Unmissable family time-travel in historic Normandy, France
Family history adventure in France
Who remembers William the Conqueror? The fierce French nobleman who was promised the English throne by Edward the Confessor, only to be thwarted by the cunning Harold Godwinson, leaving William to lead his army to the Battle of Hastings to defeat Harold and take back the promised English crown in 1066.
Our daughter is learning about this fascinating piece of history at school and embarrassingly, I was struggling to remember my history facts, so I did what any travel planner worth their salt would do – packed the family up, loaded up the car and set off for 36 hours in Normandy to go back in time
Getting there
Travelling to Normandy from the south coast of England is really easy. Head down to Portsmouth and sail withBrittany Ferriesto St Malo (just on the Brittany/Normandy border) or sail to Caen (directly in Normandy).
Mont St Michel ferry en route to St Malo
Our overnight sailing started in French culinary bliss; a 3 course meal in the restaurant, before heading to our cabin to tuck up under snug duvets and puffy pillows. The children were super excited to be in at sea in bunk beds and there was much squealing with excitement before they finally settled down to sleep.
Awaking early the next morning we sailed into in the town ofSt Malo, where we disembarked and headed straight to the nearest cafe in town for breakfast and hot chocolates. We could have lingered a lot longer in St Malo, as there was so much to explore, but we had a history lesson to discover!
St Malo – well worth it’s own short break
First stop, the incredible Mont St Michel – 8th Century
The Mont St Michel island is fabulous and truly takes your breath away because it’s one of the great architectural wonders in France. It was built by Saint Aubert, Bishop of Avranches in the 8th Century, who saw in dreams Archangel Michael, who ordered him to build a sanctuary on Mount Tomb which was a rocky outcrop at the mouth of the Couesnon river.
Aerial shot of the Mont St Michel
This stunning abbey was built in phases over period of years, continuing to build up and up culminating in the bell tower at the top of the Abbey. Great consideration had to be given to the weight of the Abbey, given the buildings below it had to support the upper structures which is always a marvel when you consider medieval building tools. Today, Mont St Michel consists of homes, shops, restaurants, churches and the Abbey itself.
If you’re visiting allow a good 4 or 5 hours to enjoy it in full – the history is rich, the views are spectacular and it’s a very enjoyable family attraction to visit, whilst learning about life in the 8th Century Abbey along the way.
View of the cloisters in the Abbey
When you leave Mont St Michel, be sure to stop in at anycafein the local region to buy freshly made Madeleines – delicious with fresh orange juice, coffee or hot chocolate and I’m sure the ones freshly made in France seem to taste so much better than the ones we get in the UK!
Yummy Madeleines!
World War Two Normandy D-Day landings – 6th June 1944
TheD-Daylanding beaches are a must if you’re in this part of Normandy to reflect on the great sacrifice given by our soldiers to help end the second world war. Our children are 10 and 11 and we thought it was good time to introduce them to the history of the second world war, as played out on the Normandy beaches.
WW2 War Cemetery
There are 2 excellent museums atArromanches– the one at the top of the hill has acircular cinemathat explains the build up to the D-Day landings and the following weeks, which was easy for the children to follow as its mainly video images and covers the first 100 days following the D-Day landings. The othermuseumis at the bottom of the hill, overlooking the beach and is also well worth a visit.
View over Arromanche beach
After we had visited the museums and explored the beaches, the children had lots of questions to ask about what they had seen and heard. The children compared the young age of some of the soldiers to their cousins and couldn’t believe how young they were and I’m pleased that the foundations for this historic period are laid so that when this topic is covered in school, the children can reflect on what they saw and learned from this trip.
One of the gun batteries at Utah beachWounded soldier memorial
William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy – 1066
This chap is the real reason we’re in Normandy – to find out more about who he was and why he was such a big influence on England and the British Crown. We headed off to his ancestral home at hisCastle in Falaise. The children loved it – lots to learn, fun to run around on the ramparts with it’s 15 towers and a great way to experience what it was like to live in Medieval France. And the best thing – according to my 10 year old? The Dungeons!
William the Conqueror’s Castle
Bayeux Tapestry – 1070
If you’ve been learning about William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings in 1066, then you must come and see this incredibly story of events leading up to and immediately following the battle, in theBayeux Tapestry. At 70 meters in length, there are 50scenesdepicting the events leading to theNorman Conquest of England. Take the audio headphones and follow the story along the tapestry. It really is well worth a visit to bring this part of history to life for school children.
The Bayeux Tapestry
I hope you enjoy exploring Normandy, book early to get great deals on the ferry crossing and accommodation. We stayed in Caen which was pretty central for everything we visited. Good luck with your history lesson – do let me know how you get on!
Aman named Al Bielek, who claimed to be a test subject of various secret U.S. Military Experiments, said that on August 12, 1943, the U.S. Navy carried out an experiment called the “Philadelphia Experiment” on the USS Eldridge, at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, after installing special equipment on it. In this test, they allegedly send the ship and all its crew members 10 minutes back in time, making it apparently ‘invisible’, and then bring them back to the present time.
MRU
As a consequence, many of the sailors onboard went insane, many lost their memory, some were engulfed in flames to their deaths, and others molecularly bonded with the ship’s metal structure. However, according to Bielek, he and his brother, who were aboard the experiment ship at the time, jumped off just before the time warp opened and survived without any injuries. There’s a huge argument as to whether this event is true or not. But if such an experiment really happened then it’s undoubtedly one of the eeriest mysteries in human history.
The Philadelphia Experiment: Project Rainbow
MRU CC
According to Al Bielek, August 12, 2003, is an extremely important anniversary date in the U.S. Navy’s secret World War II invisibility project known as the Philadelphia Experiment. Bielek claimed that ― on August 12, 1943 ― the Navy, after installing special equipment on the USS Eldridge, made the ship and its crew disappear from Philadelphia harbour for over 4 hours.
The exact nature of this test is open to speculation. Possible tests include experiments in magnetic invisibility, radar invisibility, optical invisibility or degaussing ― rendering the ship immune to magnetic mines. The tests were conducted, only to produce undesirable results. Afterwards, the project — supposedly called “Project Rainbow” — was cancelled.
What Really Happened During The Philadelphia Experiment?
Two separate sets of bizarre events make up the “Philadelphia Experiment.” Both revolve around a Navy Destroyer escort, the USS Eldridge, with the events taking place on two separate days in the summer and fall of 1943.
In the first experiment, an alleged method of electrical field manipulation allowed the USS Eldridge to be rendered invisible on July 22, 1943, in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The second rumoured experiment was the teleportation and small-scale time travel (with the ship sent a few seconds in the past) of the USS Eldridge from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to Norfolk, Virginia, on October 28, 1943.
Horrible tales of mangled seamen and sailors stuck within the metal of the USS Eldridge often accompany this experiment, with the USS Eldrige reappearing seconds later in the waters around Philadelphia. Recitation of the events surrounding the second Philadelphia Experiment often includes a cargo and troop transport vessel, the SS Andrew Furuseth. The lore of the second experiment claims those on board the Andrew Furuseth viewed the USS Eldridge and it’s crew as they teleported into Norfolk momentarily before the ship returned to the waters of Philadelphia.
Prior to the mid-1950s, no rumours of bizarre activity surrounded any teleportation or invisibility experiments in North America during the 1940s, let alone in the area surrounding Philadelphia.
Carl Meredith Allen, using the alias Carlos Miguel Allende, sent a series of letters to the astronomer and writer Morris K. Jessup. Jessup authored several early UFO books including the mildly successful The Case For The UFO. Allen claimed to be on the SS Andrew Furuseth during the second experiment, witnessing the USS Eldridge emerge in the waters of Norfolk and quickly disappear into thin air.
Carl Allen supplied no proof to verify what he claimed to witness on October 28, 1943. He did win the mind of Morris Jessup, who began to champion Allen’s view of the Philadelphia Experiment. Jessup, however, died four years after his first contact with Allen from an apparent suicide.
Moving a ship weighing several thousand tons leaves an inevitable paper trail. On the date of the Philadelphia “Invisibility” Experiment, July 22, 1943, the USS Eldridge had yet to be commissioned. The USS Eldridge spent the day of the alleged teleportation experiments, October 28, 1943, safely within a New York harbour, waiting to escort a naval convoy to Casablanca. The SS Andrew Norfolk spent October 28, 1943, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean en route to the Mediterranean port city of Oran, further discrediting Carl Allen’s comments.
And in the early 1940s, the Navy did conduct experiments to make naval vessels “invisible” in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyards, but in a different manner and with a completely different set of desired results.
In these experiments, researchers ran an electric current through hundreds of meters of electrical cable around the hull of a ship to see if they could make the ships “invisible” to underwater and surface mines. Germany deployed magnetic mines in naval theatres — mines that would latch on to the metal hull of ships as they came near. In theory, this system would make the ships invisible to the magnetic properties of the mines.
Seventy years later, we are left without a shred of credible evidence for the Philadelphia Experiment(s), yet rumours persist. If you are still unconvinced, think of the situation from a different viewpoint. No incident, regardless of the horrific nature, would stall the development of teleportation technology if the military believed it feasible. Such a resource would be an invaluable front line weapon in war and the backbone of many commercial industries, yet decades later, teleportation is still caged within the realm of science fiction.
In 1951, the United States transferred the Eldrige to the country of Greece. Greece christened the ship the HS Leon, using the vessel for joint U.S. operations during the Cold War. The USS Eldridge met an unceremonious end, with the decommissioned ship sold to a Grecian firm as scrap after five decades of service.
In 1999, fifteen members of the USS Eldridge crew held a reunion in Atlantic City, with the veterans bemoaning the decades of questioning surrounding the vessel they served on.
THE NAZI HUNT FOR HOLY TREASURE FROM THOR'S HAMMER TO THE HOLY GRAIL
Heinrich Himmler was infected by a virulent strain of spiritualism which fed into his racist, supremacist world view and drove him to search for holy relics.
Lost Relics of the Knights Templar sees treasure hunters Carl Cookson and Hamilton White embark on a global odyssey. Their objective: to trace the past of a hoard of artefacts which may have once belonged to the Templars. One of their destinations is Wewelsburg, the imposing German castle which served as the spiritual sanctum for Heinrich Himmler and the SS.
Today, the castle is a looming reminder of how so many members of the Third Reich were beguiled by ancient myths, old orders of chivalry, and the occult. We all know the pantomime villain Nazis of the Indiana Jones films, desperate to dig up the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail. But the fact is, many real-life Nazis were just as obsessed as their cackling silver screen counterparts.
Himmler in particular was infected by a virulent strain of spiritualism which fed into his racist, supremacist world view. For him, establishing a new Aryan empire meant resurrecting ancient Germanic myths and iconography. He believed the war against the lesser races required the overturning of traditional Christian morality, replacing it with a new kind of pseudo-religion that drew on chivalry and mysticism.
The now-notorious insignia of the SS, resembling two lightning bolts, was based on runes devised by an Austrian occultist and pagan called Guido von List. The SS itself was, in Himmler’s mind, an elite organisation in the tradition of the Teutonic Knights – an order which, like the Templars, came into existence during the Crusades. Himmler’s grand scheme was to establish Wewelsburg Castle as the Camelot of his modern-day knights. One of the rooms was even named after King Arthur, while another was designated the ‘Grail Room’.
Despite his aversion to conventional Christianity, Himmler was fascinated by the legend of the Grail, perhaps seeing it as a source of immense power. After all, he believed that another fabled artefact – Thor’s hammer – could be requisitioned as a weapon by the Third Reich. In an outlandish letter to the Ahnenerbe, a think tank set up to give academic backing to Nazi racial ideology, Himmler stated his belief that Thor’s hammer was ‘an early, highly developed war weapon of our forefathers’. For this reason, Himmler demanded that Ahnenerbe’s team should ‘find all places in the northern Germanic Aryan cultural world where an understanding of the lightning bolt, the thunderbolt, Thor's hammer, or the flying or thrown hammer exists’.
Himmler personally embarked on a failed mission to find the Holy Grail in 1940, visiting an abbey perched within the Montserrat mountain range in Catalonia. He was presumably led there by the belief that Montserrat was the real-life ‘Montsalvat’, location of the Grail in an Arthurian opera by Hitler’s favourite composer, Richard Wagner. This opera, Parsifal, was based on a medieval German poem called Parzival, written by a knight named Wolfram von Eschenbach. And this poem had already been an inspiration to another Grail hunter in the Nazi regime: Otto Rahn.
Rahn was a somewhat eccentric medievalist who believed there was a link between the story of Parzival and Catharism – a movement that flourished in medieval Europe, particularly in France. Condemned as heretics by the Catholic Church, the Cathars revived old Gnostic concepts that radically overturned traditional Christian thinking. They believed, for example, that the God of the New Testament and the God of the Old Testament were separate entities – the latter sinful, and the former good. Such ideas led to a crusade against the Cathars, and their wholesale slaughter.
A major Cathar stronghold was Montségur, a remote fortress in southwestern France. This became the site of a dramatic confrontation between the Cathars and French royal forces in 1243. Thousands of French troops besieged the fortress for nine long and gruelling months before the people inside eventually surrendered. Hundreds of Cathars were burnt alive in a bonfire after refusing to renounce their blasphemous beliefs. However, it’s believed that a number of Cathars managed to smuggle themselves out of the fortress, undetected, before their brethren surrendered.
It’s been speculated that these survivors of the siege took some kind of treasure with them. Gold, perhaps. Or maybe even the Holy Grail itself, brought back to Europe from the Holy Land, by the Templars or other Crusaders. Otto Rahn, prompted by previous occultists and mystics, identified Montségur with the ‘Montsalvat’ Grail castle of Parzival. His ideas appealed greatly to Himmler, and Rahn eventually joined the SS himself.
The extent of Rahn’s own Nazi beliefs have been a subject of debate. He himself apparently said, ‘A man has to eat. What was I supposed to do? Turn Himmler down?’ But having such powerful patronage certainly spurred him on to publish more about the Grail, with the SS brazenly inserting anti-Semitic passages into his romantic, mystical prose. Rahn eventually resigned from the SS and died of exposure on a mountain in 1939 – allegedly suicide, though the details have never been confirmed.
Colourful theories regarding the Cathars, the Grail and the potential involvement of Crusader warriors have persisted in the decades after the fall of the Third Reich. Most famously, in The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, which theorised that the Cathars knew the secret of the Holy Grail – namely, that it was the bloodline of Christ, from the marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. This concept fuelled the plot of Dan Brown’s bestseller The Da Vinci Code, which also portrays the Templars as guardians of this earth-shaking secret.
Carl Cookson and Hamilton White may not have a fabled holy relic in their hoard, but their quest may well bring new insights into the Templars and their religious treasure hunts in the Holy Land, which has fascinated everyone from eccentric occultists to high-ranking Nazis to serious historians today.
Ritual de Tránsito 2012 Venus, Enterprise y la Puerta del Dragón
Por Goro (goroadachi.com y supertorchritual.com) 25 de mayo de 2012
Del 4 al 6 de junio de 2012 , probablemente veremos al miembro más antiguo de la flota de transbordadores espaciales, el Enterprise , siendo remolcado río Hudson hasta su lugar de descanso final, el Museo Intrepid del Mar, el Aire y el Espacio, en el West Side de Manhattan . [Actualización: Fechas cambiadas al 3-6 de junio ]. La mayoría lo desconoce por completo, pero será un reflejo terrestre del Tránsito de Venus que tendrá lugar simultáneamente en el cielo los días 5 y 6 de junio. Todo cuidadosamente organizado para crear un ejemplo exquisito de "como es arriba, es abajo"...
Cuando esto ocurra, el Enterprise entrará en el río Hudson por su desembocadura en el extremo sur de Manhattan, donde podremos visualizar una "puerta" flanqueada por la Estatua de la Libertad y el World Trade Center , donde antiguamente se alzaban las Torres Gemelas . La disposición refleja nítidamente la puerta celestial alrededor del Anticentro Galáctico , flanqueada por las constelaciones de Orión y Géminis . La Vía Láctea es un río (celestial) como el Hudson ; Orión es un " portador de antorcha " (el Sol del solsticio de verano = antorcha de Orión) como la Estatua de la Libertad ; y Géminis son los " Gemelos ", como las Torres Gemelas .
El Sol arriba, la Enterprise abajo. A través de una puerta galáctica arriba, a través de una puerta Hudson abajo. Es un espejo que une el cielo y la tierra.
Para retroceder un poco en el tiempo, el "ritual" comenzó el 27 de abril cuando Enterprise voló hacia la Gran Manzana montado sobre un Boeing 747 precisamente cuando Venus alcanzó su " mayor brillo " como Estrella Vespertina. La coincidencia implicaba una conciencia subyacente del próximo Tránsito de Venus, que será el momento de menor brillo cuando Venus se convierta en un punto negro en la cara del Sol (5 y 6 de junio) sin luz solar reflejada hacia la Tierra.
Como muestra el gráfico, Venus se está atenuando cada vez más, lo que continuará hasta principios de junio. Tras el tránsito, Venus renacerá como el
ACTUALIZACIÓN 27 de mayo: El pico en el otro lado, a mediados de julio, coincidirá aproximadamente con el debut del Enterprise en el museo Intrepid como exhibición oficial, completando su correlación con la línea de tiempo de Venus:
----- fin de actualización -----
Como saben los lectores habituales, cuando hablamos de Venus, y en particular de la Estrella de la Mañana, también nos referimos automáticamente al Príncipe Guillermo y/o a la trinidad William-Kate-bebé. Ambos van de la mano, profundamente entrelazados, como ya se ha explicado en numerosas ocasiones. Por lo tanto, no sorprende que la cronología más reciente de Venus coincida perfectamente con la de la Familia Real Británica: el 29 de abril (máximo brillo de Venus) marcó el primer aniversario de la Boda Real; del 3 al 7 de junio (tránsito de Venus/Enterprise) se celebra el cumpleaños oficial de la Reina (4 de junio) y el Jubileo de Diamante ( 4-7, 3-5 de junio); el solsticio de verano (antorcha de Orión) coincide con el cumpleaños del Príncipe Guillermo; y a finales de julio (bajo una Estrella de la Mañana/portadora de luz muy brillante), la Antorcha Olímpica llega a Londres para los Juegos Olímpicos de 2012.
En términos de la órbita de la Tierra alrededor del Sol, el 27 de abril (la llegada del Enterprise a la Gran Manzana ) fue una ventana con el ápice de un pentagrama (núcleo de la manzana)...
El pentagrama es una firma geométrica de Venus, lo que tiene mucho sentido en el contexto actual.
Y la manzana tiene el efecto adicional de recordar a la Familia Real Británica a través del Rey Arturo , cuyo Santo Grial ( San Greal ) o "Sangre Real" ( Sang Real ) es de vital importancia para la realeza en Gran Bretaña. El linaje jacobita del Príncipe Guillermo y su futuro hijo tiene mucho que ver con el tema subyacente de este período, es decir, el "Regreso/Renacimiento del Rey Arturo", intercambiable con la "Resurrección de Lucifer/Fénix" , etc. (Consulte mi artículo " El Destino de Lucifer " para más información sobre el tema). Si el Rey Arturo ha de "regresar", sería desde Ávalon , donde se cree que el antiguo y futuro Rey hiberna. Resulta que el nombre "Ávalon" significa " manzana ".
También cabe destacar que la corte del Rey Arturo se llamaba Camelot , apodo popular de la administración de John F. Kennedy . El 27 de abril , el Enterprise aterrizó en el Aeropuerto Internacional JFK de Nueva York .
El pentagrama es una firma geométrica de Venus, lo que tiene mucho sentido en el contexto actual.
On June 5-6, 2012, a transit of Venus occurred, where Venus appeared as a small, dark spot passing across the face of the sun. This rare astronomical event happens in pairs, eight years apart, and is separated by 105 or 121 years. The transit began at 22:09 UTC on June 5, 2012, and ended at 04:49 UTC on June 6, 2012. The exact times varied by up to ±7 minutes depending on the observer's location.
The Moon phase on Wednesday, December 31, 1997 is Waxing Crescent with an illumination of 7.18%. This indicates the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. On Wednesday, December 31, 1997, the Moon is 2.55 days old. This number shows how many days have passed since the last New Moon.
Moon phase details at Wednesday, December 31, 1997
Moon Phase details
Phase
???? Waxing Crescent
Horoscope
♑ Capricorn
Illumination
7.18% Visible
Rise/Set
8:24 AM / 9:59 PM
Moon Age
2.55 Days
Moon Angular
30.81º
Moon Distance
370,378.60 km
Frequently Asked Questions
On Wednesday, December 31, 1997, the Moon is in the Waxing Crescent phase with 7.18% illumination, is 2.55 days old, and located in the Capricorn (♑) constellation. Data from phasesmoon.com.
The Moon's illumination on Wednesday, December 31, 1997 is 7.18%, according to phasesmoon.com.
El apellido de Sinclair en francés es "de Sancto Claro" y en latín, "Sanctus Clarus", que significa Luz Sagrada. El nombre deriva del eremita Santa Clara y de Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, un pueblo cercano a París, próximo al lugar donde fue martirizado el eremita Santa Clara.
No existe un registro certero, pero es probable que los Sinclair fueran originarios de Saint-Clair, en Normandía . [ 11 ] Los Saint-Clair fueron primero a Inglaterra (antes de llegar a Escocia) con Guillermo el Conquistador durante su invasión de Inglaterra. [ 12 ] El nombre original era "Saint-Clair", que era un topónimo. [ 12 ] Ricardo de Saint-Clair y Brittel de Saint-Clair se mencionan en el Libro Domesday . [ 12 ] Guillermo de Saint-Clair acompañó a Santa Margarita de Escocia , hija de Eduardo el Exiliado, a Escocia en 1068, donde finalmente se casó con Malcolm III de Escocia . A cambio de sus esfuerzos, el rey supuestamente le otorgó a Sinclair la baronía de Roslin , Escocia, "en herencia libre". [ 12 ]
Los jefes del clan Sinclair, los condes de Caithness, descienden de William St. Clair , quien fue sheriff de Edimburgo y a quien se le concedió la baronía de Roslin (Rosslyn) en 1280. [ 11 ]
Kingdom of France in the late 10th century; the Duchy of Normandy is marked Duché de Normandie, and the royal domain is blue.
The treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte (911) is the foundational document of the Duchy of Normandy, establishing Rollo, a Norse warlord and Viking leader, as the first Duke of Normandy in exchange for his loyalty to Charles III, the king of West Francia, following the Siege of Chartres. This treaty included a land grant of farmable coastal land from Charles the Simple to Rollo in return for his fealty and protection against other Viking groups that had been regularly raiding the northern coastline.[1][non-primary source needed] This treaty effectively changed how mainland Europe knew to resolve ongoing raids from the Vikings.[2]
Vikings had been raiding and plundering French lands since the age of Charlemagne. King after king among the Carolingian dynasty had tried but ultimately failed to stop these Viking incursions throughout the dynasties reign. Upon Louis the Pious death, his son Charles II the Bald took over. Charles II had immediately been thrust into a war against his brother Lothair. Lothair, who was the emperor at the time, ordered his Danish vassal to raid and plunder specific sites in Charles’ kingdom.[3] Eventually, the Vikings became accustomed to easily obtained riches and could not be controlled resulting in them plundering whatever they wanted to, at any time they want. It got to a point where the Vikings had more of a say than the Danish King himself on where and when to raid. They hit modern day Normandy and Brittany in devastating fashion. The most important raid that occurred during his reign was when the famous Viking Ragnar attacked Paris. Charles tried to stop this plundering by force but, like his family before him, was not successful. He then opted for an approach to pay the Vikings off, but this only made the Vikings thirstier for plunder.
After Charles II the Bald died in 877, there were 6 more rulers that had to deal with the Vikings up to the Treaty of Saint Claire sur Epte, with the last being Charles the Simple. The five rulers before him; Louis the Stammerer, Louis III, Carloman II, Odo of Paris, and Charles the Fat, had not done anything more significant than their predecessors to thwart these Vikings. Throughout the times of these six kings, the counts and dukes under the kingdom in West Frankia started to fortify their own lands heavily to counter these Viking attacks. Eventually, the Vikings raids would become much harder to accomplish as these smaller feudal lords protected their land well. Nonetheless, it has still been hundreds of years of Viking invasion and permanent settlements were bound to happen. In one case, a Viking leader named Rollo, who brought thousands of Vikings to raid, plunder, and settle had enacted a permanent settlement along the Seine River in the year 900.[3] Just two years before this in 898, a new king had been crowned called Charles the Simple. Although a bit worrisome, the permanent Viking settlement was relatively peaceful and did not pose a real threat to Charles. It was until 911 when raiding resumed from Rollo that caused the real concern of the Viking threat again, but this time things were different. Charles and Rollo would face each other in battle near Chartres resulting in a close Viking defeat.[3] Though weakened, the Vikings were still a formidable force, which resulted in a very unusual proposal by King Charles. Charles proposed that Rollo be baptized and granted land from the Seine River to the sea, along with protecting the kingdom from further Viking raids. This treaty would go on to be known as the famous Treaty of Saint Clair Sur-Epte.
The Saint-Clair family rose to prominence during the 10th century in Normandy, France. They were among the aristocratic families who supported the early Catholic Church’s efforts to unify Europe under Christian rule. Their name, derived from the Latin Sanctus Clarus (“Holy Bright”), reflects their roots.
In the early 10th century, when Normandy was still a wild and dangerous land claimed by Viking raiders and newly converted Christians, the Saint-Clairs were a small but noble family, devoutly Catholic and known for their loyalty to the Church. Their ancestral stronghold, Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, stood near the banks of the River Epte, a major tributary of the Seine, close to where a treaty had been signed to establish Normandy under Duke Rollo, a Viking chieftain turned Christian lord.
Their early prominence as military leaders and landowners in Normandy ensured their ties to the Church. It was in this context that the Saint-Clairs first became aware of the Atharim. The family’s strength, wealth, and faith aligned them naturally with the Atharim’s mission.
This was a time of fragile peace, where old gods still lingered in the shadows of pagan groves, and monstrous beings were said to roam the forests, preying on isolated villages. The local people of Normandy whispered of creatures born of darkness, remnants of the old, wild world that refused to bow to the light of the Cross.
The demon in the woods
The legend begins with a series of strange disappearances in the forests near Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. Villagers would enter the woods to gather firewood or hunt, only to vanish without a trace. Those who survived to tell the tale spoke of a beast with glowing eyes and a hide like iron. Some said it was a wolf the size of a horse, others a demon wearing the form of an animal, while others insisted it was a punishment sent by the old gods.
The Church dismissed these tales as superstitions, but the disappearances continued. Then, one night, the beast came to the gates of the Saint-Clair castle itself. The monster slaughtered the livestock, terrorized the estate, and left claw marks gouged deep into the walls of the family chapel. The family patriarch at the time, Jean de Saint-Clair, believed the creature to be demonic and swore before the altar that he would end the creature’s reign of terror, even if it cost him his life.
-Jean de Saint-Clair
Determined to confront the beast, Jean assembled his household knights and set out into the forest. For weeks, they hunted the creature to no avail, suffering attacks in the night and enduring strange visions that filled their hearts with fear. Just as Jean began to despair, a mysterious man arrived at Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, seeking shelter.
This man, known as Benedictus, claimed to be a wandering monk. However, he carried no cross and wore no priest’s robes. Instead, he bore weapons unlike anything Jean had seen before—silver-tipped spears, daggers etched with runes, and a book written in a language that seemed to twist and shimmer on the page. Benedictus later told Jean that he was part of a secretive order, one that had fought creatures like this for centuries.
He warned Jean that the beast was no ordinary wolf—it was a Loup Garou, a shapeshifter cursed to stalk the night and feast on human flesh. Such creatures, Benedictus explained, were drawn to chaos and despair, and they would not rest until they had utterly consumed the land.
Desperate, Jean asked Benedictus for his aid. The monk agreed, but on one condition: Jean must swear an oath to Benedictus’ order, a sacred vow to hunt the unnatural wherever it appeared and to protect mankind from the hidden evils of the world, and to keep the secrets of the Atharim so to not inspire panic among the people. Jean, seeing no other choice, swore the oath. It was the night the Saint-Clair family became Atharim.
With Benedictus’s guidance, Jean and his knights lured the beast into a trap. They consecrated a grove in the forest, turning it into holy ground, and baited the creature with blood. When the Loup Garou appeared, it was more horrifying than anyone had imagined—a hulking wolf-like figure with glowing red eyes, its body twisting unnaturally as it shifted between man and beast.
The battle was brutal, and many of Jean’s knights were killed. Benedictus’s weapons, forged from silver and blessed by ancient rites, were the only things capable of wounding the beast. In the end, Jean delivered the killing blow, plunging a silver-tipped spear into the creature’s heart. As the Loup Garou died, it let out an unearthly scream, and the forest seemed to sigh with relief.
Afterward, Benedictus gathered the remains of the beast and burned them, chanting rites that Jean could not understand. He warned Jean that creatures like the Loup Garou were not isolated—they were part of a larger, darker world, one that humanity barely understood. He urged Jean to prepare his family and his descendants for the coming battles.
As a final act of trust, Benedictus left Jean with one of his weapons—a silver dagger inscribed with Atharim runes. It became the first of the Saint-Clair relics, a sacred symbol of their oath. Over time, this dagger would be passed down through the generations, used in countless hunts and battles against the unnatural.
To commemorate their victory and their new purpose, Jean had the family chapel rebuilt, and at its center he placed a stained-glass window depicting Saint Michael the Archangel slaying a wolf-like demon. This image became the family’s symbol, a reminder of their sacred mission.
After this event, the Saint-Clair family formally became members of the Atharim. They offered their resources, knights, and knowledge to the secretive order, forging a bond that would endure for centuries. Their connection to the Atharim deepened dramatically during the Crusades, when they worked alongside Templar knights to combat not only human enemies but also supernatural threats in the Holy Land.
The family earned a reputation as hunters of the monstrous and collector-guardians of dangerous relics. Their ancestral estate at Saint-Clair-sur-Epte became both a fortress and a library, filled with weapons, books, and artifacts collected by the Atharim. It is said that deep beneath the estate lay a hidden dungeon where some of their most dangerous secrets are kept.
The legend of Jean de Saint-Clair and the Loup Garou became a cornerstone of the family’s identity. It is told to every new generation of Saint-Clairs as a reminder of their sacred duty. The family motto, “Lux et Umbra” (“Light and Shadow”), was adopted in honor of their dual existence: defenders of humanity who operate in the shadows, fighting the monsters that most will never know exist in order to maintain the light.
To this day, the Saint-Clairs hold their oath sacred. Though their methods have modernized, their mission remains the same: to hunt the supernatural, to protect humanity, and to uphold the traditions of the Atharim. The silver dagger of Benedictus still resides in their possession, a relic of their first hunt and a symbol of their unbroken vow.
The Knights Templar
By the late 11th century, the Saint-Clairs were deeply involved in the Crusades, particularly the First Crusade (1096–1099). Members of the family were among the founding knights of the Knights Templar, the Catholic military order created to protect pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. The first grandmaster and founder of the Knights was Atharim warrior, Hugues de Payens, who recruited the Saint-Clair family to join him as one of the original nine templar knights.
The Templars’ public mission to protect the faithful masked a darker and more dangerous secret: they were also hunting monsters, supernatural entities, and threats that emerged during the chaos of warring within the Holy Land. The Saint-Clairs leveraged their wealth and influence to arm and train hunters under the guise of Templar recruits. They provided access to rare scrolls, relics, and tools that the Atharim needed to fight against the supernatural.
Many of the Templars’ secretive rituals and symbols—including the association with the Holy Grail—were influenced by Saint-Clair family lore and Atharim doctrines. Legends of the Templars guarding sacred knowledge and powerful artifacts originated from their work with the Atharim to suppress the resurgence of dangerous relics and entities. It is rumored that the Saint-Clairs Knights retrieved many such artifacts and weapons from the Holy Lands, many deemed too powerful to see the light of day.
In 1307, the Templar Order was disbanded under pressure from King Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V. Many Templars were arrested, tortured, and executed, but the Saint-Clairs avoided this fate. Their deep ties to the Atharim gave them forewarning of the purge, allowing them to protect many Templar treasures and records related to the Atharim’s mission. A prominent collection was moved to Rosslyn Chapel, built by a Scottish branch of the family. While some ships departed for Scotland, raids by King Philip IV halted additional departures from Le Havre, and others were transported to remote strongholds in other parts of Europe. These caches preserved the Atharim’s secrecy and treasures during the chaos of the 14th century.
The Renaissance
During the Renaissance, the Saint-Clair family became known for their intellectual pursuits, serving as patrons of the arts, science, and religious scholarship. While their public image was one of piety and refinement, they continued to operate as loyal members of the Atharim. They sponsored expeditions to uncover and neutralize threats tied to the supernatural in Africa, the Americas, and Asia, using their wealth to fund hunters and secure dangerous relics.
The Napoleonic Wars
By the 19th century, the Saint-Clair family had fractured into several branches. While their French estate remained their ancestral stronghold, other branches had settled in Scotland (as the Sinclairs) and other parts of Europe. The industrial age posed challenges for the family: modernization, industrialization, and secularization weakened the power of the Church and, by extension, the influence of the Atharim.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the Saint-Clairs were nearly destroyed when French forces ransacked their ancestral estate at Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, believing it to be a hotbed of royalist resistance and commandeering the family wealth to fund the war effort. The family fled to England and Scotland, with many of their holdings in Normandy destroyed.
Modernity
By the late 19th century, the Saint-Clairs experienced a resurgence. They rebuilt their French estate, reestablishing their influence within the Atharim. This period also saw them amass significant wealth through shrewd business ventures. Celebrated unions of the family have taken place with other ancient families dedicated to the cause, such as the Lagueux family of Baccarat Crystal, various children of the Atalanta line, and the Sebastian Family. These unions not only strengthened the bonds between Atharim bloodlines but also ensured their influence remained deeply intertwined with aristocratic traditions and wealth.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Saint-Clair family remain an important pillar of the Atharim, particularly in Europe, maintaining strongholds in France, Scotland, and Switzerland. The family is known for their secret archives of Atharim knowledge, including Templar-era documents, relics from the crusades, sponsorship of new Atharim hunters, and ties to high-ranking clergy.
To the outside world, the Saint-Clairs are an old, aristocratic French family, known for their wealth, philanthropy, and connections to the Catholic Church. The family’s motto, “Lux et Umbra” (“Light and Shadow”), reflects their dual existence: shining a light of protection over the world while operating from the shadows.
Tema anterior
Mont St Michel ferry en route to St Malo
St Malo – well worth it’s own short break
Aerial shot of the Mont St Michel
View of the cloisters in the Abbey
Yummy Madeleines!
WW2 War Cemetery
View over Arromanche beach
One of the gun batteries at Utah beach
Wounded soldier memorial
William the Conqueror’s Castle
The Bayeux Tapestry
The Moon phase on Wednesday, December 31, 1997 is Waxing Crescent with an illumination of 7.18%. This indicates the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. On Wednesday, December 31, 1997, the Moon is 2.55 days old. This number shows how many days have passed since the last New Moon.
AVERAGE MOON RISE
