Crusade Against the Grail - Rennes-le-Chateau Research and ...

THE GRAIL 47
of the elm trees known as the Olmes and the Sabarthes—the valley of Sabart—
where the mother of God promised Charlemagne victory over the Saracens. A
lonely and rocky pathway leads from the idyllic Olmes to the cliffs and caves of
the Sabarthes: the Path of the Cathars, the pathway of the Pure Ones. 5
In the heart of the desert solitude of the Tabor rises a rock whose ruggedness
defies description; its summit is sometimes enveloped by golden clouds
illuminated by the sun, and its walls fall precipitously to the fortifications of a
castle called Montsegur. One day as I was climbing the Path of the Cathars to the
summit of the Tabor, I met an old shepherd who told the following legend:
When the walls of Montsegur were still standing, the Cathars, the Pure Ones,
kept the Holy Grail inside them. Montsegur was in danger; the armies of
Lucifer were before its walls. They wanted to take the Grail to insert it again
in the diadem of their Prince, from where it had broken off and fallen to Earth
during the fall of the angels. At this most critical moment, a white dove came
from the sky and split the Tabor in two. Esclarmonde, the keeper of the Grail,
threw the precious relic into the mountain, where it was hidden. So they saved
the Grail. When the devils entered the castle, it was too late. Furious, they
burned all the Pure Ones, not far from the rocky castle on the camp des
cremats.
A troop left it on Earth and then rose high above the stars, If their purity
drew them back again
WOLFRAM VON ESCHENBACH 6
The pathway of the Pure Ones starts out from Olmes, borders Montsegur, and
passes over the summit of the Tabor. Finally, it reaches the caves of Sabarthes, the
last home of the Cathars. Once there, so far from the world, they meditated on the
supreme Minne in a trance-like state.
Yes, if the true Amor calls,
Love like today
The supreme Minne requires it.
WOLFRAM VON ESCHENBACH