Foulques de Villaret

Who was Foulques de Villaret?

Foulques de Villaret, a native of Languedoc-Roussillon, France, was the 25th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, succeeding his paternal uncle Guillaume de Villaret in 1305. His uncle had done much to foster his early career in the Order. He was appointed Admiral in 1299, and Grand Commander two years later. By 1303 he was Lieutenant of the Master, and so advanced to Master on his uncle's death.

Under his leadership they launched a successful attempt at the conquest of Rhodes,. Other islands were also taken. The Order then moved its headquarters to Rhodes.

However, despite the huge benefits to his Order from the suppression of the Knights Templar, de Villaret's campaigns of territorial expansion ran the Order heavily into debt. These debts were not paid off until the mid-1330s. De Villaret seems to have been a difficult and overbearing man, and eventually alienated his Order. Allegations were made of increasingly arrogant, even tyrannical behaviour, although none of the allegations are specific, and one Italian account of the lives of the Grand Masters claimed that he was treated unjustly.