Odo of St. Amand (french: Eudes; 1110 – October 1180) was the 8th 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 ...

, between 1171 and 1179.

Personal life

Odo was born to a family from Limousin, France. He was marshal of Jerusalem and later

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

. He was a headstrong leader of the order, which earned him praise and resentment in equal measure. An example of this can be found 1172. When a

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

knight, Gauthier du Maisnil, was accused of murdering an

Assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or VIP, important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not ha ...

dignitary to

King Amalric Amalric or Amaury I ( la, Amalricus; french: Amaury; 113611 July 1174) was King of Jerusalem from 1163, and Count of Jaffa and Ascalon before his accession. He was the second son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and succeeded his older broth ...

, Odo refused to hand him over. He cited the papal bull which stipulated the only power over the Templars was Rome.

Military career

Odo took part in several expeditions during his time as grand master. He spearheaded military action in Naplouse,

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

and

Djerach Jerash ( ar, جرش ''Ǧaraš''; grc, Γέρασα ''Gérasa'') is a city in northern Jordan. The city is the administrative center of the Jerash Governorate, and has a population of 50,745 as of 2015. It is located north of the capital city ...

, scoring considerable victories with the Templars. Perhaps his finest hour was at the

battle of Montgisard The Battle of Montgisard was fought between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Ayyubids on 25 November 1177 at Montgisard, in the Levant between Ramla and Yibna. The 16-year-old Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, seriously afflicted by leprosy, led an o ...

, where his knights convincingly defeated a superior detachment of

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...

's army. In March 1179, Odo oversaw the construction of the

Chastelet Chastelet was a castle located beside Daughters of Jacob Bridge, Jacob's Ford, a ford of the upper Jordan River in Israel. The castle was built during the Crusades by the Knights Templar and the forces of the Kingdom of Jerusalem but was destroyed ...

fortress. Its position and impregnability made it a thorn in Saladin's side and he offered considerable amounts of money to have it destroyed. It was so effective that Saladin's May assault on

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

in 1179 was defeated. His forces broke on the fortress's thick walls, and the fierce fighting of the Templars stationed there scored heavy losses on the

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

. Trying to capitalize on the victory, an assault on the

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

forces was organized at the

Battle of Marj Ayun The Battle of Marj Ayyun was a military confrontation fought at Marj Ayyoun near the Litani River (modern-day Lebanon) in June 1179 between the Kingdom of Jerusalem under Baldwin IV and the Ayyubid armies under the leadership of Saladin. It ende ...

in 1179. It was spearheaded by King Baldwin IV, Count

Raymond III of Tripoli Raymond III (1140 – September/October 1187) was County of Tripoli, count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187. He was a minor when Order of Assassins, Assassins murdered his father, Raymond II of Tripoli. Baldwin III of Jerusalem, who was staying in Tri ...

, Odo de St Amand and

Roger de Moulins Roger de Moulins was eighth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1177 to his death in 1187. He succeeded Jobert of Syria.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). " St John of Jerusalem, Knights of the Order of the Hospital of". ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

. However, Saladin had regrouped and decimated the Christian forces. Baldwin IV escaped the carnage, taking with him the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...

, but St. Amand was captured and taken hostage. In August 1179, the new Templar fortress was captured and the knights stationed there were beheaded by the Muslim forces. Odo died in one of Saladin's jails sometime during 1180, although no exact date survives. His release was proposed, in exchange for one of Saladin's captive nephews, but negotiations came too late.

Gathering support

Not only were Odo's victories important from a military standpoint, but they were vital in gaining fresh pledges of money and resources from homeland countries in Europe. Inspired by the Templars' sensational victory at Montgisard, Renaud, Lord of Margat, donated half of the income from several of his cities to the order's cause.The Masters of the Templar Order : Pierre de Montaigu
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References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:St Amand, Odo de 1110 births 1179 deaths Grand Masters of the Knights Templar 12th-century French people