Gerard de Ridefort Gerard of Ridefort ( died October 4 , 1189 ) was Grand Master of the Knights Templar from the end of 1184 until his death in 1189 . Early life . Gerard of Ridefort is thought probably to have been of Flemish origin , although some nineteenth - century writers suggested an Anglo - Norman background , apparently through misreading his designation as " of " Bideford " " . It is uncertain when he arrived in the Kingdom of Jerusalem . He appears in the charter record in the service of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem in the late 1170s , and by 22 October 1179 held the rank of Marshal of the kingdom . It seems that he expected Raymond III of Tripoli to give him the hand of an available heiress . However , when Cécile Dorel inherited her father ' s coastal fief of Botrun in the County of Tripoli , Raymond married her ( before March 1181 ) to Plivain or Plivano , the nephew of a Pisan merchant , for a bride price of 10 , 000 bezants . By the mid - thirteenth century , when the " Old French Continuation of William of Tyre " ( the so - called " Chronicle of Ernoul " ) was compiled , the story of the bride of Botrun had evolved into a fanciful legend in which Plivain ' s uncle put the young lady ( there renamed Lucie ) on the scales , and offered Raymond her weight in gold , to obtain the marriage . Templar . Gerard fell seriously ill , after which he took vows as a Templar . By June 1183 he held the rank of seneschal of the Order . He was elected Grand Master in late 1184 or early 1185 , after the death of Arnold of Torroja in Verona . Gerard continued to hold a grudge against Raymond of Tripoli , which influenced some of his political manœuvrings . In 1186 , when Baldwin V of Jerusalem died , Gerard took the side of Queen Sibylla and her husband Guy of Lusignan in the ensuing succession struggle . Raymond and his allies the Ibelin family were the leaders of the opposing faction , who supported the claim of Sibylla ' s younger half - sister Isabella . In the crisis of 1187 , Gerard used the money sent by Henry II of England and deposited with the Templars in Jerusalem to hire additional troops for the " arrière ban " to defend the Kingdom of Jerusalem from Saladin . ( Henry had sent the funds for his own future crusading plans , in penance for the murder of Thomas Becket : some of it was deposited with the Templars , some with the Hospitallers , in Jerusalem and Tyre ) . Gerard and fewer than 100 Templars , together with some Hospitallers , attacked Saladin ' s son al - Afdal at the Battle of Cresson ; al - Afdal , however , had over 5 , 000 men . The Hospitaller Grand Master Roger de Moulins was killed ; Gerard , though wounded , was one of the few survivors . Gerard ' s report of the battle was the source for a short narrative written by Pope Urban III to Baldwin of Exeter , archbishop of Canterbury . In July of the same year Gerard led the Templars at the Battle of Hattin . Saladin had captured Tiberias and Guy was contemplating a march on the city to retake it . Raymond advised him to wait for Saladin to come to them , since they were in a well - defended , well - watered position , and would have to cross a dry open plain to reach Tiberias . Gerard opposed this , and convinced Guy to continue the march . He was supported by Raynald of Châtillon , a fellow enemy of Raymond . The armies of Outremer ended up trapped on the dry plain and were defeated on July 4 . Raymond and several other nobles escaped , but Gerard , Guy , and Raynald were captured by Saladin . The rest of the Templar prisoners were executed . Gerard remained a prisoner until 1188 , during which time his Order was commanded by Brother Thierry ( Terricus ) from Tyre . Gerard was given the condition by Saladin that , if he could convince a Templar fortress to surrender peacefully , he would be set free . He succeeded and on his release went to Tortosa , where he ably led the Templars ' defence of their castle , which held out after the fall of the town to Saladin ' s siege forces . Having taken back control of his order from Thierry , he seems to have seized the remainder of Henry II ' s money which had been left with the Templars in Tyre . This provoked a complaint from the city ' s defender , Conrad of Montferrat , in letters of 20 September 1188 to Baldwin of Exeter and Frederick Barbarossa : " " . . . graver still , the Master of the Temple has made off with the King of England ' s alms " " . In 1189 , he again joined forces with Guy , taking the Templars to the Siege of Acre . He was beheaded after being taken prisoner by Saladin again on October 4 , 1189 .