Robert de Sablé (c. 1150 – 1191) was the 11th Grand Master of the Knights Templar,[1] reigning from 1190 until his death, and a lieutenant in King Richard I's Crusader army. Born into a powerful family, Robert was immersed in nobility from birth. He eventually became lord and ruler of the Sarthe region of Anjou, France.
Subsequently, Robert entered the order of the Knights Templar and reigned as their Grand Master in 1191. During the Third Crusade, Robert and the Knights Templar, alongside the rest of the Crusader army, laid siege to the city of Acre, which soon fell. Throughout August 1191, they also recaptured many fortresses and cities along the Palestinian coast, which had previously been lost.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Born around 1150 as the heir of the Lordship of Sablé he inherited the title of lord in 1160, although by this time Sablé had been subsumed into the Angevin Empire.[2]
Angevin Civil War[]
In 1173, Sablé backed Henry the Young King, the heir to the English throne and the Duchy of Normandy, in his rebellion against his father, Henry II. When the young Henry died in 1183, de Sablé was able to re-ingratiate himself within the English king's good graces.[2]
Quest for the Apple of Eden[]
In July 1191, Robert and a group of soldiers entered Solomon's Temple beneath the Temple Mount within Jerusalem. Robert and his men were attempting to retrieve the Piece of Eden that was hidden there; however, just as Robert sent his men to climb up to the artifact, a group of Assassins consisting of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Malik Al-Sayf, and Kadar Al-Sayf ambushed them.[3]
Altaïr approached Robert head-on and attempted to assassinate him, but Robert was able to thwart the Assassin's attack. Robert then threw Altaïr out of the room, causing a minor rockslide that blocked the entrance with rubble.[3] Following this, Robert and his guards engaged the remaining Assassins, killing Kadar, and severely wounding Malik's left arm.[4]
However, Malik was able to steal the artifact from the Templars, flee from the city, and return to his Mentor, Al Mualim. Robert, however, determined to regain the artifact, pursued the Assassin out of Jerusalem, and towards the Assassin fortress of Masyaf. Upon the arrival of the Templars, the Assassin Masun[5] and a village basket weaver defected,[6] opening the gates of the town for Robert and his Templar infantry, and allowing them to storm the village. As a result of this, many of Masyaf's civilians and numerous Assassins were killed.[4]
Robert during the siege of Masyaf
Though the Assassins battled the invading Templars, they were eventually driven back into the safety of their fortress. Arriving at the fortress gates on horseback, Robert demanded that they return the artifact to him, saying that it was his property. However, Al Mualim refused to do so, stating that de Sablé had no claim to the object. Robert rebuked the Mentor, claiming that he played a dangerous game and that the Templar forces could simply wait out the Assassins. [7]
Al Mualim ignored this threat, and after the display of three Assassins leaping from the fortress' walls, he signaled Altaïr to activate a trap that caused several logs to tumble onto the Templar soldiers, killing many of them and scattering Robert's remaining men. With his forces severely diminished, Robert and the remaining Templars retreated from the town.[7]
Decline of power[]
Robert's decoy at the funeral
Robert managed to convince many Crusaders and Saracens to secretly defect to the Templars, promising them power in the "New World" they would create. Despite these promises, Altaïr, who had been demoted to the rank of novice for his failure at Solomon's Temple, was assigned to eliminate nine important Templars, including Robert, in order to regain his lost rank and honor.[8]
Over the course of around a month and a half, Altaïr was successful in killing eight of the Templars. Ultimately, he pursued Robert to Jerusalem, where the Grand Master was scheduled to attend the funeral of one of his former targets, Majd Addin.[8]
After realizing that he would be the next target, however, Robert assigned his lieutenant, Maria Thorpe, to disguise herself in his image and attend the funeral in his place, as a trap for Altaïr. Meanwhile, Robert left to join the battlefield at Arsuf alongside King Richard. Altaïr fell for the trap, though he was able to defeat Maria and learn of Robert's true whereabouts and intentions. Despite this, he spared Maria, as she was not his target, and rode for Arsuf, determined to take Robert's life.[9]
Battle of Arsuf and death[]
Robert stood by King Richard's side during the course of the Battle of Arsuf. There, he was able to convince Richard to ally himself with Saladin against a common enemy: the Assassins, as they had caused numerous deaths on both sides.[9]
Robert and King Richard at Arsuf
However, Altaïr fought his way through Arsuf against Crusaders and Saracens alike, eventually arriving at the Crusader camp, where he met Richard and Robert. Altaïr attempted to convince Richard that the men he killed were secretly Templars, and that Robert was going to rebel against Richard, though Robert defended himself by saying that the Assassins were master deceivers.[10]
Richard, unsure of who to believe, left God to decide who was speaking the truth, and had Altaïr duel against Robert and his Templar troops. Altaïr soon stood victorious against them, but he was left to face Robert himself. Robert proved to be a match for Altaïr, but he was nonetheless defeated, and as he died, Robert enlightened Altaïr to the fact that Al Mualim was secretly a Templar as well. He told him that Al Mualim wanted to have the Apple of Eden for himself, and that he had sent Altaïr to kill the nine targets in order to keep them from gaining possession of the artifact.[10]
Legacy[]
- "Noble of birth, noble in action, Robert de Sablé rose to serve as Grand Master of the Templar Order in 1191. His tenure was short, but his impact was great. Fighting alongside Richard the Lionheart, he laid siege to Acre and broke Saladin's ranks. Dogged by Assassins throughout his tenure, he was ultimately martyred by one such nameless malefactor."
- ―The description for Robert's portrait in the "Great Minds in History".[src]-[m]
Following Robert's death, he was succeeded as Grand Master by Armand Bouchart, who ordered all Templars in the Levant to relocate to Cyprus.[11] Unlike his predecessor, Bouchart was not interested in trying to bring peace to the Holy Land or establish a "New World Order", his main concern being to safeguard the contents of the Templar Archive from the Assassins.[12] Bouchart also held Robert in relatively low regard due to his predecessor's close relationship with Maria Thorpe, a woman, which was seen as a violation of the Latin Rule.[13]
In the 21st century, the Templars' front company Abstergo Industries commissioned a series of portraits of their most respected leaders, entitled "Great Minds in History", and included Robert among them. The description accompanying the portrait claimed that, despite his short tenure as Grand Master, Robert's impact on the Order was significant, as the Templars' victory at the Siege of Acre allowed them to spread their influence in the Levant.[14]
In 2014, the Abstergo Entertainment employee Jean-François Brunet sequenced Robert's genetic memories and pitched a potential virtual feature for the Helix starring the Grand Master. While the company's CCO Melanie Lemay initially approved it, she later began to have second thoughts and decided to put the project on hold, believing that there was nothing that made Robert or his story stand out.[15]
By 2016, Alan Rikkin owned a white flag bearing the Templar insignia in his office, which Robert had personally flown during the Crusades.[16]
Personality and traits[]
Robert was a manipulative individual who was able to recruit various members to the Templar cause by offering them power in their proposed New World. At the same time, he gained King Richard's trust, despite secretly plotting his downfall.[8]
Robert restraining Altaïr
Nevertheless, the Grand Master believed his plan of bringing peace to humanity through the use of the Apple of Eden to be selfless and noble. He saw the loss of global free will as a necessary price to be paid to achieve his goal, and criticized his former ally Al Mualim for wanting to covetously hold onto the Apple's power rather than spread it among the masses.[8]
Robert was also an ingenious strategist, turning Al Mualim's plan to kill his supporters into a trap to destroy the Assassin Order. In terms of physical skills, he was extremely strong, being able to restrain Altaïr – who himself possessed considerable physical strength – without much difficulty. He was also an expert swordsman, able to almost match Altaïr in battle, and easily stopped the Assassin from killing him with his Hidden Blade inside Solomon's Temple.[8]
However, due to his disregard for the clause in the Latin Rule to not consort with women, Robert was not held in high regard by all of his fellow Templars, among which was his own successor, Armand Bouchart.[13]
Behind the scenes[]
- In Assassin's Creed, Robert looks more like a man in his early 30s, when historically, he was 10 years older at the time. Additionally, Robert died in 1193, and not during the Battle of Arsuf.
- In history, Robert was referred to as Robert IV of Sablé. This owes of him being the lord of Anjou before becoming Grand Master of the Templar Order.
- While Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide gives the year of his ascension as Grand Master as 1190, the historical Robert was not elected to the position until 1191. This was owing to the untimely demise of Gerard de Ridefort at the Siege of Acre, which led to the Templars delaying the election while they debated the merits of selecting a Grand Master that would fight at the front lines.
- Robert appeared to have one of the largest physical builds in Assassin's Creed, being a head taller than Altaïr and physically stronger.
- Robert was briefly mentioned in Assassin's Creed: Revelations in the memory "The Mentor's Wake" and in Maria Thorpe's database file, where the year of his death was stated to be 1192 rather than 1191.[17]
- In his portrait in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Robert is seen wearing black, similar to his concept art from Assassin's Creed.
- In the non-canonical mobile adaptation of Assassin's Creed, Robert de Sablé's name is spelled without the acute accent. He fights Altaïr on horseback, first throwing bombs behind him in an attempt to kill his pursuer, before dueling him atop their horses with twin swords. Like all horsemen in chase sequences from the game, his guards are of the Knights Hospitalier. In contrast to the canonical game, Altaïr retrieves the Apple of Eden from Robert's corpse after slaying him here.
- Robert de Sablé, along with Jacques de Molay and Armand Bouchart, is one of the only three characters in the games that historically were Templars.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (painting only)
- Assassin's Creed: Rogue (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: The Official Film Tie-In (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Rebellion (painting only)
- Assassin's Creed: Where's the Assassin? (non-canon)
- Echoes of History (mentioned only)
References[]
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Echoes of History – Assassins vs Templars – Robert de Sablé
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Assassin's Creed – Acquisition
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Assassin's Creed – Failure
- ↑ Assassin's Creed – Eavesdropping (Masun)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed – Pickpocketing (Masun)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Assassin's Creed – Glory
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Assassin's Creed
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Assassin's Creed – Assassination (Robert de Sablé)
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Assassin's Creed – Assassination II (Robert de Sablé)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines – Assault (Maria Thorpe)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines – Assault (Armand Bouchart)
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines – Intercept (Limassol Cathedral Square)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Noob's personal files: "Great Minds in History"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – Numbskull's personal files: Emails, subject line "Robert de Sable"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization – Chapter 8
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Database: Maria Thorpe
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