The conspiracy theorists believe there could be a “tomb of Jesus Christ” in Septimania and this is the favoured position of the Rennes-le-Château Tourist Industry today. Uncritical books with a tendency towards the fantastic by French author Christian Doumergue are accepted seriously.

Christian Doumergue wrote something similar to this in one of his books – but he was unable to provide the slightest shred of historical evidence.

The legend of Mary Magdalene fleeing to France after the Crucifixion was only first mentioned by Sigebert of Gembloux who lived during the late 11th and early 12th century. His account (Chronicon ab anno 381 ad 1113) was first published in Latin in 1513. The bit about Jesus Christ going with Mary Magdalene was a later addition.

Appeals are made to traditions associated with Claudia Procula, the wife of Pontius Pilate.

The name Procla [Procula] dates from two related apocryphal documents going back to the seventh century:

– Paradosis Pilati (“The Handing Over of Pilate”)
– Epistola Pilati ad Herodem (“Letter of Pilate to Herod”)

The full name Claudia Procula dates from 1619, found in the Chronicon of Pseudo-Dexter (or Omnimoda Historia).

The tradition of Claudia Procula living in Narbonne is relatively recent and dates from the story by Éveline Ribbecourt (pseudonym of Mathilde Bourdon) called “La Mort du Juste”, first published in 1846.

The promotional trailer for the DVD presented by Kris Darquis, which of course does not provide any real historical facts (film made by Malgorzata Debowska, “Claudia Procula: épouse de Pilate, protectrice de Jésus et Marie-Madeleine”, Debowska Film Productions, 2017)