Council of Troyes (1129)

The council, largely attended by French clerics, was assembled to hear a petition by Hugues de Payens, head of the Knights Templar.

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.

[2] 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.

[3] Hugues's other objectives were to gain papal recognition, recruit members for the Order,[3] and establish a permanent Templar base in Europe.

[12][13] The Templar Rule consolidated the monastic tenets of poverty, chastity, obedience and added a vow to defend the Holy Land.