Brunswick Grand Commandery of the Knights Templar

Under the Protection of His Most Serene Highness

Templar Lineage of Grand Masters and Regent Sovereign Protectors

TEMPLAR LINEAGE
The Order of Templar was founded by the Crusader Princes, according to the Chronicle of Simon de St. Bertin, in the year of our Lord 1099.
The Order was consecrated between hands of the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem in the year of our Lord 1118.
The Order was formalized with a monastic style rule at the Council of Troyes in the year of our Lord 1129.
The Order was granted church status immunities and privileges by the Western Pope, in the year of our Lord 1139.

GRAND MASTERS OF THE ORDER
1118–1136 Hugues de Payens
1136–1149 Robert de Craon
1149–1152 Everard des Barres
1152–1153 Bernard de Tremalai
1153–1156 Andrew de Montbard
1156–1169 Bertrand de Blanchefort
1169–1171 Philip de Naplous
1171–1179 Odon de St. Amand
1180–1184 Amaud de Toroge
1185–1189 Gerard de Ridefort
1191–1193 Robert de Sable
1194–1200 Gilbert Erail
1201–1209 Philippe de le Plessis
1210–1219 Guillaume de Chartres
1219–1232 Pierre de Montaigue
1232–1244 Armand de Perigord
1244–1247 Richard de Bures
1247–1250 Guillaume de Sonnac
1250–1256 Renaud de Vichiers
1256–1273 Thomas Berard
1273–1291 Guillaume de Beaujeau
1291–1293 Thibaud Gaudin
1294–1314 Jacques de Molay
1303–1344 Duke Otto of Brunswick — officially Grand Master of the German Templars at the Imperial capital of Supplingenburg–Brunswick; a sovereign Templar principality in continuance.

SOVEREIGN REGENT PROTECTORS (Brunswick & Celtic Line)
Duke Magnus I (1344–1369)
Duke Magnus II (1369–1373)
Duke Frederick I (1373–1400)
Duke Henry the Mild (1400–1416)
Duke William the Victorious (1416–1482)
Duke Henry IV (1482–1514)
Duke Eric I (1514–1540)
Duke Eric II (1540–1584)
Duke Julius (1584–1589)
Duke Henry Julius (1589–1613)
Duke Frederick Ulrich (1613–1634)
Duke Augustus the Younger (1635–1666)
Duke Rudolph Augustus (1666–1704)
Duke Anthony Ulrich (1704–1714)
Duke Louis Rudolph (1714–1731)
Duke Ferdinand Albert II (1735–1746)
Duke Charles I (1746–1780)
Duke Ferdinand (1780–1792) — Grand Master, Order of Strict Observance; convened the Convent of Wilhelmsbad (1782) reforming Templar-rite Masonry [1]
Duke Charles William Ferdinand (1792–1806) — Imperial Field Marshal & commander-in-chief; issued the 1794 edict dissolving German Freemasonry over Illuminati infiltration [2]
Duke Frederick William, “The Black Duke” (1806–1815) — Led the Black Brunswickers; fell at Quatre Bras (1815) [3]
Duke Charles II (1815–1873) — Chief of House; sovereign in protest and warfare against Hanover & Prussia; resisted imposed constitutional changes; coordinated with Napoleon III under the Treaty of Ham for restoration of estates and imperial rights [4]
Duke de jure Ulric deCivry (1873–1935) — German Prince Imperial, Brunswick cadet branch; continued protest, including legal actions, into the 20th century [5]
Regent John MacGregor McNeil (1935–1940) — Founder of MacGregor Township, Colorado; Templar Mining Magnate; senior uncle to George Brunswick [6]
Duke de jure George d’Guelph (1940–2012) — Nephew & successor to the 1873 cadet branch; successor House of Brunswick [7]
Duke de jure Stephen M.K. d’Guelph Wolfenbüttel-Brunswick (2013–Present) [8]

Templar Continuity at Supplingenburg

The historical legacy of the Knights Templar in Brunswick was preserved beyond the suppression of the Order in France. At Supplingenburg, a key stronghold and Imperial capital, Duke Otto of Brunswick continued the traditions and leadership of the Templar Order. This location remained a recognized sovereign Templar Principality well after 1314, marking it as the central seat of Templar persistence within the German realm. Tempelhof Brunswick also continued, between the Knights’ Hall, St. Blaise Cathedral, and the ducal palace (Schloss Arkaden) at Brunswick. Notably, in the 1321 agreement and archival evidence it is demonstrated that many Templar holdings in the greater domains of Brunswick were never transferred to the Hospitallers, and remained under ducal protection and administration well into the 15th century and beyond.

Appendix & Footnotes

[1] Convent of Wilhelmsbad (1782) & the Order of Strict Observance
Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, presided as Grand Master over reforms associated with the Order of Strict Observance at Wilhelmsbad (1782). The congress is widely regarded as a watershed for Templar-rite masonry in the German-speaking world. ↩ back
[2] 1794 Edict Dissolving German Freemasonry
Charles William Ferdinand, as Grand Master in Germany, issued an edict (1794) calling for the dissolution of German Freemasonry owing to Illuminati infiltration and subversion. Contemporary reprints quote language condemning “a great sect … working in darkness,” with an immediate order to dissolve lodges to protect religion and civil order. ↩ back
[3] Black Brunswickers & Quatre Bras (1815)
Frederick William led the volunteer corps popularly known as the Black Brunswickers against Napoleonic forces; he was killed at Quatre Bras (June 16, 1815), two days before Waterloo. ↩ back
[4] Treaty of Ham (1845), Imperial Recognition & Constitutional Program
The Treaty of Ham (1845), drafted with the assistance of Mr. Thomas Duncombe, MP (UK), and reproduced by counsel William Fitzhugh Whitehouse, records reciprocal commitments between Prince-President Napoleon (later Napoleon III) and Duke Charles II of Wolfenbüttel-Brunswick. In this accord, France recognized Duke Charles II as the rightful Emperor of Germany and swore “on our honor and on the Holy Evangelists” to execute what was required for his coronation and to aid in forming a united Germany with a modern constitution.

Article I (excerpt):
“We promise and swear on our honor and on the Holy Evangelists to help one another, we Charles Duke of Brunswick to regain possession of the Duchy of Brunswick, and, if it be possible, to make of all Germany one single united nation, and to give to it a constitution suited to its customs, its needs, and to the progress of the times; and we Prince Napoleon Louis Bonaparte to reinstate France in the full exercise of the national sovereignty which she asserted in 1830, and to enable her to choose freely her own form of Government.”
In parallel, Charles II continued formal protests against Hanoverian regency measures after the Congress of Vienna, contested imposed constitutional changes, and issued edicts invalidating usurpations. Switzerland later executed portions of his will (1873) within its competence but, as a neutral jurisdiction, did not adjudicate sovereign titles or domain questions. The succession struggle continued into the 20th century and informed the styling “Prince Imperial” within the Brunswick line. ↩ back
[5] Duke de jure Ulric deCivry (1873–1935): Appeals & Geneva
Ulric, heir within the Brunswick cadet branch, pursued claims and protests after Charles II’s death. He maintained legal efforts through the interwar period; records note that during his 1935 Geneva appeal he was assassinated on the day of hearing, with the court acknowledging the merits of his case in subsequent entries. ↩ back
[6] Regent John MacGregor McNeil
Founder of MacGregor Township, Colorado; Templar Mining Magnate with holdings in Colorado and Canada; recognized as senior uncle to George Brunswick in the succession narrative. ↩ back
[7] Duke de jure George d’Guelph
Nephew and successor within the 1873 cadet-branch line; recognized as successor House of Brunswick through the mid- to late-20th century. ↩ back
[8] Duke de jure Stephen M.K. d’Guelph Wolfenbüttel-Brunswick
Present head as styled; continues the regent/protectorate tradition and the preservation of Templar heritage within the Brunswick line. ↩ back
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