Knights Templar and Gaspare di Caro Invade Biot

The tenth edition of Biot’s medieval festival shows the important role women held in the town’s Templar past.

When the usually quiet town of Biot hosts this year’s festival Biot et les Templiers on the weekend from 10-12 April, more than hundred thousand expected visitors will become part of the 13th century décor as tournaments and acrobatics unfold. A 3D mapping, designed by the Italian lighting artist Gaspare di Caro, turns the entire historic centre into an open-air theatre where history isn’t just reenacted but experienced. And this year, the theme sheds light on the long-neglected role of women in Templar society.

Among the multitude of old, picturesque hillside towns in the shadow of more prominent cities along the French Riviera, Biot’s claim to fame are its glassmakers and the Fernand Léger museum. But few people know Biot’s grand and important past, or how the town became home to the world’s largest medieval festival. A quick look into the historical record gives us a clue.

The Templar presence in the village dates back to 1209, when the Order was granted use of part of the Biot lands, the castrum de Buzot. Over the following decades, Templar territory expanded regionally through successive donations. The Biot commandery thus became a strategic hub on the road to Jerusalem, and a prosperous staging post that shaped the village’s development and identity as we know it today.

Women also played an important role here: Provençal noblewomen donated lands and vineyards, acted as guarantors in legal deeds, shaped policies, and managed patrimonies. A 1252 document admitting Isnarde de la Penne as a “sister” of the Biot house is a particularly vivid example. The local Templar commander had quietly bent the rules when he went against the Order’s explicit codes, in which brothers were warned away from women lest the Devil infiltrate through them, and even familial kisses were banned. The act sparked no scandal but left a trace.

^{Courtesy Ville de Biot on Instagram}

Isnarde was one in a series of remarkable medieval women who were active economic, cultural, and religious actors, not passive bystanders. Apart from those who have found their way into history books, like Aliénor d’Aquitaine, Hildegard of Bingen, Blanche de Castille, and Ermengarde de Narbonne, many unnamed noblewomen and widows wielded enormous power and influence. In Provence they enjoyed relatively more autonomy than elsewhere in France, yet fell victim to history’s long-standing blind spot. Their contribution to the Templar Order specifically deserves recognition, and this edition does so through shows, reenactments, and lectures.

In keeping with this year’s theme “La femme et le Temple”, a giant video mapping all throughout Biot’s historic heart retells their stories. Designed by celebrated Italian light artist Gaspare di Caro, who has made a name for himself illuminating historic buildings in the region for many years, the immersive lightshow spans 27,000 m², making it the largest historical video mapping in the world.

500 performers from 18 nations turn the three-day festival into an expressway to the 13th century. Serbs, Norwegians, Hungarians in era-perfect kit, drilling with swords and bows. Chevaux de Prestige’s destriers execute breath-stealing cascades and jousts; Italian Gruppo Asta hurl flags skyward in battle-honed synchrony. Torch parades rumble through cobblestoned alleys, fire spins from church towers, troubadours pluck lutes amid falcon cries. Artisans forge horseshoes and weave galloons along Rue Saint-Sébastien; justice plays out on a pillory stage. And the feast wouldn’t be complete without tavernas stewing medieval dishes.

PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 10 April

• 7:30 p.m. Grand Opening Ceremony
• 8:30 p.m. Torchlight Procession
• 9:00 p.m. Salute by the knights, troubadours, minstrels, and noble ladies
• 9:15 p.m. Video mapping show “Isnarde de la Penne and the Land of the Temple”
• 9:35 p.m. Grand fire show “O Ignis Spiritus”

Saturday, 11 April

• 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Reconstruction of medieval encampments and interactive crafts village
• 10:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Medieval market
• 10:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Flag-waving performances
• 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Medieval combat
• 1:30 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. Equestrian shows
• 2:00 p.m. Troop parade
• 4:15 p.m. Grand knightly battle “The Defense of the Pilgrims,” followed by a children’s melee
• 5:30 p.m. Reenactment of a medieval wedding
• 6:30 p.m. Ceremony inducting a knight into the Order of the Temple 
• 8:30 p.m. Torchlight parade
• 9:00 p.m. Medieval ball
• 9:15 p.m. Video mapping show “Isnarde de la Penne and the Land of the Temple”
• 9:35 p.m. Grand fire show “O Ignis Spiritus”

Sunday, 12 April

• 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Reconstruction of medieval encampments and interactive crafts village
• 10:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Medieval market
• 10:00 a.m. / 1:45 p.m. Siege weapon demonstration: “The Ballistae Duel”
• 10:30 a.m. / 11:30 a.m. / 5:30 p.m. Medieval combat
• 11:15 a.m. / 4:00 p.m. Equestrian shows
• 12:30 p.m. / 5:00 p.m. Flag-waving performances
• 2:45 p.m. Grand medieval knightly melee
• 4:30 p.m. Reenactment of a medieval wedding
• 6:30 p.m. Closing ceremony

The festival was founded in 2009 to mark 800 years since the knights arrived. It became an annual event, drawing tens of thousands… until a sudden hiatus of several years. After reprising, visitor numbers swelled to over a hundred thousand quickly, making it France’s top medieval festival, eclipsing Nice’s Carnival and Menton’s Fête du Citron for a weekend. The secret? Biot’s Templar festival holds on to its authenticity and its respect for local roots and history while widening the lens to themes of modern interest. The story of women entwined with the all-male Temple does not mimic or romanticize the past. It owns it.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Biot et les Templiers – Women and the Temple

Friday through Sunday, 10-12 April

3d mapping: Friday 10 and Saturday 11 April at 9.15 pm

Grand pré de la Fontanette

Free admission. More information: https://www.biotetlestempliers.fr/

PHOTO CREDITS

• All photos and images © and courtesy Ville de Biot