Jean Burnel (died 5 October 1789) was a member in the French Rite of the Templar Order. Despite Jean being newly-inducted at the time of the French Revolution, the British Templar Frederick Weatherall noted the man's strong loyalty to the late de la Serre family on account of his infatuation with their surviving daughter, Élise. Nevertheless, Jean was selected to be among the first of Élise's allies in her attempt to gather support after she decided to make a claim for the Rite's vacant position of Grand Master.[1]
In October 1789, Burnel escorted Élise to the proposed meeting place at the Marquis de Pimôdan's estate, where she had summoned the Templars in order for them to pledge their loyalties to her. Soon after their arrival, however, they learned by threatening the Marquis that Élise's known supporters were either systematically eradicated or had turned to François-Thomas Germain's growing extremist faction.
Realizing that the meeting was a trap meant to kill her, Burnel and Élise fled, though the pair were caught by catgut ligatures dropped by assassins from a balcony above the doors of de Pimôdan's house. Fortunately, the rope intended for Élise tangled around her coat collar rather than her neck, giving her the necessary time to cut the ligature with her sword; Burnel did not have the same luck and was strangled by his rope, with Élise too exhausted from the assault to intervene in time.