CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Grand Masters 1136-1191
ROBERT THE BURGUNDIAN (DE CRAON), C. 1136-1149
The successor to Hugh de Payns, Robert of Craon is also known as “the Burgundian,” but he seems to have roamed about a bit. He was certainly living at the court of Fulk of Anjou in the 1120s. Anjou has never been part of Burgundy. Some say that Robert was married but he left his wife to join the Templars. He may have stayed in Burgundy for a while before going overseas or he may have returned in 1133, when he accepted the gift of a village near the commandery of Bure on behalf of the Templars. At that time, he was listed as seneschal of the order.1 He became Grand Master in 1135.2 He was still in France a while later when he accepted the service of several men to be supported by Lord Bertrand de Balm.3
As you can see, the life of most Templars before they entered the order was rarely important enough to be noted with any certainty. Most of the evidence comes from charters that these men witnessed for others.
Robert was master during the time when many of the important papal concessions were made to the Templars, so his years in the West may have been useful. In 1139, Pope Innocent II in his bull Omne Datum Optimum informed the bishops that the Templars were under his protection.4 That was also the year in which Robert led a “singularly rash and disastrous raid in the neighbourhood of Hebron”—the first engagement we know of in which the Templars participated.5
Robert also seems to have been the master who negotiated the agreement for a final settlement of the will of Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre, in which he divided his kingdom among the Templars, the Hospitallers, and the canons of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.6 The final agreement is addressed to him. All in all, he seems to have been the administrator that the order needed during the first years of its expansion, even though his military ability left something to be desired.
EVERARD DE BARRES, 1149-1152
Everard de Barres had the misfortune to be the master of the Temple in Paris in 1147, when King Louis VII decided to set off on the Second Crusade. The story of his experiences during that expedition is told in chapter 14.
Everard was elected while serving in the Holy Land, perhaps because of his exemplary behavior in protecting the pilgrims, including King Louis and Queen Eleanor. In warfare, diplomacy, and piety he showed himself to be a model Templar.
After his election, he returned with Louis to France.7But Everard decided that he was not suited to Templar life. Perhaps he felt he’d had enough of the politics of the job. His motivations are not recorded but he retired from the order soon after coming back to Paris, despite the pleas of his seneschal to return to Jerusalem. It has been said that Everard eventually joined the Cistercians but I have not been able to find proof of this. I shall continue looking.
An odd side note on Everard is that he shows up in an epic written three hundred years after his death. In the poem, Saladin, composed in the middle of the 1400s, Everard’s son, William de Barres, goes to Jerusalem with King Philip II in 1191 and there meets his father, the master of the Temple.8Now, Everard was long dead by 1191 and there is no record of his ever having a son named William. But it is intriguing that this fairly obscure Grand Master should suddenly surface in a work of fiction.
BERNARD OF TREMELAY, 1153
Bernard of Tremelay may have come from the Dole region of Burgundy. 9 That’s all we know of him. He was elected Grand Master after Everard de Barres decided to leave the Templars. It’s not certain at what time he took over the position or even if he was in the East at the time of his election. However, he arrived in time for the battle of Ascalon, although he must have wished he hadn’t.10 On the night of August 15, 1153, the king of Jerusalem was leading a force in an attempt to take the city-fort of Ascalon from the Egyptians. During the attack a wall of the city was breached. Bernard rushed to the spot and led the Templars through the hole in the wall and into the city.
William of Tyre says that the Templars rushed in and refused to let others follow since they wanted the booty for themselves. This gave the Moslems time to reblock the wall. The Templars were trapped inside and all of them killed. The next day their bodies were hung from the towers of Ascalon.11 William was not there at the time and Ibn al-Qalanisi, writing from the point of view of the citizens of Ascalon, only mentions that the wall was breached. “At length the way was opened to them to deliver an assault upon it at a certain point in the city wall. Having battered it down, they rushed into the town, and a great host were [sic] killed on both sides.”12 Of course, al-Qalanisi wasn’t there, either. So the only thing we can be certain of is that Bernard died in the fighting. The Templars were again without a Grand Master.
ANDREW OF MONTBARD, 1154-1156
The fifth grand master of the Templars is one of the most illustrious, not because of anything he did but because of his connection to one of the best-known men of the twelfth century.
It’s not certain when Andrew of Montbard was born, but he was the sixth child of Bernard, lord of Montbard, and his wife, Humberge. Two of his older brothers, Miles and Gaudry, joined the monastery established by their nephew Bernard of Clairvaux.13 It’s possible that Andrew may even have been younger than his famous nephew.
It’s amazing that Andrew managed to hold out so long against the family pressure to enter monastic life. Bernard managed to convince all but one of his brothers and most of his uncles and cousins to join him at his abbey of Clairvaux. Eventually Andrew decided that he should also embrace the religious life. But rather than becoming a cloistered monk, spending his days in prayer, he decided to join the Templars. Whether it was his own idea or he was nudged by Bernard, I don’t know. It’s known that the two men were close and Bernard seems to have approved of his uncle’s choice.14
There is some confusion about when Andrew went to Jerusalem. Sometime before 1126, Baldwin II, king of Jerusalem, sent two messengers to Bernard of Clairvaux. He explained that they were brothers of the Temple who wanted to get confirmation from the pope for their order and also a Rule to live by. The king begged Bernard to use his influence with the pope and the “princes of Christendom” to aid them. The two men sent by Baldwin were named Andrew and Gundemar.15 This was before the trip made by Hugh de Payns.
Some authors have assumed that the Andrew mentioned was Andrew of Montbard. However, this isn’t likely. Bernard’s uncle wouldn’t have needed a letter of introduction to his own nephew. Also, there’s no mention of Andrew of Montbard in connection with the Templars before the 1140s. In 1148 “Ándreas de Muntbar,” seneschal of the Templars, witnessed a gift from Barisan d’Ibelin to the Order of St. Lazarus. 16 That’s the first mention of him that I’ve found.
It’s more likely that Andrew joined the order in the rush to enlist after the Council of Troyes and by the 1140s had made his way up the ranks to become seneschal of the order.
Andrew apparently kept his nephew up-to-date with matters in Jerusalem, as two letters from Bernard to Queen Melisande prove. In the first, written sometime in the 1140s, Bernard tells her, “And if the praise of my dearest uncle Andrew is true, and I believe him implicitly, you will rule by the mercy of God both here and in eternity.”17
The second letter voices Bernard’s concern over reports he has received concerning Melisande’s behavior, perhaps having to do with her unwillingness to give up power once her son, Baldwin III, had come of age. However, Andrew has written to Bernard to say that the gossip is false. “My uncle Andrew has happily intervened, and I can in no way disbelieve him. He writes saying better things of you, that you have behaved peacefully and mildly. You rule wisely and with wise counsel; have loved the brothers of the Temple and are friendly with them.”18
At the same time, Bernard wrote to Andrew himself, lamenting the internal problems that were afflicting the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Andrew may have believed that Bernard’s influence and charisma could bring the squabbling crusader families together, for he asked his nephew to come to Jerusalem. Bernard dithers on quite a bit before d
eciding that he really can’t make a trip like that, even though he would dearly love to see Andrew again.19
He never did. Abbot Bernard died at Clairvaux in 1153, a year before Andrew became Grand Master.
Andrew may have been the seneschal of the Templars when he wrote these letters or still only a knight brother. It is clear that he was in the confidence of the queen and, like Philip of Nablus, who had not yet joined the order, was one of her supporters. Both Andrew and Philip appear as witnesses on Melisande’s donations to St. Lazarus in 1150 and 1151.20
In the struggle between Melisande and her son, Andrew seems to have supported the queen and her younger son, Almaric. However, he was able to stay on the good side of Baldwin III, as well.21 In 1155 Andrew witnessed one of Baldwin’s charters to the abbey of Santa Maria of Josaphat and was a frequent witness to other charters of the king.22
Andrew was certainly a part of the Second Crusade from 1148 to 1150 and seneschal of the order by the end of it. In about 1150, he writes a plaintive letter to Everard de Barre, the Grand Master, who has returned with King Louis VII to France. Things are not going well in the Holy Land. Andrew tells Everard, “we are constrained on all sides by lack of knights and sergeants and money, and we implore your paternity to return to us quickly.”23
Everard did return to Jerusalem, but not for long. Command didn’t suit him and he became the first Grand Master ever to retire.24 He was replaced by Bernard of Tremelay while Andrew of Montbard continued as seneschal.
Andrew’s opportunity came in 1154, after the gallant but pointless death of Bernard of Tremelay at the siege of Ascalon.25
BERTRAND OF BLANCFORT, 1157-1169
As with many of the Grand Masters, nothing is known of Bertrand’s life before he became a Templar. It is possible that he was of the same family who donated property to the Templars of Douzens. The land they gave was in the Aude Valley, north of Limoux in southern France, about twenty-five miles north of the Pyrenees.26Actually, the donation was made by someone who held the land for them. They just agreed to it.
Bertrand is not mentioned in any of the seven charters of the Blancfort—or Blanchefort—family to the Templars.27A misreading on these charters has led some people, not historians, to attach Bertrand to this family. They saw the name “Bernard de Blanchefort” on the charters of Douzens and, perhaps through wishful thinking, decided that it was just a misspelling of “Bertrand.”28However, the two names are as different and distinct as “Kelly” and “Kyle” and are not used interchangeably. Bertrand’s origins are not certain.
Bertrand had only been Grand Master for about a year when, along with Odo of St. Amand, another future Templar and Grand Master, he was captured by Nur-ad-Din at the siege of Banyas in June 1157.29He was released at the end of May 1159. So he spent his first two years as leader of the Templars in captivity.
As Grand Master, he wrote back to Europe, giving the state of affairs and asking for aid for the cause.30A few of these letters survive.
The most dramatic event of Bertrand’s tenure as Grand Master was in 1168, when the Templars refused to help King Almaric on his expedition to Egypt. Almaric had long believed that control of Egypt, particularly the port of Alexandria, was essential to the safety of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, he had a treaty with Shawar, the sultan of Egypt. Bertrand refused to allow the Templars to break the treaty.31 The campaign was a failure and forced Shawar to seek the protection of his adversary, Nur-ad-Din, proving Bertrand correct. Relations between the king and the Templars were not cordial during this time.
Bertrand of Blancfort died in 1169. His successor was much more inclined to support the king, mainly because he had started out as the king’s man.
PHILIP OF NABLUS, 1169-1171
Philip of Nablus was born in the Holy Land. He was the son of Guy of Milly and his wife, Stephania “the Fleming.” The family probably came from Normandy.32 They settled in the town of Nablus in the early 1100s and established a lordship there. Philip had two brothers, Guy and Henry the Buffalo.33
As a young man, Philip was very much involved in the activities of the court of Melisande, queen of Jerusalem. He supported her during the time she reigned for and with her son, Baldwin III. When Baldwin decided he was old enough to rule on his own, Philip stayed on the side of the queen. It was to Philip’s town of Nablus that Melisande retired after Baldwin had taken Jerusalem.
However, once Baldwin and his mother had come to an understanding, Philip began to appear on the king’s charters as a witness, meaning that he again had some position at court. So he must have been able to pacify Baldwin to some extent. In 1153, when the city of Ascalon was finally taken from the Egyptians, Philip was among the noblemen who fought for the king.34 He must have been there for the disastrous charge that led to the death of Templar Grand Master Bernard of Tremeley (see page 000). But this didn’t seem to deter him from joining the order, himself.
Sometime before 1144, Philip married a woman named Isabella. They had three children, Rainier, Helena, and Stephania.35 Rainier, the only son, didn’t survive his father, although he lived at least until 1168, when he witnessed a charter at the abbey of Notre-Dame of Josaphat. 36In 1148, Barisan of Ibelin confirmed a donation made by Philip’s maternal grandfather, Rainier of Rama, to the abbey of St. Lazarus, just outside Jerusalem. Philip was not one of the witnesses. However, the charter was signed at the chapel of the Templars with several of the brothers in attendance.37
Philip, still a layman, did witness a charter of Melisande’s to the lepers of St. Lazarus in 1150.38But, it isn’t until 1155 that we find Philip in connection with the Templars. In that year Prince Almaric confirmed a donation made by Philip, his brothers, and his wife and children, again to St. Lazarus. This donation was made in Jerusalem and may have been made at the Templar chapel, as the one of 1148 was. Here Andrew of Montbard, now Grand Master, and several other Templars are witnesses.39
This is not an indication that Philip was planning to join the order, for the Temple was used as a central meeting point in Jerusalem for many business transactions. It does assume that Philip was at least on speaking terms with the Templars.
Melisande died in 1161 and around that time, Baldwin III arranged for Philip to give Nablus to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In exchange, Philip became lord of the Transjordan. It’s not clear if this was a reward or a demotion. The Transjordan is the area to the east and south of the Dead Sea. Much of it is in modern Jordan. Part of Philip’s territory probably included what is now the city of Amman and stretched down to the Red Sea.40It was larger than Nablus, but definitely frontier territory, on the caravan route between Alexandria and Baghdad. King Baldwin realized that the tolls the caravans and the Bedouins paid for a safe crossing were too lucrative to give up to Philip, so he kept them for himself. Philip got everything else, though, including the responsibility of defending the Syriac natives of the area from attack.41
Philip’s decision to join the Templars is starting to make more sense.
Nevertheless, for a time at least, Philip of Nablus became Philip of Transjordan.
Two years later, Baldwin III died. As he had no children, his brother, Almaric, became king of Jerusalem. Almaric had been on Melisande’s side in the battle for the throne and he was friendly toward the man who had not deserted her. He must have been attached to the whole family, for Philip’s brother, Guy, was made seneschal of the kingdom.42
Philip joined the Templars on January 17, 1166, “probably on the death of his wife.”43 When he did so, he gave the northern part of the Transjordan to the order, including Amman and the area around it.44 It must have been difficult for him to stay behind when the Templar master, Bertrand of Blancfort, refused to accompany King Almaric on his 1168 expedition to Egypt, for his lands bordered on those that Almaric wanted to conquer.
It was also about the time that Philip’s daughter Helena died. It would be natural that being in the Templars would be important to a man who had lost so many people he loved. He could con
tinue to serve his king but also his prayers and sacrifice could help the souls of his wife and daughter.
Philip did take part in the campaign in Egypt against the Kurd Shirkuh and his nephew Saladin.45 When Bertrand of Blancfort died, it’s possible that King Almaric influenced the election of Philip as Grand Master. On the other hand, the brothers of the Temple may have thought it would be a good idea to have a leader who got along with the king. There’s no way to tell.
But Philip was Grand Master for only a short time. His loyalty to the king was stronger than his devotion to the Templars. He resigned in 1171 in order to return to the service of King Almaric, as an envoy to Constantinople. He apparently died there in April of the same year.46
Philip’s family continued in their support of St. Lazarus. In 1183, Philip’s grandson Humphrey of Toron gave the lepers twenty bezants a year for the soul of Lord Philip. No Templars were witnesses to this, but a Brother Guido Hospitaller was in attendance.47
Philip’s career is not that unusual for a Grand Master, although only Everard de Barres also resigned. But he is not the only one to have been elected because he had a good working relationship with the secular rulers.
ODO OF ST. AMAND, 1171-1179
Odo (or Eudes) of St. Amand started his career in the court of King Baldwin III. On June 19, 1157, he was the king’s marshal. Along with several other important members of the court and some Templars, he was taken prisoner by Nur-ad-Din at the siege of Banyas.48
On April 25, 1164, Odo of St. Amand was not listed as a Templar when he witnessed a charter of Almaric, king of Jerusalem, along with Philip of Nablus and others.49Soon after, as the king’s butler, he was sent to Constantinople to escort Almaric’s fiancée, Princess Maria, the grandniece of the emperor, back to Jerusalem. So, in 1165, Odo was clearly one of Almaric’s trusted officials.50
The Real History Behind the Templars Page 11
