Thomas Bérard was the 20th 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...

, from 1256 to 1273. He wrote several letters to the King Henry III of England

Henry III of England

Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

 describing miserable situation in the Holy Land. He initiated cooperation with other two military orders since there had been much rivalry among them before. This was agreed upon by their Grand Masters: Hugo de Revel of Hospitaliers and Anno von Sangershausen of Teutonic Knights

Teutonic Knights

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

. In 1266 the large Templar fortress Safed

Safed

Safed , is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters...

 was besieged by Egyptian Mamlooks (or Mameluks) after a failed attempt to conquer Pilgrim's Castle. It appears that the garrison were betrayed by a hired Syrian soldier. All Templars (Hospitallers as well) were beheaded after they refused to convert to Islam. Other fortresses fell next, among them Beaufort, only recently acquired by the Templars. Also, the city of Antioch

Antioch

Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...

 fell to Baybars (the Mamluk commander) and was never again held by Christian forces. The fall of Antioch left Templar fortresses in Amman

Amman

Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...

's mountains easily accessible to attackers. Gaston, an immensely strong fortification on the road to Syria, was defended only by a small Templar garrison. Nevertheless they decided to hold the fortress. They were betrayed by one of the brothers. Meanwhile the Grand Master Thomas Bérard sent a messenger carrying an order to retreat to La Roche Guillaume. In February 1271, Chastel Blanc

Chastel Blanc

Chastel Blanc was built by the Knights Templar during the Crusades upon prior fortifications. Constructed on the middle hill of Safita's three hills, it offers a commanding view of the surrounding countryside, and was a major part of the network of Crusader fortifications in the area...

 surrendered on orders of the Grand Master Thomas Bérard with permission to retreat to Tortosa. In June, however, Montfort, the last inland fortification of Christians in the Holy Land, was yielded.

Sources

• Read, Piers Paul
  Piers Paul Read
  Piers Paul Read, FRSL is a British novelist and non-fiction writer.-Background:Read was born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire...
  
  . The Templars. Da Capo, 1999.
• Addison, Charles G.
  Charles Greenstreet Addison
  Charles Greenstreet Addison was an English barrister and historical, travel and legal writer.-Life:He was the son of W. Dering Addison, of Maidstone. He was elected to the bar in 1842, joined the home circuit, and was a revising barrister for Kent...
  
  The History of the Knights Templar. 1842.