| The Holyland | Name Of The Order | The Conditions | Original Purpose And Aim Of The Order | Notes | Cyprus | Rhodes | Malta |

The Holyland
The date of the origin of the order of St. John is lost in legend, but it is known that about A.D. 600, a hospice for pilgrims was established in Jerusalem by an Abbot named Probus on the instructions of Pope Gregory the Great. This hospice was rebuilt and enlarged by Emperor Charlemagne. It was later destroyed by the Moslems early in the eleventh century (1010), but soon afterwards was again rebuilt by some merchants from the Italian Republic of Amalfi.
 
When the First Crusades captured Jerusalem in 1099, the hospice was maintained by Benedictine monks under their Rector Gerald, known to history as the Blessed Gerald. Many Crusades were nursed back to health in the hospital and in gratitude lavished gifts upon it. As a result, Gerald was able to found the New Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, which was recognised by Pope Paschal II in 1113.
 
Gerald's successor, Raymond du Puy, who first took the title of Master of the Hospital, instituted a new class of military Brethren to help the Knight Templars in protecting the Kingdom of Jerusalem. From that time onwards, there were three main classes of Brethren of the Hospital: the Knights, the Chaplains, and the Serving Brothers. The Hospitallers, however, never neglected the original purpose for which the order had been founded, namely to care for the sick and to succour (aid given in time of need) the poor and the homeless.
 
Name Of The Order
The Most Venerable Order Of The Hospital Of The St John Jerusalem.
 
The Conditions
1. The holyland-Jerusalem.
The number of Christians in Europe and the Mediterranean was increasing. Many pilgrims went to the holyland. During their journey to the East, there was bound to be injuries and sicknesses among the pilgrims. The need of a service of a hospice (lodging maintained by a religious order) therefore arose.
 
2. Islam in the Arabian countries.
There were often fighting between the Christians and the Moslems (Muslims), especially over the occupation of the Holyland.
 
3. Pirates in the Mediterranean Sea.
The journey to Jerusalem was at all times fraught with danger from pirates by the sea and robbers on land.
 
Original Purpose And Aim Of The Order
To care for the sick and to succour (aid given in time of need) for the poor and the homeless.
 
By the end of the twelfth century, the knights of the Hospital had won undying fame and their renown for valour stood as high as that of their great comrades and rivals the Knights Templar. These two powerful Orders constituted the main defence of the Holy Land for nearly two centuries until its evacuation by the Christians after the fall of Acre in 1291.

1. The Crusades
The military expeditions which Christians undertook from the end of 11th to the end of the 13th century to recover the Holy Land from the Moslems.
 
2. Knights Templars
Members of the religions military Order established by the Crusaders at Jerusalem in 1118 to project pilgrims and the Holy sepulchre (burial vault).
 
3. Knights Hospitallers
Members of the military religions order established by the Order of St John to care for the sick, needy and also to help the Knights Templars to protect the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Cyprus
After their heavy losses at the siege of Acre, the few surviving Knights of St John escaped to Cyprus and made their headquarters for nineteen years in Cyprus, and from there continued to wage war on the Saracens by sea.
 
Rhodes
In 1310, under their Master Fulk de Villaret, the Knights captured Rhodes, where they built a new hospital and fortified the city. In 1312, Pope Clement V dissolved the Order of the Templars and transferred the possessions of the Templars to the Order of St John, thereby greatly increasing its wealth and power.
 
The Hospitallers held Rhodes for over 200 years, and there underwent two great sieges. In the first, under Grand Master Peter d' Aubusson, the Knights forced the Turks to abandon the siege. In the second, however, in 1522, after a most gallant defence lasting nearly six months, Grand Master de L' Isle Adam decided to surrender in order to save the civil population from massacre.
 
As a mark of respect for the gallantry of the defenders, the young Sultan Suleiman granted most honourable terms and allowed the remnant of the proud Order to leave in their own ships, taking with them many of their possessions.
 
Malta
For the next few years, the Order had no settled home, until when in 1530 the Emperor Charles V granted the island of Malta. The Hospitallers held the island for nearly 270 years and during this period became known as the Knights of Malta. It was there that the navy of the Order won further renown in many engagements with the Barbary Corsairs who infested the Mediterranean.
 
In 1565, under the inspiring leadership of Grand Master John de la Vallette, the Knights withstood another great siege by the Turks, holding out for four months until relief arrived from Sicily. At this siege, few English Knights were present, as the Grand Priory of the Order in England had been dissolved by Henry VIII in 1540.

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