesarenas, forums, amphitheatres, castles, obélisks, etc., wéré the-result of sorae strange freak of nature, and that no human hand wasconcerned in the smallest detall of the construction of the village.

Even the imposing courts,. the doorways, and windows were.made by theaction of water, wind, and other elements in, ages gone by when allvithis part of the world was unknown to man.

Thus I leave you, my reader, on your way back to Montpellier and theland of the living. Your journey has be en safe and interesting, andwe will rest a while in Montpellier while you review the wonders ofthe sights you have seen and I hasten on to my many other duties. '

- - END - -

1170

Documents

AMORC The Village of the Devil