Bertrand de Blanchefort

Bertrand de Blanquefort (also Blanche Fort, * to 1109, † January 2, 1169 ) was the sixth Grand Master of the Knights Templar.

Bertrand was the youngest son of Godfrey de Blanche Fort, a knight from the duchy of Guyenne (see also Blanche House Fort ).

He was elected in October 1156 grandmasters. At the beginning of his tenure led Bertrand the Templars on the side King Baldwin III. of Jerusalem in the fight against Nur ad-Din. Following Baldwin's defeat at Banyas in 1157, Bertrand fell into an ambush and was captured. He spent three years in the prison of Aleppo, until it I. Comnenus and Nur ad -Din was released along with 6,000 other Christian prisoners in the context of a peace treaty between the Byzantine emperor Manuel.

1163 accompanied King Amalric I. Bertrand during his invasion of Egypt. The expedition failed, despite the high costs. 1168 Bertrand leaned from the participation of the Templars on another expedition to Egypt.

Bertrand made ​​a few lasting reforms within the Knights Templar. So he let the Rule to religious ordinances (so-called " retraez " or " retrais " ) supplement, which regulated the hierarchical structure of the order exactly. In addition, he arranged with Pope Alexander III. for his office the title of " Master of the grace of God " ( Dei Gratia Magister ).

In his seal of 1157 Bertrand used the first time the subject of two knights on a horse.