Nicolas Lorgne (died 1285) was the twenty-first Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, serving first from 1277 until 1285 and was the successor to Hugues de Revel. He was succeeded by Jean de Villiers, with Jacques de Taxi acting as Grand Master ad interim while de Villiers was en route to the Holy Land. [1] [2]
Of perhaps French origin, nothing can situate his origin except the disinence of his name. Lorgne first appears towards 1250 in the Holy Land where he could have been Châtelain of the fortress of Margat. In 1255, he became lord of the Krak des Chevaliers, he became Marshal from 1266 to 1269 and then from June to October 1271, then he became Grand Commander from 1271 to 1273 and then Marshal again on 7 October 1273 before being in charge of the Commandery of Tripoli. On 1 July 1277, he became Grand Commander again before his election as Grand Master. [3]
Lorgne was a knight who served for many years as the castellan of the castle of Krac des Chevaliers, where he made improvements in the mid-13th century. An inscription records that he had a barbacane built, probably a reference to the zwinger system around the castle, which can be dated to around 1250. About the year 1270, this was improved and extended. Nevertheless in 1271 the Muslims under Baibars captured Krac des Chevaliers after a four-week siege. [4]
The precise date of Lorgne's election to the post of Grand Master is unknown other that the year 1277. Nicolas Lorgne continued the reform policy of his predecessor Hugues de Revel. He presided over two general chapters in 1278 and 1283. The second of which took important resolutions with the creation of a capitular bull and especially the generalization of the red habit with the white cross for all the brothers in combat. This decision was obtained by Hugues Revel from pope Alexander IV on 11 August 1259 but only for the knights. [4]
The rights of Hugh III of Lusignan, the king of Cyprus, to the throne of Jerusalem were contested by Maria of Antioch who, in exchange for an annual rent of 4,000 pounds and 1,000 gold coins, had ceded her claims to Charles I of Anjou. On 7 June 1277, the arrival of Roger of San Severino, Count of Marsico, regent in Jerusalem for Charles I, caused panic among the barons. The agreement of the pope, Charles I of Anjou, Marie of Antioch and the hesitations of Hugh III, decided them to take side for Charles I. In 1278, hostilities resumed between the Templars and Bohemond VII of Tripoli and it was the intervention of Lorgne that allowed a return to peace. [5]
Nicolas Lorgne's policy towards the Mongols was perhaps more personal. In 1280, the Mongol invasion of Syria was met without serious resistance from the Mamluk defenders. The Hospitallers, from the fortress of Margat, took advantage of the total disorganization that prevailed, made a sortie with 200 knights and raided the region to take considerable booty. At the end of October 1280, on their way back, they faced a troop of 5,000 Turkoman horsemen whom they routed (losing only one sergeant-at-arms) despite their numerical inferiority. In February 1281, the emir of the Krak des Chevaliers, now under Badr al-Din Solamish, wanted revenge and attacked the Hospitallers with 7,000 horsemen. The Order deployed 600 horsemen and the emir's defeat was complete. The Hospitallers lost one knight and 12 sergeants. [4]
The new sultan of Egypt, al-Mansûr Qalawun, made an agreement with the Mamluk na'ib of Damascus, Sunqur al-Ashqar, on 24 June 1281. He also concluded a truce with the Hospitallers and the Count of Tripoli for 10 years, 10 months, 10 weeks and 10 days. After a bloody battle between the Mongols and the troops of Damascus without winner or loser, al-Mansûr announced that he was going to take revenge for the failure of Margat. The Hospitallers accumulated supplies and forces in the fortress of Margat and improved the defenses, but this did not prevent them from deploying a contingent of 100 horsemen composed of 50 lances taken from among the knights and 50 turcopoles to the king of Armenia. [6] [7]
On 17 April 1285, in spite of the agreement of peace, al-Mansûr attacked Margat. He set fire to a part of the walls and at the moment of taking advantage of the breach thus created the tower of Hope collapsed and came to obstruct the breach on May 23. The Hospitallers negotiated their surrender and Margat capitulated on May 25. They were allowed to leave with 2,000 gold coins and what 25 mules could carry. They left for Tripoli and Tortosa. [4]
We are not certain that Nicolas Lorgne knew the fall of Margat. His last mention dates from 27 September 1283 and the first mention of his successor Jean de Villiers dates from September 1285. His death is estimated to have occurred on 12 March 1284. Within weeks of the surrender of Margat, Lorgne died. Grand Commander Jacques de Taxi was appointed Grand Master ad interim prior to the arrival of Jean de Villiers in the Holy Land. [3]
Roger de Moulins was the eighth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1177 until his death in 1187. He succeeded Jobert of Syria. His successors were two interim masters, William Borrel and then Armengol de Aspa, before the permanent Grand Master Garnier of Nablus was selected in 1190.
Jobert of Syria was the seventh Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, in Syria from 1172 to his death, which is thought to have occurred in 1177. He was succeeded by Roger de Moulins.
Guérin de Montaigu, also known as Garin de Montaigu or Pierre Guérin de Montaigu, was a nobleman from Auvergne, who became the fourteenth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, serving from 1207–1228. He succeeded the Grand Master Geoffroy le Rat after his death in 1206, and was succeeded by Bertrand de Thessy.
Odo de Pins, also known as Eudes de Pin or Odon de Pins, was the twenty-third Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, serving from 1294 until his death in 1296, succeeding Jean de Villiers. He moved the headquarters of the Order to Limasso in modern-day Cyprus. Upon his death, he was succeeded by Guillaume de Villaret.
Jean de Villiers was the twenty-second Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, serving from 1285 until 1293. He was elected Grand Master after the death of Nicolas Lorgne. De Villiers was Prior of France beginning in 1282 and he remained in France to deal with existing problems of the Order. Jacques de Taxi became Grand Master ad interim, perhaps through 27 June 1286, while awaiting the arrival of the newly elected Grand Master in the Holy Land. De Villiers was present at the Siege of Acre in 1291, but escaped just before the city fell to the Mamluks. He was succeeded by Odon de Pins.
Garnier de Nablus, also known as Garnier of Syria, was the tenth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1190 to 1192, succeeding Armengol de Aspa. He fought at the Battle of Arsuf in 1191 during the Third Crusade. It was under his magistracy that the headquarters of the Order were transferred from Tyre to Acre. He was succeeded by Geoffroy de Donjon.
Fernando Afonso of Portugal was the twelfth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, serving between 1202–1206. He was the oldest son of Afonso Henriques, the first king of the Kingdom of Portugal. Fernando would never inherit the crown as he was born out of wedlock. He formally succeeded the interim Grand Master Pierre de Mirmande installed after the death of Geoffroy de Donjon. He resigned in 1206 and was succeeded by Geoffroy le Rat.
Hugues de Revel was an English knight who became the twentieth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, serving from 1258 to 1277 as the successor to Guillaume de Chateauneuf. He was succeeded by Nicolas Lorgne.
Geoffroy de Donjon, also known as or Geoffroy de Duisson, was the eleventhth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller serving from 1193 through his death in 1202. He succeeded Garnier de Nablus who died in August 1192.
Pierre de Mirmande was a French nobleman of the Order of Saint-John of Jerusalem from the end of the 12th century to the beginning of the 13th century. He served as interim Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller after the death of Geoffroy de Donjon in 1202. He was replaced by Fernando Afonso of Portugal who became Grand Master in 1202.
Pierre de Vieille-Brioude, or Vieille-Bride, was a nobleman from Auvergne who was the eighteenth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller between 1240 and 1242, succeeding Bertrand de Comps. He was succeeded by Guillaume de Chateauneuf.
Guillaume de Chateauneuf was the nineteenth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, serving first from 1242–1244 as the successor to Pierre de Vieille-Brioude. He was captured during the Battle of La Forbie in 1244, held hostage in Egypt and ransomed through the Sixth Crusade. During his captivity, his position was filled on an interim basis by Jean de Ronay. De Ronay died in 1250, and de Chateauneuf was released shortly thereafter. He was succeeded by Hugues de Revel.
Guérin Lebrun was the sixteenth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, serving between 1228 and 1231. He succeeded Bertrand de Thessy in 1230 or 1231. As he was Prior of France, he was likely from France and is generally referred to by the single name of Guérin. He was succeeded by Bertrand de Comps.
Gastone de Murols was the sixth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1170 until his death in 1172. He succeeded Gilbert of Aissailly as Grand Master and was succeeded by Jobert of Syria.
William Borrel was acting Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, ad interim, from 1 May 1187 until his death at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. He became custodian of the Hospitallers after the Grand Master Roger de Moulins was killed in the Battle of Cresson on 1 May 1187.
Armengol de Aspa, also known as Hermangard d'Asp, was the ninth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, holding the office from 1188 until his resignation in 1189 or 1190. He succeeded William Borrel who was interim Grand Master. It was under his magistracy that the headquarters of the Order was transferred from Jerusalem to Tyre. It was probably during the winter of 1189 or 1190 that Armengol's magistracy ceased, but this was not due to his death, since he appears again as lord of Amposta from December 1190 to April 1191. We have no information on what this first abdication in the history of the Order was, but he was succeeded by Garnier de Nablus sometime in 1190.
Geoffroy le Rat was the thirteenth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, serving between 1206–1207. He succeeded the Grand Master Fernando Afonso after his resignation in 1206, and was succeeded by Guérin de Montaigu.
Jacques de Taxi was ad interim Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, serving in 1285 and was the successor to Nicolas Lorgne. De Taxi was appointed as acting leader of the Order prior to the arrival of Jean de Villiers in the Holy Land.
The fall of Outremer describes the history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from the end of the last European Crusade to the Holy Land in 1272 until the final loss in 1302. The kingdom was the center of Outremer—the four Crusader states—formed after the First Crusade in 1099 and reached its peak in 1187. The loss of Jerusalem in that year began the century-long decline. The years 1272–1302 are fraught with many conflicts throughout the Levant as well as the Mediterranean and Western European regions, and many Crusades were proposed to free the Holy Land from Mamluk control. The major players fighting the Muslims included the kings of England and France, the kingdoms of Cyprus and Sicily, the three Military Orders and Mongol Ilkhanate. Traditionally, the end of Western European presence in the Holy Land is identified as their defeat at the Siege of Acre in 1291, but the Christian forces managed to hold on to the small island fortress of Ruad until 1302.
The history of the Knights Hospitaller in the Levant is concerned with the early years of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, the Knights Hospitaller, through 1309. The Order was formed in the later part of the eleventh century and played a major role in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, in particular, the Crusades. This lasted until the West was expelled from the Holy Land, with the Order conquering Rhodes in the early fourteenth century. Among the most important internal events of the early years of the kingdom were the foundation of the Military Orders, which included the Hospitallers, the Knights Templar and the Teutonic Order. Unlike the Hospitallers' beginnings as a benevolent organization, the Templars and Teutonic knights began with a military mission. These three major Orders would play a major role in the military activities of the kingdom, sometimes cooperatively, sometimes not. On the battlefield they frequently shared among them the most important tactical roles, the vanguard and rear-guard.