11 Famous Knights Templar Members [Facts & Pics]
List of 11 Most Famous Knights Templar Members & Grand Masters
The Knights Templar is the most famous group of knights in history. The Catholic military order was established in Jerusalem to assist pilgrims in the area.
Although a military order, most members of the Knights Templar never saw battle. Up to 90% of Knights Templar members served in non-combatant roles.
Members of this famous medieval order sometimes served in battle, but also assisted the needy through charitable works. The organization grew from its original headquarters in Jerusalem to include many countries across Europe.
The Knights Templar is the most famous knight order of the Middle Ages. Liberal Freemason. Converted and corrected by myself, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Knights Templar was especially powerful and popular in France and Britain. Groups of Templars in these countries and elsewhere set up a system of finance that is widely considered the first multinational corporation.
The power and wealth of the Knights Templar proved to be their downfall. After becoming indebted to the organization, French king Philip IV worked with Pope Clement V to disband Knights Templar groups around Europe.
The order would fall in the 1300s after the Philip IV arrested, tortured, and executed remaining Knights Templar members.
Despite its gruesome end, the Knights Templar is remembered today as one of the most influential knight orders in history. The following list includes the most famous members and grand masters of the order.
1) Hugues de Payens
Hugues de Payens: founder of the Knights Templar, first grand master, and possibly the most famous of all members. Henri Lehmann, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Hugues de Payens was a co-founder of the Knights Templar and the order’s first grand master. Born in 1070 in the Champagne region of France, Hugues de Payens found his way to Jerusalem during the first crusade.
Some scholars believe he served in the first crusade under Godfroi de Boullion.
Regardless of his military experience, Hugues de Payens proved to be a skilled leader, as he established the Knights Templar and served as its first grand master. The grand master was the supreme authority within the group.
Alongside Bernard of Clairvaux, Hugues de Payens created the Latin Rule. This was the code of behavior for the Knights Templar order.
2) Geoffroi de Saint-Omer
Geoffroi de Saint-Omer and Hugues de Payens were allegedly so poor that they shared a horse. Thomas Andrew Archer, Charles Lethbridge Kingsford, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Geoffroi de Saint-Omer was a Flemish knight and a founding member of the Knights Templar. He lived in the early 1100s when the order was established.
According to legend, Geoffroi de Saint-Omer and fellow founder Hugues de Payens were so poor when they arrived in Jerusalem that they had to share a horse.
The image of two men riding one horse became the seal of the Knights Templar.
3) André de Montbard
André de Montbard is shown here in armor atop his horse. Ernest Petit(1835-1918), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
André de Montbard lived from 1097 to 1156. His home was Burgundy in France and he served as a vassal to the Count of Champagne, Hugues I.
This knight entered the Knights Templar order in 1119, making him one of the earliest members. André de Montbard became second-in-command to Hugues de Payens, the first grand master.
Eventually, André de Montbard would himself be a leader of the Knights Templar. His turn came in 1153 and he held the position of fifth grand master until his death.
4) Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux was a monk and influential early member of the Knights Templar. See page for author, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bernard of Clairvaux was born in 1090 and lived in Burgundy. He was a Benedictine monk and co-founder of the Knights Templar.
Besides forming the order, Bernard of Clairvaux also assisted Hugues de Payens in writing the code of behavior for the Knights Templar.
The monk died in 1153 but his contributions to the order are remembered to this day.
5) Hugues I
Hugues I, Count of Champagne, is shown on horseback. Tricasse, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hugues I, Count of Champagne, became a member of the Knights Templar in 1125. His vassal André de Montbard was a fellow member.
The count is remembered for his personal affairs and his gifts to the order. Hugues was married twice but had no children, which likely meant he was impotent. Because of this, records show he left his titles to his nephew.
In 1115, Hugues I granted land to Bernard of Clairvaux, a key member and co-founder of the Knights Templar. Hugues’s lack of children and abundant wealth allowed him to give more freely to the order.
6) Payen de Montdidier
Payen de Montdidier, with the support of Queen Matilda (pictured), set up successful Templar operations in Oxford. Henry Colburn, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Payen de Montdidier was a founding member of the Knights Templar and formed his own Templar preceptory, or community, in Oxford.
Queen Matilda supported his work and her backing helped bolster the influence of the Knights Templar in England.
Thanks to the influence of Matilda and the efforts of Payen de Montdidier, Oxford became one of the richest and most powerful centers of Knights Templar activity in Europe.
7) William of Chartres
William of Chartres used his influence to send supplies and soldiers to the battlefront in Spain. See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
William of Chartres was born in 1178 and served as grand master of the Knights Templar from 1210 until his death in 1218.
His influence in the order is evidenced by his participation in the coronation of the king of Jerusalem. William of Chartres was alsoresponsible for sending supplies and soldiers to assist in the Reconquista of Spain.
William saw battle himself in Spain and may have participated in the fifth crusade in 1217.
8) Pierre de Montagut
Pierre de Montagut was connected to the Knights Hospitaller through his brother. This and other connections helped him secure the role of grand master of the Knights Templar. Johannes Adelphus (Müling, Mulichius), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Pierre de Montagut was a friend of William of Chartres. He may have been the brother of the Knights Hospitaller’s grand master. This was another influential knight order of the Middle Ages.
His personal friendships helped him climb the ranks of the Knights Templar. Like his friend William, Pierre probably fought in the fifth crusade.
Pierre de Montagut became the grand master of the order in 1218 and maintained this status until his death in 1232.
9) Hugues de Pairaud
Hugues de Pairaud and fellow Knights Templar members faced imprisonment, torture, and even death at the hands of king Philip IV of France. See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By the early 1300s, the influence of the Knights Templar proved so great that European kings were indebted to the order. King Philip IV of Spain was one royal who grew resentful of the order’s power.
He teamed up with Pope Clement V to bring down the Knights Templar. Hugues de Pairaud was one unlucky order member who faced Philip’s wrath.
Hugues was accused with other members of worshipping false idols, and having indecent relations with fellow Templars. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1314.
10) Geoffroi de Charney
Pope Clement V is pictured. He and king Philip IV of France persecuted the Knights Templar in the early 1300s. Master of the Coronation of the Virgin; Master of Female Clerics (13 ..- 14 ..)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Geoffroi de Charney, like Hugues de Pairaud, was one of the Knights Templar who personally came under trial in 1314. He and other members were persecuted by king Philip IV and pope Clement V.
In partnership with Philip, Clement issued a decree requiring kings of Europe to arrest Knights Templar members and confiscate their lands.
In 1307, Geoffroi de Charney was arrested along with fellow members. These men were held in prison, tortured, and some faced brutal execution. Geoffroi de Charney was burned at the stake in 1314.
11) Jacques de Molay
Jacques de Molay was the last grand master of the Knights Templar. According to legend, de Molay cursed the king of France and the pope. Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Jacques de Molay was born around 1240 and was made a knight at age 21. He served as the last grand master of the Knights Templar from 1292 to 1314.
Like other Templar members, de Molay faced the wrath of Philip and Clement. He was burned at the stake, but may have cursed these men before his death.
According to legend, Jacques de Molay cursed Philip and his descendants. He also believed the pope would pay for his wrongdoing.
Interestingly, both the king of France and the pope would die within a year of de Molay’s execution. The collapse of the royal House of Capet would occur a little over a decade later.
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KNIGHT GROUPS & FAMOUS KNIGHT
The Englishman Sir William Marshal (c. 1146-1219 CE, aka William the Marshal), Earl of Pembroke, is one of the most celebrated knights of the Middle Ages. Renowned for his fighting skills, he remained undefeated in tournaments, spared the life of Richard I of England (r. 1189-1199 CE) in battle, and rose to become Marshal and then Protector of the Kingdom - king in all but name. Shortly after William's death, Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, described him as 'the greatest knight that ever lived' and his deeds and titles are such that the claim still seems justified today.
Youth
William Marshal was born c. 1146 CE and he experienced his very first misadventure aged just six when his father's castle at Newbury was attacked by an army of King Stephen's (r. 1135-1154 CE). John Marshal was forced to give up his young son William as a hostage while the attack was suspended in order for the terms of a surrender to be settled. However, John had other ideas and used the respite to restock his castle with provisions. This seemed a risky strategy considering his son was in the hands of his enemies but when threatened with the execution of William his father glibly replied 'I have a hammer and an anvil on which I can forge better sons than he!' (Phillips, 104). Fortunately for William, he escaped both death and his family when Stephen decided not to end his young life by hanging him as threatened (or catapulted over the castle walls as some had proposed) and instead made him a royal ward. This was a fortuitous outcome for everybody since William, being the younger of several brothers, had no chance of inheriting the estates of his father and had to make his own way in the world anyway. It was not a bad start, after all.
William the young knight was immediately called into action in 1166 CE when he was dispatched to fight in the war in Normandy.
Having got over perhaps his greatest challenge, William embarked on the usual career path of a young nobleman. His mother's cousin was William de Tancarville, the Chamberlain of Normandy (at that time under the English crown) and it was at his court that he began his education and training as a squire with the eventual aim of becoming a knight. William here gained a reputation as a big eater and acquired the nickname of gaste-viande (glutton). Still, he must have impressed his tutors and sponsor in other ways for William was knighted in 1166 CE aged just 20 and he was then sent on his way to make his own fortune. One of the great medieval chivalric careers was about to begin - after an initial hiccup, that is.
Early Career
William the young knight was immediately called into action in 1166 CE when he was dispatched to fight in the war between Henry II of England (r. 1154-1189 CE) and the counts of Boulogne, Flanders and Ponthieu. Stationed at the castle of Neufchâtel-en-Bray in Normandy, William showed promise and bravery but after a skirmish where he lost his horse, he was warned by William de Tancarville not to be stupidly rash in warfare. As a punishment, the knight was not given a replacement horse and he found himself in something of a predicament as he had no funds to acquire one himself. Selling his clothes to buy a new horse, William looked for better fortune in that other alternative to glory besides warfare: the medieval tournament.
Entering the tournament of Le Mans in France in 1167 CE, the young knight exceeded all expectations in the mêlée, a sort of mock cavalry battle where knights had to capture each other for a ransom agreed on before the match. William did so well he now owned four and a half horses (presumably he captured a similarly cash-strapped opponent unable to pay the whole ransom or perhaps it was a joint capture). William then carried on touring, and winning, at tournaments over the next year, usually in a profitable partnership with the Flemish knight, Roger de Gaugi. There were occasional setbacks such as when William's helmet was so bashed by opposing knights he needed a blacksmith to remove it but, capturing an impressive 103 knights in all, Marshal racked up a fortune in ransom money and cash prizes. The legend of William Marshal was up and running and, over the next 16 years of competition, he would remain undefeated. On his deathbed years later, William claimed to have personally captured 500 knights in his tournament career.
Appointment at Court
In 1168 CE William was back in real warfare but it went as badly as his first experience. Fighting in Poitou in western France with the army of his uncle the Earl of Salisbury, William was injured and captured by the forces of Guy de Lusignan. Fortunately, the habit of asking for ransoms was not exclusive to tournaments and William could be freed at the right price. Eleanor of Aquitaine, consort of Henry II, came up with the cash and William was freed. Recognising William as a great talent not to be wasted, Eleanor employed the knight as tutor-in-arms to her son Henry the Young King, then aged 15.
Eleanor of Aquitaine employed the knight as tutor-in-arms to her son Henry the Young King.
In between his court duties, William continued where he left off at tournaments and carried on winning vast sums of money. He was now rich enough to employ his own entourage of knights. Then, in 1182 CE, the wheel of fortune turned again, although it was William who nudged it. Accused of conducting an affair with Henry the Young King's wife, Margaret of France or, at the very least, committing some sort of offence to the royal family, the famous knight was banned from the court.
William's indiscretions may have been only gossip promoted by his enemies for he returned to court the following year and he and Henry were reconciled. Tragically, Henry then died of dysentery in June 1183 CE shortly after he had promised himself to go crusading and recapture Jerusalem from the Arabs. Instead, as legend would have it, on his deathbed Henry made William promise that he would take up the cause for Christendom in his place and he even gave the knight his cloak to take to Jerusalem. William did travel to the Holy Lands it seems but his exploits there are a blank in the pages of history and the story only resumes two years later with his return to England.
Richard I & Regency
By 1186 CE William was back at court from his travels and serving King Henry II again, notably in the campaigns of 1188-9 CE against Philip II of France (r. 1180-1223 CE), who had allied himself to the English king's two rebellious sons, John and Richard (the future Richard I Lionheart). In one battle or its aftermath, William came face to face with Richard and, when the prince was at his mercy, he spared his life, killing only his horse instead. The great knight was now adding chivalry (if not a love of animals) to his already formidable martial reputation.
When Henry II died in 1189 CE Richard became king and he did not forget William's generosity. As promised by the old monarch, the knight was first given a bride, the 17-year old Isabel de Clare, daughter of the immensely rich 2nd Earl of Pembroke and, as she was the heiress, it gave William prestige, wealth and castles. Amongst the castles were Pembroke and Chepstow, both in Wales. William is credited with converting the former from a wooden to an imposing stone structure and he improved the latter by adding a massive keep and hall.
William was now an indispensable member of Richard's court and while the king was off on the Third Crusade (1189-1192 CE), Marshal served on the council of regency. He was subsequently made Marshal of England. When King John of England (r. 1199-1216 CE) took over the throne following his brother Richard's death in 1199 CE, William continued in high office. When the king's unpopular reign led to a barons' rebellion, William, although loyal to the king, supported the barons in principle and became one of the creators and signatories of the Magna Carta in 1215 CE, a charter which curbed the powers of the monarch and upon which a constitution was based. Under the new king Henry III of England (1216-1272 CE), who was still a child, William was made the Protector of the Kingdom - in effect, regent of England.
Death & Legacy
Having served four English monarchs and risen to the very top of the kingdom, the great knight's time was nearly up. There was one last hurrah at the battle of Lincoln in 1217 CE when, aged 70, he led the English army and won against the still-disgruntled English barons and their French ally, the future King Louis VIII of France (r. 1223-1226 CE). Just before the battle and leading his army in person, William gave a rousing speech to his frontline troops, declaring that the enemy had so positioned their forces that he would win the day because he could attack with all his army at a single section of the opposition; and so it turned out.
William died two years later on 14th May 1219 CE and, loyal to those around him, as ever, he refused to permit the sale of his robes and furs to pay for alms, preferring instead they be given to his household knights. Just as William had promised himself when in the Holy Lands years before, he was invested as a Knight Templar and interred in Temple Church in London where his effigy still rests.
Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury (1207-1228 CE) described Marshal as 'the greatest knight that ever lived'. The legendary knight's deeds, lengthy roll of honours, titles and public offices, and his unbeaten record at tournaments were all cemented in the public memory by the 19,000-line biographical poem L'Histoire du Guillaume le Maréchal, written between 1225 and 1229 CE by his son William Marshal II and the great man's former squire and executor John D'Earley. A rare medieval biography of a person, not a monarch, it provides an invaluable insight into politics, social affairs and the life of a knight in the Middle Ages.
Sir William Wallace (c. 1270-1305) was a Scottish knight and national hero who fought for his country's independence from England. Wallace famously led the Scots to victory against a larger English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297.
The English king Edward I of England (r. 1272-1307) was intent on revenge and conquering Scotland, but his victory at Falkirk against Wallace in 1298 could not ultimately subdue the Scots. Wallace was captured in Glasgow and tried for treason in London in 1305. Inevitably found guilty, Wallace was given the worst possible sentence: to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. William Wallace then became a martyr, the ultimate heroic patriot, and the subject of countless legends, ballads, and poems. He did not live to see it but Scotland did indeed gain independence under the rule of Robert the Bruce (r. 1306-1329).
Early Life
William Wallace was born c. 1270 into a landowning family in southwest Scotland. His father was a knight, minor noble, and vassal of James Stewart, the 5th High Steward of Scotland. Tradition has it that Wallace was born in Elderslie near Paisley in Renfrewshire or Elderslie in Ayrshire. Wallace was traditionally portrayed as a commoner in later medieval sources or even as a thief or outlaw in posthumous biographies, but this is likely because Scottish writers wished to portray him as a 'man of the people' and English ones as an ignoble enemy. Technically, Wallace was an outlaw in English eyes because his family did not sign their name to the 'Ragman Rolls', a list compiled in the summer of 1296 of all the Scottish tenants who promised allegiance to the English Crown. William Wallace, as far as we know, never married and had no children.
William Wallace’s first attack of note was on Lanark in Scotland in May 1297 when the English sheriff was killed.
Edward I & the Great Cause
Edward I of England, known for his fiery temper and self-confidence, was nicknamed 'Longshanks' because of his height: 1.9 metres (6 ft 2 in), an unusually impressive stature for the period. The English king was already a battle-hardened campaigner. He had participated in the Ninth Crusade (1271-1272 CE), helped defeat the rebel English barons who had plotted against his father, and fought with distinction in Wales. Now Edward turned his sights on Scotland. A prelude to the military action was Edward’s decision in 1287 to begin expelling all Jews from his kingdom and to confiscate their property - a significant boost to his war chest. Then, towards the end of 1290, a golden opportunity presented itself to the English king: a succession crisis in Scotland.
Edward was invited to adjudicate on who would be the successor to Alexander III of Scotland (r. 1249-1286). Alexander had died without children and so the next best choice was his granddaughter Margaret, aka the 'Maid of Norway’ (b. 1283). Tragically, Margaret died during her voyage to Scotland in September 1290. The royal house of Canmore was at an end, and the Scottish nobles jostled for the throne. Unable to reach a decision, Edward was asked to select the best candidate, but in November 1292 the English king simply chose someone who could act as his puppet ruler in Scotland: John Balliol (r. 1292-1296). Balliol’s rule turned out to be so weak and ineffective that nobles began to gather around the Bruce family as an alternative, then led by Robert Bruce (b. 1210 CE), grandfather of his more famous namesake.
The ballad The Acts & Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie was the inspiration for the 1995 film Braveheart.
Rebellion was in the air, not only concerning the incompetent John but also because of Edward’s imposition of heavy taxes on the Scots to pay for his campaigns in France where Gascony was under serious threat. Then, in 1295, there came a major blow to Edward’s ambitions when Scotland formally allied itself with France - the first move in what became known as the 'Auld Alliance' - and Balliol felt confident enough to renounce his fealty to Edward. The rival Bruce family did not support the rebellion or Balliol’s rejection of fealty to the English king.
To regain his grip on Scotland, Edward led an army in person to Berwick in March 1296 where, according to the 14th-century chronicler Walter of Guisborough, he massacred 11,060 of the town’s residents. Edward enjoyed the support of the Bruces, and at the Battle of Dunbar in April 1296, Balliol was defeated; the Scottish king surrendered, was stripped of his crown, and then kept captive in the Tower of London. Three English barons were selected to rule Scotland, and Edward even stole the Stone of Scone (aka Stone of Destiny) which was a symbol of the Scottish monarchy, relocating it to Westminster Abbey. In effect, the Scottish monarchy was at an end, at least in the eyes of Edward. It was in this chaotic climate of war, rebellion, and an empty throne that William Wallace makes his first appearance.
Early Campaigns
Wallace’s first raid of note was on Lanark in Scotland in May 1297 which he attacked with a band of some 30 men. In later legend, this raid was in revenge for an attack on Wallace’s sweetheart Marion and the murder of a group of Scottish nobles by English soldiers. William Heselrig, the English sheriff at Lanark was killed in the attack. More successful raids followed on Scone and several English garrisons between the rivers Forth and Tay before Wallace and his men retreated to the safety of the Highlands.
Battle of Stirling Bridge
William Wallace's greatest triumph was his rout of an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge near Stirling Castle in central Scotland on 11 September 1297. The English army, which included at least 300 heavy cavalry, was led by John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, and was much larger than the Scottish force. The Scots were led by Wallace and Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell (aka Andrew Murray) who had been leading a separate rebellion in the north of Scotland. In the usual preliminary negotiation before battle, legend has it that William boldly declared to the English representatives:
Go back and tell your people that we have not come for the benefit of peace, but are ready to fight, to avenge ourselves and to free our kingdom.
(Jones, 345).
Using the confines of a narrow bridge crossing the Forth River, which partially blocked the enemy army’s progress, Wallace attacked the isolated English vanguard when it reached the other side of the river. Forced back to the bridge, this structure collapsed under the weight of men and many drowned in the river weighed down by their armour. Alternative accounts of the battle have the Scots deliberately destroying the bridge or the English doing so to prevent the Scots pursuing them back across the river. Whatever the details, the outcome was clear: a resounding Scottish victory. Over 100 English knights were killed in the battle, including Sir Hugh de Cressingham, Edward's treasurer in Scotland, who had been hacked to pieces on Stirling bridge. Legend has it that Cressingham’s skin was used to make sporrans and sword belts to be worn by the victors.
Wallace then led raids into northern England, attacking Northumberland and Cumberland and launching sieges of Alnwick and Carlisle castles. He was so confident of control of his kingdom that in 1297 he and Moray wrote letters to traders in Lübeck and Hamburg that it was safe to resume international trade with Scotland. In March 1298 Wallace was knighted, most likely by Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick and the future Scottish king. In addition, Wallace was made “Guardian” of the Scottish government and commander-in-chief of its armies. These honours are good evidence that Wallace was no commoner but a man with excellent connections within the established Scottish nobility.
Battle of Falkirk
In 1298 Edward I led an army in person across the border. Wallace had been steadily retreating further north, avoiding a direct confrontation and employing a scorched earth policy to draw Edward’s army deeper into Scotland where his lack of supplies would become a serious logistics problem. The two armies finally met at the Battle of Falkirk on 22 July 1298. Edward’s army had large contingents of the much-feared longbow archers and English cavalry, and these routed the Scottish spearmen who had been arranged in front of Callendar Wood in their familiar battle order of four schiltroms (like hedgehogs but with bristling long spears instead of short spines). Edward had attacked the enemy on two sides and caused the small Scottish cavalry force to retreat in panic. Archers and crossbowmen then broke up the schiltroms with accurate and deadly fire. Around 20,000 Scots were killed, compared to 2,000 on the English side. Significantly, most of the Scottish nobles survived to fight another day. Wallace also escaped the victors but the ignominy of the defeat obliged him to resign his role as Guardian of Scotland.
The Ruling Council
The events of the next few years are poorly documented. With a vacant throne, a ruling council had been established consisting of Wallace, John Comyn, and then Bishop Lamberton. Robert the Bruce did not initially support this council. Part of the problem was the Bruces had long been rivals of the Comyns, who supported the Balliols. On the other hand, Bruce did not now fully support Edward either, and he seems to have bided his time to better see the outcome of what has become known as the First War of Independence. After Falkirk and Wallace’s resignation as Guardian, the ruling council was led by the Bruces and Comyns, who temporarily settled their differences.
Robert the Bruce was at various moments clearly fully on the Scottish side and was involved, for example, in the attack on English-held Ayr Castle. However, in 1302 Robert's marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of an ally of Edward I, coupled with the release of John Balliol from the Tower of London meant that Robert once again sided with the English lest Balliol's Scottish allies succeed in reinstating the ex-king. The Bruce had ambitions for the throne himself.
Edward had sent more armies to Scotland in 1300, 1301, and 1303, recovering Stirling Castle in the process and so the situation in Scotland and who would rule was as complex as ever. After the debacle of Falkirk, the Scottish nobles studiously avoided any direct confrontation with English armies. However, Edward the English war-king was reaching the end of his long and active life, and Scotland could afford to bide its time.
Wallace, meanwhile, disappeared from public view, and although he was a wanted man, he managed to evade capture until 1305. In some accounts, he spent this period as a guerrilla fighter based in the Highlands, while other sources have him escape to France in the ship of the pirate Richard Longoville. Wallace may have sought French financial and military support to continue the fight for independence. An even more unlikely tale is that the Scottish hero made it to Rome where he pleaded with the Pope for aid in his fight with the English.
Capture & Execution
Wallace was finally caught in Glasgow on 5 August 1305, thanks to traitorous friends according to some medieval chroniclers. The most wanted man in Scotland was dragged to London to be prosecuted as a traitor to the Crown in Westminster Hall. Wallace was said to have been made to wear a crown of oak leaves to signify his lowly status as an outlaw. Wallace was formally charged with promoting Scotland’s allegiance with England’s enemy France, accused of killing innocent men, women, and children, including clergy during his raids in northern England, and charged with having led armies against the English Crown.
The Scotsman rejected the charges against him and declared that he owed loyalty only to his own king, the deposed John Balliol. Predictably found guilty of treason, on 23 August Wallace met the most gruesome death penalty an English court could dish out: to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. First, Wallace was stripped naked and dragged by his heels behind a horse through the streets of London. Reaching Smithfield, he was hanged but released from the noose just before death came. Laid out on a bench, his intestines were pulled from his body, he was then decapitated and his body chopped into four quarters. Wallaces’ head was put on public display on London Bridge as a warning to others, and the other four parts of his body were dispatched for public display in Aberdeen, Berwick, Newcastle, and Stirling, site of his great victory.
Robert the Bruce, meanwhile, was now having serious misgivings concerning his support for the English Crown. It seemed highly unlikely that Edward would ever make Robert king of Scotland. Steadily over the next year - and probably largely in secret - Robert began to work on gaining allies from key Scottish barons and eventually he was able to declare himself king in March 1306 (he would reign until 1329). Fortunately for Robert and the Scots, Edward I’s successor, his son Edward II of England (r. 1307-1327 CE), was militarily incompetent. After winning a great victory at Bannockburn in June 1314 CE, Robert was able to systematically remove the English invaders from Scotland one castle at a time.
Legacy
William Wallace was gone but not forgotten, and his legend grew thanks to such epic and highly romanticised ballads as The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie, written by either Henry the Minstrel or Blind Harry c. 1470. It is this colourful ballad which forms the basis of the 1995 film Braveheart. An important history of Wallace’s life, the History of William Wallace, was written in the 16th century. In the 1860s a Gothic monument was erected at Stirling to commemorate Wallace’s achievements. Still standing, the tower is an impressive 67 metres (220 ft) tall. Finally, fine statues of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, who remain two of the greatest martial heroes in Scottish history, stand either side of the gatehouse of Edinburgh Castle, still today the symbolic heart of the kingdom they had fought so hard to keep free of foreign control.
The knights of medieval Europe were meant to be the finest fighting men of their age, even more important, they were expected to be pure in thought and deed, as exemplified in the chivalrous code which they (usually) followed. Here are the stories of 12 such knights. The legendary figures are perhaps based on historical knights and the historical knights have all become legendary; such is the indistinct line of truth between fact and fiction and humanity's need to create larger-than-life figures of a by-gone age when valour and chivalry reached their apex.
Legendary Knights
Saint George
The Eastern Orthodox Saint George became the patron saint of all knights and so, even if strictly speaking he was not a medieval knight himself, he must appear first in this list. This legendary figure, based on a soldier in the Roman army who was martyred in 303 CE in Lydda (modern Lod, Israel) for his Christian beliefs, became the example to follow of all chivalrous knights in the medieval period. By the 8th century CE Saint George's legend had reached Europe, and by the 12th century CE his story was well-established; he famously rode his white horse, Bayard, into battle against a dragon which was tormenting the people of Libya, the slaying of the creature becoming a lasting metaphor for good against evil, Christians against non-believers. In the process, George saved a princess offered to the dragon as a sacrifice, and her rescue became a symbol for the protection of Innocence.
According to some legends, George had a mighty sword called Ascalon, made by the Cyclops of ancient Greece, and a shining suit of armour made from Libyan steel. In the late 12th century CE, Richard I (see below) decided to use the red cross on a white background of Saint George's banner on the liveries of English soldiers. The story of Saint George was further popularised by the c. 1260 CE The Golden Legend by the Italian chronicler Jacobus de Voragine. The saint thus became, and still remains, a popular figure all over Europe: the first ever secular knight's order was dedicated to him in Hungary in 1326 CE, he is the patron saint of many countries including England, Greece, and Russia, and the patron of several major cities, including Moscow and Beirut.
Sir Galahad
The King Arthur legends captured in several 12-15th century CE literary works provided stirring stories of example for all knights to follow, and several of the knights of the Round Table might have made this list. Sir Lancelot was a great knight but, if chivalry is an essential part of knighthood, then his infidelity with Guinevere and betrayal of King Arthur precludes him. His son, Galahad, though, is often cited as the most perfect knight of all. With a lineage supposedly stretching back to King David of Bible fame, his mother was Elaine, daughter of Pelles, the crippled Fisher King and keeper of the Holy Grail (Christ's cup at the Last Supper).
Galahad arrived one day at Camelot and convinced King Arthur that he was the chosen one to find the Grail first by safely sitting in the Siege Perilous, the magical empty chair of the Round Table which was said to be deadly for all but he who would find the Grail, and second by withdrawing the fabled sword from the stone. Now made a knight, Sir Galahad's weapons were said to have been the spear which had pierced Jesus Christ at the Crucifixion and the sword of King David. His white shield was marked with a cross drawn with the blood of Joseph of Arimathea (he who had brought the Grail to Europe). Sir Galahad was, besides being a brilliant jouster who defeated all comers (except his father), humble, innocent, and pure. Indeed, Sir Galahad was the only knight considered worthy of pursuing and finding the Grail, which is perhaps an allegory of the Christian path to salvation. Sir Galahad finally found the grail, or at least caught sight of it, at the castle of the Fisher King, after which the knight rose to Heaven in some versions, or embarked on an odyssey in the Holy Lands in others, where he again found the Grail and this time took it with him into the next life.
Siegfried
Siegfried is a legendary German knight and prince who appears as the hero of the c. 1200 CE German epic poem the Nibelungenlied. More myth than reality, the figure is based on older Germanic and Norse folklore, but he may originally have been inspired by a Frankish knight of the 7th century CE or even a Germanic leader who fought valiantly against the Romans in the 1st century CE. Just like Saint George, Siegfried appears as a sanitised and chivalrous version of earlier legendary figures and, like George, too, he successfully dealt with a bothersome dragon. The hero bathed in the dead creature's blood and thus became immune to weapons except on one small patch of his back where a leaf had stuck.
The German knight's greatest challenge was, though, to win the hand of Kriemhild, a Burgundian (Nibelung) princess. After a dream which indicated any future husband would meet a violent death, the princess resolved not to bother with matrimony. She remained unimpressed with Siegfried's record of captured riches, dragon-slaying and victories over the Danes and Saxons when fighting for the Burgundian army. Meanwhile, the Burgundian king, Gunther, had fallen in love himself, with a beautiful queen called Brunhilde who would only marry the suitor who could defeat her in battle, and so he made a deal with Siegfried. The latter would, after being magically made invisible, fight the queen and the king would take both the credit and the queen. In return, Siegfried could marry Kriemhild. So it came to pass until a falling out between the two ladies led to Kriemhild revealing the trick played on Brunhilde. The king was outraged, and one of his retainers, Hagen, on discovering the hero's one weak spot, killed Siegfried on a hunting trip. Hagen got his comeuppance, though, when Kriemhild killed him with Siegfried's sword.
Historical Knights
Robert Guiscard - 'The Crafty'
Robert Guiscard (c. 1015-1085 CE) was a Norman knight who fought with success against the Byzantine and Arab Empires from 1057 CE to create his own duchy in southern Italy and Sicily. Robert's territorial claims were endorsed by the papacy in 1059 CE which recognised his title of the Duke of Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily. He extended his control of Italy when he captured Bari in 1071 CE after a three-year siege, Palermo in 1072 CE and Salerno in 1076 CE. Still not satisfied, Robert grabbed Corfu in 1081 CE and shortly after defeated an army led by the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081-1118 CE) at Dyracchion, Dalmatia. 1084 CE saw Robert win a victory against a Venetian force, the powerful allies of the Byzantines. Ever ambitious, the Norman duke died on his way to attack the biggest prize of all, Constantinople, in 1085 CE, not in battle but from typhoid. His nickname of 'the Crafty' derives from his surname's relation to the Old French word viscart, meaning 'wily as a fox'. The Italian writer Dante Alighieri has Sir Robert as one of the great knights in his Divine Comedy (c. 1310 CE).
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar - 'El Cid'
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (1043-1099 CE), better known as El Cid, from the Arabic assid, meaning 'lord', was a famed Spanish knight and general, so famous even his sword had a name: Tizona. He first came to prominence as a commander of the armies of King Ferdinand I of Castile and Leon (d. 1065 CE), a position he gained aged just 22. After a dispute with a rival commander in 1081 CE, El Cid was exiled and he then served the Moorish king al-Mu'tamin (1081-85 CE) at Zaragoza. A decade of victories against rival Moors and Spanish kings followed and he acquired another nickname, El Campeador ('The Champion').
Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar - El Cid
Deciding it would be more profitable to fight for himself, El Cid took Valencia in 1090 CE. In theory, he still represented the Spanish king Alfonso VI (r. 1077-1109 CE) but El Cid was now a ruler in his own right. The great general died in 1099 CE, but his body was paraded before his army to ward off an Arab attack, just as El Cid had been instructed to arrange by Saint Peter in a dream on his deathbed. The trick worked and Valencia withstood the onslaught, albeit temporarily, for later in the same year it did finally fall to the Muslim Almoravids. The great commander's body was buried at the monastery of San Pedro in Castile. El Cid was not just missed by his warriors but even his horse Bavieca who, according to legend, never let anyone else ride him after his master's demise. Following his death, El Cid's legend only grew, particularly fuelled by the 1142 CE epic poem Cantar del Mio Cid ('Song of the Cid').
Sir William Marshal - 'The Greatest Knight that Ever Lived'
Sir William Marshal (c. 1146-1219 CE) was a highly celebrated English knight. Aged six, William was given up as a hostage by his father when King Stephen (r. 1135-1154 CE) besieged the family's castle. Fortunately, this turned out well for William as he was made a royal ward and set off on the road to becoming a knight. Besides impressing with his martial skills, he earned the affectionate nickname of gaste-viande (glutton). Knighted in 1166 CE, Sir William earned a fortune through his victories on the medieval tournament circuit, enjoying 16 undefeated years and over 500 captures.
William Marshal Fighting Baldwin Guisnes
1168 CE saw the first step in Sir William's meteoric political career when Eleanor of Aquitaine employed his services as tutor-in-arms to her son Henry the Young King. William served Henry II of England (r. 1154-1189 CE) in the 1188-9 CE campaigns against Philip II of France (r. 1180-1223 CE), who had allied himself to the English king's two rebellious sons, John and the future Richard I (see below). In one battle or its aftermath, William came face to face with Richard and, when the prince was at his mercy, he spared his life, killing only his horse instead. In 1189 CE Sir William acquired through marriage the title of Earl of Pembroke with castles to match in Wales. While Richard I was off campaigning, Sir William served on the council of regency and was made Marshal of England. He became one of the creators and signatories of the Magna Carta in 1215 CE, and the Protector of the Kingdom and regent for the child king Henry III (1216-1272 CE). At 70, William was still fighting fit and won the battle of Lincoln in 1217 CE against rebellious English barons and the future French King Louis VIII (r. 1223-1226 CE). Following his death in 1219 CE, Sir William was invested as a Knight Templar and interred in Temple Church, London. The then Archbishop of Canterbury justifiably described Sir William as 'the greatest knight that ever lived'.
Richard I - 'The Lionhearted'
Richard I of England 'the Lionhearted' or Cœur de Lion (1157-1199 CE) was the king of England from 1189 to 1199 CE. Richard's first success came in the 1180's CE when he quashed a baron's rebellion in Aquitaine and then captured the seemingly impregnable castle of Taillebourg in western France. Garnering the support of two French kings and egged on by his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard twice rebelled against his father King Henry II of England (r. 1154-1189 CE) as the complex royal intermarriages of the period caused nothing but squabbles. Matters were settled when Richard was officially nominated as his father's successor, which he became in 1189 CE.
One of the leaders of the Third Crusade (1189-1192 CE), Richard lived up to his courageous nickname by capturing Messina (1190 CE) and Cyprus (1191 CE). Acre in the kingdom of Jerusalem had been under siege for five months but was finally captured in 1191 CE by Richard just five weeks after his arrival. Ill with scurvy at the time, the 'Lionhearted' had his men carry him around on a stretcher anyway, from which position he could fire his crossbow. In September of the same year, the king won another victory against the Arab army of Saladin (r. 1174-1193 CE) at Arsuf. Ultimately, the Crusade petered out and Jerusalem still remained in Arab hands, but at least Richard negotiated the safe passage of Christian pilgrims to the Holy Lands.
The king was the epitome of the fighting monarch but only managed to spend five months of his reign in England, a big factor in that statistic being his capture by Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (r. 1190-1197 CE) in 1192 CE. Ransomed after two years and still draining the state coffers to their very bottom, Richard then fought against Philip II of France as the two countries wrestled over control of northern and central France. The English king was killed by an arrow while laying siege to the castle of Châlus. The three lions of Richard's coat of arms have been part of the British royal family's arms ever since.
Sir William Wallace
Sir William Wallace (c. 1270-1305 CE) was a Scottish knight and national hero who fought for his country's independence from England. His first attack of note was on Lanark in Scotland in 1297 CE when the English sheriff was killed - revenge for his mistreatment of William's wife Marion, according to legend. More raids followed on English garrisons before William and his men retreated to the safety of the Highlands.
William's greatest triumph was his rout of a much larger English army at the Battle of Stirling in 1297 CE. Using the confines of a narrow bridge which blocked the enemy, over 100 English knights were killed. William was then knighted (probably) by Robert Bruce, the future Scottish king (r. 1306-1329 CE), and he became “Guardian” of the Scottish government. Sir William led raids into northern England but lost heavily to an English army of cavalry and archers at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298 CE. Sir William managed to evade capture by the English King Edward I (1272-1307 CE) until 1305 CE. Then his luck ran out and, caught in Glasgow, he was dragged to London where he met the most gruesome death penalty an English court could dish out: to be hanged, drawn, and quartered.
Sir James Douglas - 'The Black Douglas'
Sir James Douglas (c. 1286-1330 CE) was a Scottish knight whose dark complexion gave rise to his nickname 'the Black Douglas' by the English, while the Scots, naturally, were more appreciative of their hero and nicknamed him 'Good Sir James'. In 1307 CE James famously captured Douglas Castle, which had once been his own family's but was lost thanks to the English king Edward I giving it to one of his loyal nobles. Attacking on Palm Sunday when the defenders were all at church, the Scotsman beheaded any survivors and burnt their bodies on a huge fire. The raid became known as 'the Douglas larder'. Clearly liking calendar days of significance, Douglas captured Roxburgh Castle on Shrove Tuesday 1314 CE, surprising the garrison again as this time they feasted on the last night before Lent.
Sir James, just made a knight, commanded, with Robert Bruce, the famous victory over English forces at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 CE. Sir James raided incessantly northern England in the following years, his most famous victim being Robert Neville of Middleham in 1318 CE, known disparagingly as 'the Peacock of the North' by the Scots. In 1327 CE Sir James almost captured the English king Edward III (r. 1327-77 CE) during one of the typical guerrilla raids. Said to have won 70 fights, Douglas was killed fighting Saracens in Andalusia in 1330 CE while he was on his way to the Holy Lands to bury there the heart of Robert Bruce as he had promised (the heart ended up in Melrose Abbey, Scotland).
Bertrand du Guesclin - 'The Eagle of Brittany'
Bertrand du Guesclin (c. 1320-1380 CE) was a French knight and national hero known as the 'Eagle of Brittany'. Rising from his humble origins, Bertrand was knighted following his success in stopping an English raiding party in Brittany in 1354 CE. Following further battlefield heroics such as the robust defence of Rennes in 1357 CE and victory over King Charles II of Navarre (r. 1349-1387 CE) at the Battle of Cocherel in 1364 CE, which caused the latter to abandon his claim to the Duchy of Burgundy, he was made the Constable of France, a position he held for a decade from 1370 CE. Bertrand thus commanded his country's army during the Hundred Years' War with England (1337-1453 CE). Bertrand's successes included the recapture of Brittany and a large chunk of south-western France where he was known for his effective use of guerrilla tactics. The Breton was also accomplished at tournaments, first competing as an unknown young knight and winning 12 jousts on the trot, according to legend.
There were two serious setbacks in Bertrand's career, however: namely, being captured twice by the English. On the first occasion, it was Sir John Chandos who captured him after the Battle of Auray in 1364 CE. Ransomed for his freedom as was typical of the times, Bertrand was captured again in 1367 CE and ransomed for an even bigger sum. Bertrand died of dysentery just after his successful siege of Châteauneuf-de-Randon in 1380 CE. The great knight was given the honour of a tomb at the Saint-Denis Basilica in Paris alongside many French kings. Shortly after his death, his eventful life was commemorated in the Chronique de Bertrand du Guesclin by the celebrated French poet Cuvelier.
Edward of Woodstock - 'The Black Prince'
Edward of Woodstock (1330-1376 CE) was the eldest son of English king Edward III, was Prince of Wales from 1343 CE, and the scourge of the French nobility. Known as 'Edward the Black Prince' (from the 16th century CE) for his unusual black armour and shield (he had his first suit of armour aged just seven), Edward made an early claim for knightly fame when he fought with aplomb at the Battle of Crécy in 1346 CE. Still only a teenager, Edward helped his father win a famous victory against a vastly superior French army. More successes came against the same enemy as the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453 CE) progressed, notably at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 CE when King John II of France (r. 1350-1364 CE) himself was captured. Edward won more accolades for his chivalrous good treatment of the captive monarch, and he earned a reputation for largesse, one of the key qualities of a noble knight, by distributing gold and titles to his commanders as well as donating handsomely to churches such as Canterbury Cathedral. The prince's torching and pillaging raids (chevauchée) in northern France did nothing for his popularity there, but the tactic was a common enough one in the warfare of the period.
C. 1348 CE Edward and his father were founder members of the Order of the Garter, the exclusive knight's club which still exists today. The victories kept coming, and in 1367 CE Edward even managed to capture and sell for a massive ransom one of his rivals for the title of greatest ever knight, Bertrand du Guesclin following the Battle of Najera in Spain. When he died of dysentery in 1376 CE, the nation mourned and history lost perhaps one if its greatest should-have-been kings. Another of the Black Prince's lasting legacies is his use of three ostrich feathers as his emblem, still today, the symbol of the Prince of Wales.
Sir Henry Percy - 'Hotspur'
Sir Henry Percy (1364-1403 CE) was the most famous member of the noble Percy family of northern England. Sir Henry was another knight who enjoyed success on both the tournament circuit and the battlefield. In 1377 CE, he was knighted at just age 13 by the English king Edward III and promptly helped his father recapture Berwick Castle from the Scots the next year. 1380 CE saw him on campaign in Ireland, and in 1383 CE he was crusading against pagan Lithuanians in Prussia. Two years later he was back patrolling the Scottish borders after being made the Warden of the East March by Richard II of England (r. 1377-1399 CE).
Sir Henry was at the Battle of Otterburn in Scotland in 1388 CE, an episode recorded for posterity in a poem by the 18th-century CE poet Robert Burns. The English lost, and Sir Henry was captured and put up for ransom, the money being raised by the king and Parliament. Sir Henry was anything but grateful, though, and with his father he plotted against Henry IV of England (r. 1399-1413 CE), and that after helping the English king gain his throne, recapturing Conway Castle from the irksome Welsh in 1401 CE and defeating the even more troublesome Scots at the Battle of Homildon Hill in 1402 CE. The Percy's were miffed at Henry's lack of gratitude, but the 'hotspur' - called so by the Scots for the speed with which he moved his armies and attacked - died in battle at Shrewsbury while fighting the king's forces in 1403 CE. According to legend, Sir Henry was killed by a lucky arrow which struck him in the mouth when he momentarily opened his visor. The king did not forgive his disloyalty, and Henry's corpse was quartered and his head put on a spike at the gates of York as a warning that even great knights must always serve their sovereign.
