Part 544

"Some citizens of Amalfi, in Italy, who traded to the East, had [some time before the first crusade], with the permission of the Egyptian khaleefeh, built a convent near the church of the Resurrection [at Jerusalem], which was dedicated to the Virgin, and named Santa Maria de Latina, whose abbot and monks were to receive and entertain pilgrims from the West. A nunnery was afterwards added, and as the confluence of pilgrims increased, a new 'hospitium' was erected, dedicated to St. John Eleëmon ('compassionate'), a former patriarch of Alexandria, or, as is asserted, with perhaps more probability, to St. John the Baptist. This hospital was supported by the bounty of the abbot of Sta. Maria and the alms of the faithful, and the sick and poor of the pilgrims here met with attention and kindness. At the time of the taking of Jerusalem, Gerhard, a native of Provence, presided over the hospital; and the care taken by him and his brethren of the sick and wounded of the crusaders won them universal favour. Godfrey bestowed on them his domain of Monboire, in Brabant; his example was followed by others, and the brethren of the Hospital soon found themselves rich enough to separate from the monastery. {1663} They adopted the rule of the Augustinian canons, and assumed for their habit a black mantle, with a white cross of eight points on the left breast. Many knights who had come to Asia to combat the Infidels now laid aside their swords, and, as brethren of the Hospital, devoted themselves to the tending of the sick and relieving of the poor. Among these was a knight of Dauphiné, named Raymond Dupuy, who, on the death of Gerhard, was chosen to be his successor in office. Raymond, in the year 1118, gave the order its first regular organization."

_T. Keightley, The Crusaders, chapter 2._

To Raymond Dupuy "the Order owed its distinctly military character, and that wonderful organization, combining the care of the sick and poor with the profession of arms, which characterized the Knights of St. John during all their subsequent history. … A new and revised constitution was drawn up, by which it was provided that there should be three classes of members. First, the Knights, who should bear arms and form a military body for service in the field against the enemies of Christ in general, and of the kingdom of Jerusalem in particular. These were to be of necessity men of noble or gentle birth. Secondly, the Clergy, or Chaplains. … Thirdly, the Serving Brethren, who were not required to be men of rank, and who acted as Esquires to the Knights, and assisted in the care of the hospitals. All persons of these three classes were considered alike members of the Order, and took the usual three monastic vows, and wore the armorial bearings of the Order, and enjoyed its rights and privileges. As the Order spread and the number of its members and convents increased, it was found desirable to divide it further into nations or 'Langes' [tongues, or languages], of which there were ultimately seven, viz., those of Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Aragon, Germany, and England. The habit was a black robe with a cowl, having a cross of white linen of eight points upon the left breast. This was at first worn by all Hospitallers, to whichever of the three classes they belonged; but Pope Alexander IV. afterwards ordered that the Knights should be distinguished by a white cross upon a red ground. … It was not long before the new Order found a field for the exercise of its arms. … From this time the Hospitallers were always found in the ranks of the Christian army in every battle that was fought with the Moslems, and the fame of their gallantry and bravery soon spread far and wide, and attracted fresh recruits to their ranks from the noblest families of every country of Europe. They became the right hand of the King of Jerusalem," sharing the fortunes of the nominal kingdom for nearly two centuries, and almost sharing its ultimate fate. The handful who escaped from Acre in 1291 (see JERUSALEM: A. D. 1291) took refuge in Cyprus and rallied there the Knights scattered in other lands. Rebuilding and fortifying the town of Limisso, they made that their citadel and capital for a few years, finding a new vocation for their pious valor. They now took up war upon the naval side, and turned their arms specially against the Moslem pirates of the Mediterranean. They fitted out armed ships "which began to cruise between Palestine and European ports, conveying pilgrims, rescuing captives, and engaging and capturing the enemy's galleys." But not finding in Cyprus the independence they desired, the Knights, ere long, established themselves in a more satisfactory home on the island of Rhodes.

_F. C. Woodhouse, Military Religious Orders of the Middle Ages, part 1, chapter 3-6._

ALSO IN: _Abbe de Vertot, History of the Knights Hospitallers, books 1-3 (volume 1)._

_A. Sutherland, Achievements of the Knights of Malta, chapters 1-9 (volume 1)._

HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM: A. D. 1310. Conquest and occupation of Rhodes.

"The most important conquest of the time … was that of Rhodes, by the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, both from its durability and from the renown of the conquerors. The knights had settled in Cyprus after they had been expelled from Acre, but they were soon discontented to remain as vassals of the King of Cyprus. They aspired to form a sovereign state, but it was not easy to make any conquests from the Infidels in a position which they could hope to maintain for any length of time. They therefore solicited permission from the Pope to turn their arms against the Greeks. His Holiness applauded their Christian zeal, and bestowed on them innumerable blessings and indulgences, besides nine thousand ducats to aid their enterprise. Under the pretext of a crusade for the recovery of Christ's tomb, the knights collected a force with which they besieged Rhodes. So great was their contempt for the Greek emperor that they sent an embassy to Constantinople, requiring Adronicus to withdraw his garrisons, and cede the island and its dependencies to them as feudatories, offering to supply him with a subsidiary force of three hundred cavalry. Adronicus dismissed the ambassadors, and sent an army to raise the siege; but his troops were defeated, and the knights took the city of Rhodes on the 15th August, 1310. As sovereigns of this beautiful island, they were long the bulwark of Christian Europe against the Turkish power; and the memory of the chivalrous youth who for successive ages found an early tomb at this verge of the Christian world, will long shed a romantic colouring on the history of Rhodes. They sustained the declining glory of a state of society that was hastening to become a vision of the past; they were the heroes of a class of which the Norse sea-kings had been the demigods. The little realm they governed as an independent state consisted of Rhodes, with the neighbouring islands of Kos, Kalymnos, Syme, Leros, Nisyros, Telos, and Chalke; on the opposite continent they possessed the classic city of Halicarnassus, and several strong forts, of which the picturesque ruins still overhang the sea."

_G. Finlay, History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires, book 4, chapter 2 (volume 2)._

ALSO IN: _W. Porter, History of the Knights of Malta, chapters 7-10 (volume 1)._

HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM: A. D. 1482. Treatment of the Turkish Prince Jemshid or Zizim.

See TURKS: A. D. 1481-1520.

HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM: A. D. 1522. Siege and surrender of Rhodes to the Turks

In 1522, the Turkish sultan, Solyman the Magnificent, "turned his victorious arms against the island of Rhodes, the seat at that time of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. This small state he attacked with such a numerous army as the lords of Asia have been accustomed, in every age, to bring into the field. Two hundred thousand men, and a fleet of 400 sail, appeared against a town defended by a garrison consisting of 5,000 soldiers and 600 knights, under the command of Villiers de L'Isle Adam, the grand-master, whose wisdom and valour rendered him worthy of that station at such a dangerous juncture. {1664} No sooner did he begin to suspect the destination of Solyman's vast armaments than he despatched messengers to all the Christian courts, imploring their aid against the common enemy. But though every prince in that age acknowledged Rhodes to be the great bulwark of Christendom in the East, and trusted to the gallantry of its knights as the best security against the progress of the Ottoman arms,—though Adrian, with a zeal which became the head and father of the Church, exhorted the contending powers to forget their private quarrels, and, by uniting their arms, to prevent the infidels from destroying a society which did honour to the Christian name,—yet so violent and implacable was the animosity of both parties [in the wars of the Emperor Charles V. and Francis I. of France], that, regardless of the danger to which they exposed all Europe, … they suffered Solyman to carry on his operations against Rhodes without disturbance. The grand-master, after incredible efforts of courage, of patience, and of military conduct, during a siege of six months,—after sustaining many assaults, and disputing every post with amazing obstinacy,—was obliged at last to yield to numbers; and, having obtained an honourable capitulation from the sultan, who admired and respected his virtue, he surrendered the town, which was reduced to a heap of rubbish, and destitute of every resource. Charles and Francis, ashamed of having occasioned such a loss to Christendom by their ambitious contests, endeavoured to throw the blame of it on each other, while all Europe, with greater justice, imputed it equally to both. The emperor, by way of reparation, granted the Knights of St. John the small island of Malta, in which they fixed their residence, retaining, though with less power and splendour, their ancient spirit and implacable enmity to the infidels."

_W. Robertson, History of the Reign of Charles V., book 2 (volume 1)._

ALSO IN: _C. Torr, Rhodes in Modern Times, chapter 1. _

_J. S. Brewer, The Reign of Henry VIII., chapter 10 (volume 1)._

HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM: A. D. 1530-1565. Occupation of Malta. Improvement and fortification of the island. The great siege. The Turks repelled.

"Malta, which had been annexed by Charles [the Fifth's] predecessors to Sicily, had descended to that monarch as part of the dominions of the crown of Aragon. In … ceding it to the Knights of St. John, the politic prince consulted his own interests quite as much as those of the order. He drew no revenue from the rocky isle, but, on the contrary, was charged with its defence against the Moorish corsairs, who made frequent descents on the spot, wasting the country, and dragging off the miserable people into slavery. By this transfer of the island to the military order of St. John, he not only relieved himself of all further expense on its account, but secured a permanent bulwark for the protection of his own dominions. … In October, 1530, L'Isle Adam and his brave associates took possession of their new domain. … It was not very long before the wilderness before them was to blossom like the rose, under their diligent culture. Earth was brought in large quantities, and at great cost, from Sicily. Terraces to receive it were hewn in the steep sides of the rock; and the soil, quickened by the ardent sun of Malta, was soon clothed with the glowing vegetation of the South. … In a short time, too, the island bristled with fortifications, which, combined with its natural defences, enabled its garrison to defy the attacks of the corsair. To these works was added the construction of suitable dwellings for the accommodation of the order. But it was long after, and not until the land had been desolated by the siege on which we are now to enter, that it was crowned with the stately edifices that eclipsed those of Rhodes itself, and made Malta the pride of the Mediterranean. … Again their galleys sailed forth to battle with the corsairs, and returned laden with the spoils of victory. … It was not long before the name of the Knights of Malta became as formidable on the southern shores of the Mediterranean as that of the Knights of Rhodes had been in the East." At length the Turkish sultan, Solyman the Magnificent, "resolved to signalize the close of his reign by driving the knights from Malta, as he had the commencement of it by driving them from Rhodes," and he made his preparations on a formidable scale. The grand-master of Malta, Jean Parisot de la Valette, had his spies at Constantinople, and was not long in ignorance of the Turkish project. He, too, prepared himself for the encounter with prodigious energy and forethought. He addressed appeals for help to all the Christian powers. "He summoned the knights absent in foreign lands to return to Malta, and take part with their brethren in the coming struggle. He imported large supplies of provisions and military stores from Sicily and Spain. He drilled the militia of the island, and formed an effective body of more than 3,000 men; to which was added a still greater number of Spanish and Italian troops. … The fortifications were put in repair, strengthened with outworks, and placed in the best condition for resisting the enemy. … The whole force which La Valette could muster in defence of the island amounted to about 9,000 men. This included 700 knights, of whom about 600 had already arrived [when the siege began]. The remainder were on their way; and joined him at a later period of the siege." The Turkish fleet made its appearance on the 18th of May, 1565. It comprised 130 royal galleys, with fifty of lesser size, and a number of transports. "The number of soldiers on board, independently of the mariners, and including 6,000 janizaries, was about 30,000,—the flower of the Ottoman army. … The command of the expedition was intrusted to two officers. One of these, Piali, was the same admiral who defeated the Spaniards at Gelves.

See BARBARY STATES: A. D. 1543-1560.

He had the direction of the naval operations. The land forces were given to Mustapha, a veteran nearly 70 years of age. … The Turkish armada steered for the southeastern quarter of the island, and cast anchor in the port of St. Thomas. The troops speedily disembarked, and spread themselves in detached bodies over the land, devastating the country. … It was decided, in the Turkish council of war, to begin operations with the siege of the castle of St. Elmo"—a small but strong fort, built at the point of a promontory which separates Port Musiette, on the west, from what is now known as Valetta harbor, then called the Great Port. The heroic defense of St. Elmo, where a mere handful of knights and soldiers withstood the whole army and navy of the Turks for an entire month, is one of the grand episodes of war in the 16th century. {1665} The few surviving defenders were overwhelmed in the final assault, which took place on the 23d of June. "The number of Christians who fell in this siege amounted to about 1,500. Of these 123 were members of the order, and among them several of its most illustrious warriors. The Turkish loss is estimated at 8,000, at the head of whom stood Dragut," the famous pasha of Tripoli, who had joined the besiegers, with ships and men, and who had received a mortal wound in one of the assaults. After the loss of St. Elmo, "the strength of the order was … concentrated on the two narrow slips of land which run out from the eastern side of the Great Port. … The northern peninsula, occupied by the town of Il Borgo, and at the extreme point by the castle of St. Angelo, was defended by works stronger and in better condition than the fortifications of St. Elmo. … The parallel slip of land was crowned by the fort of St. Michael." Early in July, the Turks opened their batteries on both St. Angelo and St. Michael, and on the 15th they attempted the storming of the latter, but were bloodily repulsed, losing 3,000 or 4,000 men, according to the Christian account. Two weeks later they made a general assault and were again repelled. On the 25th of August, the valiant knights, wasted and worn with watching and fighting, were relieved by long-promised re-enforcements from Sicily, and the disheartened Turks at once raised the siege. "The arms of Solyman II., during his long and glorious reign, met with no reverse so humiliating as his failure in the siege of Malta. … The waste of life was prodigious, amounting to more than 30,000 men. … Yet the loss in this siege fell most grievously on the Christians. Full 200 knights, 2,500 soldiers, and more than 7,000 inhabitants,—men, women, and children,—are said to have perished."

_W. H. Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip II., book 4, chapters 2-5._

ALSO IN: _W. Porter, History of the Knights of Malta, chapters 15-18 (volume 2)._

_S. Lane-Poole, Story of the Barbary Corsairs, chapter 13._

HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM: A. D. 1565-1879. Decline and practical disappearance of the order.

"The Great Siege of 1565 was the last eminent exploit of the Order of St. John. From that time their fame rested rather on the laurels of the past than the deeds of the present. Rest and affluence produced gradually their usual consequences—diminished vigour and lessened independence. The 'esprit de corps' of the Knights became weaker after long years, in which there were no events to bind them together in united sympathies and common struggles. Many of them had become susceptible of bribery and petty jealousies. In 1789 the French Revolution burst out and aroused all European nations to some decided policy. The Order of St. John had received special favours from Louis XVI., and now showed their grateful appreciation of his kindness by cheerfully contributing a large portion of their revenue to assist him in his terrible emergencies. For this they suffered the confiscation of all the property of the Order in France, when the revolutionists obtained supreme power."

_W. Tallack, Malta, section 8._

"In September, 1792, a decree was passed, by which the estates and property of the Order of St. John in France were annexed to the state. Many of the knights were seized, imprisoned, and executed as aristocrats. The principal house of the Order in Paris, called the Temple, was converted into a prison, and there the unfortunate Louis XVI. and his family were incarcerated. The Directory also did its best to destroy the Order in Germany and Italy. … All this time the Directory had agents in Malta, who were propagating revolutionary doctrines, and stirring up the lowest of the people to rebellion and violence. There were in the island 332 knights (of whom many, however, were aged and infirm), and about 6,000 troops. On June 9, 1798, the French fleet appeared before Malta, with Napoleon himself on board, and a few days after troops were landed, and began pillaging the country. They were at first successfully opposed by the soldiers of the Grand Master, but the seeds of sedition, which had been so freely sown, began to bear fruit, and the soldiers mutinied, and refused to obey their officers. All the outlying forts were taken, and the knights who commanded them, who were all French, were dragged before Napoleon. He accused them of taking up arms against their country, and declared that he would have them shot as traitors. Meanwhile sedition was rampant within the city. The people rose and attacked the palace of the Grand Master, and murdered several of the knights. They demanded that the island should be given up to the French, and finally opened the gates, and admitted Napoleon and his troops. After some delay, articles of capitulation were agreed upon, Malta was declared part of France, and all the knights were required to quit the island within three days. Napoleon sailed for Egypt on June 19, taking with him all the silver, gold, and jewels that could be collected from the churches and the treasury. … In the following September, 1798, Nelson besieged, and quickly obtained possession of the island, which has ever since remained in the hands of the English. In this way the ancient Order of St. John ceased to be a sovereign power, and practically its history came to an end. The last Grand Master, Baron Ferdinand von Hompesch, after the loss of Malta, retired to Trieste, and shortly afterwards abdicated and died at Montpelier, in 1805. Many of the knights, however, had in the mean time gone to Russia, and before the abdication of Hompesch, they elected the Emperor Paul Grand Master, who had for some time been protector of the Order. This election was undoubtedly irregular and void. By the terms of the Treaty of Amiens, in 1802, it was stipulated that Malta should be restored to the Order, but that there should be neither French nor English knights. But before the treaty could be carried into effect Napoleon returned from Elba, and war broke out again. By the treaty of Paris, in 1814, Malta was ceded to England. … In 1801, the assembly of the Knights at St. Petersburg … petitioned Pope Pius VII. to select a Grand Master from certain names which they sent. This he declined to do, but, some time afterwards, at the request of the Emperor Alexander, and the King of Naples, and without consulting the knights, the Pope appointed Count Giovanni di Tommasi Grand Master. He died in 1805, and no Grand Master has been since appointed. On his death-bed, Tommasi nominated the bailiff, Guevara Suardo, Lieutenant Master. … {1666} [Such] lieutenants have presided over an association of titular knights at Rome, which is styled 'the Sacred Council.' In 1814, the French knights assembled at Paris and elected a capitulary commission for the government of the Order. … In or about the year 1826, the English 'Lange' of the Order of the Knights of Malta was revived. … A regular succession of Priors has been continued to the present time [1879], and the Duke of Manchester is the present Prior. The members of the Order devote themselves to relieving the poor, and assisting hospitals."

_F. C. Woodhouse, Military Religious Orders of the Middle Ages, part 1, chapter 20._

HOSPITALLERS: End--------

HOSPODAR.

"A title of Slavonic or Russian origin (Russian, Gospodin = Lord)."

_J. Samuelson, Roumania, page 209, foot-note._

HOSTIS.

See PEREGRINI.

HOTTENTOTS, The.

See SOUTH AFRICA: THE ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS, and A. D. 1486-1806; also, AFRICA: THE INHABITING RACES.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

See PARLIAMENT, THE ENGLISH; and KNIGHTS OF THE SHIRE.