Renaud (Reginald) de Vichiers (? – 20 January 1256) was the 19th

Grand Master of the Knights Templar The grand master of the Knights Templar was the supreme commander of the holy order, starting with founder Hugues de Payens. Some held the office for life while others resigned the office to pass the rest of their life in monasteries or diploma ...

from 1250 to 1256. He joined the Knights Templar and was appointed Preceptor of

Saint-Jean-d'Acre Acre ( ), known in Hebrew as Akko (, ) and in Arabic as Akka (, ), is a List of cities in Israel, city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The city occupies a strategic location, sitting ...

in 1240 and Master of France from 1242 to 1249. He was a supporter and comrade-in-arms of

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...

, who helped him be elected Grand Master in place of

Guillaume de Sonnac Guillaume de Sonnac (died 6 April 1250) was Grand Master of the Knights Templar from 1247 to 1250. Personal life Sonnac was born to a noble family in the French region of Rouergue. No date of birth survives for the Grand Master. He was describe ...

, killed in Egypt at the Battle of Al Mansurah, February 11, 1250. He shortly quarreled with Louis, though, over a diplomatic mission of Hugues de Jouy, the Templar Marshal, to

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 ...

. In 1252, Hugues was banished from 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 ...

. In 1252, Renaud de Vichiers retired to a monastery where he stayed until his death on 20 January 1256.

Notes

1256 deaths Grand masters of the Knights Templar Christians of the Sixth Crusade Christians of the Seventh Crusade 13th-century French military personnel Year of birth unknown {{europe-mil-bio-stub