Templar - First Crusade 
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the dual goals of reconquering the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and freeing the Eastern Christians from Islamic rule. What started as an appeal by Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus for western mercenaries to fight the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia quickly turned into a wholescale Western migration and conquest of territory outside of Europe. Both knights and peasants from many nations of Western Europe travelled over land and by sea towards Jerusalem and captured the city in July 1099, establishing the Kingdom of Jerusalem and other Crusader states. Although these gains lasted for less than two hundred years, the First Crusade was part of the Christian response to the Islamic conquests, as well as the first major step towards reopening international trade in the West since the fall of the Western Roman Empire.




Background 

The origins of the crusades in general, and of the First Crusade in particular, are varied and are widely debated among historians. They are most commonly linked to the political and social history of eleventh-century Europe, the rise of a reform movement within the Papacy, and the political and religious situation of Christianity and Islam in Europe and the Middle East.
Christianity, which had spread throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East in the early Middle Ages, was by the early eighth century limited to Europe and Asia Minor after the rapid spread of Islam. The Umayyad Caliphate had conquered Syria, Egypt, and North Africa from the predominantly Christian Byzantine Empire, and Spain from the Christian Visigothic Kingdom. In North Africa, the Ummayad empire eventually collapsed and a number of smaller Muslim kingdoms emerged, such as the Aghlabids, who entered Italy in the 9th century, and the Kalbids, who became prey to the Normans capturing Sicily by 1091. Pisa, Genoa, and Aragon began to battle other Muslim kingdoms for control of the Mediterranean, exemplified by the Mahdia campaign and battles at Majorca and Sardinia..

At the western edge of Europe, and of Islamic expansion, the Reconquista in Spain was well underway by the eleventh century; it was intermittently ideological, as evidenced by the Epitome Ovetense written at the behest of Alfonso III of Asturias in 881, but it was not a proto-crusade. Increasingly in the eleventh century foreign knights, mostly from France, visited Spain to assist the Christians in their efforts. Shortly before the First Crusade, Pope Urban II had encouraged Spanish Christians to reconquer Tarragona, near Barcelona, using much of the same symbolism and rhetoric that was later used to preach the crusade.

In the east was the Byzantine Empire, fellow Christians who had long followed a separate Orthodox rite. Since 1054 the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches had been in schism, and the imposition of Roman church authority in the east may have been one of the causes of the crusade. Under Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, the empire was largely confined to Europe and the western coast of Anatolia, and faced many enemies: the Normans in the west and the Seljuk Turks in the east. The Seljuks invaded Byzantium in 1071, and in response, in 1074, Pope Gregory VII called for the milites Christi ("soldiers of Christ") to go to their aid. This call, while largely ignored and even opposed, nevertheless focused a great deal of attention on the east.Umayyad Caliphate at its greatest extent.

The Seljuks and Byzantines continually fought for control of Anatolia and Syria. The Seljuks, who were orthodox Sunni Muslims, formerly ruled a large empire ("Great Seljuk") but by the time of the First Crusade it had divided into many smaller states after the death of Malik Shah I in 1092. Malik Shah was succeeded in the Anatolian Sultanate of Rüm by Kilij Arslan I, and in Syria by his brother Tutush I, who died in 1095. Tutush's sons Radwan and Duqaq inherited Aleppo and Damascus respectively, further dividing Syria amongst emirs antagonistic towards each other, as well as Kerbogha, the atabeg of Mosul.

Egypt and much of Palestine were controlled by the Arab Shi'ite Fatimids, whose empire was significantly smaller since the arrival of the Seljuks. Warfare between the Fatimids and Seljuks caused great disruption for the local Christians and for western pilgrims. The Fatimids, at this time ruled by caliph al-Musta'li, with the vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah holding actual power, had lost Jerusalem to the Seljuks in 1076, but recaptured it from the Ortoqids, a smaller Turkic tribe associated with the Seljuks, in 1098, just before the arrival of the crusaders.

The heart of western Europe itself had been relatively stabilized after the Christianization of the Saxons, Vikings, and Magyars by the end of the tenth century. However, the breakdown of the Carolingian Empire gave rise to an entire class of warriors who now had little to do but fight among themselves. The random violence of the knightly class, and often knighthood itself, were regularly condemned by the church, and the Peace of God was established to prohibit fighting on certain days of the year. At the same time, the reform-minded Papacy came into conflict with the secular world, resulting in the Investiture Controversy, and popes such as Gregory VII needed theological justification for the subsequent warfare. It became acceptable for the Pope to utilize knights in the name of Christendom, not only against political enemies of the Papacy, but also against Muslim Spain, or, theoretically, against the Seljuks in the east.
Historiography 

Chronological sequence of the Crusade

Council of Clermont 
  
  Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont. Illumination from the Livre des Passages d'Outre-mer, of c 1490 (Bibliothèque National)

  Whatever the ultimate causes of the crusade, the most immediate factor was a request for assistance from Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus. Alexius was worried about the advances of the Turks, who had reached as far west as Nicaea, not far from Constantinople. In March of 1095, Alexius I sent envoys to the Council of Piacenza to ask Pope Urban II for aid against the Turks. Urban responded favourably, perhaps hoping to heal the Great Schism of forty years prior and re-unite the Church under papal primacy by helping the Eastern churches in their time of need.]

In July of 1095, Urban turned to his homeland of France to recruit men for the expedition. His travels there culminated in the Council of Clermont in November, where, according to the various speeches attributed to him, he gave an impassioned sermon to a large audience of French nobles and clergy, graphically detailing the fantastic atrocities being committed against pilgrims and eastern Christians. There are five versions of the speech written by people who may have been at the council (Baldric of Dol, Guibert of Nogent, Robert the Monk, and Fulcher of Chartres) or who went on crusade (Fulcher and the anonymous author of the Gesta Francorum), as well as other versions found in later historians (such as William of Malmesbury and William of Tyre). All of these versions were written after Jerusalem had been captured, and it is difficult to know what was actually said and what was recreated in the aftermath of the successful crusade. The only contemporary records are a few letters written by Urban in 1095.

All the versions generally agree that Urban talked about the violence of European society and the necessity of maintaining the Peace of God; about helping the Greeks, who had asked for assistance; about the crimes being committed against Christians in the east; and about a new kind of war, an armed pilgrimage, and of rewards both on earth and in heaven, where remission of sins was offered to any who might die in the undertaking. They do not all specifically mention Jerusalem as the ultimate goal, but it seems clear from Urban's subsequent preaching that he intended the expedition to reach Jerusalem all along. The enthusiastic crowd responded with cries of Deus lo volt! ("God wills it!").



Recruitment 

  Urban's speech had been well-planned; he had discussed the crusade with Adhemar, Bishop of Le Puy, and Raymond IV of Toulouse, and instantly the expedition had the support of two of southern France's most important leaders. Adhemar himself was present at the Council and was the first to "take the cross." For the rest of 1095 and into 1096, Urban spread the message throughout France, and urged his bishops and legates to preach in their own dioceses elsewhere in France, Germany, and Italy as well. However, it is clear that the response to the speech was much larger than even the Pope, let alone Alexius, expected. During his tour of France, Urban tried to forbid certain people (including women, monks, and the sick) from joining the crusade, but found this nearly impossible. In the end most who took up the call were not knights, but peasants who were not wealthy and had little in the way of fighting skills, in an outpouring of a new emotional and personal piety that was not easily harnessed by the ecclesiastical and lay aristocracy.Typically preaching would conclude with every volunteer taking a vow to complete a pilgrimage to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; they were also given a cross, usually sown onto their clothes.

As Thomas Asbridge writes, "Just as we can do nothing more than estimate the number of thousands who responded to the crusading ideal, so too, with the surviving evidence, we can gain only a limited insight into their motivation and intent." Previous generations of scholars argued that the crusaders were motivated by greed, hoping to find a better life away from the famines and warfare occurring in France, but as Asbridge says, "this image is...profoundly misleading."Greed is unlikely to have been a major factor because of the extremely high cost of travelling so far from home, and because almost all of the crusaders eventually returned home after completing their pilgrimage, rather than trying to carve out possessions for themselves in the Holy Land. . It is difficult or impossible to assess the motives of the thousands of poor for whom there is no historical record, and even for the knights, whose stories were usually told by monks or clerics. However, since the secular medieval world was so deeply ingrained with the spiritual world of the church, it is likely that personal piety was a major factor for many crusaders.

Despite this popular enthusiasm, however, Urban ensured that there would be an army of knights, drawn from the French aristocracy. Aside from Adhemar and Raymond, the leaders he recruited throughout 1096 were Bohemond of Taranto, a southern Italian ally of the reform popes; Bohemond's nephew Tancred; Godfrey of Bouillon, who had previously been an anti-reform ally of the Holy Roman Emperor; his brother Baldwin of Boulogne; Hugh of Vermandois, brother of the excommunicated King Philip I of France; Robert of Normandy, brother of King William II of England; and his relatives Stephen of Blois and Robert of Flanders. The crusaders represented northern and southern France, Germany, and southern Italy, and so they were divided into four separate armies which were not always cooperative, although they were held together by their common ultimate goal.

The motives of the nobility are somewhat clearer; greed was apparently not a major factor. It is commonly assumed, for example by Runciman as mentioned above, that only younger members of a family went on crusade, looking for wealth and adventure elsewhere, as they had no prospects for advancement at home. Riley-Smith has shown that this was not the case. The crusade was led by some of the most powerful nobles of France, who left everything behind, and it was often the case that entire families went on crusade, at their own great expense.  For example, Robert of Normandy sold the Duchy of Normandy to his brother, and Godfrey sold or mortgaged his property to the church. According to Tancred's biographer, he was worried about the sinful nature of knightly warfare, and was excited to find a holy outlet for violence. Tancred and Bohemond, as well as Godfrey, Baldwin, and their older brother Eustace are examples of families who crusaded together. Riley-Smith argues that that enthusiasm for the crusade was perhaps based on family relations, as most of the French crusaders were distant relatives.

_Templar - Lists of Grand Masters

And known Templar Knights_

Each man who held the position of Grand Master of the Knights Templar was the supreme commander of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (also known as the Knights Templar), starting with founder Hugues de Payens in 1118. While many Grand Masters chose to hold the position for life, abdication was not unknown. Some masters chose to leave for life in monasteries or diplomacy. Grand Masters often led their knights into battle on the front line and the numerous occupational hazards of battle made some tenures very short.

Each country had its own Master, and the Masters reported to the Grand Master. He oversaw all of the operations of the Order, including both the military operations in the Holy Land and eastern Europe, and the financial and business dealings in the Order's infrastructure of western Europe. The Grand Master controlled the actions of the order but he was expected to act the same way as the rest of the knights. After the Pope issued a Papal Bull on behalf of the Templars, the Grand Master was obliged to answer only to Rome.

  Here is the list Of Grand Masters of Templar Order with links to Wikipedia.

1.		Hugues de Payens	1118-1136
2.		Robert de Craon	1136-1147
3.		Everard des Barres	1147-1149
4.		Bernard de Tremelay †	1149-1153
5.		André de Montbard	1153-1156
6.		Bertrand de Blanchefort	1156-1169
7.		Philippe de Milly	1169-1171
8.		Odo de St Amand #	1171-1179
9.		Arnold of Torroja	1181-1184
10.		Gerard de Ridefort †	1185-1189
11.		Robert de Sablé	1191-1193
12.		Gilbert Horal	1193-1200
13.		Phillipe de Plessis	1201-1208
14.		Guillaume de Chartres	1209-1219
15.		Pedro de Montaigu	1218-1232
16.		Armand de Périgord #	1232-1244
17.		Richard de Bures (Disputed)	1244/5-1247 [1]
18.		Guillaume de Sonnac †	1247-1250
19.		Renaud de Vichiers	1250-1256
20.		Thomas Bérard	1256-1273
21.		Guillaume de Beaujeu †	1273-1291
22.		Thibaud Gaudin	1291-1292
23.		Jacques de Molay	1292-1314

Here is some members from christian countries in Order of Temple and there commanders:


France

   1. Sir Jean De St. LEGER (1096)
   2. Payen de MONTDIDIER (1130)
   3. Robert de Craon (died in 1147)
   4. Evrard des BARRES (1143 - 1147
   5. Guillaume PAVET (1160 - 1161)
   6. Geoffroy FOUCHER (1171)
   7. Eustache le CHIEN (1175 - 1179)
   8. Robert de MILIACO (1190)
   9. Raoul de MONTLIARD (1192 - 1193)
  10. Gilbert ERAIL (1196)
  11. André de COULOURS (1204)
  12. Guillaume OEIL-DE-BOEUF (1207)
  13. André de COULOURS (1208 - 1219)
  14. Guillaume de l'AIGLE (1222)
  15. Fr. Aimard (1222 - 1223)
  16. Eudes ROYIER (1225)
  17. Olivier de la ROCHE (1225 - 1228)
  18. Pons d'ALBON (1229)
  19. Robert de LILLE (1234)
  20. Pons d'ALBON (1236 - 1240)
  21. Fr. Damase (lieut.) (1241 - 1242)
  22. Renaud de Vichier (1242 - 1249)
  23. Gui de BASENVILLE (1251 - 1253)
  24. Foulques de SAINT-MICHEL (1256 - 1258)
  25. Humbert de PAIRAUD (1261 - 1264)
  26. Amaury de la ROCHE (1265 - 1271)
  27. Jean le FRANCOIS (1277 - 1281)
  28. Guillaume de MALLAY (1286)
  29. Hugues de PAIRAUD (1291 - 1294)
  30. Matthew John Norris (1294-1299)
  31. Gérard de VILLERS ( 1299 - 1307)
  32. Jerar de POITOUS (1307)

Les commandeurs de Richerenches

   1. Arnaud de Bedos (1136–1138)
   2. Gérard de Montpierre (1138_1139)
   3. Hugues de Bourbouton (1139–1141)
   4. Hugues de Panaz (1141–1144)
   5. Hugues de Bourbouton (1145–1151)
   6. Déodat de l'Etang (1151–1161)
   7. Guillaume de Biais (1161)
   8. Déodat de l'Etang (1162–1173)
   9. Foulques de Bras (1173–1179)
  10. Pierre Itier (1179)
  11. Hugolin (1180–1182)
  12. Raimond (1200–1203)
  13. Déodat de Bruissac (1205–1212)
  14. Jeremy Bermond (1216–1220)
  15. Bertrand de la Roche (1230)
  16. Roustan de Comps (1232)
  17. Raymond Seguis (1244)
  18. Raymond de Chambarrand (1260–1280)
  19. Ripert Dupuy (1280–1288)
  20. Guillaume Hogolin (1288–1300)
  21. Pons d'Alex (1300–1304)
  22. Raimbaud Alziari (1304)
  23. Guillaume Hugolin (1308)
  24. Robert De Sable Master (1191-1193)

Les Commandeurs du Ruou

   1. Hugues Raimond ( de Villacros ) 1170
   2. Pons de Rigaud 1180
   3. Bertrand de Gardannes 1195
   4. Bertrand Hugues 1195
   5. Bernard Aimeric ( Vice Précepteur ) 1203
   6. Bernard de Claret ( Précepteur ) 1205
   7. G. Gralons 1205
   8. Bernard de Clairet de Claret 1206
   9. Roger (Vice Précepteur ) 1215
  10. Rostang de Comps 1216
  11. R. Laugier ( Précepteur ) 1222
  12. Rostang de Comps 1224
  13. R. Laugier ( Précepteur ) 1229
  14. Pons Vitrerius 1233
  15. Rostang de Comps 1235
  16. Pierre de Boisesono Boysson 1236
  17. Ugues de Milmeranda 1241
  18. Rostang de Comps 1248
  19. Rostang de Boiso ou Buxo de Buis 1251
  20. Guillaume de Mujoul ( Précepteur) 1255
  21. Alaman 1256
  22. Rostang de Boiso de Buis 1260
  23. Boncarus ( Précepteur ) 1265
  24. Albert Blacas 1269
  25. Pierre Geoffroi 1284
  26. Albert Blacas de Baudinard 1298
  27. Hugues de Rocafolio 1305
  28. Bertrand de Silva de la Selve ( Précepteur ) 1307
  29. Geoffroy de Pierrevert 1308
  30. Geoffrey de Campion 1310

Poland

    * 1134 - ? - Geoffroy from Płock
    * 1139 - 1148 - Bernhardt
    *  ? - 1155 - Joseph
    * 1189 - ? - Thibault from Halych
    * ? - 1190 - Mieszko
    * ? - ? - Jan
    * ?- 1194 - Guillem Ramond
    * ? - 1198 - Janusz from Kijów
    * 1200 - 1208 - Jan from Potok
    * 1201 - 1223 - Mieszko from Lwów
    * 1229 - 1251 - Lukasz
    * 1229 - 1241 - Mieszko from Lwów
    * ?-? - Zbyszko from Kraków
    * ?-? - Andrzej from Toruń
    * ?-? - Jurand from Płock
    * 1251 - 1256 - Janusz
    * 1258 - 1259 - Ratka from Wilno
    * 1261 - 1263 - Fridericus
    * 1273 - 1281 - Mieszko from Wilno
    * 1284 - 1290 - Lukasz
    * 1285 - 1291 - Bernhard von Eberstein Humilis preceptor domorum milicie Templi per Poloniam, Sclauiam, Novam TerramPreceptori et fratribus militie Templi in partibus Polonie, Pomeranie, Cassubie, Cracouie et Slauie 13 November 1291 - 1295
    * 1294 - Sanderus
    * 1296 - 1303 - Jordanus von Esbeke / preceptor /
    * 1301 - 1312 - Jan from Halych
    * 1303 - brat Fryderyk von Alvensleben
    * 1305 - Dietrich von Lorenen
    * 1309 - 1312 - Janusz from Halych

Germany

    * Gebhard Preceptori domorum milicie Templi per Alemanniam 1241, 1244
    * Johannes Magistro summo preceptore milicie Templi per Teutoniam, per Boemiam, per Morauiam et per Poloniam 1251
    * Widekind Domum militie Templi in Alemania et Slauia preceptor Magister domorum militie Templi per Alemaniam et Poloniam 1261, 1268, 1271, 1279
    * Friedrich Wildegraf Preceptor domorum milicie Templi per Alemanniam et Slauiam 1288-1292
    * Bertram gen. Czwek (von Esbeke) Commendator fratrum domus militie Templi in Almania, Bohemia, Polonia et Moravia 1294-1297
    * Friedrih von Alsvenleben Domorum milicie Templi per Alemaniam et Slauiam preceptor 1303-1308
    * Hugo de Gumbach Grand master of Germany 1310 ?

  Lieutenants

          o Jordanus von Esbeke domus milicie Templi per Alemaniam et Slauiam vicepreceptor 30 June 1288

Rhine

    * Alban von Randecke Rhine 1306
    * Friedrich Wildegraf Rhine 1308

Portugal

   1. King Afonso I of Portugal, Templar Brother (13.03.1129); First King of Portugal (1139-1185)
   2. Guilherme RICARDO (1127-1139)
   3. Hugo MARTINS (1139)
   4. Hugues de MONTOIRE (1143)
   5. Pedro ARNALDO (1155-1158)
   6. Gualdim PAIS 1160 (1158-1195)
   7. Lopo FERNANDES
   8. Fernando DIAS (1202)
   9. Gomes RAMIRES (1210-1212)
  10. Pedro ÁLVARES de ALVITO (1212-1221)
  11. Pedro ANES (1223-1224)
  12. Martin SANCHES (1224-1229)
  13. Estêvão BELMONTE (1229-1237)
  14. Guilherme FULCO alias FOUQUE (1237-1242)
  15. Martin MARTINS (1242-1248)
  16. Pedro GOMES (1248-1251)
  17. Paio GOMES (1251-1253)
  18. Martin NUNES (1253-1265)
  19. Gonçalo MARTINS (1268-1271)
  20. Beltrão de VALVERDE (1273-1277)
  21. João ESCRITOR (1280 - 1283)
  22. João FERNANDES (1283-1288)
  23. Afonso PAIS-GOMES (1289-1290)
  24. Lourenço MARTINS (1291-1295)
  25. Vasco FERNANDES (1295-1306)

Spain

Crown of Aragon

All the dates given are those of the first record as master and of the last. Rarely is the date of appointment or end of tenure known.

The following were de facto provincial masters before the formal creation of an Aragonese province:

    * Hugh of Rigaud  (1128–1136)
    * Raymond Gaucebert  (1134)
    * Arnold of Bedocio  (1136)

The following were "masters in Provence and certain parts of Spain":

    * Peter of Rovira  (Pierre de la Roviere; November 1143 – January 1158)
    * Hugh of Barcelona  (1159 – April 1162)
    * Hugh Geoffrey  (Hugues Godefroi; May 1163 – 1166)
    * Arnold of Torroja  (Arnaud de Toroge; October 1166 – March 1181)
    * Berenguer of Avinyó  (Bérenger d'Avignon; April 1181 – March 1183)
    * Guy of Sellón  (April–June 1183)
    * Raymond of Canet  (November 1183 – July 1185)
    * Gilbert Eral  (Gilbert Erail; October 1185 – August 1189)
    * Pons (of) Rigaud  (September 1189 – February 1195)
    * Gerald of Caercino  (February 1196)
    * Arnold of Claramunt  (Arnaud de Clairmont; April – November 1196)
    * Pons Marescalci  (Dec. 1196 – June 1199)
    * Arnold of Claramunt  (August 1199 – April 1200), second time
    * Raymond of Gurb  (Raimon de Gurp; April 1200 – Nov. 1201)
    * Pons (of) Rigaud  (April 1202 – July 1206), second time
    * Peter of Monteagudo  (Pere de Montgaut; July 1207 – June 1212)
    * William Cadell  (October 1212 – May 1213)
    * William of Montrodón  (January 1214 – September 1218)
          o Adémar de Claret  (1216–1218), lieutenant
          o Pons Menescal  (1218–1221), lieutenant
    * William of Azylach  (Guillem d'Alliac; February 1221 – July 1223)
    * Riperto of Puig Guigone  (January 1224)
    * Fulk of Montpesat  (Fulcon de Montpezat; 1224 – Dec. 1227)
    * William Cadell  (March 1229 – June 1232), second time
    * Raymond Patot  (Raimon Patot; May 1233 – April 1234)
    * Hugh of Montlaur  (May 1234 – April 1238)
    * Stephen of Belmonte  (June – November 1239)

The following were "masters in Aragon and Catalonia", which also included Roussillon, Navarre, and eventually Majorca, Valencia, and Murcia:

    * Raymond of Serra  (May 1240 – June 1243)
    * William of Cardona  (January 1244 – May 1252)
    * Hugh of Jouy  (September 1254 – June 1247 / March 1258)
    * William of Montañana  (May 1258 – February 1262)
    * William of Pontóns  (March 1262 – August 1266)
    * Arnold of Castellnou  (March 1267 – February 1278)
    * Peter of Moncada  (April 1279 – October 1282)
    * Berenguer of San Justo  (April 1283 – May 1290)
    * Berenguer of Cardona  (June 1291 – January 1307)
    * Simon of Lenda  (September 1307)

Note also Peter Peronet, commander of Burriana in 1276.

Prats-de-Mollo

Family dez COLL:

    * Berenger De COLL ( last known survivor of Mas Deu -1350)
    * Guillem de CARDONA (1247 - 1251)
    * Hugues de JOUY (1251)
    * S. de BELMONTE (1269)
    * Pere de MONTCADA (1276 - 1282)
    * Bérenger de CARDONA (1304 )
    * Rodrigue IBAÑEZ (1307)

Czech lands

   1. 1286 - Fridericus de Silvester
   2. 1292 - Berthramus dictus de Czweck, preceptor Niemiec, Sławii i Morawii, w 1294
   3. 1291 - Bernhard von Eberstein, w 1295

Hungary

   1. Fr. Cuno
   2. Fr. Gauthier
   3. Fr. Jean
   4. Pons de la CROIX (1215)
   5. Thierry de NUSS (1247)
   6. Raimbaud de CAROMB
   7. Jacques de MONTREAL
   8. Fr. Widekind (1271 -1279)
   9. Gérard de VILLERS
  10. Frédéric wildgrave de SALM (1289)
  11. Bertram von ESBEKE (1296)
  12. Frédéric de NIGRIP
  13. Frédéric von ALVENSLEBEN (1300)

Slovakia

    * Johannes Gottfried von Schluck Majster templárov na Slovensku (Slovachie) 1230

Palestine

    * Guillaume 1130
    * André de Montbard 1148, 1151, 1152, 1154
    * Guillaume de Guirehia 1163
    * Gautier 1170
    * Béranger 1174, 1176
    * Seiher de Mamedunc, 1174
    * Godechaux de Turout, 1174
    * Walter du Mesnil, 1174
    * Gérard de Ridefort 1183
    * Hurson 1187
    * Aimon de Ais 1190
    * Reric de Cortina 1191 avril-juillet
    * Bryony Bonds 1192
    * F. Relis : dernier à porter le titre de sénéchal

Grand-Commandeur

    * Odon 1156
    * Gilbert Erail 1183
    * Jean de Terric (n'a jamais été Grand-Maître) 1188
    * Gerbert 1190
    * William Payne 1194
    * Irmengaud 1198
    * Barthélemy de Moret 1240
    * Pierre de Saint-Romain 1241
    * Gilles 1250 (février)
    * Étienne d’Outricourt 1250 (mai)
    * Amaury de la Roche 1262 (mai)
    * Guillaume de Montignane 1262 (decémbre)
    * Simon de la Tour ????
    * G. de Salvaing 1273
    * Arnaud de Châteauneuf 1277-1280
    * Thibaud Gaudin

Marshall

    * Hugues de Quilioco 1154
    * Robert Franiel 1186
    * Jacques de Maillé 1187
    * Geoffroy Morin 1188
    * Adam 1198
    * Guillaume d’Arguillières 1201
    * Hugues de Montlaur 1244
    * Renaud Vichier 1250
    * Hugues de Jouy 1252
    * Étienne de saisi 1260
    * Guillaume de Molay 1262
    * Gimblard 1270
    * Guy de Foresta (Forêt) 1277-1288?
    * Pierre de Severy 1291
    * Jarim de'Varean 1295
    * Barthélémy 1302
    * Aimon(Aimé) d’Osiliers 1309

_Templar - Birth_

  Ten years have passed since the founding of Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, history left us no significant occurances during this period in life of Templar Knights, there is of coursce many speculations about it but i will mention them little bit later. Fact is that they left the Holy in end of 1128 to come in Europe to make new recruits and collect fundings for the Order.

Council of Troyes that occured on January 13 in the year 1129 was one of the most improtant events for Order. On that day Order of the Temple was reconsized and taken under authorithy of the Catholic Church and Pope with extreme support and "guidence" from Bernard of Clairvaux. After that council everything has changed and the Order is reborn. Now Templars have the power, money, many new recruit, support and protection from Catholic church and very influencial man Bernard of Clairvaux.

  When a review some sites about regarding this council a came up across this article and since many this are the similar to my knowledge, it is very nicely writen and I will fully quote this arcitle and left you a link if you want to see something else from this site:

Quotation from TemplarHistory: "It is suggested that at some period prior to 1128, Hughes de Payen wrote to Bernard, later St. Bernard of Clairvaux, by this time the leading light in the Cistercian Order and a force to be reckoned with in the Catholic Church. Hughes is supposed to have asked St. Bernard if he would consider sponsoring the embryonic Order and perhaps create a 'Rule' for what would be essentially an institution of Holy Knights. It is extremely unlikely that St. Bernard would have needed to be approached officially by Hughes, who was almost certainly known to the little man from Dijon and may indeed have been a kinsman. A much more likely scenario is that the shadowy group of Champagne based nobles who were almost certainly responsible for the formation of the Cistercian Order some years previously, had mooted the idea of the Templars at least as early as 1118. It is suggested that documents found in Seborga in northern Italy virtually prove that St. Bernard at least had a direct hand in forming the Templars.

  The story goes that St. Bernard had been responsible for creating a monastery in Seborga, as early as 1113. The same documents are supposed to suggest that Bernard went to this monastery in 1117, in order to release two monks from their vows. These men were Hughes de Payen and Bernard's own uncle, Andre de Montbard, two of the founders of the Templars. I view these suggestions with more than a little skepticism, mainly born of the fact that Bernard did not enter the monastic life himself until 1113 - so it hardly seems likely that he would be simultaneously creating a new monastery in northern Italy. I intend to research these claims much more fully and hope to report my findings, if any, in a subsequent issue.

However, there is no doubt that, in one way or another, Bernard of Clairvaux, the shining star of monasticism, was prevailed upon to take the embryonic Templar Order under his wing, to regularize it and to seek an official recognition by the Pope. In preparation for the event, Bernard penned a long document entitled 'In Praise of the New Knighthood'. This was a sort of open letter that justified the existence of a group of monks whose only real existence was to fight and kill others - something that flew directly in the face of all monastic endeavors. It is a mark of respect to Bernard that he not only managed to convince many of his fellow monks that this was an excellent idea, but also the pope.

Bernard's championing of the Templars was not without opposition. Cardinal Harmeric, a man close to the Pope Honarius II, wrote to Bernard saying "It is not fitting that noisy and troublesome frogs should come out of their marshes to trouble the Holy See and the cardinals." With customary humor, Bernard defused the critics by a show of humility, virtually demanding that the cardinal 'order' him to stay out of papal affairs. By so doing he made the cardinal look rather stupid and, on the way, gained the attention of the pope. Beneath the humility, there was a barbed threat. Bernard was close kin to the ruling house of Champagne - a powerful elite with which the pope would not wish to provoke an argument.

  As in all matters to do with the creation of the Templars, there are more questions than answers, but it is a fact that the pope convened a council in Troyes, the capital city of Champagne, in the year 1128. The purpose of this Council was to settle disputes regarding the Bishops of Paris and to deal with other Church matters relevant at the time. Bernard high jacked the Council, using it for his own purposes. How was he able to do this? Almost certainly it was quite easy, since the Council was being held in the heartland of Champagne, only a few miles from Bernard's own flourishing abbey of Clairvaux. The pope simply could not avoid listening to
what Bernard had to say without directly insulting the Count of Champagne.

  Bernard had been busy converting the rule of St. Benedict, already adapted for the Cistercians themselves, to a form that would fit the Templar Order. By the time the Pope sat down to convene the Council of Troyes, he was faced with a fête accompli. He simply could not risk offending the rulers of Champagne, who were also blood tied to the kings of Jerusalem. In addition, the apparent intention of the Templar Order probably impressed the Pope, since this armed group of knights, which would certainly grow exponentially, as the Cistercians had done, would be responsible 'only' to the pope. With an eye for the future and living in dangerous times, Honorius II might have considered the formation of what amounted to his own private army no bad thing.

  As Bernard of Clairvaux was to do on many occasions during his life, he had 'stitched up' the papacy, ensuring that the Templars would not simply exist, but that they would be headed by factions drawn directly from Champagne and from his own family. The rest, as they say, is history. When Honorius II died in 1130, against all the odds, Bernard managed to have Gregorio Papereschi, a man with a dubious claim at best, elected as Pope Innocent II. This Pope, and his successors, was deep in debt to Bernard, who left no stone unturned to have more and more papal declarations made to consolidate and promote the Templar Order.

  However, the Council of Troyes of 1128 was the turning point of early Templar fortunes and could be considered amongst St. Bernard of Clairvaux's greatest victories."

Templar - Beginning 

It was the year 1118, 2 decades after ending of First Crusade War.

Name Hugues de Payens alongside with Geoffrey de St. Omer was written through history as the creators and founders of Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon later and commonly known as Knights Templar or Order of the Temple. de Payens and St. Omer with 7 more knights was the first Knights Templars.

Official history writings tells us about the idea why this order is created. Since new born Kingdom of Jerusalem was founded in year 1099 at the end of first wave of Crusader wars with capture of Jerusalem, many Europeans from Christian Kingdoms where coming to Holy Land in seek for new home, hope, religion and new dreams; pilgrims and people who was arriving in the years after capturing Jerusalim where frequently attacked, killed, robed and slaughtered by domestic Muslim outlaws who didn't want to allow more infidels to come freely in their Holy Land. So after many years of constant problem, Hughes de Payens with his brothers in arms founded this order to protect and shield Christian pilgrims, new arriving people and citizens of Kingdom of Jerusalem from the hanging threat.

Among the documentation and archives that survived the time there is chronicles and diaries from that time to recorded those occurrences, one of them was the chronicles of Archbishop William of Tyre and he wrote about Templars this: "In this same year [1118] certain pious and god-fearing nobles of knightly rank, devoted to the Lord, professed the wish to live perpetually in poverty, chastity and obedience. In the hands of the patriarch they vowed themselves to the service of God as regular canons. Foremost and most distinguished among these men were the venerable Hugh de Payens and Godfrey de St. Omer. Since they had neither a church nor a fixed place of abode, the king granted them a temporary dwelling place in his own palace, on the north side of the Temple of the Lord. Under certain definite conditions, the canons of the Temple of the lord also gave them a square belonging to the canons near the same palace where the new order might exercise the duties of its religion.".

First Grand Master of the Order Of Temple was Hughes de Payens, first and one of the most important mans through the history of Templars. Little has left of documentation that tells us about who he was before that but there are few that told us that he was participant in First Crusade alongside with other first members of Order of Temple. Since there is not to much document which can be relied on them as true fact I will pass on writings about biography of de Payens.

Knights Templars in their original order consisted with 9 members but also there is many stories about 8 knights since that 9-th knight was unknown officially through history (but there is some documents that gives us the name of that knight). Following knights were: Hughes de Payens (First Grand Master), Geoffrey de St. Omer, Andre de Montbard, Payen de Montdidier, Archambaud de St. Agnan, Geoffrey Bisol, two knights recorded only by their Christian names of Rossal and Gondemar, for the ninth member remains was said to be Hugh Conte de Champagne.