Gilbert of Assailly

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Gilbert of Assailly

Gilbert of Assailly (died 1183) was the fifth

Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller,[1] serving from 1162 or 1163 to 1170, when he was deposed. As Grand Master, he succeeded Auger de Balben (rather than Arnaud de Comps that some compilations listed). Nevertheless, most sources list him as the fifth, rather than fourth, Grand Master and this biography continues that tradition,[2] with the exception being Delaville Le Roulx' work.[3] He was succeeded by Gastone de Murols.[4] Gilbert encouraged Amalric of Jerusalem in his unsuccessful invasion of Egypt, leaving the Order in debt and causing the reexamination of its military role.[2]

Biography

Little was known of Gilbert before his elevation to the magistracy of the Hospitallers' Order other than he was already old when it was conferred on him, and that the termination of his name suggests that he was of French origin and considered to be a knight. It is with him that the Order became truly military, which is indicated in a letter addressed to Bertrandus, Archbishop of Trani.[5]

An undated act also states that

Amalric of Nesle, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, solicited aid from Westerners in favor of the Holy Land and recommended that the prelates and princes welcome Gilbert as the new Grand Master.[6] Also, through an important act of donation in favor of the Order, we know that it was in Le Puy on 15 August 1166 with Raymond V of Toulouse.[7]

During his magisterium, the Order acquired territories in the

Castle Belvoir at Kawkab al-Hawa, north of Beit She'an, and otherwise expanded their fortifications. Gilbert also began regulating the constitution of the Order.[9]

Campaigns against Egypt

Gilbert is principally remembered for his militancy related to the

Nur ad-Din, ruler of the Zengid dynasty. The latter pushed his advantage by taking the city of Banias on October 18, 1164, key to the passage between Tyre and Damascus. Nur ad-Din late agreed to a treaty on the basis of half-sharing with the Christian troops of the territory of Tiberias.[11]

In 1167, Shirkuh, governor of Egypt, deposed by the usurper Shawar, received permission from Nur ad-Din to reconquer Egypt. He gathered an army in Syria and came to set up his camp at Giza, opposite Cairo. Amalric learned of this and wanted to cut the road to Shirkuh, but arrived too late, and withdrew to Ascalon to complete his army, including the Hospitallers. On 30 January 1167, he headed for Bilbeis, via Gaza and el-Arich. Shawar, sensing the danger, allied with Amalric and allowed the Christian troops to enter Cairo. On 18 March 18, they were defeated at the Battle of al-Babein, and returned to Cairo. They then besieged Alexandria. After 75 days of siege, Shirkuh sued for peace. He left the land to Shawar, returned to Syria with his army providing the Christians, a significant financial compensation.

Gilbert, still convinced that the conquest of Egypt would be a good thing, provided in October 1168 one thousand knights and

Tinnis
could not go up the Nile and was ordered to withdraw. Amalric offered Shawar a withdrawal in exchange for a large tribute of a million besants, but the approach of Shirkuh forces him to lower his demands by half. On 2 January 1169, the troops of Jerusalem withdrew from Cairo.

Amalric decided to send an embassy to the West made up of the Archbishop of Tyre, Frederick de la Roche, the Bishop of Banias, and Guy de Mauny, the Grand Commander of the Hospitallers, to ask for assistance. In July 1169, the embassy was at the papal court of Alexander III, in September and November, at the court of Louis VII of France and then at the court of Henry II of England. After two years of absence, the embassy returned to Jerusalem empty handed.

In the fall of 1169, Amalric, with the help of Manuel I Komnenos and the Hospitallers, began his fourth campaign against Egypt. There again a financial treaty was made with the Hospitallers, with Bilbeis and the adjacent territory promised. The objective was Damietta, with the Greek and Frankish fleets laying siege by sea and by land at the end of October. But the expedition failed once more, and returned to Tyre on 7 December 1169.[12]

Retirement and death

The 1168 expedition turned out disastrously, and Gilbert's position became untenable. Accused of having ruined the Order and neglected its charitable vocation, he resigned, then reconsidered his decision but refused the conditions imposed on him by the Convent. Heraclius of Jerusalem, as archdeacon of Jerusalem in 1169, tried unsuccessfully to persuade pope Alexander III to reinstate Gilbert as Grand Master, although the pope praised him for his presentation of the case. Gilbert retired to England, and the boat that was driving him, sank off Dieppe and he drowned on 19 September 1183.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Charles Moeller (1910). "Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem". In Catholic Encyclopedia. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. ^ a b Vann 2006, p. 599.
  3. ^ Delaville Le Roulx 1904, p. 63.
  4. ^ Masters of the Hospitallers Archived 2021-10-01 at the Wayback Machine. Masters of the Hospitallers (2020).
  5. ^ Josserand 2009, Gilbert d'Assailly.
  6. ^ Delaville Le Roulx 1904, p. 68.
  7. ^ Buffière 1985, pp. 455–456.
  8. ^ Josserand 2009, p. 390, Gilbert d'Assailly.
  9. ^ Delaville Le Roulx 1904, pp. 66–77.
  10. ^ Phillips, Walter Alison (1911). "St John of Jerusalem, Knights of the Order of the Hospital of". In Encyclopædia Britannica. 24. (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 12–19.
  11. ^ Baldwin 1969, pp. 549–553.
  12. ^ Tyerman 2006, pp. 347–350.
  13. ^ Runciman 1952, pp. 379–384.

Bibliography

External links
Preceded by
Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller

1163–1169 		Succeeded by
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