Armand de Perigord (1178-1247)

Master of the Order from 1232 to 1247.

Armand de Perigord, also called ‘Hermann de Pierre-Grosse’, came from the family of the Count of Perigord. Born in 1178, he enters very soon the Order and takes the function of Master of the Province of Pouilles and Sicily from 1205 to 1232, when he is elected Master of the Order.

From 1232, he lead his knights in important offensives against cities of Cana, Saphet and Saphorie and against Muslims positions around Tiberiade Lake.
But all these expeditions only resulted in an important decrease in numbers of Templars in all the Latin States.
In 1236, the Syrio-Cilician border is the theatre of a Templar military disaster. 120 knights with several hundred bowmen and Turcopoles try to seize the city of a href="darbsak-eng.php">Darbsâk (Terbezek) by surprise.
At first, the Templars succeeded in entering the lower town. But quickly, the Ayubids soldiers pull themselves together and, with reinforcements from the city fortress, they offer fierce resistance to Templars. At the same time, the cavalry from Aleppo arrived from behind the Templars and slaughtered them.
Of the 120 knights, less than 20 managed to escape and return to the Templar fortress of Baghrâs, 15 kilometres distant.
That battle is also one of the few where the Beauceant fell into Muslims hands, after its bearer, the courageous knight William of Argenton, was cut down trying to save it.

Aside from these conflicts, the beginning of Grand-mastery of Armand de Perigord is kept busy with quarrels about interest and diplomacy that preoccupied the three Orders. Templars wished to establish an alliance with the sultan of Damas, while Hospitalers and Teutons preferred to approach to sultan of Cairo.
In September 1239, what History called ‘the Crusade of the French’ disembarked in Acre. Poorly lead by the Count of Champagne Thibaut IV and some others extremely famous knights, Crusaders will take no advice from either Master of the Orders, nor from the Latin State lords .
In September, this crusade was annihilated by Muslim forces. Templars, Hospitalers and Teutons, who had refused to join the conquering madness of these French crusaders, could only recover few survivors and shelter them in Acre.
Armand de Perigord managed to obtain a truce with the Sultan of Damas and the Hospitalers do the same with the sultan of Egypt.
In 1244, the sultan of Damas asked for help from the Templars to fight off Kharismians, a tribe originating from Minor Asia pushed away to Syria by Mongol invasion.
In October 1244, Templars, Hospitalers and Teutons, reconciled at last, and the Sultan of Damas brave near the city of La Forbie the allied armies of the Sultan of Cairo and of Kharismians.
On October 18th, the French-Muslim coalition is defeated. More than 30000 death of the two sides strew the battlefield. Armand de Perigord is one of the few knights captured. Only about thirty Templars and Hospitalers will succeed to join Ascalon, still in Christian hands.

Some historians mention that Armand de Perigord was killed during this battle near La Forbie, same as the Master of Hospitalers. Some others, on the other hand, mention that he is captured and he dies in captivity in 1247. Altought, Guillaume de Sonnac appears only as Master of the Temple in 1247, not before.

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Back to Masters list

1. "Armorial des Maîtres de l'Ordre du Temple"
   

   Bernard Marillier; Editions Pardès 2000

2. "Histoire des Templiers"
   

   J.-J.-E. Roy ; Editions Pardes 1999

3. "Histoire des Croisades et du Royaume Franc de Jerusalem (3 volumes)"
   

   René Grousset ; Librairie Académique Perrin 1991