Council of Troyes (1129)
Template:Short description Template:Use shortened footnotes The Council of Troyes was convened by Bernard of Clairvaux on 13 January 1129 in the city of Troyes. The council, largely attended by French clerics, was assembled to hear a petition by Hugues de Payens, head of the Knights Templar. Pope Honorius II did not attend the council, sending the papal legate, Matthew, cardinal-bishop of Albano. The council addressed issues concerning the Templar Order and a dispute between the bishop of Paris and king of France.
Background
Founded by Hugues de Payens in 1119, the Knights Templar had gained the backing of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem at the Council of Nablus in 16 January 1120.Template:Sfn In 1126, Baldwin had commissioned two clerics to speak with Bernard of Clairvaux seeking papal recognition and a Rule for the Templar Order.Template:Sfn Later, Baldwin sent Hugues to Europe to convince Fulk of Anjou to marry his daughter Melisende and to raise an army for a crusade against Damascus.Template:Sfn Hugues's other objectives were to gain papal recognition, recruit members for the Order,Template:Sfn and establish a permanent Templar base in Europe.Template:Sfn According to William of Tyre, at the time of the council of Troyes the Order had only 9 members.Template:Sfn
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Council
Bernard convened the council on 13 January 1129.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn The attendees, which were mainly French clerics,Template:Sfn consisted of the archbishops Renaud of Reims and Henry of Sens, ten bishops, four Cistercian abbots, a number of other abbots, and the clerical scholars, Alberic of Reims and Fulger.Template:Sfn Pope Honorius was not in attendance at the council, instead sending his papal legate, Matthew, cardinal-bishop of Albano.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn
Templar Order
The head of the Order, Hugues de Payen, petitioned the council for a Rule for the Templars. The council passed, with considerable influence from Bernard,Template:Sfn the Templar rule, similar to that of Rule of Saint Benedict.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Templar Rule consolidated the monastic tenets of poverty, chastity, obedience and added a vow to defend the Holy Land.Template:Sfn The Rule was originally written in Latin, but was translated into French sometime after the Council of Pisa in 1135.Template:Sfn Due to a petition by Pope Honorius II and Patriarch Stephen of Jerusalem, the Templars were required wear a white habit.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn
Disputes
The Council addressed disputes concerning Bishop Stephen of Paris and King Louis VI of France.Template:Sfn
Aftermath
Following the Council of Troyes' decision concerning the Templar Order, the Templars gained popularity throughout France, Portugal, Spain and Provence.Template:Sfn The influx of gold, silver, grants of properties, and men, allowed Hugues de Payens to appoint Payen de Montdidier to oversee France.Template:Sfn Even nobility were joining the Order, with Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, being accepted as a companion member on 14 July 1130.Template:Sfn