Geoffroy de Donjon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Geoffrey de Donjon
11th Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller
In office 1193–1202
Preceded by	Garnier de Nablus
Succeeded by	Fernando Afonso of Portugal
Personal details
Died	1202 Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem

Geoffroy de Donjon (died in 1202 in Acre) was an important leader of a group called the Knights Hospitaller. He was their eleventh Grand Master from 1193 until he died in 1202. He took over from Garnier de Nablus, who had passed away in 1192.

Who Was Geoffroy de Donjon?

We don't know exactly where Geoffroy was from, but it might have been Picardy or Auvergne in France. His name first appeared in records in 1185. At that time, he was a regular member, or 'brother,' of the Hospitallers in the Holy Land. He had arrived there with the Crusaders earlier.

He became the Grand Master in January 1193. This happened at a big meeting in Margat.

Important Events During His Time

Geoffroy wrote a letter about a big earthquake in Syria. This event is now known to be the 1202 Syrian earthquake, which happened on May 20 of that year.

In the summer of 1202, Geoffroy was with a special church representative named Soffredo Gaetani. They traveled to Antioch to try and settle a conflict called the War of the Antiochene Succession. This war was about who should rule the Principality of Antioch.

Soffredo Gaetani made a second trip to Antioch in March 1203, but Geoffroy de Donjon was not with him. Another leader, Pierre de Mirmande, took Geoffroy's place for a short time. This suggests that Geoffroy passed away sometime between these two trips.

Leading the Knights Hospitaller

Geoffroy's time as Grand Master was quite peaceful in the Holy Land. However, there were often disagreements between the Hospitallers and another famous group, the Knights Templar. Both groups were very proud and sometimes jealous of each other.

Under Geoffroy's leadership, several important agreements were made. One big agreement was about the independence of the Teutonic Order. This order had been helped by the Hospitallers for a long time. But the Teutonics wanted to be their own group. They decided to follow some rules from the Templars for their knights and some rules from the Hospitallers for their hospitals. The Grand Masters of both the Hospitallers and Templars had to attend a special ceremony on March 5, 1198, to recognize the Teutonic Order's independence.

Geoffroy de Donjon also helped the Hospitallers gain more land. On October 24, 1197, they received a place called Hautefié. This land belonged to Juliana Grenier and her husband, Aymar de Lairon. Aymar later joined the Hospitaller Order, and Juliana was buried in a Hospitaller cemetery. In May 1201, the Hospitallers also got the castle of Digegie.

After Geoffroy de Donjon passed away, Fernando Afonso of Portugal became the next Grand Master.

See also

In Spanish: Geoffroy de Donjon para niños

• List of Knights Hospitaller sites
• Langue (Knights Hospitaller)
• Flags of the Knights Hospitaller