The Templars hold houses in the Apulian ports on the road to the East.
The best evidence is Trani, where they are attested from 1142 and where in 1191 the church of San Giovanni was their grange. Barletta and Brindisi probably had houses by 1200, but the documents are later. The order's Apulian lands and its head house that winter are not pinned.
Who he is
- Name
- The Templar preceptor of Apulia (name and seat in 1200 not pinned)
- Title
- The Order of the Temple: its preceptor and houses in Apulia
- Since
- At Trani since 1142
- Confidence
- low
it.wikipedia (Ognissanti, Trani): the Templar presence at Trani is attested from 1142, and a document of 1191 calls the church of San Giovanni a grange of the Knights of the Temple; Ognissanti, long called a Templar church, may rather have stood in the hospital of the Ravello merchants. Federiciana (Brindisi): the Templars are first documented at Brindisi in 1244 but probably came earlier.
Overlord
The master of the Temple and the pope; under the king's protection.
What it holds
- House and grange of San Giovanni at Trani (1191)
- Probably houses at Barletta and Brindisi (documented later)
How it was acquired
Gifts of the twelfth century.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours of the Hospitallers and the canons of the Holy Sepulchre.
How things stand that morning
Holding their houses under the regency, neutral in the war.
Wealth
Rents and the shipping of men and goods to the East. No figures.
Military
Brethren in the houses; no field force recorded in Apulia.
Threats
- War in the ports
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1200No dated event known.Depends on: nothing Stopped by: nothing
Places of note
- San Giovanni, Trani: Grange of the Temple (1191)
- Barletta: Probable house (documented later)
- Brindisi: Probable house (documented 1244)
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Trani is attested; the rest is probable.
On the map: Points only; lands not mapped.
Primary sources for Sicily
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Montecassino; Annals of Ceccano (Fossanova) (12th and early 13th centuries; Ceccano to 1217). Two sets of annals from either side of the papal and Sicilian frontier. Read online
- Chronicle of Richard of San Germano, Richard of San Germano (first version about 1216, enlarged to 1243). The fullest southern narrative of the Hohenstaufen kingdom, written by a notary on the border of the Terra di Lavoro. Read online
- Annals of Genoa, by Caffaro and his continuators, with Ogerio Pane for 1197 to 1219, Ogerio Pane and the other official annalists of Genoa (year by year under the commune's authority; the 1197 to 1219 section by Ogerio Pane). The official record of the commune. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of Sicard, bishop of Cremona, Sicard of Cremona (about 1210 to 1213). A universal chronicle whose last part is a well-placed eyewitness account by a Lombard bishop who served emperors and popes. Read online
- The Deeds of Innocent III, Anonymous (a curial official, perhaps Peter of Benevento) (about 1208 to 1209). The curia's own account of the pontificate's first decade, with letters copied in. Read online
7 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.