Otto de Grandson (–1328), sometimes numbered Otto I to distinguish him from later members of his family with the same name, was the most prominent of the Savoyard knights in the service of King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

, to whom he was the closest personal friend and many of whose interests he shared.

Family

The son of Pierre, lord of Grandson near

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

and Agnès de Neuchâtel. He was the elder brother of William de Grandison, 1st Baron Grandison and future Bishops of

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

Henri de Grandson and Gerard de Grandson, all of whom would join him in England. As would his cousins

Pierre de Champvent Pierre de Champvent (also Peter de Chauvant or Chauvent) († between September 1302 and March 29, 1303) was a noble originally from Savoy who made a career as a military and courtier in England. Origin and move to England Pierre de Champvent ...

and Guillaume de Champvent. His ancestor, Barthélémy de Jura, Bishop of

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...

, attended the

Council of Troyes (1129) The Council of Troyes was convened by Bernard of Clairvaux on 13 January 1129 in the city of Troyes. The council, largely attended by French clerics, was assembled to hear a petition by Hugues de Payens, head of the Knights Templar. Pope Honorius ...

which wrote the rule for 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 ...

Service in England and Wales (1265–90)

The young Otto travelled to England probably in the company of

Peter II of Savoy Peter II (c. 120315 May 1268), called the Little Charlemagne, was Count of Savoy from 1263 until his death in 1268. He was also holder of the Honour of Richmond, Yorkshire in England, and the English lands of the Honour of the Eagle also known a ...

by 1252, certainly not later than 1265. His father, a loyal ally of Peter was receiving payments from the English crown from 1245. There he entered the service of King Henry III and by 1267 was placed in the household of Prince Edward. In return for likely service for Prince Edward at the battles of Lewes and Evesham he was rewarded with property at Queenhithe in London. In 1268 both prince and servant were knighted and in 1271 the latter accompanied his lord on the

Ninth Crusade Lord Edward's Crusade, sometimes called the Ninth Crusade, was a military expedition to the Holy Land under the command of Edward I of England, Prince Edward Longshanks (later king as Edward I) in 1271 – 1272. In practice an extension of t ...

, where he served at Acre that year. According to Jean d’Ypres, it was Otto, not

Eleanor of Castile Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 28 November 1290) was Queen of England as the first wife of Edward I. She was educated at the Castilian court and also ruled as Countess of Ponthieu in her own right () from 1279. After diplomatic efforts to s ...

, who sucked the poison from the wounded Edward after an attempted assassination. In 1272 Otto was appointed an executor in Acre. In 1277 he was appointed lord of the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

. and in 1290 appointed a bailiff for Jersey and another for Guernsey, giving them civil powers to administer the islands. However, given his many duties for Edward, Grandson would be an absentee landlord. Those appointed by him receiving some criticism. Grandson would make only one certain visit to the islands, this in 1323. Returning to England, he was a key household knight of King Edward I in his campaigns in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, where he served as

chief justiciar Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

of Wales, based at

Caernarfon Castle Caernarfon Castle (; ) is a medieval fortress in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The first fortification on the site was a motte-and-bailey castle built in the late 11th century, which King Edward I of England began to replace with the current st ...

from 1284 to 1294 - although his time in Caernarfon was limited. During the Welsh Wars of King Edward I Otto was very active diplomatically and militarily, beginning with the siege of

Dolforwyn Castle Dolforwyn Castle () is a Welsh medieval castle above the village of Abermule, Powys. The fortification was established by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Gwynedd in the late 13th century. It is sited on a wooded ridge commanding excellent ...

in April 1277. In a letter attributed to him from

he may well have been instrumental in bringing Master

James of Saint George Master James of Saint George (–1309; French: , Old French: Mestre Jaks, Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: Mestre Jaks, Latin: Magister Jaco ...

to Wales - the man who would later build

Flint Castle Flint Castle () in Flint, Flintshire, was the first of a series of castles built during King Edward I's campaign to conquer Wales. The site was chosen for its strategic position in North East Wales. The castle was only one day's march from Che ...

, Rhuddlan Castle,

Conwy Castle Conwy Castle (; ) is a fortification in Conwy, located in North Wales. It was built by Edward I of England, Edward I, during his Conquest of Wales by Edward I, conquest of Wales, between 1283 and 1287. Constructed as part of a wider project to ...

, Harlech Castle and

Beaumaris Castle Beaumaris Castle ( ; , ), in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales, was built as part of Edward I of England, Edward I's Conquest of Wales by Edward I of England, campaign to conquer north Wales after 1282. Plans were probably first made to construct t ...

. Indeed Grandson is recorded as directing early palisade works at

. On behalf of Edward, he concluded the

Treaty of Aberconwy The Treaty of Aberconwy was signed on the 10th of November 1277, and was made between King Edward I of England and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales. It followed Edward's invasion of Llywelyn's territories earlier that year. The treaty re-e ...

in November that brought the invasion of Wales in 1277 to an end. In early 1278, he was sent to

Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...

by Edward along with Robert Burnel, to reform the government - Grandson and Burnell were joint Lieutenants of Gascony from 7 February 1278 until September 1278. They appointed

Jean I de Grailly Jean I de Grailly (died c. 1301) was the seneschal of the Duchy of Gascony from 1266 to 1268, of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from about 1272 until about 1276, and of Gascony again from 1278 until 1286 or 1287. Early life Jean was born on the shores ...

as the new

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, ...

and laid the foundations for the Treaty of Amiens sealed in 1279. He was also employed as a diplomat and gained contacts with most of the sovereigns of western Europe. During the second invasion of Wales in 1282–83 he narrowly escaped death at the battle of Moel-y-don before in April 1283 taking the town of

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, North Wales, and formerly in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it ...

at the head of 560 infantry. As a commander of the royal army that had begun the campaign from Anglesey he was amongst the first of Edward’s retinue to see the future castle sites at

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

and

. In 1283 he was briefly in the employ of

Edmund Crouchback Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster (16 January 12455 June 1296), also known as Edmund Crouchback, was a member of the royal Plantagenet Dynasty and the founder of the first House of Lancaster. He was Earl of Leicester (1265–1296), Lancaster (1267� ...

, the king's younger brother, for diplomatic work. It was said that no one could do the king's will better, including the king himself.

Crusading years (1290–95)

King

sent Otto to

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

in the Holy Land in 1290 along with some English knights. At the time of the

fall of Acre The siege of Acre (also called the fall of Acre) took place in 1291 and resulted in the Crusaders' losing control of Acre to the Mamluks. It is considered one of the most important battles of the period. Although the crusading movement continu ...

(1291), he was the master of the English knights in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. At Acre he saved the life of fellow Savoyard

, with whom he had served Edward in Gascony earlier. As the city fell to the Muslims he commandeered Venetian ships filling them with fleeing troops and the wounded Jean I de Grailly, Otto was the last to join them on board. There are conflicting accounts of Grandson’s conduct at Acre, but the only eyewitness account by the Templar of Tyre in his Gestes des Chiprois confirms: “Then entered a great number of Saracen men on horseback, so much that Sir Jean de Grailly, and Sir Othon de Grandson, and the men of the King of France made great defence, so that there are assessed many wounded and dead; and Sir Jean de Grailly and Sir Othon de Grandson could no longer suffer the charge of the Saracens, and they departed from there and fled, and Sir Jean de Grailly was wounded.” SiegeOfAcre1291

It is this account which is rendered by the renowned crusade historian Steven Runciman: “ On the eastern sector Jean de Grailly was wounded, but Othon de Grandson took control. He commandeered as many Venetian ships as he could find and placed Jean de Grailly and all soldiers he could rescue on board, and himself was the last to join them.” After the fall of the city he fled to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

a poor man, but went on a subsequent pilgrimage to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. In 1298 or 1299, Otto,

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 ...

of the Templars, and

Guillaume de Villaret Guillaume de Villaret ( 1235 – 1305), was the twenty-fourth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, a position he held from 1296 until 1305, succeeding Odon de Pins. He was succeeded by his nephew, Foulques de Villaret, whose career he had d ...

of the

Hospitallers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

campaigned in

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

in order to fight off an invasion by the

Mamluks Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...

. In his ''La flor des estoires d'Orient'', the Armenian monk

Hayton of Corycus Hayton of Corycus, O.Praem (also ''Hethum, Het'um'', and variants; ; ) was a medieval Armenian nobleman and historiographer. He was also a member of Norbertines and likely a Catholic priest. Hayton is the author of ("Flower of the Histories of t ...

mentions his activity on the mainland in Cilicia in 1298–1299: "Otto de Grandison and the Masters of the Temple and of the Hospitallers as well as their convents, who were at that time 298 or 1299in these regions ilician Armenia. . .". Otto has been hypothesised as the author of the '' Via ad Terram Sanctam'', an Old French treatise on the recovery of the Holy Land. The hypothesis has been widely accepted, but has its detractors.

Back in England and Diplomacy (1295–1307)

In 1294

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

had confiscated

from Edward I, leading to the

Gascon War The Gascon War, also known as the 1294–1303 Anglo-French War or the Guyenne War (), was a conflict between the kingdoms of France and England. Most of the fighting occurred in the Duchy of Aquitaine, made up of the areas of Guyenne and Gascon ...

of 1294-1303. Following Grandson’s return to England from the Holy Land much of his time until the eventual peace of 1303 was taken up with diplomatic work at the French court and more often the Papal Curia in seeking a return of Gascony. Amongst this diplomatic work was the need to build alliances for Edward against Philip, notably for Grandson the alliance he built with the nobles of the

County of Burgundy The Free County of Burgundy (; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It became known as Franche-Comté (the ''Free County''), and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It belonged to th ...

who agreed in Brussels in the spring of 1297, to send five hundred cavalrymen to support the English in return for 60,000 livres in the first year of the war and 30,000 livres thereafter. He was summoned to Parliament in 1299, which resulted in him becoming Baron Grandison. In 1302 he was amongst the team of plenipotentiaries appointed by

to negotiate the Treaty of Paris that returned the

Duchy of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine (, ; , ) was a historical fiefdom located in the western, central, and southern areas of present-day France, south of the river Loire. The full extent of the duchy, as well as its name, fluctuated greatly over the centuries ...

to Edward.

Return to the Continent (1307–28)

In 1307, on Edward's death, Otto left England permanently. He remained in the service of the crown for a while longer, however, for until 1317 he represented England at the

Papal Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes us ...

. He was a benefactor of

Vale Royal Vale Royal was, from 1974 to 2009, a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Cheshire, England. It contained the towns of Northwich, Winsford and Frodsham. History The ...

, an Edwardian foundation. The chronicler of Vale Royal described Grandson in these terms: “Now there was at that time with the King a good and holy man, and a most strenuous knight in arms, named Otto de Grandison, whose memory be blessed for ever.” He founded a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friary in 1289 and a

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

monastery at La Lance in 1317. Tomb of Otton de Grandson

At the end of his life he returned to Grandson, which he had inherited from his father and to which he had made recurrent visits throughout his adult life. He never married and was succeeded by his nephew. He had advanced many of his relatives through his embassies, especially in the church. Three of his relatives served as Bishops of Lausanne and another nephew,

John Grandisson The '' British Museum">John Grandisson Triptych'', displaying on two small escutcheons the arms of Bishop Grandisson. British Museum John de Grandisson (1292 – 16 July 1369), also spelt Grandison, was Bishop of Exeter, in Devon, England, f ...

, succeeded to the

Diocese of Exeter The Diocese of Exeter is a Church of England diocese covering the county of Devon. It is one of the largest dioceses in England. The Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan Bishop of Exeter. It is part of the Provinc ...

. In the spring of 1328, the ninety-year-old knight set out tor one last trip to Rome. Close to

Aigle Aigle ( French for "eagle", ; ) is a historic town and a municipality and the capital of the district of Aigle in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The official language of Aigle is Swiss French. Geography Aigle lies at an elevation of a ...

, he was taken ill. On 5 April 1328, he died. A vidimus (attested copy) of his last will and testament gave details of his funeral wishes. “I choose burial in the cathedral church of B essed Mary ausanne Also I will and order that when my body shall be carried to the church to be laid thereupon, two men armed with my arms, and each carrying my banner with the same arms, shall precede my body on two horses, each of which shall be worth 100 livres Lausanneois, and let one of the horses be covered with my arms and the other with iron arapace and let the said horses be offered

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

the aforesaid arms and coverings to the aforesaid church of Lausanne, who as rightful ambassadors shall remain for the remission of my sins. . . I give and bequeath to the church of Lausanne all my ornaments, clothing and silverware which are now deposited there, with the exception of a small gold cross and a statue of the B essed Mary.” His nephew Pierre II de Grandson succeeded him as the Lord of Grandson.

Links with the Order of the Knights Templar

There is no evidence that Grandson was a member of the Templar Order, however he was a close ally of the order. At some point, the date is unclear, he was in receipt of a yearly payment from the Templars of 2,000 Livres Tournois. This equates to around £350,000 per annum in today’s money. The payments are thought to relate to the Fall of Acre in 1291 and the subsequent election of

as Grand Master of the

on Cyprus in 1292. The payments are known, because Grandson petitioned

Pope Clement V Pope Clement V (; – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his death, in April 1314. He is reme ...

upon suppression of the order in 1308. Regesta Papae Clement V, vol 2-3,137-8. no 2938 Clement granted Grandson the revenue of three former Templar commanderies in Burgundy, including Epailly. These former

commanderies continued to provide the enormous income formerly provided by the Templars until Grandson’s death in 1328.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Burnand, Auguste. 1911. Vaudois en Angleterre au XIIIe siècle, avec Othon Ier de Grandson: (d'après M.C.-L. Kingsford). Revue Historique Vaudoise 19: 212-218. * Burnand, Auguste. 1911. La date de la naissance d’Othon 1er, Sire de Grandson. Revue Historique Vaudoise 19: 129 - 135. * * Darracott. Ann. The Grandisons: Their Built and Chivalric Legacy. Maidenhead: Maidenhead Civic Society. 2014. * Dean, Robert J. "Castles in Distant Lands: The Life and Times of Othon de Grandson". 2009. * Demurger, Alain. ''Jacques de Molay''. Payot, 2007. * Demurger, Alain. ‘ Othon de Grandson et les templiers d’Épailly’ in Communicating the Middle Ages: Essays in Honour of Sophia Menache. London: Routledge. 2018. * Ghazarian, Jacob G
Who was Otto de Grandison?
* Hicks, Michael A. "Sir Otto Grandisson." ''Who's Who in Late Medieval England, 1272–1485''. 1st ed. Geoffrey Treasure, series editor. Stackpole Books, 1991. pp. 10–11. . * Kingsford, Charles, Lethbridge
"Sir Otho de Grandison 1238?–1328."
''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', 3rd Ser., Vol. 3. (1909), pp. 125–195. * Köhler, C. 1903-4.” Deux projets de croisade en terre-sainte composée à la fin du xiiie siècle et au debut du xive’, Revue de l'Orient Latin. * Labarge, Margaret Wade. ''Gascony, England's First Colony 1204–1453''. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1980. * Maddicott J. R
"Grandson , Sir Otto de (c.1238–1328)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press, 2004 nline 2005 Accessed 31 May 2015. * * * Ray, Michael. 2006. The Savoyard Cousins: A Comparison of the Careers and Relative Success of the Grandson (Grandison) and Champvent (Chavent) Families in England. The Antiquaries Journal 86 * Salt, Mary C
"List of English Embassies to France, 1272–1307 (in Notes and Documents)."
''

The English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly by Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, a ...

'', 44:174. (Apr., 1929), pp. 263–278. * Taylor, A. J
"Who was 'John Pennardd, Leader of the Men of Gwynedd'? (in Notes and Documents)."
''The English Historical Review'', 91:358. (Jan., 1976), pp. 79–97. * Taylor. A. J. “ Some notes on the Savoyards in North Wales, 1277-1300. With special reference to the Savoyard element in the construction of Harlech Castle.’ ‘Genava 11:189-315. * Williams, David. 2022. Pierre de Grandson Part One. Foundations vol 14. 3-56. * Williams, David. 2022. Pierre de Grandson Part Two. Foundations vol 15. 3-63

Links

Knights Templar Commanderie of Epailly (Fr) https://www.commanderie-templiers-epailly.com/fr/un-peu-d-histoire/la-commanderie-au-fil-du-temps {{DEFAULTSORT:Grandson, Otto De 1230s births 1328 deaths Christians of Lord Edward's crusade

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

13th-century diplomats Savoyard emigrants to England Medieval governors of Guernsey