Guillaume de Beaujeu, aka William of Beaujeu ( 1230 – 1291) was the 21st 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 ...

, from 1273 until his death during the

siege of Acre Siege of Acre may refer to: * Siege of Acre (1104), following the First Crusade *Siege of Acre (1189–1191), during the Third Crusade * Siege of Acre (1263), Baibars laid siege to the Crusader city, but abandoned it to attack Nazareth. *Siege of A ...

in 1291. He was the last Grand Master to preside in Palestine.

Biography

Guillaume was born around 1230, to be the youngest son of Guichard II of Beaujeu, Seigneur of Montpensier and Catherine, daughter of Guillaume VIII son of

Dalfi d'Alvernha Dalfi d'Alvernha (french: Dauphin d'Auvergne) was the Count of Clermont and Montferrand, a troubadour and a patron of troubadours. He was born around 1150 and died in 1234 or 1235. He is sometimes called Robert IV, but there is no solid evidence ...

. He joined the

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

in 1253, where he probably participated in the Seventh Crusade. He later went to the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establishe ...

by 1260 or 1261, then he was captured during an ambush in the region of

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...

, but released shorty after along with

John II of Beirut John of Ibelin (died 1264), often called John II, was the Lord of Beirut from 1254, named after his grandfather John I, the famous "Old Lord of Beirut", and son of Balian of Ibelin, who surrendered Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187. His parents were ...

and John de

Embriaco The Embriaco were a prominent Genoese family, who played an important role in the history of the Crusader states. It also gave consuls, admirals and ambassadors to the Republic of Genoa. The family ruled the city of Byblos (in present-day Leba ...

. He was also part of the

War of Saint Sabas The War of Saint Sabas (1256–1270) was a conflict between the rival Italian maritime republics of Genoa (aided by Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre, John of Arsuf, and the Knights Hospitaller) and Venice (aided by the Count of Jaffa and Ascal ...

, which deeply divided the nobility of the Crusader States and military orders. Hence,

Baibars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak ...

, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, took the opportunity to conquer many Christian fortresses including

Beaufort Castle Beaufort Castle can refer to several places: * Beaufort Castle, Florennes, Belgium * Beaufort Castle, France, in the historical region of Auvergne * Beaufort Castle in Huy, Belgium * Beaufort Castle, Greece, a Frankish castle in Laconia * Beaufor ...

, and destroy the

Principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of Edessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It extende ...

. In 1271, he became commander of the Templars in Tripoli. Later on, he was appointed as

Grand Master of the Knights Templar The grand master of the Knights Templar was the supreme commander of the holy order, starting with founder Hugues de Payens in 1118. Some held the office for life while others resigned life in monasteries or diplomacy. Grand masters often led ...

to succeed

Thomas Bérard Thomas Bérard (also Béraud or Bérault), (? – 25 March 1273) 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 the miserable situation in the Holy Land. ...

in 1273. During his tenure the new

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

Sultan,

Qalawun ( ar, قلاوون الصالحي, – November 10, 1290) was the seventh Bahri Mamluk sultan; he ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1290. He was called (, "Qalāwūn the Victorious"). Biography and rise to power Qalawun was a Kipchak, ancient Turkic ...

, easily conquered

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

, after an earthquake in March 1286, which was the only remaining port in the Principality of Antioch, followed by the

County of Tripoli The County of Tripoli (1102–1289) was the last of the Crusader states. It was founded in the Levant in the modern-day region of Tripoli, northern Lebanon and parts of western Syria which supported an indigenous population of Christians, Druze ...

in 1289, which had ignored Beaujeu's warnings. In 1290, Qalawun marched on

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

, the capital of the remnant of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but died in November before launching the attack. His son

Al-Ashraf Khalil Al-Ashraf Salāh ad-Dīn Khalil ibn Qalawūn ( ar, الملك الأشرف صلاح الدين خليل بن قلاوون; c. 1260s – 14 December 1293) was the eighth Bahri Mamluk sultan, succeeding his father Qalawun. He served from 12 Nove ...

, however, decided to continue the campaign. Beaujeu led the defence of the city. At one point during the siege, he dropped his sword and walked away from the walls. His knights remonstrated. Beaujeu replied: "Je ne m'enfuis pas; je suis mort. Voici le coup." ("I'm not running away; I am dead. Here is the blow.") He raised his arm to show the mortal wound he had received - an arrow had penetrated his mail under his armpit so that only the fletches were visible. Beaujeu died of his wound and the city fell to the Mamluks, signalling the end of Crusader occupation of the Holy Land.

In fiction

*Guillaume de Beaujeu is one of the main characters of

Robyn Young Robyn Young (born in Oxford in September 1975) is an English people, English author of historical fiction. She is most widely known for her ''Brethren'' trilogy, set in the Middle Ages. Her books have been published in more than 15 languages. ...

's book ''

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

''.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

A letter from Egyptian Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil to William of Beaujeu

1230 births 1291 deaths Grand Masters of the Knights Templar 13th-century French people 13th-century Luxembourgian people Medieval Luxembourgian nobility Deaths by arrow wounds {{europe-mil-bio-stub

Biography

In fiction

See also

References

Bibliography

External links