Sir Hugh de Payns

It is relatively settled that Hugues de Payens, 1st Grand Master of the Order of Knights Templar, was a native of Champagne (France), and a son of Hugues I, seigneur de Montigny. (Thierry Leroy, Hugues de Payns: la naissance des Templiers : la mémoire retrouvée, 2011; "Hugues de Payns" at Wikipedia). However , there are minority opinions that he might have been a native of Spain or Italy.

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugues_de_Payens

Hugh de Payens was the founder and First Grand Master of the order of Knights Templar from 1118 to 1136. He did not have a personal coat of arms, because heraldry only came into being in the 12th Century.He was born Troyes, Aube, Champagne-Ardenne, France. He died in palestine 1131 age 61.
He accompanied Count Hugh of Champagne on the first Crusade, where he most likely served in the army of Godfroi de Boullion. Visited Jerusalem for a second time in 1108 and accompanied by Hughes again, the Count returned to France and Hugues remained. Responding to the call to action of Pope Urban II, he organised the original nine monk-knights to defend pilgrims to the Holy Land. De Payens approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem with eight knights (two were brothers and all were relatives by blood or by marriage) and an offer to protect pilgrims, and keep the roads and highways safe.

Video:

• Decoding the Past: The Templar Code

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Grand Master, Order of the Temple.