The Grand Master of the Knights
Templar was the supreme commander of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. There were in total 23 Grand Masters
The order was formed in 1119 CE when seven knights, led by a French nobleman from Champagne, named Hugh of Payns, swore to defend Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem and the Holy Land and so created a brotherhood who took monastic vows and lived together in a closed community.
While many Grand Masters chose to hold the position for life, abdication was not unknown. Some masters left the Order to live in monasteries . Grand Masters often led their knights into battle on the front line and the numerous occupational hazards of battle made their time in office very short.
Each country had its own Master, and the Masters reported to the Grand Master. The Grand Master oversaw all the operations of the Order, including both the military operations in the Holy Land and eastern Europe, and the financial and business dealings in the Order’s infrastructure of western Europe. The Grand Master controlled the actions of the order, but he was expected to act the same way as the rest of the knights. After the Pope issued a Papal Bull on behalf of the Templars, the Grand Master was obliged to answer only to Rome.
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