Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/29

 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