Born to a noble family in the area of Chartres or Blois, France, he entered the Knights Templar well before 1260, because on that date he was taken prisoner during an attack on Tiberias.

In 1291, he rode at the side of Guillaume de Beaujeu to defend the town of Acre, besieged by the formidable army of Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil.

The remaining knights of the order, men, women and children found shelter in the Temple, the great fort of the Templars.

July 14, 1291 emir ‘Alam al-Din Sanjar al-Shuja‘i al-Mansuri (عَلَمُ الدِّينِ سَنْجَرُ الشُّجَاعِيُّ المَنْصُورِيُّ‎, romanised: ʿAlam ad-Dīn Sanǧar aš-Šuǧāʿī al-Manṣūrī) entered the castle and ordered its destruction.

They left for the sea fort of Ruad, two miles off the coast of Tortosa, which would remain in their hands until 1303, when the future of the order was in jeopardy.

This meeting confirmed the election of Thibaud Gaudin as Grand Master and named new dignitaries in the important positions within the hierarchy of the order.