Roger de Pins (1294 – 28 May 1365) was the grand master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1355 to the 1365.

Biography

Little is known about de Pin's early life besides the fact that he came from Provence. Born in 1294, Roger de Pins came from a prominent family in the Knights Hospitaller, which included Odon de Pins, who served as grand master of the order from 1294 to 1296, and Giraud de Pins, who served as the papal appointed leader in Rhodes from 1317 to 1319 when there was conflict around the grandmaster

Foulques de Villaret Foulques de Villaret (Occitan: Folco del Vilaret, Catalan: Folc del Vilaret; died 1 September 1327), a native of Languedoc-Roussillon, France, was the 25th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, succeeding his paternal uncle Guillaume de Villa ...

. He was elected grand master in September of 1355, succeeding

Pierre de Corneillan Pierre de Corneillan (died 24 August 1355) was the Grand Prior of Saint-Gilles and 4th Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, in Rhodes, from 1353 to 1355. His Blazon was : "Gules on a bend argent three Cornish choughs sable" De Corn ...

. Soon after his accession,

Pope Innocent VI Pope Innocent VI ( la, Innocentius VI; 1282 or 1295 – 12 September 1362), born Étienne Aubert, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 December 1352 to his death in September 1362. He was the fifth Avignon pope a ...

called an assembly in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

, in which he imposed reform upon the Knights Hospitaller. The reform, however, also undermined the authority of de Pins and showed papal favor to an opponent of his, Juan Fernández de Heredia. In 1356, James of Piedmont, titular Prince of Achaea, proposed selling his title as Prince of Achaea to the pope. The pope considered buying it for the Hospitallers, but by the time the Hospitaller delegation arrived in

in 1357, the titular Latin Emperor Robert II had refused to accept the deal, causing it to fall through.

Legacy

Roger de Pins is primarily remembered for his generosity and compassion when he served as grand master of the order. It is said that during his reign Rhodes was hit by plague and famine, and de Pins provided for the people, only keeping what he needed to live.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pins, Roger de Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller 1294 births 1365 deaths People from Provence