Jean de Gisors

According to the "Prieuré" documents Jean de Gisors was the first grand master of the Priory of Sion, assuming his position after the "cutting of the elm" and the separation 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.