A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem

Front matter

OF THE

KNIGHTS OF MALTA,

OR THE

Chapter 1

1099—1118.

The Order of St. John of Jerusalem was one of the most important results which grew out of the spirit of chivalry prevalent throughout Europe during the Middle Ages. It is well, therefore, in tracing a history of that Order, to begin with a slight sketch of the causes which led to the awakening of the chivalric sentiment.

The gradual extension by the Romans of their empire had naturally brought about that system of colonization with which they habitually followed up the conquests of their generals. As soon as a new country fell under their power an organized government was established, the miniature counterpart of that holding rule at the centre of the empire. A proconsul or governor was appointed, under whose direction, supported by legions of disciplined soldiery, peace and order were maintained, few changes being made in the occupation of the land. By a gradual transition, facilitated materially by the advent of numerous official dignitaries bringing with them to their new homes all the refinements and many of the luxuries of their native city, the once rude land was converted into a smiling and prosperous province, where the civilization and improvements introduced by their new masters found a ready welcome. Under the influence of this power the military spirit of the inhabitants was not evoked. Rome maintained her sway not by a local militia but by a standing army, and trusted for her victories rather to the well-trained movements of an organized soldiery than to the spontaneous efforts of an undisciplined peasantry, however martial their native spirit might be. The principle of centralization pervaded every act of their government, and the constant communication thus created with the capital went far to help on the progress of refinement. The conquered population, instead of being degraded into slavery, were raised to the dignity of Roman citizens, and the judicious liberality with which they were treated made them yield the more readily to the softening and enervating influences of peace and civilization.

The case was, however, widely different with the barbarians, the torrent of whose invasion subsequently overthrew the power of Rome. They had no central seat of empire from which to draft the rulers of their new acquisitions; they sought, not a simple extension of an existing government, a new appanage of a monarchy already flourishing, but descending from their wild homes amid the bleak fastnesses of the North, they made for themselves a new settlement and a more genial dwelling-place in the luxuriant plains of the South. The original holders of the land were dispossessed and mostly exterminated, their places being filled by the intruders. The leader of the irruption, secure in his power only in so far as he consulted the interests and by that means retained the affections of his followers, established his government upon a wholesale system of military colonization. There was no standing army distinct from the occupiers of the soil, but every man remained a soldier whilst becoming a landed proprietor in the country of his adoption.

Hence arose the feudal system. The leader himself became a monarch, holding supreme sway within his newly-acquired kingdom. The commanders of his forces gradually developed into a nobility, receiving as a reward for their services, and as a guarantee for their future attachment, large grants of land, hampered only with the conditions of military service whenever they were called upon by their chief. These nobles again subdivided their estates amongst their inferiors under nearly similar conditions, so that eventually the whole country was held under a tenure purely military in its requirements. It is not surprising that under these circumstances a martial spirit should pervade the new colonists. Military service was the only road to advancement; it was by such service alone that they held their possessions, and the power of the sword became paramount. Under such a system that spirit of chivalry was first developed, which in its more mature years gave birth to the monastic military orders of the East.

Personal prowess being considered man’s proudest ornament, and the pursuit of learning abandoned to the monk in his cloistered retreat, the profession of arms was the only occupation open to the youth of high and noble estate. Taught from childhood to take delight in the military exercises which formed the daily occupation of the retainers in every baronial castle, he imbibed at an early age that ardent craving for distinction which was one of the fundamental principles of chivalry. Imbued with the religious veneration of the period—a veneration deeply tinged with superstition, he was led to consider as sacred the obligations imposed on him by the chivalric code. To fight in defence of his religion was not only a sacred duty, it was also an inestimable privilege. He had been taught that pardon for his sins was to be purchased by a display of martial zeal in behalf of his faith, and that the shedding of his blood in the sacred cause would insure him an entry into the joys of Heaven. This doctrine appealed in the warmest and most direct manner to the prevailing sentiments of the time. What wonder then that it was eagerly accepted and gradually worked its way through all ranks of society. Whilst such was the bent of public feeling in Europe, there arose gradually in the East a state of things which, as it became known, aroused the martial ardour of the nations to a pitch of frenzy.

The Byzantine empire had continued to maintain its rule long after its western sister had fallen beneath the attacks of the northern barbarians. True, it was much reduced in extent; still, at the beginning of the seventh century, the Euphrates remained the Asiatic boundary of the empire. Her rulers, however, either dreading the treachery of usurpers or being usurpers themselves, were less on the look-out to check the inroads of the surrounding wild tribes than to secure their own position on the tottering throne. Encompassed by enemies both within and without, that position was yearly becoming one of increasing difficulty, and demanded on the part of the monarch, as the only possible means of maintaining its integrity, the highest administrative capacity coupled with supreme skill in the power of waging a defensive warfare. Unfortunately, however, for the empire, her rulers evinced no such gifts. Instead of striving to make head against the constant encroachments of their neighbours, they plunged madly into all the voluptuous degeneracy of the times, and vainly sought to conceal their weakness and cowardice behind the idle pomp of a gorgeous magnificence. Under such circumstances the power which had at one time extended over the whole of the east of Europe, and had shared the empire of the world with its Roman sister, crumbled away by degrees, and became a mere phantom of its original greatness.

One province of the empire, however, continued throughout its decadence to command the affectionate interest and sympathy of Europe; this was the province of Judea, within the limits of which stood the holy city of Jerusalem. Since the days of our Saviour the vicissitudes of fortune and the results of war had brought about many changes within its sacred precincts. The capture of the city by the Romans under Titus led to the introduction of their idolatrous form of worship. The Jews were driven forth to be dispersed over the face of the earth. A pagan temple was reared on the site of that which had originally been dedicated to the Lord by Solomon, and the foul rites of a heathen worship desecrated the land hallowed by the footsteps of our Saviour when on earth.

During the fourth century, however, Christianity won its way throughout the empire, and before long Christian churches began to replace the temples of the heathen. Foremost amongst these stood that of the Holy Sepulchre, erected by the Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. She had been baptized at the same time as her son, and with all the newly-awakened zeal of a convert, had made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. To her is attributed the discovery of the Holy Sepulchre, and upon that site she erected the magnificent pile which bears its name. Her example was followed by Constantine, and by degrees the numerous stately churches and convents which they founded formed the principal adornment of the province.

Jerusalem now became the favoured object of the world's devotion. Religious curiosity had prompted Christians from the earliest times to visit the regions sanctified by their faith. This feeling, supported as it was by the influence of the priesthood, grew in intensity, until at length it became a recognized principle that a pilgrimage to Jerusalem was the most efficacious act by which the penitent could hope to atone for his sins. Vast crowds flocked thither from every corner of Europe to utter a prayer over the tomb of their Saviour, and to gaze on that hallowed spot where He had breathed His last. The very dust of the land was considered sacred in their eyes, and the pious wanderer, on his return, hung his palm branch and pilgrim’s staff over the altar of his parish church, where it remained, not only an emblem of his own devotion, but also an incentive to others to follow his example.

Matters were on this footing when suddenly there arose from the obscurity of the East that wonderful man who was destined to cause a complete revolution, and to become the founder at the same time of a new empire and of a new religion. It will not come within the province of this work to enter into any detail with regard to the rise and progress of Mahomet, who, in the early part of the seventh century, established himself as the prophet of a new faith. Within a very short time from the commencement of his career he had brought the whole of Arabia under his dominion. A fundamental doctrine of his religion being the necessity for its propagation by the power of the sword, the lust of conquest lent its aid to the zeal of fanaticism, and the new creed spread with a rapidity unequalled in the annals of religious propagandism.

After the death of Mahomet, his successors, who assumed the title of caliph, or vicar of the prophet, gradually overran the neighbouring provinces. Damascus, Antioch, and Syria having fallen to their arms, they penetrated into Palestine, seized upon Jerusalem, and passing from thence into Egypt, they annexed that country also to their empire; Media, Korassan, and Mesopotamia shared the same fate; and entering Africa they spread themselves over its whole northern coast. In Europe, after having successively captured the islands of Cyprus, Rhodes, Candia, Sicily, and Malta, they founded a new empire in the heart of Spain, whence they carried on for many years a desperate struggle with the Christians of the surrounding provinces.

Of all these conquests, however, the one which caused the greatest dismay, and which in after times was fraught with the most eventful results, was that of the Holy Land and the city of Jerusalem. So long as the Christian emperors of the East maintained their rule over its sacred limits, the advent of pilgrims from all parts had been encouraged to the greatest possible extent. The government had early discovered that a large amount of money was by this means brought into the empire, and that its commerce was much extended by the vast concourse of ever-changing people collected together within the favoured district. Matters changed greatly for the worse when the province fell into the hands of the caliphs. Although they were far too keen-sighted and politic to prohibit altogether the influx of this stream of Christians into the sacred city, they nevertheless imposed such heavy taxes upon them as told materially upon the slender finances of the pilgrims, and became a source of considerable profit to their own treasury.

The infidels were at that time much divided by serious discords among themselves. Shortly after Mahomet’s death they had split up into separate factions, each led by a chief who claimed for himself the right of empire, as being the nearest in descent from the prophet. There were at one time no less than five distinct pretenders to this position. The sovereignty of the Holy Land had been warmly contested between two of these rivals, the caliphs of Bagdad and of Egypt. In their struggles for supremacy the poor unoffending pilgrims of the West were miserably harassed and plundered, first by the one party and then by the other, and were not unfrequently murdered. These dangers and impediments were not, however, sufficient to check the ardour of their religious zeal, nor did the fear of maltreatment deter a vast and annually increasing number of devotees from seeking the shores of Palestine.

Many of these pilgrims combined the profits of commerce with their holier office, and those who were thus able to establish business relations with the rulers of the neighbouring provinces, had it often in their power to befriend their less fortunate brethren. Amongst the most distinguished of these were some merchants of Amalfi, a rich city in the kingdom of Naples, still existing, though greatly shorn of its old wealth and importance. These having in the course of their trading in Egypt ingratiated themselves with the Caliph Monstaser Billah, who at that time held the Holy Land in his power, obtained permission to establish a hospital within the city of Jerusalem, for the use of poor and sick Latin pilgrims. In obedience to the order of the caliph, the Mahometan governor of the city assigned to these pious men a site close to the Holy Sepulchre, on which they erected a church, dedicated to the Virgin, giving it the name of Sta. Maria ad Latinos, to distinguish it from those churches where the Greek ritual prevailed. This work was accomplished between the years 1014—1023. Its religious duties were carried on by Benedictine monks appointed for the purpose. Between that time and the capture of Jerusalem in 1099 the work was developed by the erection of two hospitals (one for either sex) for the reception of pilgrims, and in connection therewith two additional churches were founded. That for the females was dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, and that for men to St. John Eleemon, or the Almoner. This latter dedication was, at some subsequent date, which is uncertain, changed from St. John the Almoner to St. John the Baptist. In the course of time many pilgrims who had in this hospital received the assistance so liberally extended to all wayfarers, abandoned the idea of returning to their homes, and formed themselves into a charitable body, who, without any regular religious profession, devoted themselves to its service and the care of its sick inmates.

All the chief cities of Italy and the south of Europe subscribed liberally for the support of this admirable and much-wanted institution. The merchants of Amalfi who were its original founders acted as the stewards of their bounty; and as its beneficial influence became more widely known throughout Europe, their revenues increased largely. Grateful pilgrims on their return home spread far and wide the reputation of the Jerusalem hospitals, so that contributions flowed in from every quarter, and their utility was greatly extended. Such was the original establishment from which the Order of St. John eventually sprang, and it was from this fraternity of charitable devotees that a body of men descended, who for centuries continued a terror to the infidel, and the main bulwark of Christendom in the East.

Meanwhile a calamitous change befel the sacred city. Its Mahometan masters, after four centuries of dominion, were in their turn overpowered by a fierce horde of barbarians, bearing the name of Turcomans, who, coming from the wild regions beyond the Caspian Sea, poured themselves gradually over all the countries bordering on the Euphrates. The Holy Land soon fell into their hands, and from that moment a new and most disastrous æra dawned upon the pilgrims of Europe. Their tribute was largely increased, and, more than this, they themselves were plundered, maltreated, and subjected to every kind of atrocity, in comparison with which their former hardships seemed light indeed. From this time the journey to, and sojourn in Jerusalem became an undertaking fraught with the greatest possible danger. A large number of the pilgrims who still endeavoured to make their way thither never returned, and those who were fortunate enough to do so, spread the evil tidings of what they had been called on to suffer, so that gradually a strong feeling of horror and indignation was evoked throughout Europe.

In the year 1093, whilst these cruelties were at their height, Peter the Hermit, a Latin monk, who had been so called on account of the rigid austerities and seclusion of his life, returned from a pilgrimage which he, like so many others, had made to the Holy Land. He had witnessed the hardships and barbarities to which the Christian sojourners in Jerusalem were subjected, and had doubtless undergone much himself. He determined, therefore, to devote his energies to the suppression of the evil, and applied to the Greek Patriarch Simeon for assistance in the good cause. The Greek empire was at this time in far too insecure and tottering a condition to admit the possibility of any armed intervention from that quarter, but Simeon warmly embraced the opportunity of rendering what help he could, and gave Peter a letter of recommendation to Urban II., who at that time occupied the chair of St. Peter. Fortified with this introduction, as well as with a second letter of similar tenor from Gerard, the rector of the Hospital of St. John at Jerusalem, the hermit proceeded to Rome and there pleaded his cause in person.

The result of these efforts forms a prominent feature in the history of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The religious enthusiasm of Europe was aroused to a pitch of frenzy, and vast armaments assembled from all quarters and poured eastward. After the miserable dispersion of the first undisciplined mobs, who, led by the fanatic Peter, rushed forward in tumultuous disarray, the armed chivalry of Europe gradually collected on the plains before Constantinople, where they mustered a strength of 600,000 foot and 100,000 cavalry. This enormous force was under the chief command of Bohemond, son of the Count of Calabria. Its advance was marked by the successive capture of the cities of Nicea, Antioch, Tarsus, and Edessa, and at length, on the 7th June, 1099, it made its appearance before the Holy City. The caliph of Egypt, taking advantage of the warfare which the Turcomans were then carrying on against the Crusaders, had succeeded in once more obtaining possession of Palestine, and was at this period in occupation of Jerusalem, which he had garrisoned with a force of 40,000 men. There were also in the city about 20,000 Mahometan inhabitants capable of bearing arms. The force of the besiegers, diminished as they had been by their previous struggles and the privations they had undergone, numbered barely 20,000 infantry with about 1,500 horse.

The first step taken by the Mahometan governor, on the appearance of the enemy before the town, was the arrest of all the leading Christians in the place. Peter Gerard, the rector of the Hospital of St. John, was of the number who were thus cast into prison. He is generally supposed to have been a native of Florence, but the fact is very doubtful; neither his family nor even his country has been with any certainty ascertained. He had undertaken a pilgrimage to the East in accordance with the prevailing custom of the times, and having been an eye-witness of the many charities administered by the hospital, he had abandoned all idea of returning to Europe, and devoted himself instead to the service of the institution. Here, by his energy and zeal as well as by the general piety of his life, he gained so much influence that eventually he was appointed rector. At the same time a noble Roman lady called Agnes was at the head of the female branch of the hospital. Pilgrims of both sexes were admitted freely; even the infidels were not excluded from its benefits, in consequence of which the rector became gradually looked up to with almost filial veneration by the poor of the city. It was the dread that this influence might be made of use in favour of the besiegers which induced the governor, as a matter of precaution, to imprison Gerard. The old historians record a curious miracle in connection with this arrest, tending to show the sanctity in which he was held. It is said that being sadly distressed at the miserable condition to which the Crusaders were reduced by famine, he had mounted the ramparts with loaves of bread hidden under his cloak, intending to throw them over the walls for the use of the besiegers. Being detected in the act, he was taken before the governor, when on examination it was found that the loaves had been miraculously turned into stones. His life was consequently spared, although he was thrown into prison as being under suspicion of holding treasonable intercourse with the besiegers. The governor caused all the wells within a circuit of five or six miles of the town to be filled up, and levelled every building in the suburbs, burning the wood of which they were composed, so that the besiegers when they arrived found nothing but an arid waste encircling the town.

In spite of their numerical inferiority and the obstacles thrown in their way, the Crusaders at once proceeded to carry on the siege of the town. On the fifth day a general assault was attempted, but owing to the want of proper military engines the effort proved futile, and the assailants were driven with great loss from the walls. To remedy this defect, Godfrey de Bouillon and Raymond of Toulouse had two large wooden towers built to assist the attacking party in surmounting them. A second assault was delivered on the 19th July. This proved entirely successful. Godfrey, by means of his towers, penetrated within the walls, and then opening the gates of the city gave admission to the whole army.

A scene of bloodshed and cruelty now took place which casts an indelible stain upon what would otherwise have ranked as a most glorious achievement. Not content with the slaughter of those who were found with arms in their hands, the women and children indiscriminately fell victims to the ferocity of the conquerors. It is computed that no less than ten thousand persons were massacred within the limits of the Mosque of Omar alone. The carnage on this spot was so fearful that the dead bodies were floated by the stream of blood into the court, and the Christian knights rode through the place with blood up to their horses' knees. On the following day an occurrence still more disgraceful took place. Three hundred men, to whom Tancred had pledged his knightly word in token of protection, were murdered in cold blood, it having been decided by the assembled leaders that no quarter should on any pretence be given to the Saracens.

At length the slaughter ceased, and satiated with bloodshed the commanders of the army, followed by the soldiery, bareheaded and with naked feet, proceeded to the Holy Sepulchre, there to offer up their prayers and to return thanks for the successful issue of their sacred undertaking. Incongruous as this act may appear so shortly after the scenes just enacted, it was in strict accordance with the spirit of the age, when the piety of the Christian was closely allied to the intolerance of the fanatic. Their religious duties accomplished, they then proceeded to organize a government for the newly-conquered territory. The majority of the suffrages were given in favour of Godfrey de Bouillon, a prince who was noted for his piety as much as for his valour, and he was at once elected to the post of ruler. Refusing the crown and title of king which were tendered to him, on the plea that he would never wear a crown of gold on the spot where his Saviour had worn a crown of thorns, he modestly determined to content himself with the title of Defender and Advocate of the Holy Sepulchre. He has, however, always ranked as the first king of Jerusalem.

Thus, after the lapse of four centuries, we once more find the sacred city freed from the yoke of Islam, and reverting to its old faith. It is a curious and instructive study to trace the extraordinary changes which time had wrought within its hallowed precincts. The siege of which the successful termination has just been recorded, was the tenth which Jerusalem, with varied fortunes, had undergone. It was first captured by David in the year b.c. 1051, when he drove out its Jebusite inhabitants and made it the capital of the Jewish kingdom. In the reign of Rehoboam, the grandson of David, seventy-five years afterwards, it was besieged by Shishak, king of Egypt, who, having gained admission through the cowardice of Rehoboam, pillaged the city and retained possession of it for a time. The next siege was that undertaken by Sennacherib, king of Assyria, in the time of Hezekiah, b.c. 715, when by miraculous interposition the besieging hosts were so suddenly smitten that they were compelled to retreat. On the fourth occasion the attack was made by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to enforce the payment of tribute, which Zedekiah, trusting to his Egyptian alliance, had refused to continue. For eighteen months the inhabitants persisted in their defence, famine and pestilence causing more havoc than the sword of the enemy. At length they were forced to yield, and the conqueror made his triumphal entry into the city. Such of the inhabitants as escaped with their lives were led away into slavery; the temple was reduced to ashes, and the city completely destroyed. By permission of Cyrus, king of Persia, it was rebuilt by Zerubbabel, and once more fortified by Nehemiah. In the year 63 b.c., the Jews having refused a passage to the Roman army, which was on the march against Aristobulus, Pompey the Great attacked the town, and owing to the dissensions raging within its walls he soon made himself master of it. It is recorded that in this siege, which lasted less than three months, twelve thousand Jews lost their lives. On the same day, twenty-seven years after, it was again taken by Herod the Great, and on this occasion the slaughter was even greater than before, the obstinacy of the defence having exasperated the conquerors to such a degree that, on obtaining possession of the town, they immolated to their fury all who fell into their hands, quite regardless of age or sex. The seventh siege was that rendered memorable in history from its being the fulfilment of our Lord's denunciations whilst on earth. Titus made his appearance before the town with a vast Roman army a.d. 66. At that time Jerusalem, built on two very steep mountains, was divided into three parts, the upper city, the lower city, and the temple, each of which had it own separate fortifications. The inhabitants were thus enabled to protract their defence in an extraordinary degree. The steady perseverance of the besiegers eventually overcame all obstacles, and after a most desperate resistance, Titus succeeded in forcing his way into the place. In spite, however, of all his efforts he was unable to save it from destruction. The fiat had gone forth that not one stone should be left upon another, and no orders on the part of the conqueror availed to prevent the accomplishment of the Divine decree. The Emperor Adrian built another city on its site, which, in order that there might be nothing left of the ancient Jerusalem, not even a name, he called Ælia. The city of David had become well-nigh forgotten when Constantine, the first Christian emperor of the East, restored its name, and calling together the faithful from all parts of Europe, formed it into a Christian colony. In the year a.d. 613, a host of Persian fire-worshippers poured over Palestine and again captured the city. During the sack which ensued most of the churches, and the Holy Sepulchre itself, were destroyed by fire, and the sacred cross, so long an object of veneration to devotees, was carried away by the invaders. It was attacked for the ninth time by the Saracens under Khaled, a.d. 635, when, after a siege of four months' duration, a capitulation was agreed on, in virtue of which the city fell into his hands. Whilst in the possession of the Saracens it changed masters several times, until at length it was wrested from them by the crusading army in the manner already told.

One of the first steps taken by Godfrey after assuming the reins of government in the captured city, was to visit the Hospital of St. John. He here found a number of wounded men, members of the crusading army, who had been received into the hospital, and were being nursed with the most tender solicitude. In proof of the devotion and religious zeal which animated the brotherhood at this time it is recorded that whilst the funds of the institution were expended without stint in the provision of delicate and nutritious diet for the sufferers so charitably entertained within its walls, the food of the brethren themselves was of the coarsest and most economical description. Godfrey was so much struck with the admirable manner in which the establishment was conducted by Gerard, and with the benefits which it had conferred upon his suffering army, that he at once endowed it with his manor of Montboise, in Brabant. His example was followed by several of the other leaders of the army who had, either in their own persons or in those of their followers, experienced the kindness and hospitality of the Order. The main object for which the expedition had been formed having been attained, and the Holy City rescued from the hands of the infidel, the greater portion of the crusading army returned to Europe. The fame of the hospital was by their means spread abroad in every direction, and in consequence numerous additional benefactions accrued to it, until eventually there was scarcely a province in which the Hospital of St. John did not stand possessed of manorial rights.