Hugues de Payens

Hugues de Payens

Hugues de Payens (c. 1070 – 24 May 1136) was a French knight and the first officially recognized Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Templar.

At the Council of Nablus in 1120, de Payens was given permission to officially found the Knights Templar by Baldwin II of Jerusalem, who ceded the Al-Aqsa Mosque to the Order as a headquarters.

Together with Bernard de Clairvaux, de Payens wrote the Latin Rule, the Creed of the Templars, gained the support of the Church and ensured that the Order was recognized and confirmed during the Council of Troyes in 1129. Although the Templar Order was now public, its true goals remained secret.

Gallery

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  Baldwin II of Jerusalem ceding Al-Aqsa Mosque to Hugues de Payens and the Templars

Reference

• Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia