Did you know ? The Order of St John in Jerusalem.
THE ORDER OF ST JOHN IN JERUSALEM
Part 1. When the Knights of St John captured Rhodes and assumed authority over virtually the whole of the Dodecanese, they already had two centuries of history behind them. The exact date of the founding of their religious- military Order is difficult to determine, since its beginnings are shrouded in legend and historical obscurity. It is very possible that future research will bring to light new evidence bearing on this issue, but at present it may be said, with reservations, that the inception of a philanthropic Christian Order has been traced back to Jerusalem, in around the middle of the eleventh century. Amalfian traders obtained permission from the Caliph to build the church of Sainte Marie-Latine next to the church of the Resurrection, as well as a hospice for the accommodation of Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. The hospice-hospital was run by Benedictine monks. It seems that from the end of the eleventh to the beginning of the twelfth century, that is prior to the First Crusade and the capture of Jerusalem by the Western Europeans, this first Frankish hospice-hospital had no connections with the Order of the Hospitallers, as the Knights of St John ( named after their patron St John the Baptist ) were otherwise known.
Parts 2 and 3 to follow.
Did you know ? The Order of St John in Jerusalem. Part 2.
The Order of St John in Jerusalem. Part 2.
In the early years of the twelfth century the enigmatic figure of Pierre Gerard or Gerard Tenque appeared in Jerusalem, a personality swathed in legend. Neither his homeland, his family nor his education are known, yet according to all indications to date, it is he who founded the Order. The Amalfian hospice was merely a precursory foundation. It is very probable that in Gerard’s day the Knights were only hospitallers and had no military capacity or organization. After Gerard’s death, he was succeeded in 1120 by Raymond du Puys, who took the title of Master for the first time. It was then that the Order was organized as a military body, in accordance with Western European feudal principles, though it did not abandon its original philanthropic role, at least ostensibly. Through donations, it acquired an enormous property in land, including entire provinces in the West and East. From the beginning of the twelfth century, the Knights of St John, together with the Templars, became the most important representatives of the ideology of the Crusade, wielding their swords against the Mohammedan foe in the heart of the Holy Land. This explains the zeal with which feudal Europe offered them economic and moral support. They were ever the spearhead, which initially struggled in the cause of Western expansionism and the establishment of Western possessions in the East, and later to defend the West humiliation and defeat at the hands of the “Infidel”. The Knights acquired military strongholds in Syria and Palestine, such as Jerusalem, Caesarea, Capernaum, Jericho, Ascalon, Margat, Krak and others.
Part 3 to follow.
Did you know ? The Order of St John in Jerusalem. Part 3.
The Order of St John in Jerusalem. Part 3.
The Western Europeans barely managed to maintain their hold on the Middle East for two centuries. In the face of the Arab force, urban centres and fortresses fell one after the other. The Knights played their part in the defence of the Holy Land and, loyal to their mission, were the last to retreat. In the wake of the final fallof Jerusalem and Asclon in 1247, came that of Krak in 1271, and of Margat in 1281. The last beleaguered fortress of the Franks was Acre in Palestine, which too capitulated in 1291. Decimated and with their Grand Master severely wounded, the Knights of St John went to Cyprus, where they installed themselves in the region of Limassol. On Cyprus, however they felt restricted. They were vassals of the island’s Frankish king and thus unable to act freely. In 1306 the opportunity of acquiring new headquarters befitting their purpose presented itself. The Grand Master Foulques de Villaret entered into negotiations with Vignolo de’ Vignoli, who was a liegelord of the Dodecanese. The two men drew up an agreement whereby, after the capture of Rhodes, Vignolo de’ Vignoli would retain one-third of the island, the Knights the other two-thirds, the whole of Leros and two-thirds of Kos.
