André de Montbard (5 November c. 1097 – 17 January 1156) was the fifth Grand Master of the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

and also one of the founders of the Order. The Montbard family came from the

high nobility Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duk ...

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

, and André was an uncle of St.

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through t ...

, being a half-brother of Bernard's mother Aleth de Montbard. She had married Tescelin Sorus, a knight, the father of Bernard. He entered the Order in 1129 and went to Palestine, where he quickly rose to the rank of

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

, deputy and second-in-command to the Grand Master. After the Siege of Ascalon on 22 August 1153, André was elected Grand Master to replace

Bernard de Tremelay Bernard de Tramelay (died 16 August 1153) 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, a ...

, who had been killed during an assault on the city on 16 August. He died on 17 January 1156, in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and was succeeded by Bertrand de Blanchefort.

Notes

1090s births 1156 deaths Grand Masters of the Knights Templar 12th-century French people Medieval Knights Templar members {{Europe-mil-bio-stub