Godfrey de Saint-Omer

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Godfrey of Saint-Omer (also known as Gaufred, Godefroi, or Godfrey de St Omer, Saint Omer) was a Flemish knight, one of the founding members of the Knights Templar in 1119.

He is said to have come from the family of the Lords of Saint-Omer (in today's northern France), 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 the First Crusade as vassals of Robert II of Flanders. Hugh de Saint-Omer was also mentioned as one of the best knights in the Kingdom 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 in 1099 with William I and Hugh.

According to legend, Hughes 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.

[edit] References

• Malcolm Barber, The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple. Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-521-42041-5
• Sean Martin, The Knights Templar: The History & Myths of the Legendary Military Order, 2005. ISBN 1-56025-645-1

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