La Licorne
de
LEVIS MIREPOIX
Charlotte-Adèlaïde
de Montmorency 1 married on 6 May 1817 with Athanase-Gustave-Charles-Marie 2, duke de Lévis-Mirepoix.
The couple lived in Château Léran at the foot of the French Pyrénées, where
they got four children. Two of them were named after their Grandfather Adrien de Montmorency. The elder Adrienne-Charlotte-Félicité (*1818) and Adrien-Charles-Gui-Marie (*1820).
1 (*Dampierre 15-2-1798) Daughter of Anne-Adrien-Pierre
de Montmorency-Laval and Bonne-Charlotte
de Montmorency-Luxembourg
2 (*Aachen 27-3-1792)
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It was on behalf of the beloved Adrienne that her
Granddad acquired in 1828 the relics of St Félicité while he was Ambassador
in Rome. Meanwhile Adrienne grew up to the charming young lady as portrayed
at the age of seventeen. Shortly after in the summer of 1835 she came to fall
from her horse in the forests of Léran and died. Driven by grief her parents
changed Château Léran for Château Montigny. Her Granddad followed her two years later. In the
summer of 1838 his Roman heritage was solemnly placed in the church annex to
Château Montigny. For further details see the report of Pith & Mieke on the same. Adrienne-Charlotte-Félicité
de Lévis (photo 2010 from painting at
Château de Montigny) |
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Saint Félicité dressed as a Roman lady after the
fashion of the time. Notice how the face in wax is decorated with the
late Adrienne's hair. |
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Charlotte's inheritance of Bokhoven in 1838 provided Athanase the title of Earl of Bokhoven. Athanase passed away on 7 June 1851 to be followed by Charlotte on 24 June 1872. Ten days later their children decided on her heritage with the outcome the elder Adrien-Charles-Gui-Marie acquiring the precious properties in Bokhoven. |
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Gui married on 28 May 1844 with Marie-Josephe-Hildegarde-Chislaine de Merode-Westerloo, loot from old Belgium noblesse. The couple resettled in Léran and enriched La Licorne in Bokhoven with a mural depicting their code of arms. He departed on 6 November 1886 and she on 28 March 1899, bestowing the goods in Bokhoven upon their sole son and heir Charles-François-Henri-Jean-Marie born 21 Juli 1849.
The latter married on 28 Auguus 1883 with Henriette-Catherine-Marie de Chabannes-la-Palice. He was a Duke de Lévis-Mirepoix and the last Earl of Bokhoven. Before his death on 10 May 1915 he donated his goods to his two children by deeds of 13 December 1910 and 27 January 1911. The elder one Antoine-Pierre-Marie-François-Joseph obtained Château Léran and the younger Charlotte-Félicité-Chislaine-Gauderique-Marie-Philomène (*11 augustus 1887) the properties in Bokhoven.
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Henceforth it didn't take Philomène long to exchange isolated Léran for bristling Paris, where she as an upcoming writer was welcomed in the higher circles. Not surprisingly she enjoyed lots of attention from men, young and old, married and unmaried alike. In 1915 daughter Florence was born and 12 years later she married the 9 years younger navy officer Joseph-François-Marie-Jules de la Forest-Divonne. Shortly after her possessions In Bokhoven were sold. So from 18 January 1928 onwards the onetime proud Earldom deprived from its noble masters. |
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When I visited in 1999 Château Montigny-le-Gannelon for the first time my heart skipped a beat the moment I saw the sandstone carving above the front door. It showed the same details as a wall painting in our house! Not only did it carry the very coat of arms, also the battle cry: “DIEU AIDE AU SECOND CRETIEN LEVIS” was on it. The magnificent Château
Montigny-le-Gannelon is situated on the Vallée du Loir halfway on the road
from Tours to Paris. It
accommodates descendants of de Lévis Mirepoix Notice how the wing on the right resembles the Houses of Bokhoven. |
Tableau tentoongesteld
tijdens expositie 2008 in Musée Patrimoine et Traditions te Mirepoix |
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Detail of restored mural at La Licorne |
Dieu aide
au second Crétien Levis Original mural at La Licorne |
Sandstone-cut at Château Montigny-le-Gannelon |
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de Lévis Mirepoix |
de Mérode Westerloo D'or à quatre pals de gueules; à la bordure engrêlée
d'azur |
de Lévis Mirepoix |
Montmorency |
La Madame Châtelaine -a true de Lévis- revealed to us
the coat recalls the relation of her family with the dynasties of the Montmorency
and Clovis. A booklet issued at the castle says the following
on this: Les armoires de gauche sont celles des Lévis: “D’or à trois
chevrons de sables”. Leur
devise: “Dieu ayde au second chrestien Lévis (le 1er étant Clovis).”
At some point in time it was stated: Dans la chapelle de La Roche, nous apercevons, au-dessus du portail
d'entrée, dans la rosace, le blason et la
devise des Lévis ("Dieu ayde au
second chrestien Lévis). Un Lévis aurait été baptisé juste après Clovis, premier chrétien.
Those descriptions of the story are modest in comparison to the 'Songs of Reason', that relate the Lévis to the Virgin Mary. Not surprisingly the Lévis themselves have been keeping low profile on that side of the story, since the Roman Catholic Church wouldn't be amused by such a claim, and Pope Benedictus XVI is not likely to divert from that opinion. Hopefully an ordinary individual as myself that happens to have been living in a very de Lévis Manor will be excused from adding some historic facts and hypothesis, which seem to connect the origin of mankind in Paradise with his existence in Bokhoven.
According to the Bible both Mary and Joseph were related to King David. Incidentally, that fact gave them and their son Jesus status in respect of the Jewish throne. Furthermore the genealogy from David back through Seth to Adam and Eve is well documented. Remains to be shown the connection between Mary and the later de Lévis Mirepoix. While the above Songs of Reason set me on the trail, Internet supplied the documentation.
To begin with I investigated the prefix of Lévis. Off-handed one knows that Lévi in Jiddish stands for Priest, and Google Search produced sources that trace a Levi as the forefather of Jesus. A Gospel of Levi exists, and Levis spring up in France.
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Supposedly Mary Magdalene settled in Southern France and produced progeny into the family de Levis-Mirepoix.. [Sources refer even to a marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene producing progeny in the royal family of the Merovingians.] The story goes of Frederick the Great showing the Duc de Levis Mirepoix a canvas representing the Holy Virgin and saying: 'A Levi, my dear friend. I won’t tell you anything about your grandmother that you don’t know already.’ Small talk from other sources expands on that notion. In France women were traditionally not allowed to work with bees, since the latter were thought to be angels, and the former impure. However, being descendants of the Virgin Mary, the women of the Corbières were freely handling honey, which by-the-way produced a fine quality. And -indeed- I found out that the girls in that region have long, flowing, golden-red hair as is being ascribed to Mary Magdalene. That didn't history stop from taking its toll overtime. Think of the massacre of Montségur and the fact that the neighboring town of Mirepoix was founded by Guy de Lévis on the ruins of an old village in 1279. |
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Altogether
there is a lot of mystery about this Maria Magdalena, her relation to Jesus,
and her life and offspring in France. A study
on the subject has disclosed all that could be established at those points. And
more so. It gives in word and image an account of the relation between
Bokhoven and the said surrounding in France, as well as between the Gentry of
Bokhoven and de Lévis Mirepoix. The
Castles of Lagarde, Léran, Montségur and Foix are described and depicted. All
the historic facts are interwoven with a novel that ends in 1928, the year
that the Countess Philomène de Lévis Mirepoix sold her property in Bokhoven. Sainte Marie-Madeleine (Statue
en bois de tilleul polychrome par
Gregor Erhart) |
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New
information will be forthcoming with the transcription and publication of yet
undisclosed gospels. As an example may serve the recently published Gospel of
Judas that originates from the middle of the 2nd century AD, and
deserves its name from its main character. This Judas
Iscariot was a disciple of Jesus and hence must have lived around the
very time, ie: the beginning of the first century AD. In
the document Judas, who widely figures as the betrayer of his master Jesus, is
regarded as the latter's trusted friend. In that version the expose of Jesus
that led to his capture and crucification was orchestrated by both men. So, the
entire scheme wasn't a low betrayal, but a well designed conspiracy between the
two allies with a view to spend Jesus' human life, not his untouchable Divine
Self. Possibly, other findings will help to underpin the connection
between our 'La Licorne' in Bokhoven and the 'Garden of Eden' in Mesopotamia.
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