List of grand masters of the Knights Templar

The grand master of the Knights Templar was the supreme commander of the holy order, starting with founder Hugues de Payens. Some held the office for life while others resigned the office to pass the rest of their 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. Out of 23 grand masters at least four were killed in action.

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 Pope Innocent II issued the bull Omne datum optimum on behalf of the Templars in 1139, the grand master was obliged to answer only to him. ^[1]

List of grand masters

No.	Arms	Name	Time in office	Seat
1		Hugues de Payens	c. 1119–1136	Jerusalem (Kingdom of Jerusalem)
2		Robert de Craon	1136–1147
3		Everard des Barres	1147–1151
4		Bernard de Tremelay (KIA) [a]	1151–1153
5		André de Montbard	1153–1156
6		Bertrand de Blanchefort	1156–1169
7		Philip of Milly	1169–1171
8		Odo of St Amand (POW) [b]	1171–1179
9		Arnold of Torroja	1181–1184
10		Gerard of Ridefort (KIA) [c]	1185–1189	Acre (Kingdom of Jerusalem)
11		Robert of Sablé	1191–1193
12		Gilbert Horal	1193–1200
13		Philippe du Plessis	1201–1208
14		William of Chartres	1209–1218
15		Peire de Montagut	1218–1232
16		Armand de Périgord (KIA/POW) [d]	1232–1244
17		Richard de Bures [d]	1245–1247
18		Guillaume de Sonnac (KIA) [e]	1247–1250
19		Renaud de Vichiers	1250–1256
20		Thomas Bérard	1256–1273
21		Guillaume de Beaujeu (KIA) [f]	1273–1291
22		Thibaud Gaudin	1291–1292	Cyprus (Kingdom of Cyprus)
23		Jacques de Molay	1292–1312

Timeline

See also

• List of Knights Templar
• List of grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller
• Grand Masters and Lieutenancies of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
• Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
• Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus

Notes

Footnotes

1. Bernard de Tremelay was killed at the Siege of Ascalon.
2. Odo of St Amand was captured at the Battle of Marj Ayyun.
3. Gerard of Ridefort was killed at the Siege of Acre.
4. Armand de Périgord was either killed or captured at the Battle of La Forbie; authorities differ. Richard de Bures commanded the Templars until the election of Guillame de Sonnac; whether he was Grand Master is disputed. ^[2]
5. Guillaume de Sonnac was killed at the Battle of Fariskur.
6. Guillaume de Beaujeu was killed at the Siege of Acre.

References

1. Burman 1990, p. 40.
2. Armand de Perigord (1178–1247). www.templiers.org. Retrieved February 7, 2021.

Bibliography

• Burman, Edward (1990). The Templars: Knights of God. Rochester: Destiny Books. ISBN   978-0-89281-221-9.