Bernard de Tramelay was the fourth Grand Master of the Knights Templar

Knights Templar

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

.

He was born in the castle of Tramelay near Saint-Claude

Saint-Claude

Saint-Claude or St. Claude can refer to:Canada*St. Claude, Manitoba, the largest community in the Rural Municipality of Grey*Saint-Claude, Quebec, a municipality of Le Val-Saint-François, a Municipalité régionale de comté of QuebecFrance...

 in the Jura. According to Du Cange

Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange

Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange or Ducange was a distinguished philologist and historian of the Middle Ages and Byzantium....

, he succeeded a certain Hugues as Master of the Temple, although this Hugues is otherwise unknown. He was elected Grand Master in June of 1151, after the abdication of Everard des Barres

Everard des Barres

Everard des Barres was the third Grand Master of the Knights Templar from 1147 to 1151....

, who had returned to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 following the Second Crusade

Second Crusade

The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade by Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098...

. King Baldwin III of Jerusalem

Baldwin III of Jerusalem

Baldwin III was king of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163. He was the eldest son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and the grandson of Baldwin II of Jerusalem.-Succession:...

 granted him the ruined city of Gaza

Gaza

Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...

, which Bernard rebuilt for the Templars.

In 1153 the Templars participated in the Battle of Ascalon, a fortress at that time controlled by Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

. The Templars constructed a siege tower, which was burned down by the Egyptian soldiers inside Ascalon. The wind caught the flames and part of the walls of Ascalon burned down as well.

According to William of Tyre

William of Tyre

William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...

, knights of the Order rushed through the breach without Baldwin's knowledge while Bernard prevented other crusaders from following, as he did not want to share the spoils of the city with the king. Bernard and about forty of his Templars were killed by the larger Egyptian garrison. Their bodies were displayed on the ramparts and their heads were sent to the sultan. Other more modern accounts say that William of Tyre's version may have been distorted, since it may have been based on the defensive accounts given by the army's commanders as to why they did not follow the Templars into the breach.

In yet another differing account by a Damascene

Damascus

Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

 chronicler in the city, the breach of the wall is mentioned as a pre-cursor to the fall of the city; he makes no mention of the incident with the Templars.

Regardless of which account is believed, Bernard was killed and beheaded during the fighting.

A few days later, Baldwin captured the fortress; shortly thereafter, the Templars elected André de Montbard

André de Montbard

André de Montbard was the fifth Grand Master of the Knights Templar and also one of the founders of the Order....

 as their Grand Master.

Sources

• Battle of Ascalon: Malcolm Barber
  Malcolm Barber
  Malcolm Charles Barber is a British scholar of medieval history, described as the world's leading living expert on the Knights Templar. He is considered to have written the two most comprehensive books on the subject, The Trial of the Templars and The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the...
  
  , The New Knighthood, p. 74-75.