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 HOSPITALLERS

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HOSPITALLERS

although Villaret's first care was to build a new in- firmary, the care of the sick took a secondary place, as the meml)ers of the order had scarcely occasion to devote themselves to any save the members of the community. The name knights tlien prevailed over that of hospitallers. This character was accentuated by the fusion of the Hospitallers with the remaining Knights Templars subsequent to the suppression of the latter (1312). This fusion at the same time in- creased the wealth of the order, to which the pope assigned the property of the Templars in every coun- try except Aragon and Portugal. In France, where Philip the Fair had sequestrated this property, the order obtained restitution only by paying large indem- nities to the king. From this time its organization took its definitive form, the whole body being divided into tongues, priories, and commanderies. The tongues, or nations, were eight in number, each having its own bailiff; and one of the eight supreme dignities was reserved to each tongue — to Provence, that of grand commander; to Auvergne, that of marshal; to France, grand hospitaller; to Italy, admiral; to Aragon, standard-bearer; to Castile, grand chancel- lor; to G e r m a n y , grand bailiff; to England, turcopo- lier. (On these dig- nities see Military Orders.) The grand master might be elected from any of the various tongues; he exercised supreme authority, but under the control of a grand chapter and with the aid of sev- eral councils. Each tongue was subdi- vided into priories, and the head of each priory had the right to receive new knights and to visit the commanderies. The priories num- bered twenty-four, and the comman- deries, which were subdivisions of the priories, 656. All these posts were held according to seniority, the commanderies, after three campaigns, which were known as "caravans".

A most important change in the character of the order was the transformation of the knights into corsairs. The piracy practised by the Mussulmans was the scourge of the Mediterranean and especially of Christian commerce. The Knights of Rhodes, on their side, armed cruisers not only to give chase to the pirates, but to make repri.sals on Turkish merchant- men. With mcreasing audacity they made descents on the coast and pillaged the richest ports of the Orient, such as Smyrna (1341) and Alexandria (1365). However, a new Mussulman power arose at this period — the Ottoman Turks of Iconium — and took the offensive against Christianity. After the fall of Con- stantinople, Mahomet II directed his attention to the task of destroying this den of pirates which made Rhodes the terror of the Mussulman world. Hence- forth the order, thrown on the defensive, lived per- petually on the alert. Once, under its grand master, Pierre d'Aubusson, it repulsed all the forces of Ma- homet II in the .siege of 14S0. In 1522 Solyman II re- turned to the attack with a fleet of 400 ships and an army of 140,000 men. The knights sustained this great onslaught with their habitual bravery for a period of six months untier their grand master, Vil- liers de I'lsle Adam, and only capitulated when their

CUAC liKS CHK\AL1EHS

A Stronghold of the Hospitallers, near Tripoli, in .Anatolia (Reconstruction by Rey in " Mon. de I'archit. militaire des Crois^s")

supplies were completely exhausted. Their lives were spared, and they were permitted to withdraw. Solyman II, in homage to their heroism, lent them his ships to return to Europe. They dispersed to their commanderies and begged Charles V to grant them the island of Malta, which was a dependency of his kingdom of Sicily, and this sovereignty was granted them in 1530, under the suzerainty of the kings of Spain.

The Knights of Malta (1530-1798) at once resumed the manner of life they had already practised for two centuries at Rhodes. With a fleet which did not number more than seven galleys they resisted the Barbary pirates who infested the western basin of the Mediterranean. They formed a valuable contingent during the great expeditions of Charles V against Tunis and Algiers and at the memorable victory of Lepanto. The Knights of Malta were also permitted to equip galleys at their own expense to give chase to the Turkish galleys. These enterprises did not fail to draw upon them fresh attacks from the Ottomans. Soh'man II, regretting his generosity, gathered a second time all the forces of his empire to dislodge the

Christian corsairs from their retreat. The siege of Malta, i|uite as famous as,. ' ^ t hat of R h o d e s,

lasted for four months (1565). The Ttirks had already taken possession of a part of the island, ilestroyed nearly the w hole of the oUl city, slaying half the knii;hts and almo.st NDOll soldiers, when Malta was delivered by an army of relief from Spain. In re- treating, the Turks, it is said, left 30,000 slain. A new city had to be built — the present city of La Valette, so named in memory of its valiant grand master who had sustained this siege. Malta, however, was not rid of its most dangerous adversary until the battle of Lepanto (1571), which dealt the Ottoman fleet a fatal and final blow.

From this time the history of Malta is reduced to a series of encounters by sea with the Barbary corsairs which have only a local interest. The struggle was carried on chiefly by young knights who were in haste to accomplish their three " caravans" in order to merit some vacant commandery. It was an existence filled with perils of every kind, sudden attacks, adventures, successes, and defeats. There was constant risk of life, or of liberty, which could be regained only at the cost of enormous ransoms. But when success came, the undertaking proved lucrative, not only defraying all costs but also enriching the captain. The best result was the deliverance of hundreds of Christian slaves, chained as rowers on the Turkish galleys. In requital the vanquished Turks were in turn reduced to slavery and sold to the Christian galleys which had need of rowers. In this respect Malta remained a veritable slave-market until well into the eighteenth century. It required a thousand slaves to equip merely the galleys of the order, which were a hell for these unfortimates. It will be readily understood that the habit of living in the midst of these scenes of violence and lirutality exercised a bad influence on the morals of the knights of the order. Discipline became relaxed, and the grand mastersliip became a more