04/03/2026
Standing in Temple Church London, is one of the great – and often overlooked – figures of Magna Carta: Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Wi******er.
In 1215, the Knight Temple precinct was one of the key stages of the baronial crisis, where rebel nobles pressed King John for the charter that would become Magna Carta. Saer was among those leading barons. Though he wasn’t buried here (he died on crusade), his presence in the church reflects the Temple’s powerful association with crusading knighthood and England’s constitutional story.
After military defeat cleared the way for the young Henry III to take the throne, Saer honoured a vow and departed in 1219 to join the Fifth Crusade, then besieging Damietta, where he died.
Beyond rebellion and crusade, Saer’s story stretches across Britain: he was lord of Long Buckby Northamptonshire, and through his marriage to Maud de Senlis was connected to the powerful family of Simon de Senlis (The 1st Earl of Northamptonshire) and even to the Scottish royal house via David I.
A knight, a rebel baron, a crusader — and a reminder that Temple Church sits at the crossroads of faith, power, and the making of English history.
Head over to our website www.thetemplars.co.uk and www.the-templars.co.uk to read more about the Knights Templars, Knight Hospitallers and the Order of St Lazarus in the UK...
