 The modern reputation of Rennes-le-Château rests mainly in claims and stories, dating from the mid-1950s, concerning the 19th-century parish priest Bérenger Saunière, leading researchers Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln to write "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail", which became a bestseller in 1982; their work in turn fuelled the premise of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code", published in 2003.The first known popular article about Saunière was written by Roger Crouquet in the Belgian magazine "Le Soir illustré", published in 1948.The author was visiting the Aude to meet his friend Jean Mauhin, a Belgian who had moved to Quillan to open a bell and hat factory, and at his suggestion visited Rennes-le-Château.