- Godfrey de Saint-Omer
.
He is said to have come from the family of the Lords of
Saint-Omer (in today's northernFrance ), possibly the son of William I, Lord of Saint Omer and Melisende de Piquigny. William and Melisende were known to have a son, Hugh, and both William and Hugh participated in theFirst Crusade as vassals ofRobert II of Flanders . Hugues de Saint-Omer was also mentioned as one of the best knights in theKingdom of Jerusalem .There are conflicting reports as to Godfrey's relationship to William and Hugh. Chronologically Godfrey may have been Hugh's brother but it is also said that he was Hugo's son. On the list of crusaders, a Gauthier de Saint-Omer is listed, which could be a mistake for Gaufred (Gauthier de Saint-Omer was not yet born). Therefore Godfrey probably came to
Jerusalem in1099 with William I and Hugh.According to legend,
Hugues de Payens (the first Grand-Master of the Templars) and Godfrey were so poor that between the two of them they had only one horse, and this gave rise to the famous image on the seal of the Templars, of two men riding a single horse.References
*cite book
last = Barber
first = Malcolm
authorlink = Malcolm Barber
title = The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple
publisher =Cambridge University Press
year = 1994
doi =
isbn = 0-521-42041-5
*cite book
last = Martin
first = Sean
authorlink = Sean Martin
title = The Knights Templar: The History & Myths of the Legendary Military Order
publisher =
year = 2005
doi =
isbn = 1-56025-645-1
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