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 'J'HE . 
 
 Illustrious Order of Hospitalers 
 
 -AND — 
 
 KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 By 
 
 JOHN CORSON SMITH, 
 
 Past Grand Commander Knights Templar an]i 
 Knights of Malta. 
 
 CHICAGO: 
 
 Kniuht, Leonabd & Co., Printers. 
 
 1894. 
 
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THE ILLUCTRlOUg ORDER OF HOgPlTALERg 
 
 AND KNItiHTS OB' 
 
 St. John or Jerusalem. 
 
 Peter Gerard, the Founder, 
 
 AND THE THREE GREAT GRAND MASTERS OF THE lEEUS- 
 TRIOUS ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSAEEM. 
 
 In selecting" the three jj'rand masters of the Hosintalers. whu. 
 for their ability to orjjanize and command in battle, to assault or 
 defend a fortress or city, or rule and irovern so mixed a body of 
 men of so many lanyviayes as constituted 'J'he Illustrious Knig"hts 
 of St, .John, of Palestine. Rhodes, and Malta, from their ortjaniza- 
 tion 1100 A.D. to 1798 A.D., and particularly- the three to whom in 
 our judg'ment the honor belonifs for much of the ^lory which at- 
 taches to the Order of the Knii;hts of Malta, we cannot be far 
 wron<r when we name Raymond du Pu}-, Philij) Millers de L'Isle 
 Adam, and .John de la Valette. 
 
 It is not our intention to enter into any discussion of the merits 
 of the two <jreat orders of kniyhthood which had their orig"in in. and 
 did such valiant fig^htin^ for the possession of the Holy Land. much 
 as we believe the Order of the Hospitalers. The Illustrious Kniyhts 
 of St. .John of .lerusalem. better known as the Knifihts of Malta, 
 to have been the older and ifreater. as it certainly was the lonj^er 
 in existence. 
 
 The fovmdation for the Order of Malta was laid l)y the mer- 
 chants of Amalfi.Kinirdom of Naples. 104S. When enj.;ag'ed in trade 
 with the countries borderinir the eastern shcjres of the Mediter- 
 ranean thev visited < 'airo. Eyyjit. and obtained permission frcmi 
 Caliph Monstaser-billah. to erect a hospital in .lerusalem for the 
 use of the poor and sick pilyrimK f^oinij uj) to that city. The .Egyp- 
 tians beinir then in po.ssession of the Holy City and being kindlj' 
 disposed, the governor cm presentation of the order of the caliph, 
 gave these merchants a piece of ground a short distance south and 
 east "about a stone's throw from the door of the church of the 
 
2 The [llu.itriotis Order of Hospitalers 
 
 Holy Sepulchre," upciii which t(i erect their buildinj;s. with •'per- 
 mission to brin;^ monks and an Abbott from their own country to 
 reside therein." They first built a chapel, which was dedicated to 
 the blessed Virgin, and then two hosjiitals for the weary and dis- 
 tressed pilf^rims. male and female, which the^- dedicated res])ec- 
 tively to St. John the Almoner, and St. Mary Maifdalene. placini/ 
 monks in charj^e of one and nuns in charg'e of the other. Money 
 and supplies were gathered in Italy for the support of this splen- 
 did charity, and it was becoming- widel_v known when in JOli") the 
 l)arbarous hordes of Tartary called Turcomans, swept down and 
 over Palestine, cajituring .Terusalem and destroying the Egyptian 
 garrison. 
 
 The hospitals of St. .John the Almoner and St. Mar^- Magda- 
 lene were not exempt from the plunder and desecration which fol- 
 lowed. There is little or nothing known of the brave monks and 
 ])i(]us nuns who continued in charge of these hospitals from JOd.") 
 until the brave (rodfrev de Bouillon and his undaunted Crusaders 
 stormed and captured the Holy City Friday, -luh- 15. 1099. --at the 
 hour of three in the afternoon, exactly the same day and hour .at 
 which Christ expired for the salvation of the human race." The 
 capture of .Jerusalem was the termination of a disastrous cam- 
 paign, for of a ))ody of men of all arms numbering" 709.(100 at its 
 commencement, but 21. .^OO remained, being 29,090 foot and L.'jOO 
 horse with which to commence the siege. The ranks on the march 
 had been depleted from various causes, the i)rincii)al ones of which 
 were desertion, sickness, and death. It is a matter of record that 
 when the siege of -lerusalem began .June 7. 1099, the garrison con- 
 tained 49,990 men at arms and 20,000 citizens bearing arms. During 
 the siege of six weeks such ( 'hristians as remained in the city were 
 imprisoned that thej' might not give aid or information to the be- 
 besiegers. Among those imj)risoned was the I^ector or Adminis- 
 trator of the Hosjiital of St, .lohn, a Frenchman named Peter (Jer- 
 ard and native of the island of Martigues in l^rovence. 
 
 How inhuman all men were in those days is ajiparent in the 
 acts of the Crusaders, who i)roved themselves as bloodthirsty as 
 the barbarians, for no sooner had they ca)it\ired the city, killin"- 
 all found in arms, than they deliberately murdered defenseless 
 men, women, and children, and it is a well attested fact that on 
 the Temple area and in and about the Mos(jue of Omar 10,001) peo- 
 ple were slaughtered. It is on that Temple area where the < 'ru- 
 saders' horses were said to have waded up to their fetlocks in hu- 
 man blood. Greater extremes were never known than in those 
 days; barbarous murder and inhuman slaughter one dav tube fol- 
 lowed with excessive jiiety the next, for it is relateil th.at surfeitt'd 
 
CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 
 JERUSALEM, 1892. 
 
■ •J \^ £L .ii'i"^ '}titA'i 
 
and Knights of St. John of Jerimalew. ?> 
 
 with blood these same Crusaders hastened Ijarefoot and unarmed 
 to do penance, after which they offered uj) thanksi;'ivin!;f for their 
 victory at the Holy Sepulchre. Havini;" cajjtured the city, it now 
 became necessary to form a f^overnment, and the_v cast about them 
 for a leader, the lot falling' upon Godfrej- de Bouillon, whom they 
 souijht to make kinj;'. That sturdy warrior would not have it .so. 
 He was willintj to lead and command, but when thej- desired to 
 crown him with a crown of gold in the church of the Holy Sepul- 
 chre he said to his followers. "No! You shall never see so mafjnili- 
 cent a crown upon m_v head in the place where the .Saviour of the 
 world was crowned with one of thorns." That brave Crusader not 
 only refused the crown, but he as resoluteh' declined to be called 
 kiny and was content to accept the title of •'Protector'" or "De- 
 fender of the Hoh' Sepulchre." 
 
 Upon Godfrey's first visit to the House of the Hosjjitalers, he 
 found that pious man, Peter Gerard, at the head of its adminstra- 
 tion: and as his assistant for the female hospital, a Roman ladj* of 
 noble birth, named Ag"nes. He also found so man}- wounded Crusa- 
 ders beinof cared for by the Hosjiitalers that he became interested 
 in them and impressed with the importance of their valuable ser- 
 vices, he immediatelj' yave them a large share of his own estates, 
 as will be seen from the following copy of his will or deed. 
 
 Detd (if Ffdpci-ty of Qodfriyde JUmiUon to tlie IIof;pit<il <f ;st. John, Iii'.i'j: 
 In the name of the Holy Trinity who cannot be divided. I, 
 Godfrej'.by the grace of God, and of His reign, make it known to all 
 present aiid to come, that for the remission of m3- sins, I laid on my 
 heart and shoulders the sign of the Saviour crucified for us. I arrived 
 at last at the place where the feet of the very High .lesus Christ 
 rested, and as I had in penance visited the Holy Sepulchre of the 
 Lord and all the holy spots connected with it. I came at last to the 
 Church of the Blessed Hospital which was founded in honor of God 
 and of His blessed Mother and St. .John, precursor of the Lord. and 
 seeing in this the grace of the Holy Ghost which cannot be told, 
 imparted to the sick and weakly poor suffering, abundantly and 
 humbly in penance: I bequeath to the said House of the Hos])ital 
 and toall the brothers, a house founded on my estates and under 
 my care in the cold (Montboise in Brabant) mountain, free from 
 all rent and expenses, and to have it forever. 
 
 This gift of my donation was done in honor of the incarnatiim 
 of our Lord and In commemoration of the taking of .ferusalem 
 MLXXXXIX. in the sixth epoch in the first indiction. and for the 
 salvation of myself, my father, my mother, and all those gone be- 
 fore me. my relations. "and all friends living and dead. 
 
 This commendable act induced many others to follow his exam- 
 ple. At the same time a large number of the Crusaders, impressed 
 with the piety of the Hospitalers, and tired of bloodshed and strife, 
 ioined the order, among whom was a nobleman named Raymond 
 
4 The niiistrioii-t Order of Ho.'^jiUah'r^ 
 
 du Puy. of the province of Dauphiny. It was under (ierard that 
 the Hospitalers, male and female, or brothers and sisters as 
 they were called, took a vow to renounce the world, wear a plain, 
 black robe, on which was a white cross of ei^ht points placed on 
 the left side near the heart, and the three solemn vows of the or- 
 der, ( 'hastity. Obedience, and Poverty. These vows were always 
 taken in the Holy Sei)ulchre. 
 
 The fame of the fraternity of the Hospitalers having- spread 
 throug-hout the cimtinent by returning ( 'rusaders and Pilgrims, 
 Pope Pascal II.. at the request of Peter Gerard, the Administrator 
 of the Hospital of St. .John, confirmed this new institution -'to his 
 venerable son Gerard, fcmnder and master of the hospital at .Jeru- 
 salem, and to his lawful successors forevermore." in a Bull liearing 
 date .March l.">. lll.'l. which we have seen in the arnK)ry of the 
 Knights in the city of ^'aletta. Malta, of which the following is a 
 translation from the original latin. 
 
 ISiill Iff I'dpi- f'li.fchiil II. Miiich ir,. 111.!. 
 
 Paschal, bishop and servant of such as are the servants of 
 God, to his venerable son Gerard, founder and master of the Hos- 
 pital at .Jerusalem, and to his lawful successors forevermore. 
 
 The requests of a devout desire ought to meet with a corre- 
 s])onding fulJillment. Inasmuch as of thj' affection thou hast re- 
 quested, with regard to the Hos]iital which thou hast founded in 
 the city of .Jerusalem, in proximity to the Ghurch of the blessed 
 .John the Baptist, that it should be supported bj- the authoritv of 
 the apostolic see, and fostered by the patronage of the blessed 
 apostle Peter: We, therefore, much pleased with the pious earn- 
 estness of thy hospitality, do receive the petition with our fraternal 
 favour, and do ordain and establish, by the authority of this our 
 present decree, that that house of God, j"Our Hos|)ital, shall now 
 be placed, and shall forever remain, under the 'protection of the 
 apostolic see, and under that of the blessed Peter. 
 
 jVll things whatsoever, therefore, which by thy persevering- 
 care and solicitude have been collected for the benetit of the said 
 Hospital, for the suppiort and maintenance of pilgrims, or for re- 
 lieving the necessities of the poor, whether in the churches of 
 .Jerusalem, or in those of parishes within the limits of other cities: 
 and whatsoever things may have been offered already liy the faith- 
 ful, or for the future may through God's gr;ice be so offered, or 
 collected by other lawful means; and whatsoever things have been, 
 or shall be granted to thee, or to th}' successors, or to the brethren 
 who are occupied in the care and support of pilgrims, by the ven- 
 erable brethren the bishops of the diocese of .Jerusalem: \ve hereby 
 decree shall be retained by you in peace and undiminished. More- 
 over, as to the tithes of your revenues, which ye collect evervwhere 
 at your own charge, and by your own toil, we do hereby lix and de- 
 cree, that they shall be retained by your own H(]spital', all opposi- 
 tion on the part of the bishops and their clergy notwithstanding. 
 We also decree as valid all donations which have lieen made to 
 your Hospital l»y jiious ])rinces. either of their tribute moneys cir 
 
<md Kidf^lUs of St. John of Jernxalem. .5 
 
 other imposts. We ordain, furtiiermore, that at thy death no 
 man shall l)e ajipointed in th}' place, as chief and master, by any 
 underhand subtlety, or by violence: but him only who shall, by the 
 inspiration of (iod, have been duly elected by the i)rofessed breth- 
 ren of the Institution. Furthermore, all diijnities or possessions 
 which your Hosjiital at present holds, either (m this side of the 
 water, to-wit in Asia, or in Kurope, as also those which hereafter 
 b}- God's bountj' it ma_v obtain: we conlirm them to thee and to thy 
 successors, who shall be devoting" themselves with a pious zeal to 
 the cares of hospitality, and throufrh j-ou to the said Hosjiital in 
 perpetuitv. We further decree that it shall be unlawful for an}' man 
 whatsoever rashly to disturb your Hosjiital, or to carry oft' any of its 
 projierty, or if carried off to retain possession of it, or to diminish 
 ouyht from its revenues, or to harass it with audacious annoyances. 
 But let all its jirojierty remain intact, for the sole use and enjoy- 
 ment of those for whose maintenance and support it has been 
 ifranted. As to the hospitals or poor houses in the Western 
 jirovinces, at Buryum of St. ^E<J"idius, Lisan Barum, Hispalum, 
 Tarentum. and Messana, which are distinffuished by the title of 
 Hosjiitals of .Jerusalem, we decree that they shall forever remain, 
 as they are this day, under the subjection and disjiosal of thj'self 
 and til}- successors. If, therefore, at a future time, any jierson, 
 whether ecclesiastical or secular, knowinif this paraj;raiih of our 
 constitution, shall attemjit to ojijiose its provisions, and if, after 
 havinj,'" received a second or third warning, he shall not make a 
 suitable satisfaction and restitution, let him be deprived of all his 
 dignities and honors, and let him know that he stands exposed t<i 
 the judgment of God for the iniquity he has perjietrated: and let 
 him be deprived of the Sacraments of the Body and Blood of 
 < 'hrist, and of the benefits of the redemption of Our Lord, and at 
 the last judgment let him meet with the severest vengeance. But 
 to all who deal justly and rightly with the same, on them be the 
 peace of Our Lord .lesus ("hrist, so that not only here below they 
 may receive the rewards of a good action, but also before the 
 .Iudg"e of all mankind, they may enjoy the blessing of peace eter- 
 nal. 
 
 1. Paschal, Bishop of the Catholic Church, 
 I. Richard, Bishop of Alboe, have signed. 
 I. f'.ALlXTUS, Bishop <if the (Catholic Church, 
 J. Landdlphus, Bishop of Beneventum. 
 Have read and signed. 
 Given at Beneventum, by the hand of .lohn, ( 'ardinal of the 
 Roman Church, and Librarian, on the 1 5th day of the calendar of 
 March, in the tith indiction of the incarnation of our Lord, in the 
 vear 1113, and in the 13th year of the PimtlHcate of our Lord Pojie 
 "Paschal II. 
 
 It thus appears that their property should be free from all 
 tithes or t(dl — that all donations, tributes, or other gifts, should 
 be theirs, and that in all vacancies of "chief and master" the 
 iirethren should elect without interference by any one. It is re- 
 corded that the jiious Peter, founder and master, erected another 
 hospital or temjile just south of the Holy Sepulchre, which he dedi- 
 cated to St. .lohn. the iiajitist, .and several other buildings in which 
 
6- Tlie Illustriouii Order of Hospitalers 
 
 the poor, weary, and sick pilirrims were cared fur. the Hospitalers 
 j^riving- them every care, even to the washing" of their feet. These 
 new buildings and hospital being just west of and attached to their 
 first chapel (which was dedicated to the Holy V'irgin. ) and hospi- 
 tals, were placed under charge of Brother Raymond du Puy. and it 
 was here that the new order, or branch of the old order was founded, 
 which became known as the "Hospitalers, or Knights of St. John." 
 The members of this new branch took upon themselves another 
 vow in addition to those of Chastity. Obedience, and Poverty, 
 which was to defend the Holy Sepulchre and tight the infidels. 
 
 The following is a copy of the rules issued by frater Raymond 
 du Puy to the brethren of the hospital under his charge, about the 
 year 1100 when he was but a warden of the hospital: 
 Rules of thif Hospilakrs <ind Knights (if llic Ordir of St. .Jolin tlu lUiptiat 
 
 of Jerusidi'iu. l.ss'ued Iji/ FriUci' Rdjiniond dii Fnil. I liKi. tlicn a irardvii 
 
 of the Hospital id JeriisrilPin. 
 
 In the name of the Lord. Amen. 1. Raimond, servant of the 
 poor of Jesus C'hrist, and warden of the hospital of .Jerusalem, 
 with the council of the chapter of the Order, make these regula- 
 tions, to be observed in the house of the Hospital of St. .Tohn Bap- 
 tist of .Jerusalem. I enjoin then all the brothers that engage in 
 the service of the poor, and in the defence of the Catholick faith, 
 to maintain and observe, with the grace of God, the three things 
 that thev have promised, viz: Chastity, obedience, i.e.. that they 
 will perform exactly everj' thing that shall be enjoined them by 
 their master, and to pass their lives without possessing any thing 
 in propertj-: for God will require from them an account of these 
 three things at the da^- of judgment. 
 Exercise of die Kiiiyhthood for Jesus Christ — Custemt. 
 
 Our Order has, ever since its first foundation, been endowed, 
 augmented, and enriched by the liberality, assistance, and favor of 
 the hoh' apostolical see of catholick king's and princes, and of de- 
 vout Christians, with lands, possessions, jurisdictions, graces, priv- 
 ileges, and exemptions: that the Knights should make their pro- 
 fession in it. might adorn their Knighthood with a true charity, 
 the mother and solid foundation of all virtues: with hospitality, 
 and a sincere attachment to the faith, and, being empkn'ed in these 
 various functions, might only seek to distinguish themselves by a 
 course of virtue. Soldiers of Jesus ( 'hrist are designed only to 
 fight for his glory, to maintain his worship, and the catholick 
 faith, to love, reverence, and preserve justice; to favour, support, 
 and defend such as are oppressed, without neglecting the duties 
 of holy hospitalitjr. 
 
 Thus the Knights Hosjjitalers, acquitting themselves truly of 
 both these sorts of duties, are to wear on their cloaths a cross with 
 eight points, to put them in mind of bearing always in their heart 
 the cross of Jesus Christ, adorned with the eight'virtues that at- 
 tend it; and that, after a bountiful distribution of alms, they take 
 the sword in hand to attack and demolish the Mahometans, and 
 such as deviate from the faith. 
 
PETER GERARD. 
 FOUNDER AND MASTER OF THE HOSPITAL AT JERUSALEM, 1099 TO 1118. 
 
RAYMOND clu PUY. 
 
 WARDEN OF THE HOSPITAL, 1100. AND PREMIER GRAND MASTER OF THE KNIGHTS 
 OF ST. JOHN, 1118 TO 1160. 
 
and KnighU of St. John of Jerusalem. 7 
 
 When once they have devoted themselves to these holy exer- 
 cises, they are admonished, invited, and animated by the example 
 of the Maccabees, those holy soldiers and martyrs, who often, with 
 very small forces, defeated formidable armies, by God's assistance. 
 They oufi'ht likewise to apply themselves continually to an exact 
 observation of what they promised to (Jod when they made the 
 three vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty, appointed by the 
 rule; and to the practice of all other moral and divine virtues, so 
 that beinij enllamed by charity, they may have no dread on their 
 spirits at taking the sword in hand, and exposing themselves, with 
 prudence, temperance, and fortitude, to all sorts of dangers, for 
 the honor of Christ imr Saviour, and his holy cross, and for the de- 
 fence of justice, widows, and orphans. There is no greater charity 
 can be shewed, than by sacrificing one's life for our friends, i.e.. 
 for the <'atholicks. This is their duty, their vocation, the manner 
 of life that they have embraced, their justification, and their sanc- 
 tification. that when they end the pilgrimage of this mortal life, 
 they may enjoy that eternal reward for which God created them. 
 
 Such as shall be convicted of having prevaricated in their duty, 
 of having declined. Hed. or deserted the occasions offered them 
 thereof, and of fighting for the interests of Christianity, shall, for 
 a terror to evildoers, and for the praise of such as do well, be se- 
 verely punished, according to the statutes and customs of the 
 Order." 
 
 They were also known to have taken an active part in ijublic 
 affairs. Peter Gerard died in 1118. Raymond du Puy being imme- 
 diately and unanimously elected his successor. 
 
 Raymond du Puy. 
 
 The election of Raymond du Puy was in strict accordance with 
 the republican principle so distinctly recognized in Pope Pascal's 
 bull of llia. securing in i)erpetuity to the Hospitalers the right of 
 electing their master. Raymond having made known, as we have 
 .seen, while in charge of the branch of the Hospitalers his desire to 
 add another vow to those taken by all the brethren, and they hav- 
 ing accepted, embraced an earh' opportunity of making his wishes 
 generally known, and was pleased to find his proposition met with 
 general approval. In fact, it was the more agreeable to his breth- 
 ren for besides having been companions in arms with Raymond 
 under Godfrey de Bouillon, they knew his bravery and ability to 
 command: also, that their services were sorely needed by the then 
 king of .Jerusalem. Baldwin II. Having first made known his desire 
 to the Patriarch of .Jerusalem and received his blessing, the mas- 
 ter, Raymond, with his armed brethren, appeared before the king 
 and made offer of their services. King Baldwin 11 was not only 
 surprised but delighted, and gladly accepted their otter. 
 
8 The Illi/.ftrioHK Order of Hospitalers 
 
 As Ijffore stated, this vow was assumed by manj- of the Hospit- 
 alers prior to 1118, but no further record has been found of that 
 fact than the rules above yiven: hence, we can only date the t;en- 
 eral chantje from the election of Raymond du Puy, at which time 
 the entire Fraternity assumed the new vow and thus became 
 Knights Hospitalers and soldiers of Jesus Christ. To that pious 
 man, Peter Gerard, must ever be the credit of founding- the Order 
 of Hospitalers: and to Raymond du Puy, no less pious, though a 
 soldier, the high honor of its organization into a military order, 
 which for centuries stood the bulwark of Christianity and saved 
 Kurope from being overrun bj' the Saracen. 
 
 The premier grand master. Raymond du Puy. was of an illus- 
 trious family, then and to this day prominent in Dauphiny. and well 
 known for his piety and bravery. One of his first acts, as has been 
 seen, was to assemble the Hospitalers, inform them of his wishes, 
 and organize them into a chapter or convent, each assuming the 
 new obligation to take up arms in defence of the holy places, and 
 at all times against the Inlidels. New rules were drawn up for 
 their government, afterwards submitted to and approved by the 
 pojie. the original of which was lost in the siege of Acre, 1:291, 
 when that city was captured by the .Saracens. Fortunately, we 
 have the substance of those later rules and vows in the statutes of 
 the Order, which have been preserved. The first was a division of 
 the brethren into tliree classes. The first class were to bear arms, 
 and to be com])osed of those of noble birtli who had seen service in 
 the army, and were called "Knights of -Justice." The second class 
 were priests and chaplains, whose duties were in the church and 
 attendance upon the sick. While the third class were those who 
 were not of noble families or the church, to be called frnres, or 
 serving l)rothers. While all were of one brotherhood, and wore 
 the same coat of arms, the three classes were distinguished by dif- 
 ferent colors. In the field the black habit gave wav' to a vest, on 
 which was the coat of arms, consisting of a white cross of eight 
 ])oints on a red field, the same as upon the standard of the Order. 
 
 In the same statutes, and a bull of Pope Boniface. l.'iOd, we 
 learn something of the rules and vows of the new Order, to which 
 the Dames of the Order of St. .John, who likewise had to be of noble 
 birth, and subscribe to as well as the Knights. In these rules the 
 grand master naines himself, as in the original jiaper given above 
 and repeats his charges to the brothers of the Hospital. "I. Kav- 
 mond, servant of the poor in C'hrist .Jesus, and guardian of the 
 Hr)spital of .Jerusalem, have framed the following regulatit)ns, to 
 be observed in the Hospital of St. .Tohn the Baptist of .Jerusalem. 
 I desire, therefore, thateverv brother who shall engage himself ii\ 
 
and Knights of St. John of Jeru-taleni. 9 
 
 the service of the poor, and in defence of the Catholic ( Church, 
 shall maintain and observe, l)y the grace of God, the three vows 
 which they have made, in whicli are comprehended chastity, obed- 
 ience, that is, that tliey will comply with the commands of the 
 Master in everythin<j, and that they shall pass their lives without 
 the possession of any private property. * * * The soldiers of 
 .Tesus Christ are destined to tight only for his glory, to uphold his 
 worship, and the ( 'atholic religion: to love, , revere, and preserve 
 justice: and to favovir, sustain, and defend the oppressed, without 
 neglecting the duties of hospitality. The Knights of the Hospital, 
 therefore, in piously acquitting themselves of these several duties, 
 shall bear upon their robe a cross with eight points, in order that 
 they maj' remember to bear in their hearts the cross ot .lesus 
 ( 'hrist adorned with the eight virtues which accompany it, and 
 that after a due exercise of charity, they should take the sword in 
 hand for the extermination of Mahometans and of all who aban- 
 don the true religion. * * * 
 
 "They should also bind themselves to the exact oliservance of 
 that which thej' have promised to God, in making the three vows 
 retained by the regulation, of chastity, obedience, and poverty, 
 and to the practice of all the other moral and religious virtues: so 
 that inHamed with charity, they shall not fear to take the sword in 
 hand, and to expose themselves with prudence, temperance, and 
 energy, to every kind of danger, for the defence of the glory of 
 .Tesus Christ, and of the sacred cross, in the cause of justice, and 
 in that of the widows and orphans." 
 
 Having answered the various questions asked him the brother 
 
 was then required to register the following profession: ■■ I. , 
 
 do vow and promise to Almighty God, to the Holy Kternal Virgin 
 Marv. mother of (iod, and to St. .lohn the Baptist, to render hence- 
 forward, b_v the grace of God, perfect obedience to the Su])erior 
 placed over me, by the choice of the Order, to live without jiersonal 
 property, and to preserve my chastity." 
 
 This vow was taken with both hands on an open missal (the Ho- 
 man Catholic mass-book) which the candidate raised la3'ing" it upon 
 the altar, kissing the altar,and then returning the book to the brother 
 administering the vow, as a token of submission and jierfect obeili- 
 ence. The mantle was then thrown over the shoulders of the 
 brother, the cross placed upon his left breast, after his kissing the 
 same, and he was then told that the cross is the sign of the order. 
 The newlj' made brother was also informed that for cowardice in 
 battle he would be stripped of his cross and habit and be ignomini- 
 ously expelled from the order he had disgraced. 
 
 The growth of this new order was so rapid that a i-l;issiHcatiori 
 
Id The Illustrious Order of Hospitaler >> 
 
 >)y lanKuaj^es was found necessary, and the foUowinfr were enrolled: 
 Provence. Auverirne. France. Italy. Arrayon. Germany and Eng- 
 land. Some historians claim that this division of the Knights into 
 lany-ua;res did not occur until about the year i:«(). but the weight 
 of authority is that the classification took place in the reorganiza- 
 tion under Master Raymond du Puy. and we incline to the latter 
 view. It does seem to have been more necessary to organize by 
 languages when the membershiji was unknown to each other and 
 spoke different languages, than after they had l)een banded to- 
 gether for more than two centuries, and learned each others lan- 
 guage. 
 
 The lirst priory of the order was introduced into England early 
 in the twelfth century. 1101. Robert. Duke of Normandy, eldest son 
 of William I. better known as William the Conqueror. King of Eng- 
 land, was in the first crusades, riding at the head of his knights 
 and entering .lerusalem in .luly. lOHH. with the gallant (rodfrey de 
 [bouillon and the accomplished Tancred. It is recorded in English 
 historv that the crown afterwards tendered Godfrey de B<ruillon 
 had been offered Roljert of Normandv. and that he refused it. pre- 
 ferring his dukedom. This gallant ( 'rusader died at Cardiff' ( 'astle. 
 his Ijrother's prisoner. U.'i.'i. 
 
 (iodfrevde Ijouillou. although often called the first king of .le- 
 rusalem. as we have seen wouldnot jiermit himself to be crowned nor 
 would he accejjt that title, but did accept the title of ■'Protector'' 
 or ■■ Defender of the Holy Sepulchre." died in 1100. But before hi.s 
 death he wjis so impressed with the valuable services of the Hos- 
 jiitalers under Peter Gerard that he endowed them, as before stated, 
 with his own manor and all its dejjendencies. This led (jthers to do 
 so. and many of the Crusaders to join them, among whom was Ray- 
 mond du Puy. who. upon lieing assigned to the charge of the new 
 hosi)ital. added the vow to the three already taken of •■('harity. 
 Obedience, and I'overty." that of taking u]) arms in defence of the 
 holy places and the ( 'hristian religion. In this same year of the 
 electiim as master of Raymond du Puj', 1118. Hugh de I'avens. 
 (xeoffrey de St. Aldemar. and seven other Frenchmen, all connected 
 with the Hospitalers, formed a society for the ])urpose of escort 
 and guard to the Pilgrims going up to .lerusalem. This small 
 body of nine brave Hos|)italers were suppin'ted for several years 
 from the fund.s of the Hospital, their arms, clothing, and pro- 
 vision being obtained from the same source. Desiring to be alone, 
 they took up their quarters in a small house near the Tem])le. and 
 subsequently having apartments given them in the royal i>alace 
 they afterwards became known as Knights of the Temple or 
 ■• Knights Tem])lars." Several years after, or more pro])erly speak- 
 
and KnightK of St. John of Jerusalera. 1 1 
 
 injr, in 1128. Baldwin, the second kin;;' of Jerusalem, findinir bis 
 throne insecure, sought to tjet up another crusade and thus y^et 
 re-inforcements, and so sent Hu<rh de Payens to Rome to interest 
 Pope Honorius 11. 
 
 It was durinij this time while in Rome that Hu}i"h de Payens 
 and his companions secured the favor of the pope and his permis- 
 sion to form a new military order entirely independent of the char- 
 itable duties of the Hospitalers. This favor beinjf granted it was 
 decreed hy the council that each member of the new order should 
 have one esquire or serving brother and three saddle horses. And 
 it was further ordered that, to distinguish them from the Hospi- 
 talers, their habit should be white with a red cros,s over the heart. 
 P^rom this the two orders became known in history as "White 
 Cross Kuig"hts " and "Red Cross Knights." 
 
 We have made this brief digression from the history of the 
 Hospitalers in support of our statement that the Hospitalers were 
 the older order, knowing that our readers desire the facts con- 
 nected with the early organization of these two illustrious orders 
 of knighthood. 
 
 In 1119, the Turcomans swept down into Edessa and besieged 
 Antioch. King Baldwin II marched to the relief of the besieged: 
 but before he reached that cit}' the Barbarians had won a victor^-, 
 and. being elated, determined to meet the Christian forces, when a 
 desperate battle ensued. King Baldwin was victorious. Ra}- 
 mond du Puy at the head of his Hospitalers, charging their heaviest 
 battalions and breaking their ranks, drove them to flight. Other 
 battles followed in and around Ascalon. .latfa. Tyre, and many 
 jdaces in Palestine during the next two or three years, in all of 
 which the Hospitalers bore an honorable and prominent part. Pope 
 Innocent II. at a later date. 1130. speaking of the order, says, 
 " The Hospitalers make no difficulty to expose daily their own lives 
 to defend those of their brethren: they are the firmest support of 
 the Christian church in the east, and are fighting every day with 
 distinguished courage against the Infidels. * » * * Moreover, 
 we declare to you that we have taken the house of the Hospitalers 
 of St. .John and the whole order into St. Peter's and our own pro- 
 tection." 
 
 King- Alphonso I. of Navarre and Arragon. having by will in 
 ll.'U made the Hospitalers. Kights Templars, and ( 'anons or Knights 
 of the Holj' Sepulchre his heirs upon his death, gave so much 
 trouble that Raymond du Puy, the Master of the Hospitalers, was 
 given charge of the settlement of the disputes. In companj' with 
 a body of Hospitalers. Templars, and Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, 
 he made a visit to Spain and happily settled all difficulties, return- 
 
12 The Illustrious Order of Hospitalers 
 
 ing to Jerusalem in 1141, where the historian says he was received 
 with ■■ real joy and hearty respect." 
 
 From the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, until its final evacuation 
 in 1243, there was constant war in and about Jerusalem and through- 
 out Palestine: the city had been besieged and Edessa had fallen. 
 Among- the memorable engagements during the^mastership of Ray- 
 mond du Puy in which he took a distinguished part, was the seige 
 of Ascalon in U53-4. in which King Baldwin III in person com- 
 manded. 
 
 The siege having lasted for five months, with constant assaults 
 on the part of the Christians and as frequent sallies by the Egyp- 
 tians: a strong fleet having arrived with reinforcements and pro- 
 visions for the garrison and having successfully landed, it was the 
 general opinion of the leaders that their forces be withdrawn. To 
 this Raymond du Puy objected, urging that it would discourage the 
 soldiers and again result in the investment of Jerusalem. 
 
 After several councils were held, the king accepted the advice 
 of the commander of the Hospitalers and prosecuted the siege with 
 more vigor, which finally resulted in the capture of Ascalon and 
 its evacuation August 12. 1154. 
 
 It is recorded that in the year lltiO. the master of the Hospital 
 of St. John, now the Hospitalers, Raymond du Puy, at the advanced 
 age of SO years, covered with wounds and worn out with years, re- 
 tired to the home of the Hospitalers of St. John in .Jerusalem, 
 where, in quiet retirement, in the exercise of piety, surrounded 
 by his followers, and in the arms of his brethren, he died. It is 
 also written of him that his character would have become a saint, 
 that he was a true soldier, a gentleman, and a Christian. Thus 
 died the premier grand master of the Illustrious Knights of St. 
 .lohn of -Jerusalem, the greatest commander in Palestine and the 
 founder of the greatest militarv order known to history. 
 
 Philip Villiers de L'Isle Adam. 
 
 THE FOKTY-SECOND GRAND MASTER AND DEFENDER 
 
 OF RHODES. 
 
 From the death of the premier grand master. Raymond du Puy, 
 master of the Hospital of St. John, of Jerusalem, in IKiO, until the 
 election of the forty-second master of the Hospital. Philip Villiers de 
 L'lale Adam, as grand master, January 22, 1521. a period of 361 years 
 had elapsed and the Hospitalers still remained a recognized body of 
 
SISTER ST. ANNE. 
 GRAND PRIORESS HOSPITAL KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN, 1300. 
 
a7td Kniffhts of St. John of Jerusalein. 13 
 
 Christian knii^hts, whost services were eajrerlj' sought by all the 
 powers of Kurope. The four centuries which had passed since the 
 establishment of the order as a military body were frauffht with 
 great events in which they bore no minor part. We cannot follow 
 the fortunes of the Hospitalers during' that period, as we are not 
 writing- the history of the order, but we may glance at some of the 
 salient points in its career. 
 
 It will be seen that we speak of Raymond du Puy as the pre- 
 mier grand master, and L"Isle Adam as the forty-second grand 
 master, by which title all other "masters" of the Hospitalers or 
 Knights of St. .Tohn will hereafter be named. We do so because 
 all the historians of that period do. and for the additional reason 
 that in their reorganization when under Raj'mond du Pu}' we be- 
 lieve the}' gave that title to their ■master" so as to distinguish 
 him from the manj' subordinate masters or commanders of lan- 
 guages and detachments of Knights. While some historians be- 
 lieve this title to have been the creation of the Knights at a later 
 date, we find it in a bull of Pope Clement IV, of November 18. 
 12(i7. and believe it to have been recognized by the po])es. though 
 perhaps not otticiall}', in the previous century. 
 
 Kngaged in a continued warfare in the Holy Land, from their 
 organization as soldiers of .lesus Christ at the beginning of the 
 twelfth century, we find these Hospitalers in 1291 besieged in the city 
 of Acre, their last stronghold, in the HolvLand — the land in which 
 they had won so much renown. In the two centuries then closing, and 
 in the country from which they were about to depart, never more 
 to regain a permanent home, the Order of Hospitalers, and their 
 sister, we may almost say twin sister — the Order of the Temple, 
 had so blended in history as one that the^' cannot well be sejiarated: 
 'Tis true that at times dissentions arose, quarrels ensued, and the 
 orders battled against each other: but when the Saracen, the com- 
 mon foe of each appeared, these two orders were united. .)erusa- 
 lem, Ascalon, Tyre. Antioch. Damascus. Kdessa. Jaffa. Hattin. 
 Tiberia, Tripoli. Damietta. Oaza. Margrat. and Acre, together with 
 a hundred other battles and sieges, made illustrious by their com- 
 mfm efforts, attest this fact. 
 
 The siege of Acre was commenced April .'), 1291, by Sultan 
 Khaled. a son (jf Mansour, Sultan of Kgypt. who had been jjoisoned 
 while on the march to that city. It is said by Arabian historians, 
 that the besieging forces consisted of KiO.OOU foot and (iO.OdO horse: 
 while to oi)pose them were but a few hundred Hospitalers. Knights 
 Templars, and Teutonic Knights, to which were added, under 
 Henry II. King- Cyprus, 200 horse and .'(00 foot, together with such of 
 the citizens of Acre as could be forced to bear arms. The citv of 
 
14 The Illustrious Order of Hospitalers 
 
 Acre was at that time a place of 1110,(100 or more peo)>le. but under 
 no control — each body of Knig-hts. class, or nationality of citizens 
 occupying- their own quarters or parts of the city. In the pres- 
 ence of the common enemy they all became united under William de 
 Jieaujeu. grand master of the Templars, the Hospitalers being- un- 
 der the command of their grand master. John de Villiers. These 
 two brave commanders and their Knig-hts fought side by side for 
 several -weeks, until after their desertion by King Henrj' II. of 
 Cyprus, and the death of de Beaujeu, grand master of the Tem]i- 
 lars, Matthew de Clermont, grand marshal of the Hospitalers, and 
 the greater number of the brave members of each order, including 
 the Teutonic Knights, -when the few remaining members of these 
 orders were withdrawn by .John de Villiers, grand master of Hos- 
 jiitalers. and found refuge on the island of Cyprus, 
 
 The most daring of the attacking columns in this siege were 
 the famed Mamelukes, the finest body of cavalr}- ever known in 
 Egypt, an organized force which cimtinued down to the time of 
 Napoleon's invasion and battle of the Pyramids, .July 21, ITOS, 
 where they were utterly routed, and finally destroyed March 1, 
 bSll. by Mohammed Ali Pasha, Khedive of Egj'pt. 
 
 C.)f the garrison, three hundred Templars went down to death 
 in the tower of the Temple, and hundreds in other parts of the 
 fight. The Hospitalers and Teutcniic Knights suffered equally 
 with their companions, while of the citizens, not less than (id. 000 
 ])erished or were made slaves to the Egyptians. 
 
 From the island of Cyprus the Knights Templar and the Teu- 
 tonic Knights retired to their commanderies in Europe, but not so 
 with the Knights of St. .Tohn. for they remained so as to be near 
 the Holy Land. Having obtained permission from the king of 
 Cyprus to occupy the city of Limisso the Hospitalers immediately 
 set about reorganizing, and summoning to their aid all available 
 members in Europe. A general chapter was called in which the 
 grand master addressed the Knights saying. " For more than an 
 age past we have been obliged to fight as many battles as we have 
 defended places. St. .Tohn d'Acre is a late witness of our last 
 efforts, and almost all our knights lie buried in its ruins. 'Tis for 
 you to supply their places: 'tis from your valor that we e.\pect our 
 return into the Holy Land, and y(m carry in your hands the lives, 
 the fortunes, and the liberty of your brethren, not of the Order 
 only, but of the vast number (if ( 'hristians that are groaning in the 
 chains of the Infidels." 
 
 The occupation of Cyprus was f(n- Init a few years, from Vlsn 
 until 1310, but during this period they recruited in numbers, lifted 
 out several galleys, capturing many vessels, and were becoming- 
 
and Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. ] 5 
 
 formidable at sea. Au^mst 15, J8J(), under (irand Master b'ulk de 
 Villaret, after laying- sieye to Rhodes the principal city of the 
 island of that name, the Knig'hts stormed and captured the i)lace 
 cutting; the Infidels to pieces but savinir the lives of the ( 'hristians, 
 of whom there were many within its walls. 
 
 Immediately following- the capture of Rhodes, Grand Master 
 de Villaret set about rebuilding; the fortitications of the city and 
 brinsiing' the adjacent islands under his cimtrol. but before this 
 could be accomplished the Knights were attacked by the Turks, 
 (.'orsairs, and Greeks. All efforts failing- to reg^ain the city, the 
 Turks and their allies were withdrawn leaving' the Knig-hts in pos- 
 session of the island. 
 
 The capture of the island of Rhodes and its subsequent defence 
 immediately following;, was the talk of Kurope. carrying' g"ladness 
 to all Christian hearts, and the fact that the Hospitalers remained 
 near the Holy Land, while the other orders of knighthood had 
 withdrawn, directed public attention to them. The result of this 
 was a larg"e increase in membership and the gifts of more estates. 
 
 In Enyland alone, as we learn from the archives in Malta, 
 there were in i.'!30-40 some fifty commanderies with an annual gross 
 revenue of four thousand pounds, which was larg^ely increased 
 about this time by the addition of the properties of the Knig"hts 
 Templars, which order had been suppressed and its estates confis- 
 cated: its g-rand master, .Tacques de Molay, having- been burned at 
 the stake on an island in the river Seine, Paris, March 18, l.'illl, by 
 order of Philii) the Fair, king' of Prance, and with the ajiproval of 
 the papal authority, Clement V. 
 
 William de Villaret, the brother and predecessor of Fulk de 
 Villaret, was the grand master who planned the cai^ture of the 
 Isle of Rhodes, and but for his sagacit\^ the Hospitalers would have 
 shared the fate of the Templars. 
 
 AVhen the grand master of the Knig"hts Templars was sum- 
 moned to Rome by Pope Clement V. William de Villaret was also 
 summoned, but fearing; treachery, made the excuse that he was 
 engag-ed in the reconnaissance of Rhodes, which he intended to at- 
 tack, and that he could not afford to abandon the enterprise. This 
 alone saved him the impris<mment. ending^ in death, which befell 
 the noble -Jacques de Molay. Having completed his reconnais- 
 sance. Grand Master William de Villaret was taken ill and died in 
 l.'MS. and it was left for his brother and successor. .lohn. to carry 
 out his plans. 
 
 For two centuries and more the Hospitalers or Knights of St. 
 .Tohn were in absolute possession of Rhodes and adjacent islands 
 and were known to the world as the Knights of St. .lohn and 
 
16 The Illustrious Order of Hospitalers 
 
 Rhodes. Their fortunes were varied, and they had passed from 
 battalions of mailed and mounted warrior.s to sea king's, treading the 
 declis of their armed galleys and ships with the proud bearing- of the 
 old Norsemen. The white cross of the old Hospitalers floated from 
 the masthead of vessels in everv part of the Mediterranean, and 
 was looked upon with terror by the infidel. One new language, the 
 Spanish, had been added, and commanders of divisions, ca.stles, or 
 important fortifications, and admirals of its Heets. were raised to 
 the rank of (irand ( 'ross Knights. The number of these Grand 
 Crosses was never numerous, and it was an honor only the bravest 
 and most e.xperienced C(jmmanders ever attained. The recipients 
 of this grade wore a ring known as the grand cross ring, made of 
 beaten gold. The seal or back of ring was a three-fourths inch, 
 iival, gold-chased rim. within which was a g'olden crown and a 
 white enameled eight-iiointed star or cross. We have one in our po.s- 
 session, a very ancient one we secured when in Malta, a i)icture of 
 which is to l)e seen in (irand ( 'ommandery i)roceedings of Illinois, 
 J892. We know of no other e.xcept in the Armory of the Knights 
 in Malta, the property of the Knglish government. 
 
 It may not be new to our readers, but it is of interest to know 
 that the name of their island home. Rhodes, was derived from the 
 number of wild roses to tie found all over the island. Having risen 
 to the dignity of a maritime [lOwer. the Knights frequently made 
 landings at Smyrna. Beyrout. and other cities of Asia Minor and 
 Phenicia. attacking the infidels and barliarians wherever found. 
 making ijrizes of their vessels and richlv laden merchantmen. At 
 the same time escort was given to the many ships from Kurope upon 
 which thousands of (^'hristians were constantly inaking i>ilgrimages 
 to the Holy Land. At a critical period in their history, 1521, when 
 Solyman, Sultan of Turkey, was gathering an army to attack 
 Rhodes, the grand master died, and Philij) \'illiers de L'Isle Adam, 
 grand jirior of France, was elected; the only other name being- 
 considered was that of Sir Thomas Docray, grand prior of England, 
 a Knight distinguished for his genius and skill in diplomacy. Know- 
 ing that Rhodes was threatened with a siege, L'Isle Adam imme- 
 diately ordered all Knights from their commanderies throughout 
 Europe, hastened supplies and munitions of war to Rhodes, and 
 proceeded there in person. He had Ijut reached that city, having- 
 narrowly escaped disaster by fire and storm, as well as cajiture bv 
 the Turkish fleet, when he received the following diplomatic letter 
 from the commander of the invading forces bearing the following 
 mightv titles: 
 
y) 
 
 If) o 
 
<i»d Kniff/Ux of St. John of Jerusalem. 17 
 
 "Sultan Solyman, by the {^race of (iod kinn" of kinys, .sovereign 
 of sovereigns, most hiifh emperor of Bizantium and Trelizond: 
 most miifhty kiny of I'ersia, Aral)ia. Syria, and Kifvpt: su- 
 preme lord of Eurojje and Asia. ])rince oi" Mecca and'Ale])po: 
 possessor of Jerusalem, and lord of the universal sea. To 
 Philip Villiers de 'Isle Adam, i^rand master of the Isle of 
 Rhodes — Greeting: 
 
 "I congratulate thee <m thy new dignity, and thy arrival in 
 thy dominions. I wish that thou mayest reign there "ha])i)ily and 
 with more glory than thy predecessors. It shall be in thy power 
 to have a share in our good will. Enjoy, then, our friendship, and 
 as our friend, be not the last to cotagratulate us on the conquests 
 we have just made in Hungary, where we have reduced the im- 
 portant fortress of Belgrade, after having destroyed all that durst 
 resist us with our dreadful sword. Adieu." 
 
 (irand Master Lisle Adam was not to be deceived by this crafty 
 letter, for while the Sultan was apparently holding out the hand 
 of peace, his vessels were insulting those which sailed under the 
 banner of the Order, and so returned him the following in rei)lv: 
 
 "Fr. Phili]) Villiers de L'Isle Adam, grand master of Rhodes. T(j 
 
 Solyman. Sultan of the Turks: 
 
 I understand very well the meaning of thy letter, which thy 
 ambassador has brought me: thy proposals of peace between us are 
 as agreeable to me as they will be displeasing- to Curtogli. That 
 corsair, at my passage from France, did all he could to surjirise 
 me. but not succeeding in his jjroject, and not caring to go out 
 of these seas without having dcjne us some damage, he entered 
 the river of Lycia, and attem])ted to carry olf two merchant ships 
 belonging to our ports. He had likewise attacked a bark belong- 
 ing to some C'andiots, but the galleys of the Order which I sent out 
 of the port of Rhodes, forced him to let go his hold, and make off 
 as fast as he could, for fear of falling into our power. Adieu." 
 
 Other letters followed, messengers were captured, and hostages 
 held while preparations for landing by the Turks and defence by 
 the Knights of Rhodes were lieing carried on. Provisions and mu- 
 nitions of war were brought from ( 'vprus. Europe. and other i)laces. 
 and all the Knights in (.'hristendom ordered in for the defence, 
 while the island was made desolate that the Turks might obtain no 
 supplies, the jieasantry first being brought within the garrison. The 
 Knights and men-at-arms were distributed about the forts. castles, 
 and batteries, and the reserves placed under the four Grand ( 'ross 
 Knig-hts who were known as cajitains or generals, namely. d'Amaral, 
 of ('astile: .lohn Buck, a knight of the language of I'^ngland: 
 de < 'luys. grand prior of France, and de Morgut. grand ]n-ior of 
 Navarre. 
 
 To these were added four other commanders, two French and 
 two Spanish, each with one hundred and fifty men as reserves. An 
 imjxirtant addition to the garrison w;ls an engineer from the Isle 
 
18 The Illustrious Order of Hospitalers 
 
 C'andia named Gabriel Martiniyo. who joined the Kniyhts at this 
 time, was accepted, and for his skill and well known ability- was 
 made a Grand Cross. The entire j^arrison at this time was but 600 
 Knig'hts,4,r)l)0 men-at-arms, and a few hundred of the Rhodian citi- 
 zens. To add to L'Isle Adam's anxiet}-, because of Pope Adrian 
 VI having' seized the property of the Italian Kniyhts in Italy these 
 Knights left Rhodes for Candia. but being afterward a.ssured that 
 a siege was imminent thej' returned and fought bravelj'to the end. 
 
 Solyman having according to his custom tirst sent in a declara- 
 tion of war, appeared off the harbor of a Rhodes .Tune 2(i. l.">2:2, with 
 a fleet of four hundred sail and one hundred or more large galleys, 
 landing an army of 140.000 men-at-arms and (iO,000 pioneers with 
 which to dig trenches and run his mines. 
 
 The Turkish troops were immediately landed, trenches ojiened. 
 mines run. and batteries planted. The guns of those daj's were 
 shotted with stone balls, many of these same stone cannon-balls 
 used at Rhodes, and but a few years later at Malta, we have seen 
 in the armory of the Knights of St. .John at Malta. After several 
 dav'S intrenching and skirmishing, assaults were delivered simul- 
 taneously against the tower of St. Nicholas, the posts of the Ger- 
 man Knights, the English, and Italian, but all in vain: they were 
 not to be carried while so many brave Knights lived to defend 
 them. Days passed into weeks and weeks into months. i)rovisions 
 becoming scarce and powder scarcer, and still the Hospitalers 
 held out. The city had been fired bv- traitorous hands, information 
 had been conveyed to the Turks by a spy within the walls, and the 
 senior Grand Cross Knight, d'Amaral. had been proven a traitor and 
 executed— the only case of the kind in the history of the Order. 
 Still L'Isle Adam and the few wounded and maimed Knights who 
 survived held the fast crumbling battlements of the inner walls 
 and refused to surrender. 
 
 The garrison had become weakened, though many Knights had 
 come to the defence. Yet human strength could not endure the 
 prolonged siege and daily assaults. For each Knight who had fallen 
 one hundred Turks had bit the dust (50.000 or more were killed or 
 died during the siege), but the ranks were fast thinning, and the 
 men-at-arms were as few in proportion as their knightly command- 
 ers. Grand Master L'Isle Adam, in this emergency, took counsel 
 with his Knights and the citizens, and on the 20th day of December 
 l.',22. after a bloody and protracted engagement, in which himself 
 and the surviving Knights sought death in every breach rather than 
 survive the loss of Rhodes, agreed to its surrender. 
 
 In the generous terms of capitulation offered by Solyman the 
 Magnificent, it was stipulated that the inhalntants" should not be 
 
and Knights of St. John of Jerunalem. 19 
 
 ■compelled to deliver uj) their children to become Turkish soldiers, 
 that the churches should not be i)rofaned, and the people be i)er- 
 mitted the enjoyment of the Christian religion. Vessels sufficient 
 to transport the grand master, the remaining Knights, and such 
 •citizens as chose to accompany him, were to be provided to take 
 them to Candia. and twelve daj's be given in which to embark. 
 
 Suffice it to say, that on the night of December 31, 1522, the 
 grand master, the few surviving Knights, and about 4,000 of the 
 inhabitants, men, women, and children, embarked: and on the new 
 year, January 1, 152.':), after blowing the "retreat" upon the bugle 
 we have seen in Malta, they set sail from the Island of Rhodes, over 
 which the banner of the Knights of St. .Tohn had floated victori- 
 ously for more than two hundred years. To the shame of Europe 
 it must be said that this band of warriors, who for more than two 
 hundred years had policed the seas of the Mediterranean and up- 
 held the banner of the cross, were unsupported for a long and 
 weary six months of siege, and at last compelled to surrender and 
 seek a new home. .Jerusalem, Acre, and now Rhodes, their several 
 desperate stands, with a thousand battles lining the pathway of 
 their glorious history for lo, these four centuries, were not to be 
 forgotten. They served as beacon lights to inspire and guide them 
 to their new home, the gateway to the fields and seas of their un- 
 surpassed glorv, Malta. 
 
 Unfortunately the strength of the English Knights is not of 
 record, but as they held one of the principal bastions during the 
 siege of Rhodes they must have been strong in numbers. The fol- 
 lowing are known to have been there and with two or three excep- 
 tions were among the dead; 
 
 .Tohn Buck, Grand Cross: Nicholas Hussey. commander of the 
 English bastion: William Onascon. commander of the English 
 quarter: Thomas Sheffield, commander of the palace postern 
 Nicholas Farfan, on grand master's staff: Henry Mansel, William 
 Weston. .John Ranson. William West, .Tohn Baron, Thomas Pem- 
 berton. George Asfelz. -Tohn Lotu. Francis Buet, Giles Rosel, 
 George Emer. Michael R(jux, Nicholas Usel, OVcio de Montselli, and 
 Nicholas Roberts. 
 
 After a few days bad weather, the vessels made a landing on 
 the Isle of Candia. where, remaining for two months to recover, 
 clothe the people, and receive the scattered Knights from the out- 
 lying islands of Rhodes, with the peasantry now numbering more 
 than 5.000, they again set sail for Sicily, finally arriving at the 
 port of Messina, where they went into camp for some time. It was 
 not. however, until after many trials and disappointments and the 
 lapse of several years that Grand Master T/Isle Adam saw a home 
 
20 The Illustrious Order of Hospitalers 
 
 provided where the Grand Convent could be again established and 
 the Knights find a permanent home. 
 
 March 24, 1530. Charles V, Emperor of (xermany, signed and 
 delivered to the Knights a deed conveying in perpetuity "to the 
 most reverend the Grand Master and the Order of St. .John, all the 
 castles, places, and isles of Tripoli, Malta, and Gozo, with all their 
 territories and jurisdictions." It was further specified that this 
 was "in consideration of the particular affection which he had al- 
 ways borne to the Order, and the important services which it had 
 done for many ages for the Christian world." and that it was bind- 
 ing upon "his heirs and successors." It was this same emperor 
 who, when he first heard of the misfortunes of the Knights, said. 
 " There has been nothing so well lost in the world as Rhodes." 
 
 Immediately upon receipt of this deed, which can yet be seen 
 in the Knights' Armory. Valetta. Malta. (Jrand Master L'Isle 
 Adam forwarded the same to Pope Clement VII for his ap])roval, 
 which it received, and a bull was issued recognizing the same. 
 April 2ri, 1530. Believing the deed will lie of interest we give the 
 same in full. 
 
 Deed (if the fshinds iif Jlidtn diiil Gtizi> mid 'J'i-ip(ill Id IIii llosjiitid iif Xt 
 John of Jcrtisidim. liij Cliarhs ]'. Mmi-h ..'.:. h'l.M. 
 
 The brother. Philij) Villiers De L'Isle Adam, humble master of 
 the Sacred House of the Hospital of St. .Tohn of .Terusalem. guard- 
 ian of the poor in .Tesus Christ, and of our conventual home, to our 
 venerable brethren in Christ most dear to us, brother Hugh de 
 Copons, draper of our convent and commander of our galleys, and 
 to .lohn Boniface, bailiff of our bailiwick of Manosca and receiver- 
 general of our Order: Health in the Lord and diligence in action. 
 Since his most catholic majestj- has, of his munificence, granted 
 the privilege to our Order, whose tenor is as follows, namely: 
 
 We, Charles V, by the clemencv of the divine favor always. 
 Augustus. Emperor of the Romans: Joanna, his mother, and the 
 same Charles being, by the grace of (4od, monarchs of Castile. 
 Aragon, of both Sicilies, .Jerusalem, Leon, Navarre. Granada. To- 
 ledo, Valentia, Gallicia, Majorca, .Seville, Sardinia, (,'ordova. 
 Corsica. Murcia. Algarve. Algeria. Gibraltar, the Canarv Islands: 
 also of the islands and continentof India, of the Oceans: archdukes 
 of Austria: dukes of Burgundy and Brabant: counts of Barcelona. 
 Flanders, and Tyrol: lords of Biscay and Molina: dukes of Athens 
 and Neopatria: counts of Rousillon and ( 'atalonia: marquis of La 
 Mancha and Ghent. 
 
 Whereas, for the restoration and establishment of the convent. 
 Order, and religion of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem: and 
 in order that the very reverend, and venerable, and well beloved, 
 the grand master, the priors, bailitts, precejitors, and knights of 
 the said Order: who, being expelled from the Island of Rhodes by 
 the Turks (who, after a most protracted and violent siege, have 
 occupied that island I. have already wandered for several vears. 
 should obtain at length a fixed re,s"idence. and there should" once 
 
and Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. 'i\ 
 
 more return to those duties for the benetit of the Christian com- 
 mvmity which appertain to their religion: and should dilig'ently 
 exert their strenjjth and their arms against the perfidious enemies 
 of the Christian religion: moved by devotion, and actuated by the 
 same spirit which has allied us to the Order, we have determined 
 upon granting a lixed home to the above-mentioned grand master 
 and Order, that they should no longer be compelled to wander 
 about the world, by the tenor of this our present charter, firml}' 
 valid to all future times: through our fixed knowledge, and regal 
 authority, and deliberaticm: and with special design for ourselves, 
 our heirs, and successors on the throne, we grant, and of our liber- 
 ality we bountifully Ijestow upon the aforesaid verj' reverend the 
 grand master of tlie religion and Order of St. .Tohn of .Jerusalem, 
 in feudal perpetuitj-, noble, free, and uncontrolled, our cities, ca.s- 
 tles. places, and islands of Tripoli. Malta, and Gozo, with all their 
 cities, castles, places, and insular territories, with pure and mixed 
 jurisdiction, right, and ]iroperty of useful government: with power 
 of life and death over male and female residing within their limits, 
 and with the laws, constitutions, and rights now existing amongst 
 the inhabitants: together with all other laws and rights, exemji- 
 tions, privileges, revenues, and other immunities whatsoever: so 
 that they may hereafter hold them in feudal tenure from us. as 
 kings of both Sicilies, and from our successors in the same king- 
 dom, reigning at the time, under the sole acknowledgment of a 
 hawk or falcon, which, every year, on the festival of All Saints, 
 shall be presented hy the i)erson or persons dul}' authorized for that 
 purjjose into the hands of the viceroy or president, who may at that 
 time be administering the government, in sign and recognition of 
 feudal tenure: and, having made that acknowledgment, thej^ shall 
 remain exempt and free from all other service claimable bj' law 
 and customary to V)e performed by vassals. 
 
 The investiture of which feudal tenure, however, shall be renewed 
 in every case of a new succession, and completed according to the 
 dispositions of the common law, and the grand master for the time 
 being, for himself and the above mentioned Order generally in this 
 recognition and investiture, shall be bound to give a pledg-e, that 
 from the said cities, castles, or places, he will not permit loss, or 
 prejudice, or injury, to be perpetrated against us, or our kingdoms 
 and lordships above mentioned, or those of our successors in the 
 said kingdoms, either by sea or hy land, nor will offer any assist- 
 ance or favor to those intiicting such injuries, or desirous of inflict- 
 ing them: but rather shall strive to avert the same with all their 
 power. And if anyone arraigned of a capital crime, or accused of 
 any similar offence, shall escape from the said kingdom of Sicily, 
 and shall take refuge in these islands, and their feudatories, if 
 they shall be required on the part of the viceroy, or of the gover- 
 nor! or the ministers of justice of the said kingdom for the time 
 being, they shall be bound to expel such fugitive or fug-itives, and 
 to drive them far away from their island, with the exception of those 
 who are accused of treason, or of heresy, whom they shall not eject, 
 but, at the requisition <if the viceroy, or his lieutenant, they shall 
 take them prisoners, and remit them in custody, to the viceroy or 
 governor. Furthermore, in order that the nomination to the 
 bishopric of Malta may remain as it is now. in our gift and presen- 
 tation, and in that of our successors in the kingdom of Sicily: 
 
22 The Ilhit^trious Order of Hospitalers 
 
 therefore, we decree, that after the death of our reverend and be- 
 loved councillor, Balthasar de Vaultkirk, our imjierial vice-chan- 
 cellor, lately nominated by us to that diocese, as also in the case 
 of every subsequent vacancy occurring- hereafter, the grand mas- 
 ter and' the convent of the Order shall nominate to the viceroy of 
 Sicily, three persons of the Order, of whom one at least shall be 
 and must be a subject of ours or of our successors in the kingdom, 
 and who shall all be lit and proper persons for the exercise of that 
 pastoral dignity. Of which three persons thus nominated, we. and 
 our successors in the kingdom, will present, and shall be bound to 
 l)resent the one whom we or they may judge to be the most worthy 
 for the post. 
 
 The master shall be bound to grant the dignity of the grand- 
 cross to whosoever may be nominated to the said bishopric, and 
 shall give him admission into the council of the Order, together 
 with the priors and bailiffs. Also, since the admiral of the Order 
 is bound to be of the language and nation of Italy, and itis deemed 
 advisable that, for him who is to exercise his authorit3'. when ab- 
 sence or other impediments occur, if a suitable person can be 
 found in the same language and nati<m, it shall be given to him: it 
 is therefore reasonable, that under a similar parity of suitable- 
 ness, that person should the rather be elected to exercise that of- 
 fice, who may be judged the most eligible from amongst that na- 
 tion and language, who shall exercise his office and be deemed sus- 
 pected of noTie. 
 
 Furthermore let statutes and firm decrees be made of every- 
 thing contained in the three preceding articles, according to the 
 style and manner used in the said Order, with the approbation and 
 authority of our sacred Lord and of the apostolic see: and let the 
 grand master of the ( )rder who now is. or hereafter may be, be 
 bound to swear solemnly to the faithful observation of the said 
 statutes, and to preserve them in perpetuity inviolate. Further- 
 more, if the Order should succeed in reconquering the island of 
 Rhodes, and for that reason, or from anj' other cause, shall depart 
 from these islands and their local feudatories, and shall establish 
 their home and convent elsewhere, it shall not be lawful for them 
 to transfer the possession of these islands to any other person 
 without the expressed sanction of their feudal lord: but if they 
 shall presume so to alienate them without our sanction and license, 
 they shall, in that case, revert to us and to our successors in full 
 sovereignty. Further, whatever artillery or engines of war now 
 exist within the castle and city of Tripoli', as shall be specified in a 
 proper inventory, they may retain the same for three years for 
 the ])rotection o'f the town and citadel: the obligation, however, 
 remaining valid to restore the said artillery and machines after 
 the lapse of three years, unless at that time our grace may. owing 
 to the necessities of the case, see fit to prolong the time. "in order 
 that the town and citadel may have its defence more safely pro- 
 vided for. 
 
 And further, whatever rewards or gratuities, temporary or 
 permanent, may have been granted to certain persons in these" ter- 
 ritories, which have been given them, either on account of their 
 merits, or from some other obligation, in whatever state they may 
 now stand, they shall not be taken away from them without pro]ie"r 
 recompense, but shall remain in full fo'rce until the grand master 
 
and Knights of St. John of Jentscdem. 23 
 
 and convent shall see lit to provide tiiem elsewliere witli et|ual and 
 similar property. And in the valuation of this recompense all dif- 
 ference of opinion which might arise, and all annoyance and ex- 
 pense of legal proceedings shall be obviated thus: When it shall 
 seem fit to the grand master and convent to grant to any one such 
 recompense, two judges shall be nominated: one, in our name, by 
 the viceroy of Sicilj' for the time being: the other by the grand 
 master and convent, who, summarily and precisely, shall define 
 the concession of privileges to be transferred, with the arguments 
 on both sides, without any other form or process of law: and if 
 any recompense is to be given, they shall decree how much it 
 should be by right. But if the two judges should, by chance, be of 
 different and opposing opinions, by the consent of both parties, let 
 a third judge be named, and whilst the question is being adjudi- 
 cated or inquired into, and the recompense fixed, the possessors 
 shall remain in the enjoyment of their rights, and shall receive the 
 produce of their privileges, until comj^ensation shall have been 
 made to them. Under which conditions, as contained and described 
 above, and in no other manner, conceding" to the aforesaid grand 
 master and convent, one and all of the said articles in feudal ten- 
 xire. as have been described, as can best and most fully and most 
 usefully be stated and written for their convenience and benefit, 
 and good, sound, and favorable understanding: we offer and trans- 
 fer the same to the rule of the grand master, convent, and Order, 
 in useful and firm dominion irrevocably: in full right, to have and 
 to hold, to govern, to exercise in full jurisdiction, and to retain in 
 peace and perpetuity. 
 
 And on account of this concession, and otherwise, according as 
 it can best be made available and held by law, we give, concede, 
 and bestow to the said grand master, convent, and Order, all rights 
 and all property, real and personal of every description whatever, 
 which appertain to us, and which can and ought to belong to us in 
 those islands, which we grant to them b}' feudal tenure, under the 
 said conditions as have been recited, and in other mattersaccording 
 tothe circumstances of the case; whichrights and privileges, in or- 
 der that they maybe perpetual and capable of being exercised and 
 maintained, "and that all and every right may be enjoyed and freely 
 exercised by law. and whatever else we ourselves may perform in 
 any manner, either now or hereafter, placing the said grand mas- 
 ter, convent, and Order in every respect in our place: we constitute 
 them true lords, due and authorized agents and administrators in 
 their own matters, no rights and no privileges, which we have con- 
 ceded to them as above, beyond what we have already received, 
 .shall be retained or received by us or by our council. Committing, 
 from this time forth, to the charge of the said grand master, con- 
 vent, and Order of St. .John of Jerusalem, with the same authority 
 as we have heretofore exercised, all and everyone, male and fe- 
 male, who may now be dwelling, or hereafter about to dwell, in the 
 said islands, cities, lands, places, and castles, or in their territories, 
 under whatsoever laws or conditions they may have resided there, 
 that they should receive and consider the said grand master as 
 their true and feudal lord, and the rightful possessor of the afore- 
 said territories, and shall perform and obey his behests, as good 
 and faithful vassals should always obey their lord. 
 
 Thev shall also make and otter fidelity and homage to the said 
 
24 Tlie IlliiatrloKS Order of Hospitalers 
 
 i^rand master and convent, with all the oaths usual in similar cases; 
 we also, ourselves, from the moment that the}- take those oaths 
 and tender that homag"e. absolve and free them from all oaths and 
 homai;'e which they may have already made and taken to us, or to 
 any of our predecessors, or to any other persons in our name, and 
 l)y" which they have been heretofore bound. Moreover, to the 
 illustrious Philip, Prince of the Asturias. etc.. our well beloved 
 tirst-born son. and descendant, who. after our prosperous and 
 leno-fhened reign, we nominate and appoint, under the support of 
 our paternal benediction, to be. by the g'race of God. our immedi- 
 a te heir and leffitimate successor, in all our kingdoms and domin- 
 ions: to all the most illustrious lords our beloved councillors, and 
 to our faithful viceroy and captain-general in our Kingdom of the 
 Two Sicilies, to the chief-justice, or whosoever may be acting" in 
 his place, to the judges and magistrates of our courts, to the mag- 
 istrates of the ■■portulano" and the "secrets," to the treasurer and 
 conservator of our royal patrimonies, to the patrons of our ex- 
 chequer, to the captains of our fortresses, to our prefects and 
 guards, portulans. and i)ortulanotes. secreta. and to all and every 
 one else of the officials, and of subjects in our said Kingdom of 
 the Two Sicilies, and especially of the said islands, and of the 
 city and castle of Tripoli, as well now as hereafter, b^' the same 
 authority we order and direct, under pain of our indignation and 
 anger, and under a penalty of ten thousand crowns, to be other- 
 wise levied upon their property-, and 2)aid into our trea.sury, that 
 thev hold, and support, and observe, and shall cause to be in- 
 violably held and observed hy others, these our concessions and 
 grants, one and all, as contained above. 
 
 Also, our aforesaid viceroy himself, or by means of a commis- 
 siimer or commissioners whom he may choose to nominate in our 
 name for that pur]}ose. shall cause to be handed over and trans- 
 ferred, in actual and tangible possession, as vacant and free, all 
 as is aforesaid, which we have conceded to the said grand master 
 and convent, to himself, or to a procurator named in his place, to 
 whom in every way, in order that, on their side they complete and 
 carry out the stipulation and agreement with the said grand mas- 
 ter and convent, we confer ])ower, and commit our plenarv author- 
 ity: and after i)ossession shall have been duly handed over, they 
 shall support the said grand master and convent in that power. and 
 shall protect them powerfully against every one: nor shall they 
 cease to be paid rents, import or export duties, or any other taxes 
 or rights by either <if the aforesaid, to whom we have granted this 
 feudal tenure. 
 
 We. also, in order to give effect to this deed, in case it should 
 be necessary, supply all defects, nullities, faults, or omissions, if 
 any shall chance to be included, or shall arise, or be in any man- 
 ner alleged, from which, in the plenitude of our royal authority, 
 we grant a dispensation. For which purpose we have ordered tlie 
 present deed to be drawn out and furnished with our official seal 
 for the affairs of Sicily attached to it. Given at Castellum Fran- 
 cum. on the 2:id day of the month of March, in the vear of our Lord 
 i.m\ in that of our reign as Emperor the tenth year; as King of 
 Castile. Granada, etc.. the twenty-seventh; of Navarre, the six- 
 teenth: of Aragon. both Sicilies, .ferusalem. and elsewhere, the fif- 
 teenth: and of all our realms the fifteenth. 
 
PHILIP VILLIERS de L'ISLE ADAM. 
 
 DEFENDER OF RHODES. 
 
 FORTY-SECOND GRAND MASTER KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN, 1521 TO 1534. 
 
*?? 
 
 
 
ati,d Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. 25 
 
 Difficulties arisiujr witli tlie viceroy' of Sicily, who clainiftl duties 
 on all corn shipped from that country to Malta, and that he would 
 not accept money which mifjht be coined by the Knif,rhts, in pay- 
 ment of the same, further nej^'otiations became necessary between 
 the Kniuhts and Emperor Charles V, which tijially resulted in those 
 concessions beint;' made to the Order. It was therefore ai^reed that 
 all corn should be duty free, and the Kniyhts have the privilege of 
 their own coinage. These matters satisfactorily adjusted, "rallej's 
 and transports were secured to take the Rhodian peojjle who had 
 faithfully remained with the Order, and buildiny material to Malta, 
 the ,i;rand master and the Kniyhts accomijanj'ini,'" them. The land- 
 inji" was made in what is now known as the grand harbor. October 
 2(i. l.").'^(), and L'Isle Adam was (mce more sovereign over the land 
 and people where Grand Convent was established. There was at 
 this time in addition to the Knights and their .").0(lO people from the 
 Fihodian isles, a native population of 17.(1(10 to 2(j. ((()(). who hailed 
 the coming of the Knights of St ,lohn with joy. believing it was for 
 the best interests of their island. 
 
 Severe as was the loss of .Terusalem. and the withdrawal from 
 Acre, the loss of Rhodes was still greater, and yet it linked the 
 name of the Hosi^italers. the Knights of St. .lohn. with that of the 
 most memorable siege of the Itith century. And the memories of 
 the daring" of the Knights of Rhodes, now become the Knights of 
 Malta, are inseparably connected in the history^ of the centuries 
 .since their organization, with the bravest deeds known to the cru- 
 sades. Scarce three years, and they years of labor, to make the 
 Isle of Malta habitable, amid hardships and trials, and at the age 
 of seventy vears. Crand blaster L'Isle Adam passed to the holier 
 land on high. August 21. l.'^U. was the date of the death of this 
 grand old Hospitaler, whose n.ame will ever be associated with 
 the great siege of Rhodes. When we consider the s])lendor of his 
 achievements, his undaunted bravery, and his nobleness of charac- 
 ter, do you wonder that we class that eminently pious old warrior, 
 Philip Villiers de L'Isle Adam, whose name and fame are insepar- 
 ably connected with the (,)rder of St. .John and the siege of Rhodes, 
 the second of the three great grand masters of the Illustrious Order 
 of St. .John of .Terusalem. the Knights of Rhodes and Knights of Maltal 
 
 The remains of <irand Master L'Isle Adam were first buried in the 
 little chapel at the fortress of St. Angelo. and afterwards removed 
 to St. .John's church, where they now rest lieside those of (irand 
 Master La Valette. and such was the love of the Knights for their 
 trrand master that in commemoration of that love they had en- 
 graven ujion the monument in St. .John's church which was erected 
 tohismemr)rv: ■■ Here lies Virtue Victorious over Fnrtime." 
 
26 The Illustrious Order of Ho.yriuUers 
 
 John de la Valette. 
 
 THE FORTY-SEVENTH GRAND MASTER AND DEFENDER 
 OF MALTA. 
 
 From the death of Grand Master LTsle Adam, in 1534. until 
 the election of a Kniyht of Provence, .John de la Valette, as <;rand 
 master. Aujrust 21. 1557, the fortunes of the Knights of St. .John. 
 Rhodes, and Malta, had been varied. Four other yrand masters 
 had been elected, served the Order faithfully, and died. Malta had 
 been attacked several times and the Turks repulsed. Tri])()U. 
 Tunis. Algiers, and other ])osts on the African coast had been won 
 and lost again. The Order in Kngland had been attacked, many 
 Knights executed, estates confiscated, and commanderies sup- 
 pressed during the reign of Henry VIII, so that the language was 
 almost extinct. To the honor of the English Knights be it said 
 that all who could escape did so, abandoning' their possessions and 
 retiring to Malta, where they took an honorable position in the 
 great siege. The i)0st of the I'^mglish Knights during the siege of 
 15(i5. was on the sea fr<mt of St. Angelo, the main point of attack 
 after St. Elmo fell, and consequently the post of honor. Notwith- 
 standing all these trials and misfortunes, the Order was steadily 
 increasing in nuniliers, strengthening the position ira Malta, and 
 regaining its sujjremacy on the Mediterranean. 
 
 Knight .Tohn de la ^'alette was sixty-three years of age wlien 
 elected grand master, of noble V)irth. and had entered the Order 
 when but a youth. His services at the siege of Rhodes, in defence 
 of Tripoli, and in command of the Order's fleet, had won him step 
 by step the rank of commander, a Grand Cross, and that of lieu- 
 tenant to Grand Master La Sangle, upon whose death he suc- 
 ceeded to the command of the Order. His devotion to duty for 
 more than forty years was unparalleled, for in that time he had 
 never been absent from his convent except when sailing in search 
 of the Turk and Infidel. 
 
 Philip II having succeeded Charles "\'. and l.ieing engaged in a 
 war with the Moors, the Knights furnished a large contingent of 
 fighting men, and were ever found in the forefront of battle. Ex- 
 peditions against Tri])oU and other fortresses were undertaken 
 with general success, and many captures made at sea, thereby en- 
 riching the Order and enabling them to push forward the defences 
 of Malta. About this time, 15ti.'i, in addition to the captures in 
 Algiers and on the Mediterranean, the Knights had succeeded. 
 
and Knights of St. John of .lernsalem. 27 
 
 after desperate fig-hting", in takinjr a Turkish galleon of twenty 
 g-uns belong-ing to the chief eunuch of the imperial harem, the val- 
 uable cargo of which belonged to the Sultan's favorites. 
 
 This was too much for Solyman the Magnificent, and he deter- 
 mined to punish the Knights of St. .John and drive them from 
 Malta, a titting" close of his long reign as he had signalled its com- 
 mencement by their defeat at Rhodes. 
 
 To meet the coming struggle Grand Master La Valette sent 
 ambassadors to all the courts of Europe urging contributions of 
 men, arms, and supplies, taut received little encouragement. Find- 
 ing that he must rely upon his own Order, a summons was sent to 
 all the European commanderies and the Knights hastened to Malta 
 from ever}- quarter. Scattered as the members of the Order were, 
 and demoralized as many might be expected to be since their ex- 
 pulsion from Rhodes, yet no socraer did they learn of the contem- 
 plated attack upon Malta than the remembrance of the glories of 
 Palestine, of Acre, and Rhodes, caused every member of the Order 
 who was able to hasten to the defence of the red cross banner and 
 general convent. Kvery preparation having been made hy Grand 
 Master La Valette before assigning the Knights and their com- 
 mands to the defences, a grand review was had, after which the 
 Knights were assembled in grand convent where the following ad- 
 dress was made, after which they marched to church. ])artook of 
 the hoi}' sacrament, made confession, and then proceeded to their 
 respective posts. 
 
 Grand Master La Valette thus addressed the memliers of the 
 Order: 
 
 ••A formidable army, and an inlinite multitude of barbarians 
 are coming to thunder down upcm us: they are, my brethren, ene- 
 mies to .Tesus Christ: 'tis our l)usiness to stand up manfully in de- 
 fence of the faith, and if the gospel must submit to the Alcoran. 
 God on this occasion demands back of us a life, which we have al- 
 ready devoted to him by our profession: thrice happy they, who 
 shall tirst fall a sacrifice to so good a cause. My brethren, to the 
 altar, there to renew our vows and partake of the blessed sacra- 
 ment, and let the blood of the Saviour of mankind ins])ire us with 
 such a noble contempt of death as can alone make us invincible." 
 
 The Knights to a man followed the example of their grand 
 master, embraced each other, and went forth nobly to die or to 
 victory. 
 
 The inspection and review showed the command at this time to 
 consist of about TDd Knights. KIO serving brothers, and H.-'illl) men- 
 at-arms and seamen. 
 
 The principal p(jsts of defence were the ( 'astles of St. Angelo 
 
28 The Jllvi^trioiis Order of Hospitalers 
 
 and St. Klmo. which commanded the Grand Harbor: the ancient 
 capital city. Citta Vecchia, and the outlyinfr island of Gozo. 
 
 Fifty Knights and five hundred men-at-arm.s were assigned to 
 St. Angelo. where, from its commanding position. Grand Master 
 La Valette took up his quarters. The little star fort. St. Elmo, on 
 the opposite side of the Grand Harbor and at its outer point, which 
 was only garrisoned b_v sixty men, had been enlarged and strength- 
 ened, so that an additional force of sixty Knights and one hundred 
 soldiers were placed in it. Citta Vecchia and the isle of (iozo were 
 properly garrisoned, and a patrol force of two hundred islanders 
 and six hundred men-at-arms were placed at different points around 
 the coast. The Knights of the several languages, soldiers, and citi- 
 zens were tolled off' in detachments and stationed in batteries upon 
 Point La Wangle, in l)astiims. and other defences, and strong re- 
 serves kept near St. Angelo. while galleys with the seamen were 
 in the harbor to defend the entrance. 
 
 On the morning of May IS. \M't. the Turkish lleet appeared off 
 the island, and its coming was signalled to the Knights by the guns 
 of St. Angelo. St. Elmo, and Citta Vecchia. A strong Levant 
 wind blowing, the Heet sailed around the point, anchoring at night 
 in the Bav of Marsa Sirocco, at the east end of the island, where a 
 landing was made and a picket post surprised. One Knight was 
 killed, another cai)tured. severely tortured, and then murdered, 
 the men-at-arms being driven away. 
 
 The Turkish Heet consisted of one hundred and tiftv-nine ves- 
 sels, with galleys and transports upon which were .'iO.OOO of its best 
 troo]is. ."i. 0(1(1 of wlioni were .Tanissaries. the (lower of the Turk- 
 ish army. These -lanissaries were alwa_vs conscrijited from Chris- 
 tian families, the ablest and best of whom were placed in the army, 
 never permitted to marry, and thus became a formidable force. 
 
 Ifaving landed all their troops, and the Meet under the re- 
 nowned ( 'orsair Dragut not yet having arrived, reconnoitering jmr- 
 ties were thrown forward, meeting with much opposition by de- 
 tachments of tlie Knights, in which several severe cimflicts took 
 place. 
 
 The grand master, realizing that no matter how great the loss 
 of the Turks in these desultory actions, the loss of a Knight was 
 greater to him than many men to the invaders, and so withdrew 
 all his forces within the fortifications. May 24. St. Elmo was 
 invested and the siege began in earnest. A battery of ten guns 
 was placed in positicm in the rear, or land side, of St. Elmo. These 
 guns were of heavy calibre, throwing eighty-pound solid shot, and 
 to them were added two lighter guns of sixty p(mnds. and one 
 heavier of KiO pounds. Tlie Turks were not only known in those 
 
and Kniglits of St. John of Jerusalem. 29 
 
 daj's to have the heaviest artillery of any nation, taut the liest gun- 
 ners. Many of the cannon-Vjalls were made of stone, and are to he 
 seen to this daj' in the armory of the Knights of St. .Tohn in Va- 
 letta, the city since built upon the rocky promontory called Mount 
 Sceberras, where the.se batteries were then placed. In ]ilacin<!; 
 these yuns in position the Turks lost many men, for the reason 
 that the promontory, being' of solid rock, no trenches c<juld be 
 made. Gabions and facines, with earth to (ill, had to be brought a 
 long; distance and carried to the front by the men, who were con- 
 stantljr subject to the tire from St. Angelo. The better to shelter 
 the men from the fire of St. Angelo. the Turks had placed their 
 batteries on the outer, or ojiposite. sloyie of Mount Sceberras. 
 which was a great mistake, for they were thus unable to ])revent 
 Grand Master La Valette from throwing fresh troops into St. 
 Klmo. This prolonged the siege, as every night the dead and 
 wounded were removed, and their places taken by other Knights 
 and men-at-arms. Dragut, the corsair, arriving with thirteen 
 large galleys and reinforcements of men, took charge of the siege. 
 and being dissatisfied with the position immediately jilanted an- 
 other and larger battery uptm the top of the ridge, so as to c<jm- 
 mand both St. Elmo and St. Angelo. upon each of which he ke]jt 
 up an incessant fire. 
 
 .Just across Quarantine Harbor is a low jjoint of land upon 
 which other batteries were placed which raked St. Elmo and gave 
 the Turks a tremendous cross-fire upon the Knights. Another 
 corsair, with six guns and additional men, coming and finding the 
 embrasures of a ravelin unguarded, Dragut ordered an attack 
 .Tune 4 by the .Janissaries and a lodgement was made. Had it 
 not taeen for some of the Spanish Knights who were near the draw- 
 bridge at the time of the assault, and withdrew the bridge. .St. 
 Elmo would have fallen in that attack. 
 
 As it was. a simultaneous attack was made by a storming 
 party and the walls were scaled: but the undaunted Knights stood 
 firm, hurling the Janissaries headlong from the walls and pouring 
 boiling pitch and wildfire upon the struggling mass in the ditches. 
 Above the roar of the artillery and the volleys of small arms could 
 be heard the shrieks and yells of the combatants in all the lan- 
 guages. The fierce cry of the Janissary was answered by the 
 battle yell of the Knight of St. John, and the shriek of the Turk 
 b_v the man-at-arms. 
 
 A dense smoke hung low over St. Elmcj. and only as the cry in- 
 creased or died away could the anxious spectators on the walls of 
 St, Angelo judge how the battle was going. Now and then the 
 smoke would lift, and while here and there could lie seen the 
 
30 The Illustrious Order of Nosj^italers 
 
 crescent upon the battlement, j'et over all could be seen the banner 
 of the cross Hoating' proud defiance to its foes. 
 
 Darkness at last clothed friend and foe with its mantle. The 
 Turks had been repulsed, but with the advantage of having the 
 ravelin. Two thousand men had paid the cost of the assault, but 
 that was a small number for such a force, and could much better 
 be spared than the twenty Knights of St. .John and eighty men-at- 
 arms who had so heroicallj' fallen that day in defence of St. Elmo. 
 Again were the dead and wounded removed by La Valette and re- 
 inforcements sent to the beleaguered garrison, but in turn to be 
 broug'ht back as were those who had preceded them. 
 
 Man3' were the touchinfj scenes and incidents of that long" 
 -siege of four weeks, with its daily hand-to-hand encounters. One 
 young Castilian Knight, shot through the bod}-, refused assistance 
 from his brother Knights, saying, "Don't trouble yourselves about 
 me: I am a dead man: your care will be better emplo3'ed in the de- 
 fence of our surviving brethren."' He then crawled away into the 
 little chapel down under the fort, where we recited the creed and 
 solemnly renewed our vows to this illustrious Order in 1892, com- 
 mended his soul to God and died before the altar, where his body 
 was found the next morning. 
 
 Day after day the garrison was attacked, and on the Kith of 
 -Tune another general assault was delivered, in which over 2,000 
 Turks fell and seventeen Knights, together with three hundred 
 men-at-arms. Hoops wrapped with cotton or wool dipped in brandy 
 or oil were fired and dropped upon the scalinj); parties, setting- 
 them on fire and burning them to death. One brave Knight fell 
 pierced with a ball just as he had captured a Turkish standard, 
 and for that brave act he had an honored burial among the Grand 
 <'rosses. 
 
 But human strength could not hold out much longer. The 
 garrison being untenable, the Knights asked to be withdrawn, but 
 Grand Master La Valette. knowing that it must be held to the last 
 moment, affected to believe that the Knights asked to be relieved 
 and wrote them they might return on the boats which carried the 
 relieving party, saying: "Return my brethren, to the convent; 
 you will be more in safety there: and as for me, I shall then be less 
 in pain about the preservation of fort St. Elmo, though it be of 
 such importance that the preservation of the island, and all our 
 Order, depends entirely on it." 
 
 This ott'er the garrison firmly refused, resolving to die to a 
 man rather than have it said they were cowards, and so informed 
 the grand master, begging of him permission to remain. The 
 .grand master having made his point, and knowing full well that 
 
JOHN de la VALETTE. 
 
 DEFENDER OF MALTA, 
 
 FOFiTY-SEVENTH GRAND MASTER KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN, 1557 TO 1568. 
 
and Kniffhts of St. John of Jerusalem. HI 
 
 he could rely upon the faithful performance of their duty, readily 
 gave his consent. 
 
 All this time La Valette was sending urgent requests to the 
 viceroy of Sicily to hasten reinforcements, hut that officer was too 
 fearful to do so, and the Knights of St. .lohn were left to their 
 own resources. Parapet upon parapet was being raised, plat- 
 form upon platform built, and artillery hoisted up with which to 
 comiuand each others works, and still the deadly work went on. 
 Additional batteries were placed, and in such positions upon an- 
 other point across Grand Harbor as to cut off all communication 
 between the besieged in St. Elmo and the grand master. .June 21, 
 another desperate assault was delivered, the whole Turkish army 
 being engaged or in the trenches. The corsair, Dragut, having 
 been mortalU- wounded, made the pirates and .Janissaries more 
 desperate. Several times the Turks advanced to the assault, and 
 as often were thej' repulsed, until night coming on, put an end to 
 the slaughter. It was well that night put an end to the carnage, 
 for human courage could have endured no longer, and St. Elmo 
 must have fallen. All efl'orts on the part of Grand Master La 
 Valette to render aid to the garrison failed, for the shores were 
 lined with artillery and musketeers. The entire fleet blockaded 
 the port, and galleys swarmed in all the harbor. No effort possible 
 was spared to reach the garrison, but without avail. Their fate 
 was sealed, and nobly as ever a human being went down to death, 
 those brave Knights of St. .Tohn did. The day of the 22d was occu- 
 pied in desultory firing, and the night was well spent in dressing 
 each other's wounds. But sixty Knights remained, and a few men- 
 at-arms. At midnight those Knights assembled in that little 
 chapel before referred to. where the remainder of the night was 
 spent in confessing their sins, receiving the sacraments of the 
 church; then kissing their swords, they returned to the breaches, 
 where, lashed to the walls or seated upon stones, for many were 
 too severely wounded to stand, with swords, spears, or guns in 
 hand, they awaited the assault. Daylight dawned June 23d, and 
 the Turks rushed to the assault but to be driven back. With 
 sword or musket, battle-axe, or lance, they fought, and four times 
 were the infidels repulsed: but gathering strength in numbers, and 
 the garrison becoming less and less, at high twelve on the day be- 
 fore the anniversary of their patron saint, but not until the last 
 Knight of St. .John had fallen, did the banner of the cross give way 
 for that of the crescent. Never did men die more nobly, and 
 never in the history of the world has there been such a defence as 
 that of St. Elmo. The commander of the Turkish army, on sur- 
 veying the ruins, and thinking of St. Angelo. exclaimed: ■■What 
 
32 ■ The mustrious Order of Jlo.tfntalers 
 
 will not the father cost us, when the son, who is so small, has cost 
 us the bravest of our soldiers!" To add to the horrors of the occa- 
 sion, and by way of revensre. the bodies of the Kniffhts had their 
 hearts cut out, the {fash of a cross made in their bodies, and the 
 bodies thrown into the bay. that they miyht be carried by the tide 
 to the Town (Boury) and St. Ani^elo. 
 
 This act so affected the g-rand master that he had every Turk- 
 ish prisoner beheaded, and shotting his j^uns with these heads tired 
 them into the camps of the infidels. 
 
 There fell of the Turkish army in the siege of St. Elmo over 
 .s,()OU soldiers and many of their bravest commanders, and among" 
 them the best of their naval officers, the corsair, Dragut. The 
 place where he fell, and where his m<ist effective batteries were 
 placed, is still known as Point Dragut. 
 
 Great as was the loss of commanders .-ind men to the Turkish 
 army, it was less to them than that which befell the Order of St. 
 .Tohn. for of its noble Knights one hundred and thirty were known 
 to have been killed, and fifteen hundred brave men-at-arms or 
 soldiers. 
 
 Severe as was this loss, the gran<l master was satisfied that the 
 rest of his command was as Ijrave and determined as those who had 
 fallen. He immediately set about strengthening his positi(m at 
 St. Angelo and its immediate works, calling in the detached gar- 
 risons and four companies from C'itta ^'ecchia. resolving that no 
 l)risoners should l)e taken, no qu.arter asked or given, and that it 
 should be war to the death. 
 
 l\lusta])ha. the Turkish coraniauder. now having full ])Ossessi(.)n 
 of Mount Scebarras. began to surrcnind St. Angelo and its garri- 
 son, but before he did so reinforcements numbering 7.')4 men 
 arrived, among whom were fifty-six gunners, forty gentlemen who 
 came to join in the defence of JIalta. and forty or more Knights. 
 Among the number were two from Kngland. named .John Smith and 
 Edward Stanley: good I'aiglish names, truly. This small reinforce- 
 ment. .Tune 2!t. was a host in itself and raised the spirits of the be- 
 sieged. Mustajiha. learning of it and its numbers being largely 
 magnified, sent under a flag of truce a demand for surrender, offer- 
 ing the same terms as those granted at Rhodes. 
 
 The offer was indignantly rejected, (irand ^Master La ^'alette 
 and his Knights being determined to save their island home nr be 
 buried beneath the ruins of its fortifications. As St. Angelo and 
 other batteries commanded the waters of the (4rand Harbor, the 
 Turks had recourse to the use of their Christian slaves to drag 
 bo.ats over Mount Scebarras from the quarantine into the upper 
 waters of the Grand Harbor, so as to attack the sea front of the 
 
and Knights of St. Joint, of Jerusalem. 33 
 
 batteries. Here obstructions, sucli as chains, a stockade of tim- 
 bers, spars, and otlier impediments delayed operations until after 
 another larye reinforcement to the Turkish army arrived, when, 
 on July 15, a general assault was beg'un on land and sea front of 
 batteries. La Sangle, and the battery of St. Michael on its point, 
 being- nearest the attacking point of the boats in the upper harbor, 
 received the first assault on its water front, and, unfortunately for 
 the Knights, one of their magazines exploded, making a breach, 
 through which the column entered and planted their banners upon 
 the walls. Grand Master La Valette, from his point of observa- 
 tion at St. Angelo, seeing how hard St. Michael's was pressed, 
 threw in reinforcements, which eventually recovered the ground 
 lost and drove the barbarians into the water. 
 
 When the breach was entered, Mustapha, seeing his banners 
 upon the walls, ordered in ten large boats from the outer harbor 
 filled with .Janissaries, and these coming under the guns of the 
 small water battery at St. Angelo, which being well served and at 
 short range, tore the flotilla to pieces, practically destroying a 
 column of 3.500 men and tilling the bay with their dead bodies for 
 da^'s thereafter. The Maltese, who are excellent swimmers, reaped 
 a rich harvest ol jewels and ornaments from the dead found float- 
 ing in the harbor, where, jsrotected by the guns of St. Angelo. they 
 found them. During the attack upon St. Michael the land forces 
 were engaged, and a desperate attempt was made to carry the 
 works on La Sangie. This assault was led by the viceroy of Al- 
 giers, named Hassan, in the van of which he placed his force of 
 Algerines, who were among the most desperate of the invaders. 
 But it was of no avail. Thej- had encountered less barliarous men. 
 but men who were intelligent, brave, and Christian soldiers, fight- 
 ing for a holy cause. Every assault was repulsed. No quarter was 
 asked and none given, for mingled with the old war-cry of the Hos- 
 pitalers, '-God will have it, God will have it sol" was the new war- 
 crv of the Knights of Malta, "Remember St. Elmol" 
 
 The loss to the Knights in this engagement was severe, for 
 over one hundred members had fallen, among whom were many of 
 the distinguished gentlemen volunteers who had so recently joined 
 them, and fully two hundred soldiers. Of the Turkish loss. 3.000 
 Algerines and .Janissaries were numbered with the dead. 
 
 No rest was given the Knights for daily was the battle renewed 
 and under cover of darkness were attempts made to carry their 
 works. In one of these engagements the nephew of Grand Master 
 La Valette, a brave young Knight being killed, when some of the 
 <ild Knights went to symjiathi/.e with him ujion his loss, the sturdy 
 
 3 
 
:')4 The lUustrious Order of UospiUdent 
 
 (lid warrior exclaimed, '• All the Kniffhts are alike dear to me: I 
 consider them all as my children." And when spoken to of the 
 l)()ssibility of a defeat he said, "No one shall ever live to see. 
 while I am alive, a grand master taken in chains to Constantinople, 
 for I shall die with my children and my brethren." 
 
 Aug"ust i and 7 i,i"eneral assaults were ag"ain delivered and with 
 tlie same results. Tn the latter the Maltese women and children were 
 enfjajjed carrying" weapons, ammunition, and food to the soldiery; 
 ])ourinfi' boiling" oil upon the heads of the Turks, Algerines, and 
 .lanissaries as they mounted the scaling ladders, or rolling stones 
 upon them from the walls as they struggled in the ditches below. 
 All seemed nerved with the undaunted courage of the noble 
 grand master and his Knights, and the universal desire to defeat 
 the foe or die in the breach. Fireworks, boiling water, or melted 
 |)itch was in constant readiness, and no one there was more ready 
 t<j make use of such than the lirave ISIaltese women. Evervthing 
 known to war and barbarity was used upon each side. Mines and 
 counter mines were made, Turk meeting Knight under the earth as 
 they ran their galleries, and both being blown up together in the 
 explosion of the mine. 
 
 The battle raged at all points on land and sea with the chances 
 in favor of the Turks. when Mustapha. finding himself attacked from 
 the rear, sounded a retreat. This alone saved the day to tjie 
 Knights of St. .John, and it had been brought about by a small 
 force from Citta Vecchia. The commandant of that ancient cit-\- 
 in the interior of the island, an old and gallant Knight, named 
 Musqueta. fancying from the continuous roar of artillery, the rat- 
 tle of small arms, and the dense smoke hovering over .St. Alichael's 
 that it had l)een lired and a general assault was Iteing made, sent 
 out his small body of cavalry, each trooper taking a foot soldier 
 on l)ehind him, to make a diversion. This they certainly did, for 
 upon striking the enemy's hosjiitals they attacked the guards and 
 wounded, so that those who escaped ran into their own lines with 
 tlie story that it was the advance of the Sicilian army and hence 
 the cause for sounding the retreat. 
 
 It was well that Grand Master La V:ilctte did not rely uijon 
 Phili]) TT. or his viceroy in Sicily for aid. as. notwithstanding all 
 their promises, it was not their intention to send him any. and an- 
 ticipating such results, while continually pleading for succor, he 
 was as determined to defend Malta with his Knights to the bitter 
 end. The Turkish general, Mustapha, and admiral. Piali, becom- 
 ing des]}erate with their repeated failures and dreading the dis- 
 )]leasure of Sultan Solyman, while keeping up a continuous series 
 of conllicts, determined upon another general assault to be contin- 
 
and Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. 35 
 
 ued both day and nig-lit until they had worn out the garrison. 
 August 18, 19, and 20, assaults were delivered, every point being 
 attacked, but the most desperate on St. Michael's and the positions 
 defended by the Castilian and English Knights on the sea front of 
 St. Angelo. In the latter Grand Master La Valette was severely 
 wounded but remained in the works. 
 
 A letter shot into the city which contained only the word 
 "Thursday," gave notice to the grand master that the assault was 
 to be renewed that day. Every preparation wa.s made, troops 
 being drawn from St. Angelo and other forts to take their place 
 along the outer defences. All the Knights who were»not mortally 
 wounded left the hospitals and took their stations wherever most 
 wanted. On Thursday, the 2.3rd, the Turks under Mustapha ad- 
 vanced to the storming of St. Michael, while the fleet under Piali 
 attacked the water front. St. Angelo, the Castilian, and English 
 posts were simultaneously attacked, the eng^agement becoming 
 general. Fireworks and barrels filed with explosives were hurled 
 into the works but as quickly thrown back, exploding in the ranks 
 of the Turks, carrjdng death and destruction to the inventors. 
 The women vied with the soldiers in their valor, choosing death 
 before capture and dishonor. Every man, woman, and child were 
 in the defences, and the battle raged with fury. Again the Turks 
 were defeated and the Knights victorious. 
 
 September 1st the assault was renewed and a desperate strug- 
 gle ensued. The .Janissaries had been promised a license to plunder 
 the city and do as they would by the inhabitants. With sullen 
 bravery did they rush to the attack but to be repulsed with terri- 
 ble loss. With the despondency of the Turks at their repeated 
 defeats the spirits of the defenders arose until they almost ceased 
 to hope for reinforcements, believing in their own ultimate suc- 
 cess. Thinking to create a diversion in his favor and arouse a new 
 spirit in his troops, Mustapha sent a column against Citta Vecchia, 
 but to meet with defeat. 
 
 September 6th the long promised .assistance arrived, consist- 
 ing of a body of Spanish and Italian troops, 8,500 in all. With 
 them came 300 Knights of St. .Tohn. Mustapha, learning of the 
 landing of these reinforcements for the Knights, immediately 
 withdrew from St. Elmo, leaving his guns, fell back from the 
 trenches, abandoning his heavy artillery, and retired to Marsa 
 Sirocco, where his transports were, and embarked his troops. On 
 the night of the 7th such artillery and stores as had not been aban- 
 doned were put on board, the troops following the next day. The 
 morning dawned upon empty trenches and abandoned works, and 
 when Grand Master La Valette discovered the enemy had entirely 
 3 
 
3fi The Illustrious Order of HospUalers 
 
 gone, great was his joy. All the inhabitants of the Bourg turned 
 out and under the directions of the Knights the ditches were filled 
 and earthworks leveled, men, women, and children working night 
 and day to accomplish their destruction. As the galleys were still 
 in the outer harbor, the guns of St. Elmo were opened upon them 
 and they driven olf. A force was thrown into the ruins of that 
 little star fort, St. Elmo, and at high twelve the banner of the 
 Order was again planted ujion the spot from which it had gone 
 down in such glorjr just ten weeks before. 
 
 The fleet was just about to sail when Mustapha was informed 
 by an escaped slave that the force landed near St. Paul's Bay did 
 not exceed 6,000 soldiers of independent commands: then he de- 
 termined to disembark his whole force and attack them. This he 
 did, and sorrj' was he for his folly: for the soldiers, led b}' the 
 Knights who had accompanied them, attacked and drove them 
 with great slaughter to their ships: and had it not been for a 
 strong reserve of .Janissaries posted at the landing, few would 
 have ever reached the vessels. The historians of that period name 
 the loss of the Turks at 30,000 men, while from the archives of 
 Malta we learn that of the force of 9,000 men with which Grand 
 Master La Valette defended Malta, including the members of his 
 Order, scarcely si.x hundred were left capable of bearings arms, and 
 thej' mostly covered with wounds. 
 
 Grand Master La Valette did well on that day when he or- 
 dered the name of the Bcjurg (city) to be changed to Citta Vittori- 
 osa, or Victorious City, and well maj' the Maltese, on September 
 8th of each year, at the hour of "high twelve," with the roar of 
 artillery and the jieal of liells, celebrate the glorious conclusion of 
 that memorable siege. 
 
 Great was the rejoicing throughout all Europe when the vic- 
 tory of the Ivnights of St. .John, Rhodes, and Malta was made known. 
 Philip II, as if to make amends for his delay and allay suspicion of 
 his intrigues, sent congratulations and valuable presents, includ- 
 ing a sword the hilt of which was of pure gold and set with dia- 
 monds, to Grand Master La Valette. 
 
 Rome illuminated, and the guns of its castle, St. Angelo, 
 saluted. Pope Pius IV tendered a Cardinal's hat to Grand Master 
 La Valette, which he graciously declined, believing the position 
 of Grand Master of such a noble Order was a greater rank than 
 that of r:ardinal, and generously recommended that honor be con- 
 ferred upon another. 
 
 Active preparations being made at Constantinople for another 
 attack upon Malta, the grand master proceeded immediately to 
 rebuild the fortifications and erect new batteries. Supplies were 
 
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and Kniglits of St. John of Jemsalem. 37 
 
 hastened and much treasure was sent him from king's, princes, and 
 commanders of the Order, from their personal estates. 
 
 Engineers were sent for, and the magnificent and formidable 
 works which now command all approaches were planned and the 
 work begun. Mount Sceberras was selected for the site of the new 
 city, which to-daj' bears the name of Valetta, in honor of the 
 grand master. Grand Master La Valette laid its first corner stone, 
 in person, on the 28th day of March, 15(i(j, and upon that stone, in 
 addition to the general statement as to its purposes, was this in- 
 scription: 3[ditii lienascen.': — " Malta springing up again." 
 
 Grand Master La Valette's attention was now occupied by the 
 new invasion which threatened, and fearing in the incomplete 
 state of the fortifications that he would be compelled to leave the 
 island, spies were emjjloyed to enter ( 'onstantinople and fire its 
 grand arsenal, which they did and thus destroyed all the naval 
 stores. Sultan Solyman dj-ing soon after ])revented any renewal 
 of the invasion. 
 
 Two years later and while out hunting the grrand master re- 
 ceived a sun stroke, from which he died. Calling upon .Jesus and 
 Mary to receive him, his spirit departed, leaving only the mortal 
 remains of .Tohn de la Valette, which were buried by the side of 
 that other great grand master, the defender of Rhodes, Philip 
 Villiers de L"Isle Adam, 
 
 His death took place August 21, 150S. 
 
 In our judgment Grand Master La Valette. the third great 
 grandmaster, surpassed all others the Order had before or after 
 him. Peter Gerard, the founder of the Hosi)italers of St. .John, 
 deserves great praise fur his piety and self-devotion to dutj'. The 
 premier grand master, Raymond du Puy. cannot fail to be remem- 
 bered for his services in organizing- the Hospitalers into a military 
 order, and leading them in the early days of the Crusades. To his 
 credit be it said that he was no less pious than his predecessor, and 
 no less brave than the daring spirits he drew about him. Those who 
 succeeded him were brave. as attested at Ascalon, Tiberias, Acre, and 
 many other sieges and battles, but it was reserved for Grand 
 Master L" Isle Adam to win other and greater laurels by his mag- 
 nificent defence of Rhodes. At that period, however, the Knights 
 Hospitalers of St. .lohn and Rhodes had become powerful and had 
 strong defences on that beautiful island of the upper Mediter- 
 ranean. It was only, however, by superior numbers, g-reater re- 
 sources, and long continued assaults that L' Isle Adam was over- 
 powered and comjielled to fall back to Malta. 
 
 Our third and greater grand master, .John de La Valette, came 
 into command at a time when the Knights were disheartened, on a 
 
38 The Illustrious Order of Hospitalers 
 
 barren island, without supplies and almost without friends. His 
 yrand convent unprotected and those magnificent fortifications, 
 the pride of engineers and the wonder of military men, but crude 
 and partially laid out. To his genius for command,his unwavering 
 devotion to his Order, his inflexible love of justice and his unques- 
 tioned braver3-, the Knights Hospitalers of St. John, Rhodes, and 
 Malta, owe the great victory they achieved over the Turks. A 
 victory which has linked their names for all time with the historj- 
 of that island, and the name of La Valette with this splendid Or- 
 der of Knighthood. 
 
 Associated in the annals of the Order with the name of Grand 
 Master La Valette is the name of his secretar3r, a brave and cour- 
 teous English Knight named Oliver Starkej', who was present dur- 
 ing the entire siege. This Knight was known to have been so close 
 to the grand master whom he loved and served so well that at his 
 death they were not separated. He was buried by the side of La 
 Valette in the Church of St. .John, in Valetta.to which the remains 
 of Grand Master L' Isle Adam were also removed. 
 
 The historj' of this illustrious Order from the death of Grand 
 Master La Valette in 1568 until the surrender of the island in 1798 
 to the great Napole<in. is one of brilliant achievements. Ever the 
 bulwark of Ohristianitj-, its flag was honored on land or sea, and in 
 the main victorious. In the great naval engagement of Lepanto 
 they bore an honorable part, as they did at Dardanelles. Candia, 
 Algiers, and other jdaces. The siege of the ca])ital of Candia 
 lasted for twenty-seven months, and among the last forces to 
 evacuate the place were the Knights of St. .John. 
 
 At no time was the Order more honored or more prosperous 
 than in its last years. The fortifications had been completed and 
 were looked ujjon as the most impregmable of any in the world. 
 The city of Valetta had been well built, with its palaces of the 
 grand masters, and its auberges — or palaces, of the Knights — eight 
 in all, one for each of the languages, seven of which still remain, 
 including the English auberge, now occupied by the officers of the 
 garrison, as are the other six. 
 
 In 1792, Louis XVI suppressed the Knights of Malta in Prance, 
 and confiscated their estates, as did Philip the Fair the Knights 
 Templars in l.'!1.3. .July 13, 1797. Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan 
 died, an excellent jurist, who left a code of laws by which the 
 Maltese are still governed. He was succeeded by Joseph de 
 Hompesch, a man too weak for that important trust at such a 
 critical time, and, if not an imbecile, was a traitor to the Order. 
 Suffice it to say, that on the 10th day of June, 1798, the French Meet, 
 on its way to Egypt, put into the several ports of the island, 
 
and Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. 39 
 
 landed troops without opposition, and but two days later— June 12, 
 Von Hompesch surrendered to Napoleon. 'Tis true that a little 
 desultorjr skirmishing took place near the works of the city, but 
 even that was without orders from the grand master. We have it 
 on the authority of Napoleon's private secretary, Bourrienne, that 
 when one of his generals, in looking at the impregnable fortifica- 
 tions of Malta, said: "Upon my word. General, it is lucky there is 
 some one in the town to open the gates for us." Napoleon an- 
 swered: "I took Malta when I was in Mantua!" Bourrienne also 
 says that he wrote, at the dictation of Bonaparte, the letters of 
 intrigue, and that when a prisoner on the isle of St. Helena, Na- 
 poleon said: "The Knights did nothing dishonorable; nobody is 
 obliged to do impossibilities." No; but they were sold: "the capture 
 of Malta was assured me before we left Toulon." 
 
 Following the surrender, many of the French Knights took 
 service under Napoleon, while others retired to their own coun- 
 tries, the Russian Knights going to St. Petersburg, where they 
 elected the Emperor Paul as their grand master. Von Hom- 
 pesch, after receiving from the French 600,000 crowns, retired to 
 Trieste, and after resigning as grand master, died May 12, 1805, at 
 Montpelier. In England, as we have before stated, the Order 
 of the Hospital had been supijressed and its estates confiscated 
 during the reign of Henry VIII, but they were restored a few 
 years later by Queen Mary and under that patent of 15.54, the Order 
 was again revived in England in 1834, by Sir .Joshua Meredyth, 
 baronet, who had himself been regularly knighted by the grand 
 master when in Malta and admitted into the Order. The three 
 precious relics of the Order — the piece of the true cross obtained 
 in the Holv Land, the hand of John the Baptist given them when 
 at Rhodes, and the miraculous image of the Virgin — are now to be 
 seen in St. Petersburg. 
 
 The group of islands known as Malta, Gozo, Comino. and Com- 
 inotto are situated in the middle of the Mediterranean, about 20U 
 miles from the main land of Italy, and the same from Africa. 
 About 1,000 miles from Gibraltar, and the same distance from Port 
 Said, Egypt. Malta is nine miles by seventeen miles, and its high- 
 est hills 750 feet above sea level. While Gozo rises to about the 
 same height it is but five miles wide by nine miles long, and the 
 other two islands are but barren rocks, one mile by two miles in 
 length. The island of Gozo is about four miles distant from Malta, 
 and the lesser isles are between the two larger ones, being nearer 
 Gozo than Malta. 
 
40 The Illustrious Order of Hospitalers 
 
 Freemasonry and the Hospitalers. 
 
 As to an_v connection the Kniyhts of Malta ever had with Free- 
 inasonr3', we may briefly say that Masonry was never a qualifica- 
 tion for Kniyhthood, but that a large number of the Knights were 
 members of the fraternity is a well attested fact. Not only did 
 the Knights become Freemasons but a great many of the Maltese 
 joined the fraternitj', and so numerous were the members, and so 
 influential the teachings of the Order, that Pope Clement XII in 
 17-tO. issued his bull denouncing the brethren and forbidding any 
 meeting of the Craft. 
 
 The grand master was ordered to enforce this bull which re- 
 sulted in many Knights and citizens leaving the island. The year 
 following several Knights were subjected to severe punishment 
 and perpetual banishment for refusing to obe\' the order. 
 
 All this, however, did not destroy Freemasonry nor prevent the 
 Knights from becoming members thereof, even to grand masters, 
 as one of the most distinguished grand masters, Emmanuel de Ro- 
 han, was known to be a member of the fraternity. 
 
 When we consider how fe.w English Knights there were at this 
 period and that the language had died out, we are of the opinion 
 that French and other continental lodges existed among the 
 Knights in the early part of the eighteenth century, else why the 
 bull of 1740 V The further fact appears that toward the last of the 
 century, a decade before the surrender of Hompesch, an English 
 lodge was in existence, the warrant of which was found early in the 
 present century. 
 
 Our portrait of the founder, the three grand masters, and the 
 grand prioress, sister St. Anne, are copied from engravings, made 
 by the best artists of France, early in the last century, and from 
 original paintings. We have personally seen those original paint- 
 ings, in the jialace of the grand masters, now the governor's 
 palace, in Valetta, Malta. 
 
 Many duplicates are to be found in the auberges of the Knights 
 and private palaces, as well as in the great library. In the latter, 
 are also the plates of the engravings of all the grand masters so 
 that we know the same to be well authenticated. The pictures of 
 fortresses, cities, and islands are from photographs collected in 
 our travels, and are of the date of our visit in 1892. We know them 
 to be correct. 
 
 May 30, IS14, Malta came permanently under English rule, and 
 over the gates of the city as one enters Valetta mav be seen this 
 
and K7irghts of St. John of Jerusalem. 41 
 
 inscription: "The love of the Maltese and the voice of Europe 
 have confirmed these islands to the possession of Great and Invin- 
 cible Britain." 
 
 The following- beautiful tribute to the Knights, Hospitalers, 
 and Maltese of 1565, appears in The Malta t^tandurd on the 8th day 
 of September, 1S94, the anniversary of their great victory over the 
 Turks, which we deem a litting close to our history of that gallant 
 defense: 
 
 The National Fete of the 8th September. 
 
 BY DR. GAUCI TRAMBIjETT. 
 
 The sun arose joyful and brilliant with new light, O my country, 
 from behind your arid hills on the day of the ISth of September, 
 1565! Bold and handsome did your daughters of dark hair and 
 burning eyes show themselves on that dear day for joy at the vic- 
 tor^f. O how happily did your bells ring, and how merry did your 
 songs sound on that evening along the rocky ramparts b illustri- 
 ous and brave city of the "Bourgl" (Mttoriosa). But thou, thou 
 wert even great, and as such didst thou appear to the gentle poet, 
 who not finding a better simile, wished to compare you to the 
 handsomest and bravest girl that ever was born: and therefore 
 with immortal pathos and feeling he sung the beauty of her form, 
 of her eyes burning with warlike fire, and of the hair flowing on her 
 shoulders, and of the sword stained with Mussulman blood. 
 
 But alasl Thy ramparts remained blood-stained for a length 
 of time: no long^er were mothers seen responding to the smiles of 
 their dear children: the cruel Mussulman sword had carried awav- 
 many: a number died of their wounds: others perished from hard- 
 shii5s and suffering: the greater part succumbed in the cruel com- 
 bat. What remained of thy people, O famous city? A handful of 
 surviving brave men b_y a miracle of God: and when the sound of 
 a trumpet announced the victory to the Maltese, blood vet ran 
 warm through the streets and many women and girls lay struck 
 down on the g-round with dishevelled hair stained with blood. 
 
 Immediatelj' the i)eople from the neighboring bourgs assembled 
 through thy valleys: and their joy was a sublime one. ardent and 
 sweet as the kiss of first love. An extraordinary immense crowd 
 which went on every moment increasing' was seen in the streets of 
 the "Bourg:" acclamations and shouts were heard which went to 
 the sky with a confused sound of drums and trumpets: finally be- 
 hold a" multitude of people that surround the great cajitain La 
 Vallette. who is proceeding to St. Lawrence's Church to return 
 thanks to God for a signal victory. x-Vnd amidst frantic applause 
 and a thousand cries and a furious flourishing of flags, that ven- 
 erable old man walks slowly with teari^ streaming down his cheeks 
 of happiness never felt before. Oh, city of the ■'Bourg," oh im- 
 perishable monument of greatness and of glory, what joys and 
 what griefs didst thou not hold within thyself ! 
 
 But that throng of people does not cease and continues on and on 
 to swell and to meet, like the whirling waters of an overflowing river. 
 
42 Th6 Illustrious Order of Hospitalers 
 
 A novel yet pitiful spectacle presents itself to the ej-es of those 
 around. About fifty brave men, either with their hands or their 
 arms wounded, or with the head bandajred or the leg broken, 
 bruised and hag'g"ard, are carried along in triumph with the sound 
 of trumi^et and drum, amidst acclamations and loud cries. 
 
 Honour. Ohl Maltese, the courageous defenders of the Faith and 
 of Libertj'! And that voice and that cry .spreads itself everywhere 
 and goes on increasing like the rumbling of thunder. 
 
 The country people that had also collected to take part in this 
 glorious event feel as if seized with horror, and remain as if 
 astounded at seeing those brave soldiers, scorched, pallid, wan, and 
 so distorted in the face that they look more like corpses than liv- 
 ing persons. 
 
 The national Hags fly unfurled from the terraces, belfrys, and 
 nandows: the troubadour, laying hold of his lute left aside for so 
 long in some corner of his room, burns and is inebriated with the 
 warmest poetry, and goes along the square of the ''Bourg" singing 
 the hymn of victory. 
 
 Thus passed the day in extraordinary festivity and in immense 
 joy that no pen can describe: the moon alone tinted with a dark 
 colour arose in sadness, and, as if seized with g"rief, veiled itself 
 behind the wandering clouds to conceal from the spectators, intox- 
 icated with victory, the carnage and ruin of that terrible, long, 
 and desperate struggle. 
 
 "Then bright the castle banners shone 
 
 On every tower on high. 
 And all the minstrels sang aloud 
 
 For the Christians' victory: 
 And loud the warder blew his horn. 
 
 On every turret high, — 
 Let the mass be sung and the bells be rung. 
 
 And the feast eat merrily,'' 
 
 With knightly courtesy and in the bonds of fraternity, 
 
 .JOHN CORSON SMITH, 
 
GAYLAMOUNT [ 
 
 PAMPHLET BINDER . 
 
 Manufoctured by i 
 
 GAYLORD BROS. Inc. ' 
 
 Syracuse, N.Y. [ 
 
 Stockton, Calif. 
 
 Cornell University Library 
 
 HS397 .S65 
 
 The illustrious Order of Hospitalers and 
 
 3 1924 030 280 717 
 
 olln.anx