There was originally one Rennes-le-Château mystery. The mystery was initially promoted by Noël Corbu and Albert Salamon. Corbu was later joined by Robert Charroux, and later others joined in the quest – like for example Rolland Domergue.

This was simply the hunt for “Saunière's Treasure”, largely claimed to have belonged to Queen Blanche of Castille. Basically, Noël Corbu wanted to retrieve some of the wealth he paid for Saunière's domain and the debts of Marie Dénarnaud, that were substantial. His restaurant called “La Tour” he'd hoped would attract some business and perhaps he could recoup some revenue. Indeed, a documentary was made about Noël Corbu and Saunière's “Treasure Discovery” whereby Noël Corbu played the role of Abbé Bérenger Saunière. This was the beginning of the “Rennes-le-Château mystery”.

Then Pierre Plantard and Philippe de Chérisey appeared on the scene, sometime around 1963. It could not have been in 1962 because that was when Les Templiers sont parmi nous, ou, L'Enigme de Gisors was published, and neither Gérard de Sède nor Pierre Plantard had heard of Rennes-le-Château at that time.

There is some evidence to suggest that Pierre Plantard knew Noël Corbu. Using Noël Corbu's initial “blueprint origin” story of the “Rennes-le-Château Treasure”, Plantard and de Chérisey devised their own myth and overlaid it over Corbu's claims. Here is where some of the blurry parts begin. For example, who originally claimed that Emma Calvé was involved with Saunière? The claims of the Coume Sourde stone genuinely began with Noël Corbu because it was mentioned in the Frances-Inter 1962 Radio Programme. Pierre Plantard and Philippe de Chérisey merely used the idea and decided it was something slightly different.

The drawing of the Coume Sourde Stone by Philippe de Chérisey and the drawing of the fake gravestone by either Pierre Plantard or Philippe de Chérisey OR by both. The drawing is a syncretism of both a spider and an octopus. The article by Norberto, “Le Symbolisme de L'Echiquier” in Vaincre, September 1989 seems to display some of the psychology of the 1960s; Plantard could have been using materials of the past in his possession when he wrote that. The fake claims by Noël Corbu were subsequently used by Pierre Plantard and Philippe de Chérisey as the basis for their fake histories of the Priory of Sion during the 1960s. The name “Mazières” on Philippe de Chérisey's drawing could indicate the fact that he was aware of the 1957-1958 speculative article by Abbé Mazières about the Knights Templar in Le Bézu; the article names Ernest Cros at the top of its list of acknowledgements. Quoting Philippe de Chérisey from “Stone and Paper” (circa 1973?): “That Mr Cros existed is one thing, that the small wad of typed pages was from a typewriter that he would have used himself, is another. As far as I know, as I held these pages in my hands, they could equally be my work, which I could have passed to Mr Noël Corbu in Rennes-le-Château in exactly the same manner that I forwarded Documents I and II to Gérard de Sède”. Quoting Pierre Plantard from private correspondence dated 10 August 1990, to Raymond Sagarzazu: “You refer to the tombstone of Coumesourde. I'm sorry to have to disappoint you, but it simply never existed”.

When Robert Charroux had his revised version of “Treasures of the World” published in 1972, he did not refer to Pierre Plantard, Philippe de Chérisey or to Gérard de Sède. Charroux remained faithful to Noël Corbu's original story. Although Corbu's original story claimed that the parchments were found in February 1892 in one of the Visigothic Pillars that supported the Church Altar (discovered by the Mason who had to restore it), it soon changed into the story of a vial containing a parchment discovered in a church baluster – that could have been shown in the early 1960s television documentary.

Noël Corbu also withheld the information about Elie Tisseyre's 1906 article that showed the gravestone of Marie de Negre d'Ables.

To Corbu, there was only the Coume Sourde Stone. Which was originally linked to the original gravestone of the Countess of Blanchefort. Therefore, the original two versions of the myth – although having similar origins – also differ radically from each other. Both versions of the story of the Coume Sourde stone involve the letters PS.

The Pierre Plantard version of the Treasure Story, involving Merovingian Descendants, was not without its problems. The conflicting versions found in the Priory of Sion documents was done on purpose in an attempt to thwart and confuse people. However, Plantard split from de Chérisey in a 1984-1985 dispute over collaborating with Paul Rouelle (de Chérisey died in 1985). Plantard later changed the pedigree of his Priory of Sion which, amongst other things claimed the true Merovingian descendant was Otto von Habsburg; as well as criticising the authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, who claimed that Plantard was a descendant of Jesus Christ (when the book was first published in 1982, it was a deadly serious proposition that later, over a period of time, merely turned into a theory, a hypothesis). Plantard's claim that Roger-Patrice Pelat was Grand Master of the Priory of Sion got him into trouble with the French authorities during the early 1990s, and since that time all his activities came to a halt.

This subject-matter in itself is a study!

All the major and original players have died.

The new generation of True Believers in the Rennes-le-Château “mystery” have been inventing new treasure stories to replace the old ones.