Jean de Gisors

According to the "Prieuré" documents Jean de Gisors was the first grand master o the Priory of Sion, assuming his position after the "cutting of the elm" and the seperation from the Knights Templar in 1188. He was at least a nominal lord of the fortress of Gisors in Normandy - where meetings were traditionally convened between English and French kings and where, in 1188, a curious squabble did occur that involved the cutting of an elm. Until 1193 Jean was a vassal of the king of England - Henry II, and then Richard I. He also possessed property in England, in Sussex, and the manor of Titchfield in Hampshire. According to the "Prieuré" documents he met with Thomas à Becket in 1169. No independent record of this meeting survives, but Becket was at Gisors in 1169 and must have had some contact with the lord of the fortress.