The Last Templar in the Holy Land. Life and Death of William of Beaujeu.
Vendémiaire| N° d'inventaire | 23522 |
| Format | 14 x 20 |
| Détails | 228 p., paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2021 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782363583604 |
So who was William of Beaujeu when, in 1273, at the age of forty, he was elevated to the rank of Grand Master of the Order of the Temple, which led him to Acre in the Holy Land? Related to all the sovereigns of Europe, raised in the spirit of the crusade, he was first and foremost a warrior, a man of action; but also a man of networks: he maintained excellent relations with the Pope, shrewd exchanges with the Italian cities, and above all an astonishing closeness to the Mameluke Sultan and the emirs of his entourage, where he counted a large number of loyal friends, and as many spies. Twenty years later, however, a final assault would defeat the fortress of Acre, the last capital of the Latin kingdom. Beaujeu actively participated in the defensive battles, leading sorties by day and night, before meeting his death on the ramparts. The city fell on the very day he was killed: the announcement of his end had thrown terror and discouragement into the population and even into the ranks of the army. Since then overshadowed by the tragic fate of his successor Jacques de Molay, who died at the stake on the orders of Philip the Fair, he fully deserves to have a biography dedicated to him today, his destiny being intimately linked to the great geopolitical upheavals of the late 13th century.
So who was William of Beaujeu when, in 1273, at the age of forty, he was elevated to the rank of Grand Master of the Order of the Temple, which led him to Acre in the Holy Land? Related to all the sovereigns of Europe, raised in the spirit of the crusade, he was first and foremost a warrior, a man of action; but also a man of networks: he maintained excellent relations with the Pope, shrewd exchanges with the Italian cities, and above all an astonishing closeness to the Mameluke Sultan and the emirs of his entourage, where he counted a large number of loyal friends, and as many spies. Twenty years later, however, a final assault would defeat the fortress of Acre, the last capital of the Latin kingdom. Beaujeu actively participated in the defensive battles, leading sorties by day and night, before meeting his death on the ramparts. The city fell on the very day he was killed: the announcement of his end had thrown terror and discouragement into the population and even into the ranks of the army. Since then overshadowed by the tragic fate of his successor Jacques de Molay, who died at the stake on the orders of Philip the Fair, he fully deserves to have a biography dedicated to him today, his destiny being intimately linked to the great geopolitical upheavals of the late 13th century.