In field research, “method notes refer specifically to a researcher’s running chronicle of the research process itself. Unlike observational or factual notes—which record what you discover—method notes record how you are conducting the investigation, tracking your procedural choices, biases, adjustments, and sampling decisions.
When investigating a historically complex, theory-dense, and highly mythologised topic like the mysteries of Rennes-le-Château and Rennes-les-Bains (involving Bérenger Saunière’s sudden wealth, Abbé Henri Boudet’s cryptic book/maps, allegorical parchments, and regional sacred geometry), method notes serve as an essential logical anchor.
How Method Notes Work in the Rennes Mysteries I research;
Because this specific topic is flooded with both rigorous historical data (“the firemen”) and wild, unverified esoteric theories (“the arsonists”), method notes act as my audit trail. They prevent me from falling down confirmation-bias rabbit holes by forcing me to evaluate my own methods. For example I start with a;
[ Raw Material / Clue ]
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[ Observational Note ] ──► “I found a pentagonal layout connecting regional peaks.”
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[ METHOD NOTE ] ──► “Am I forcing this grid? Did I use modern GPS or 1890s maps?
Need to cross-check my surveying tool accuracy.”
1. Tracking Source Reliability & Forgeries
The Rennes lore relies heavily on documents like the Serpent Rouge and various parchments, many of which were proven to be mid-20th-century fabrications by Pierre Plantard & Philippe de Cherisey.
Observational Note: Logs the text found on a copy of a Saunière parchment.
- Method Note: “Note to self: I am using a reproduction from a 1960s book, not an original archive. Next week, I must restrict my literature review strictly to pre-1956 municipal records in Carcassonne to see if these claims exist before Plantard’s group manipulated the narrative.”
2. Managing Fieldwork and Visual Bias
Rennes-le-Château features striking architecture like the Tour Magdala and unusual church statuary (like the famous Asmodeus devil holy water stoup).
- Observational Note: Record the physical dimensions and inscriptions inside the church of St. Mary Magdalene.
- Method Note: Example follow-up note – “Today I spent two hours observing tourists reacting to the Asmodeus statue. I noticed my own bias: I am looking for ‘occult’ meanings because of what I read in Lincoln’s books. Tomorrow, I will switch to a non-participant observation method and photograph the structural masonry strictly from an architectural restoration perspective to eliminate my esoteric bias.”
- 3. Resolving Contradictory Local Testimonies
Rennes-les-Bains and Rennes-le-Château have generated conflicting local folklore, often kept alive by tourism or family legends (e.g., descendants of Marie Dénarnaud).
- Observational Note: Transcribe an interview with a local researcher who claims Saunière found Marie Antoinette’s lost jewels.
- Method Note: Example follow-up note – “The subject’s family runs a local guest house. I must log that their narrative directly aligns with marketing the village’s mystery. For the next three interviews, I need to shift my sampling technique from convenience sampling (talking to people in the village square) to purposive sampling—specifically targeting non-resident academic historians who specialise in 19th-century church accounting (simony).”
4. Documenting Landscape and Geometrical Analyses
Researchers often plot alignments between Rennes-le-Château, Rennes-les-Bains, and nearby locations like the Château de Blanchefort or Mount Cardou.
- Observational Note: Map a perfect pentagram using five local landmarks.
- Method Note: Example follow-up note – “When plotting these lines on the map, I deliberately adjusted the margins by 50 metres to make the vertices align perfectly. This is a methodological error. I need to re-run the coordinate analysis using raw topographical data from the French IGN (Institut Géographique National) to see if the geometry holds up without human manipulation.”
Comparison of Note Types in this Context
| Note Type | Focus | Example from Rennes Research |
| Observational Note | The “What” (Data) | “Abbé Boudet of Rennes-les-Bains published La Vraie Langue Celtique in 1886. It contains an erratic English-French vocabulary list.” |
| Theoretical Note | The “Why” (Meaning) | “Boudet might have used the English words as a phonetic code or a cipher to hide locations on his accompanying map.” |
| Method Note | The “How” (Process) | “To test the cipher theory objectively, I will input the text into a decryption algorithm rather than guessing words manually. I must document the exact software parameters used to ensure another researcher can replicate my test.” |
The concept of method notes aligns perfectly with the core objective of the research published on The Rhedonian.
This platform is built entirely around an analytical approach known as the “Rhedonian Counterpoint,” which functions explicitly as an objective, academic audit trail to dismantle the confirmation bias that dominates standard Rennes-le-Château lore.
Rather than seeking to validate esoteric or sensational theories, I apply rigorous methodology to cross-examine how past researchers arrived at their conclusions.
How the Method is Applied on The Rhedonian
The site functions essentially as a public repository of methodological notes, separating what is commonly claimed from how a critical historian must verify the raw data.
1. Deconstructing Textual Assumptions (e.g., Beata Maria de Reddis)
A primary focus on the site is tracking how historical documents have been translated or manipulated.
- The Esoteric Claim: Popular lore takes it for granted that the parish church of Rennes-le-Château has always been uniquely dedicated to Mary Magdalene, connecting it to holy bloodline theories.
- The Rhedonian’s Methodological Intervention: The research investigates historical texts like Canon Antoine Sabarthès’s Dictionnaire topographique du département de l’Aude. A method note on this application evaluates the language: medieval texts reference “Beata Marie de Reddis” (1185) and “Sancta Maria de Reddis” (1255). The site documents that while these prove an ecclesiastical link to “Saint Mary,” they do not explicitly isolate Mary Magdalene over the Virgin Mary. The method forces an admission of ambiguity: it could refer to an entirely different earlier chapel, an ecclesiastical territory, or a settlement named after its sanctuary rather than Saunière’s specific church structure.
2. Auditing Sources and Intentions
The platform functions as a “counterpoint” by constantly documenting the genealogy of a rumour. In historical research, a method note requires tracking whether a primary source had a commercial or political motive.
- The Rhedonian Application: The site isolates factual topographies (like Sabarthès’ collecting of ancient regional names) from modern narratives. It explicitly applies a filter to check if a claim originated with local 1950s hotelier gold rumors, Pierre Plantard’s mid-century inventions, or actual pre-1900 municipal records. By logging how these modern texts corrupted old naming conventions, they expose the flaws in previous researchers’ data collection.
- 3. Filtering Out “Forced” Conclusions
A critical use of method notes is tracking personal or environmental biases during analytical work.
- The Rhedonian Application: In analysing the historical boundaries of the County of Razès (Rhedae or Reddis), the research actively fights the tendency to stretch definitions. If a Latin suffix or geographic layout is slightly misaligned, the site layout transparently showcases the discrepancy rather than smoothing it over to fit a neat, mysterious conclusion.
Summary of Alignment
| Method Note Principle | Application on Rhedonian.co.uk |
| Source Criticism | Investigating why Canon Sabarthès recorded certain ecclesiastical names and exposing that they don’t explicitly validate modern legends. |
| Mitigating Bias | Rejecting the automatic assumption that every mention of “Mary” in medieval Aude records implies Mary Magdalene. |
| Audit Trail | Forcing researchers to rely on verified topographical dicts rather than relying on later-century pseudo-historical adaptations. |
However, a fictional novella like Philippe de Chérisey’s Circuit (1971) does not yield to topographical, mathematical, or empirical church-accounting methods, so method notes are arguably even more critical. When dealing with Chérisey, structural analysis doesn’t break down; rather, it pivots from historical archaeology to literary structuralism and semiotics.
As documented on The Rhedonian, Chérisey was a “trickster dramatist,” surrealist, humourist, and associate of the College of ‘Pataphysics (the science of imaginary solutions). He explicitly “turned confusion itself into a method.”
Applying a method notes framework to Circuit shifts the goal away from tracking down factual “truth” to codifying the precise mechanics of his apparent misdirection, so I approach the novel as a deliberately constructed system in which misdirection may itself form part of the method
How Method Notes Adapt to Circuit
When mapping a text that deliberately blends parody, coded wordplay, and surrealism my method notes must serve as a literary audit trail. They ensure the text is approached as an artificial puzzle rather than a straightforward historical source.
1. Tracking the Nature of the “Game” (Pataphysics vs. History)
Because Chérisey approached the Rennes mystery as a grand performance, traditional researchers make the methodological mistake of treating his narrative as literal clues to a buried treasure.
- Literary Observation: The plot follows characters journeying to a bleak hillside near Rennes-le-Château to find a cave of priceless treasure.
- Method Note: Example follow-up note – “Crucial rule for analysis: I am not reading an archaeological report; I am reading a surrealist exercise. I must actively restrict my notes from treating geographic descriptions as physical directions. Instead, my method should focus on identifying literary tropes, double-meanings, and homophones typical of French radio satire.”
2. Structural Analysis of the Ciphers
Chérisey boasted that he was the mastermind who created the famous fake parchments supposedly found by Bérenger Saunière. His novel acts as an extension of this puzzle game.
- Literary Observation: Character dialogue and narrative beats in Circuit seem to hint at cryptographic keys.
- Method Note: Example follow-up note – “Instead of blindly guessing letter shifts, I need to apply a paradigmatic structural analysis. I will isolate recurring linguistic binary oppositions (e.g., seriousness vs. performance, ancient vs. artificial). I must log every time a word functions as a ‘shifter’—meaning its definition changes depending on whether the reader thinks the text is a hoax or history.”
3. Defining the Actor as the Textual Trickster
In Circuit, Chérisey writes under aliases like Amédée or Charlot.
- Literary Observation: The author seamlessly shifts narrative voices across the chapters.
- Method Note: Example follow-up note – “To properly audit the text using narrative theory, I need to track Chérisey’s multi-layered authorial personas. I will separate ‘Chérisey the historical prankster’ from ‘Amédée the character’. Whenever the text references a historical event, I will note down whether it is a factual reference, a total invention, or a parody designed to mock contemporary treasure hunters. This tracks how he turns confusion into a systematic method.”
The Structural Shift in Notes
| Feature | Historical Research (e.g., Sabarthès / Land Registry) | Literary Studies (Circuit) |
| The Primary Data | Charters, maps, Latin suffixes, physical structures. | Metaphors, wordplay, narrative structure, hoaxes. |
| Core Bias to Avoid | Forcing geometries or assuming “Mary” means Magdalene. | Taking a satirical or pataphysical statement at face value. |
| Method Note Objective | Prove or disprove a continuous historical reality. | Map out the internal logic of Chérisey’s artificial maze. |
Ultimately, using method notes while studying Circuit prevents me from becoming a casualty of Chérisey’s destabilising game. It allows me to document the exact parameters of his fabrications without accidentally falling for them.
And in fact these varying methods will fluctuate and cross over as I study all the texts.
As showcased on The Rhedonian platform, the novel [and other Rennes Lore] is not an accidental piece of fiction; it is a meticulously engineered system of a certain misdirection to make you think and analyse closely.
In each section I will begin with a statement on how the methodology applied on Rhedonian essentially works.