Barthélemy de Quincy (died 26 September 1302) was Marshal of the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

during the mastership of

Jacques de Molay Jacques de Molay (; 1240–1250 – 11 or 18 March 1314), also spelled "Molai",Demurger, pp. 1–4. "So no conclusive decision can be reached, and we must stay in the realm of approximations, confining ourselves to placing Molay's date of birth ...

Career

Barthélemy probably originated from the

Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...

. The date of his departure for the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

and his entry into the order of the Temple are unknown. He was named marshal of the order around 1294. In the meantime, the Order tried to organize a campaign to reconquer the Holy Land in alliance with the Mongols under Ghazan. By the end of September 1300, Ghazan set out from

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

, while Templars and Hospitallers and the King of Cyprus positioned their troops on the island of Ruad in front of the former Templar stronghold of

Tartus Tartus ( / ALA-LC: ''Ṭarṭūs''; known in the County of Tripoli as Tortosa and also transliterated from French language, French Tartous) is a major port city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria (af ...

. However, an unusually severe winter halted the Mongol advance, and Ghazan was forced to delay attacking the Mamluks until a later date. Meanwhile, the Templars held the island and from there repeatedly made forays into the mainland. In November 1301,

Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections t ...

granted the island of Ruad to the Templars. They reinforced the fortifications and set up a permanent force under the command of Marshal of the Templars Barthélemy de Quincy. In 1302, the Mamluks sent a fleet of 16 ships from Egypt to Tripoli, from which they besieged Ruad. They disembarked at two points and set up their own encampment. The Templars fought the invaders, but were eventually starved out. The Cypriots had been assembling a fleet to rescue Ruad, which set out from

Famagusta Famagusta, also known by several other names, is a city located on the eastern coast of Cyprus. It is located east of the capital, Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under the maritime ...

, but did not arrive in time. On Ruad, Brother Hugh of Dampierre negotiated a surrender to the Mamluks on September 26, under the condition that they could safely escape to a Christian land of their choice. However after they emerged conflict soon started, Barthélemy de Quincy was killed in the conflict, all the bowmen and Syrian Christian footsoldiers were executed, and dozens of the surviving Templar knights were taken as prisoners to Cairo.

References

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* * * * * {{authority control 1302 deaths 13th-century French people Medieval French knights French Roman Catholics Marshals of the Knights Templar People killed in action