Grand Masters of the Knights Templar

Each man who held the position of Grand Master
Grand Master (order)
Grand Master is the typical title of the supreme head of various orders of knighthood, including various military orders, religious orders and civil orders such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Orange Order...

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...

was the supreme commander of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (also known as the Knights Templar), starting with founder Hugues de Payens in 1118. While many Grand Masters chose to hold the position for life, abdication was not unknown. Some masters chose to leave for 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.

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 the Pope issued a Papal Bull on behalf of the Templars, the Grand Master was obliged to answer only to Rome.

List of Grand Masters

#	Name	Time in office
1.	Hugues de Payens	1118-1136
2.	Robert de Craon Robert de Craon Robert de Craon was the second Grand Master of the Knights Templar, from June 1136 until his death.He was born around the turn of the 12th century, the youngest of the three sons of Renaud de Craon...	1136-1147
3.	Everard des Barres Everard des Barres Everard des Barres was the third Grand Master of the Knights Templar from 1147 to 1151....	1147-1151
4.	Bernard de Tremelay Bernard de Tremelay Bernard de Tramelay was the fourth Grand Master of the Knights Templar.He was born in the castle of Tramelay near Saint-Claude in the Jura. According to Du Cange, he succeeded a certain Hugues as Master of the Temple, although this Hugues is otherwise unknown...	1151-1153
5.	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....	1153-1156
6.	Bertrand de Blanchefort Bertrand de Blanchefort Bertrand de Blanchefort was the sixth Grand Master of the Knights Templar, from 1156 until his death in 1169. He is known as a great reformer of the order.- Personal life :...	1156-1169
7.	Philippe de Milly	1169-1171
8.	Odo de St Amand Odo de St Amand Eudes de St. Amand was the 8th Grand Master of the Knights Templar, between 1171 and 1179.- Personal life :St Amand was born to a family from Limousin, France. He was Marshal of Jerusalem and later Viscount. He was a headstrong leader of the order, which earned him praise and resentment in equal...	1171-1179
9.	Arnold of Torroja	1181-1184
10.	Gerard de Ridefort Gerard de Ridefort Gerard of Ridefort was Grand Master of the Knights Templar from the end of 1184 until his death in 1189.Gerard of Ridefort is thought probably to have been of Flemish origin, although some nineteenth-century writers suggested an Anglo-Norman background, apparently through misreading his...	1185-1189
11.	Robert de Sablé Robert de Sablé Robert de Sablé was the Grand Master of the Knights Templar from 1191 to 1193 and Lord of Cyprus from 1191 to 1192.- Personal life :No exact record of his birth date exists, but it is believed he was relatively old at the time of his death. He was born to a respected military family in Anjou and...	1191-1193
12.	Gilbert Horal Gilbert Horal Gilbert Horal was the 12th Grand Master of the Knights Templar.He was born an Aragonaise , and entered the Templars at a young age. He stayed in the provinces of Provence and Aragon, where he took part in the battles of Reconquista, and became Grand Master of the province until 1190...	1193-1200
13.	Phillipe de Plessis Phillipe de Plessis Phillipe de Plessis was the 13th Grand Master of the Knights Templar. He was born in the fortress of Plessis-Macé, Anjou, France. In 1189 he joined the Third Crusade as a simple knight, and discovered the Order of the Temple in Palestine. After the death of Gilbert Horal he became Grand Master. He...	1201-1208
14.	Guillaume de Chartres Guillaume de Chartres Guillaume de Chartres was a grand master of the Knights Templar 1210 – 26 August 1218.In 1210, he assisted at the coronation of Jean de Brienne as King of Jerusalem. In 1211, he arbitrated between Leo I of Armenia and the Templars, regarding the castle of Bagras...	1209-1219
15.	Pedro de Montaigu Pedro de Montaigu Pedro de Montaigu was Grand Master of the Knights Templar from 1218 to 1232. He took part in the Fifth Crusade and was against the Sultan of Egypt's conditions for raising the siege of Damietta...	1218-1232
16.	Armand de Périgord Armand de Périgord Armand de Périgord was a descendant of the Counts of Périgord and a Grand Master of the Knights Templar....	1232-1244
17.	Richard de Bures Richard de Bures Richard de Bures may have been seventeenth Grand Master of the Knights Templar, from 1245 to 1247, although many sources make no mention of him. It is likely he simply acted as a Master during Périgord's captivity.... (Disputed)	1244/5-1247
18.	Guillaume de Sonnac Guillaume de Sonnac Guillaume de Sonnac was Grand Master of the Knights Templar from 1247 to 1250.- Personal life :Sonnac was born to a noble family in the French region of Rouergue. No date of birth survives for the Grand Master...	1247-1250
19.	Renaud de Vichiers Renaud de Vichiers Renaud de Vichiers was the 19th Grand Master of the Knights Templar, from 1250 to 1256.He was a supporter and comrade-in-arms of Louis IX of France, who helped him be elected Master. He shortly quarrelled with Louis, though, over a diplomatic mission of Hugues de Jouy, the Templar Marshal, to...	1250-1256
20.	Thomas Bérard Thomas Bérard Thomas Bérard was the 20th Grand Master of the Knights Templar, from 1256 to 1273. He wrote several letters to the King Henry III of England describing miserable situation in the Holy Land. He initiated cooperation with other two military orders since there had been much rivalry among them before...	1256-1273
21.	Guillaume de Beaujeu Guillaume de Beaujeu Guillaume de Beaujeu, aka William of Beaujeu, was the 21st Grand Master of the Knights Templar, from 1273 until his death during the siege of Acre in 1291....	1273-1291
22.	Thibaud Gaudin Thibaud Gaudin Thibaud Gaudin was the Grand Master of the Knights Templar from August 1291 until his death in April 1292.The history of Thibaud Gaudin within the Order is rather mysterious. Born to a noble family in the area of Chartres or Blois, France, he entered the Knights Templar well before 1260, because...	1291-1292
23.	Jacques de Molay Jacques de Molay Jacques de Molay was the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, leading the Order from 20 April 1292 until it was dissolved by order of Pope Clement V in 1312...	1292-1314

List of Grand Masters

See also