, commonly known in French as or ( – 24 May 1136), was the co-founder and first Grand Master 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 ...

Origin and early life

The Latin text of

William of Tyre William of Tyre (; 29 September 1186) was a Middle Ages, medieval prelate and chronicler. As Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tyre, archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from his predecessor, William I of Tyr ...

's ''History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea'', dated , calls him , without any geographical reference. William's history was translated into French in the early 13th century, by an anonymous author who added that Hugh was from "," “near Troyes." The 12th-century author Walter Map also noted that Hugh was named "Payns, from a village of that name in Burgundy.” Hugh is therefore assumed to have come from the village of Payns, about 10km from

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

, in

Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

(eastern France). is mentioned as a witness to a donation by Count Hugh of Champagne in a document of 1085–90, indicating that the man was at least sixteen by this date—a legal adult and thus able to bear witness to legal documents—and so born no later than 1070. The same name appears on a number of other charters up to 1113 also relating to Count Hugh of Champagne, suggesting that or was a member of the Count's court. By the year 1113, he was married to Elisabeth de Chappes, who bore him at least one child, Thibaud, later abbot of the Abbaye de la Colombe at

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km southeast from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second la ...

. The documents span Hugh's lifetime and the disposition of his property after his death.

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...

, who favoured the Order and helped to compose its '' Latin Rule'', also had the support of Hugh of Champagne. The ''Latin Rule'' of the Order was confirmed at the Council of Troyes. A Templar commandery was eventually built at Payns. This is considered to be additional circumstantial evidence that Hugh was from the area. Other suggestions that Hugh came from Viviers in the modern of

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Nocera dei Pagani in Campania can “reasonably be dismissed.”

The foundation of the Order

Baldwin II ceeding the Temple of Salomon to Hugues de Payens and Gaudefroy de Saint-Homer

Hugh, Count of Champagne made a pilgrimage to 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 ...

in 1104–07 and visited Jerusalem for a second time in 1114–16. He was probably accompanied by Hugh of Payens, who remained there after the Count returned to France, as "Hugo de Peans" witnessed a charter in Jerusalem in 1120-1121. He was called ("Master of the Knights of the Temple") for the first time in a document dated 1125. He most likely obtained approval for the Order from King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Warmund of Picquigny, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, at the Council of Nablus in 1120. In the late 1120s, Hugo de Paganis and five other Templars ( Godfrey de Saint-Omer, Roland, Geoffrey Bisol, Payen de Montdidier, and Archambaud de Saint-Amand-les-Eaux) went on a diplomatic mission to

western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

on behalf of Baldwin II. They met with nobles and kings at the Council of Troyes in an attempt to encourage warriors to come to the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...

and join an attack on

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

that Baldwin was planning.

Death

Hugo died in 1136. The Templars commemorated his death every year on 24 May.Barber (1970), p. 239. He was succeeded as Grand Master by Robert de Craon.

References

Sources

*William of Tyre, ''History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea'', trans. E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey (Columbia University Press, 1943, repr. Octagon Books, 1976. *Walter Map, ''De nugis curialium'', ed. and tr. by M.R. James, rev. by C.N.L. Brooke and R.A.B. Mynors (Oxford, 1983). *J. M. Upton-Ward, ''The Rule of the Templars: The French Text of the Rule of the Order of Knights Templar'' (Boydell Press, 1992) *Malcolm Barber, "The origins of the Order of the Temple," in ''Studia Monastica'' 12 (1970). *Malcolm Barber and Keith Bate, ''The Templars: Selected Sources'' (Manchester University Press, 2007). *Thierry Leroy, ''Hugues de Payns, chevalier champenois, fondateur de l'Ordre des Templiers'' (Maison Boulanger, 1997). *Anthony Luttrell, "The earliest Templars," in ''Autour de la premiere croisade'', ed. Michel Balard (Sorbonne, 1996). *Dominic K. Selwood, "Quidam autem dubitaverunt. The Saint, the Sinner, the Temple and a Possible Chronology," in ''Autour de la premiere croisade'', ed. Michel Balard (Sorbonne, 1996).

External links