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List of grand masters of the Knights Templar

{{Short description|None}}

{{Knights Templar}}

{{Catholic Church Hierarchy}}

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.{{sfn|Burman|1990|p=40}}

List of grand masters

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
No.

! Arms

! Name

! Time in office

! Seat

1

| 50px

| Hugues de Payens

| {{Circa|1119}}–1136

| rowspan=9|Jerusalem
{{small|(Kingdom of Jerusalem)}}

2

| 50px

| Robert de Craon

| 1136–1147

3

| 50px

| Everard des Barres

| 1147–1151

4

| 50px

| Bernard de Tremelay
{{small|({{Abbr|KIA|Killed in action}})}}{{efn|Bernard de Tremelay was killed at the Siege of Ascalon.}}

| 1151–1153

5

| 50px

| André de Montbard

| 1153–1156

6

| 50px

| Bertrand de Blanchefort

| 1156–1169

7

| 50px

| Philip of Milly

| 1169–1171

8

| 50px

| Odo of St Amand
{{small|({{Abbr|POW|Prisoner of war}})}}{{efn|Odo of St Amand was captured at the Battle of Marj Ayyun.}}

| 1171–1179

9

| 50px

| Arnold of Torroja

| 1181–1184

10

| 50px

| Gerard of Ridefort
{{small|({{Abbr|KIA|Killed in action}})}}{{efn|Gerard of Ridefort was killed at the Siege of Acre.}}

| 1185–1189

| rowspan=12|Acre
{{small|(Kingdom of Jerusalem)}}

11

| 50px

| Robert of Sablé

| 1191–1193

12

| 50px

| Gilbert Horal

| 1193–1200

13

| 50px

| Philippe du Plessis

| 1201–1208

14

| 50px

| William of Chartres

| 1209–1218

15

| 50px

| Peire de Montagut

| 1218–1232

16

| 50px

| Armand de Périgord
{{small|({{Abbr|KIA|Killed in action}}/{{Abbr|POW|Prisoner of war}})}}{{efn|name=Périgord/Bures|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.[http://www.templiers.org/armandperigord.php Armand de Perigord (1178–1247).] www.templiers.org. Retrieved February 7, 2021.}}

| 1232–1244

17

| 50px

| Richard de Bures{{efn|name=Périgord/Bures}}

| 1245–1247

18

| 50px

| Guillaume de Sonnac
{{small|({{Abbr|KIA|Killed in action}})}}{{efn|Guillaume de Sonnac was killed at the Battle of Fariskur.}}

| 1247–1250

19

| 50px

| Renaud de Vichiers

| 1250–1256

20

| 50px

| Thomas Bérard

| 1256–1273

21

| 50px

| Guillaume de Beaujeu
{{small|({{Abbr|KIA|Killed in action}})}}{{efn|Guillaume de Beaujeu was killed at the Siege of Acre.}}

| 1273–1291

22

| 50px

| Thibaud Gaudin

| 1291–1292

| rowspan=2|Cyprus
{{small|(Kingdom of Cyprus)}}

23

| 50px

| Jacques de Molay

| 1292–1312

Timeline

{{#tag:timeline|

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Period = from:1115 till:1315

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ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:5 start:1120

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from: 1119 till: 1136 color:gm text:"Hugues de Payens"

from: 1136 till: 1147 color:gm text:"Robert de Craon"

from: 1147 till: 1151 color:gm text:"Everard des Barres"

from: 1151 till: 1153 color:gm text:"Bernard de Tremelay"

from: 1153 till: 1156 color:gm text:"André de Montbard"

from: 1156 till: 1169 color:gm text:"Bertrand de Blanchefort"

from: 1169 till: 1171 color:gm text:"Philip of Milly"

from: 1171 till: 1179 color:gm text:"Odo of St Amand"

from: 1181 till: 1184 color:gm text:"Arnold of Torroja"

from: 1185 till: 1189 color:gm text:"Gerard of Ridefort"

from: 1191 till: 1193 color:gm text:"Robert of Sablé"

from: 1193 till: 1200 color:gm text:"Gilbert Horal"

from: 1201 till: 1208 color:gm text:"Philippe du Plessis"

from: 1209 till: 1218 color:gm text:"William of Chartres"

from: 1218 till: 1232 color:gm text:"Peire de Montagut"

from: 1232 till: 1244 color:gm text:"Armand de Périgord"

from: 1245 till: 1247 color:gm text:"Richard de Bures"

from: 1247 till: 1250 color:gm text:"Guillaume de Sonnac"

from: 1250 till: 1256 color:gm text:"Renaud de Vichiers"

from: 1256 till: 1273 color:gm text:"Thomas Bérard"

from: 1273 till: 1291 color:gm text:"Guillaume de Beaujeu"

from: 1291 till: 1292 color:gm text:"Thibaud Gaudin"

from: 1292 till: 1312 color:gm text:"Jacques de Molay"

}}

{{-}}

See also

Notes

=Footnotes=

{{notelist}}

=References=

{{reflist}}

Bibliography

  • {{Cite book |last=Burman |first=Edward |url=https://archive.org/details/templarsknightso0000burm |title=The Templars: Knights of God |publisher=Destiny Books |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-89281-221-9 |location=Rochester}}

{{Papal orders, decorations, and medals}}

Knights Templar, Grand Masters

Templar