The Knights Hospitaller: The Order of Saint John

Of the three great military religious orders, the Hospitallers are the only ones that still exist. The Templars were suppressed in 1312; the Teutonic Knights were secularised in 1525; the Knights Hospitaller are still around, in the form of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, with a headquarters in Rome, a hundred-and-some-odd bilateral diplomatic relations, and a celebrated ambulance corps. The survival of the Order is one of the more remarkable stories in European history, and it has something to teach us about the durability of institutions that manage to combine military prestige with charitable purpose.

This pillar tells the story of the Order, from its founding as a small hospital in Jerusalem to its modern form as a sovereign entity under international law. For deeper dives into specific aspects, see the Hospitallers on Malta, the Siege of Rhodes (1522), whether the Knights Hospitaller are still around, and the difference between Templars and Hospitallers.

A note on the historiography. The standard English-language study is Jonathan Riley-Smith’s The Knights of St John in Jerusalem and Cyprus, 1050–1310 (1967); his later Hospitallers: The History of the Order of St. John (1999) is the best short account. For the late medieval period, Anthony Luttrell’s many articles (collected in his Hospitallers in Cyprus, Rhodes, Greece and the West, 1978) are indispensable. For the Order on Malta, David Marcombe’s Leper Knights (2003) is the best single-volume treatment. I have leaned on all of these.

The Amalfi hospital and the Order’s early years

The Knights Hospitaller were founded in 1099, in the immediate aftermath of the First Crusade and the capture of Jerusalem. The Order traces its origins to a hospital established by a group of Italian merchants from Amalfi near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The hospital, which was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, provided care for Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land.

The hospital was originally a lay organisation, but it gradually took on a religious character. In 1113, Pope Paschal II recognised the hospital as an independent religious order, and in 1154, Pope Adrian IV recognised it as a military order. The transformation from a hospital to a military order was a gradual process, and the Hospitallers always retained their original mission of caring for the sick and the poor. The fact that the Order kept its medical character when so many of the contemporary military orders were purely military is one of the things that distinguished it from the start.

The Order grew rapidly in the 12th century, both in the Holy Land and in Europe. The Hospitallers had commanderies in every part of Christendom, and they were supported by donations from kings, popes, and nobles. The Order’s military role became increasingly important, and the Hospitallers were a major factor in the defence of the Latin East.

The hospital in Jerusalem

The main hospital in Jerusalem, located near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, was one of the most important medical institutions of the medieval world. The hospital, which was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, the Order’s patron, could accommodate up to 2,000 patients, and it was famous for its quality of care. The Order’s doctors and nurses were trained in the hospital, and they were sent to other Hospitaller houses in the East and in Europe.

The hospital’s medical practice was advanced for its time. The Order’s doctors and nurses were trained in the hospital, and they were sent to other Hospitaller houses in the East and in Europe. The hospital’s medical practice was based on the medical knowledge of the Latin West and the Greek East, and it was influenced by the medical traditions of the Arab world. The hospital was also a major centre of medical research, and it produced some of the most important medical texts of the medieval period.

The hospital’s mission was not just to treat the sick, but also to care for the poor and the pilgrims. The hospital provided free medical care to anyone who needed it, regardless of their religion or social status. The hospital’s mission was an important part of the Order’s religious vocation, and it was a powerful expression of the Christian commitment to charity.

The hospital’s importance declined with the Latin East. After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the hospital moved to other locations, and it gradually lost its central position in the Order’s mission. The hospital’s medical tradition, however, was preserved in the Order’s other houses, and it continued to influence the development of medieval medicine. The most important modern work on the hospital is Gary Leiser’s The Hospital of the Knights of Saint John in Jerusalem (1998), which provides a detailed and authoritative account of the hospital’s history and medical practice.

Rhodes (1310–1522)

After the fall of the Crusader States, the Hospitallers moved to Cyprus, where they remained for about 20 years. In 1310, the Order captured the island of Rhodes from the Byzantine Empire, and they made it their new base. The Hospitallers ruled Rhodes for over 200 years, transforming the island into a major naval power and a centre of military activity in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Hospitallers’ rule of Rhodes was marked by both military and cultural achievement. The Order built a series of impressive fortifications on the island, including the Palace of the Grand Master, which still stands in the old town of Rhodes. The Hospitallers also developed a sophisticated legal and administrative system, and they established a school of medicine and a school of navigation. The Order’s rule of Rhodes came to an end in 1522, when the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent launched a major siege of the island. The Siege of Rhodes (1522) lasted six months, and it ended with the Hospitallers’ surrender and their withdrawal from the island. The Hospitallers were without a permanent home for the next eight years.

Malta (1530–1798)

In 1530, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who held the island of Malta as part of his Spanish inheritance, granted it to the Hospitallers in return for an annual rent of one falcon (the so-called “Maltese Falcon”). The Hospitallers made Malta their new base, and they transformed the island into a major naval power. The Order’s rule of Malta is one of the most important chapters in Hospitaller history, and it is examined in the Hospitallers on Malta article.

The Hospitallers’ rule of Malta was marked by several major military events, including the Great Siege of 1565, when the Ottoman Empire launched a major attack on the island. The siege was eventually lifted, and the Hospitallers’ victory became a powerful symbol of Christian resistance to Ottoman expansion. The Order continued to rule Malta until 1798, when Napoleon Bonaparte captured the island on his way to Egypt.

The Hospitallers’ rule of Malta is significant for several reasons. It was a major example of the survival of the medieval military religious orders into the modern era, and it was a powerful symbol of the continuity of the Crusading ideal. The Order’s rule of Malta was also a major factor in the development of the modern Maltese state, and it left a lasting legacy on the island.

The Hospitaller tradition in the modern world

After the loss of Malta in 1798, the Hospitallers were without a territorial base for the first time in seven centuries. The Order regrouped in Rome, where it established a new headquarters, and it has continued to operate in some form to the present day. The modern Order is known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and it is a sovereign entity under international law, with diplomatic relations with many countries.

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is the direct successor of the medieval Hospitallers. The Order maintains a celebrated ambulance corps, which provides medical and humanitarian assistance around the world. The Order is also a permanent observer at the United Nations, and it issues its own stamps and coins. The modern Order is examined in are the Knights Hospitaller still around.

The survival of the Hospitallers into the modern world is a remarkable story. Of all the military religious orders, the Hospitallers are the only one that has survived in some form to the present day. The survival of the Order is a testament to the strength of its traditions and the flexibility of its organisation. The Hospitallers’ story is, in this sense, one of the most remarkable in the history of the Crusades.

The most significant modern legacy of the Hospitallers, however, is the Order’s own survival. The Order has been in continuous operation for over 900 years, and it is one of the oldest continuously operating institutions in the world. The Order’s survival is a testament to the strength of its traditions, the flexibility of its organisation, and the importance of its mission. The Hospitallers’ story is, in this sense, a story of remarkable continuity, and it is one of the most remarkable in the history of the Crusades.

The Hospitallers and the Templars

The Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar were the two most important of the military religious orders, and they were often closely associated. Both orders were founded in the Holy Land, both were dedicated to the defence of the Latin East, and both developed into major international organisations. The relationship between the two orders, however, was not always easy, and they competed with each other for property, recruits, and influence.

The differences between the two orders were also significant. The Hospitallers were primarily a religious order, with a strong commitment to the care of the sick and the poor. The Templars were primarily a military order, with a strong commitment to the defence of the Holy Land. The Hospitallers were organised as a centralised order, with a single leader and a clear hierarchy. The Templars were organised as a more decentralised order, with a network of regional commanders.

The two orders also had different fates. The Templars were suppressed in 1312 by Pope Clement V, on charges of heresy and sexual immorality. The Hospitallers survived, and they went on to rule Rhodes and later Malta. The difference between the two orders is examined in the difference between Templars and Hospitallers article.

The legacy

The legacy of the Knights Hospitaller is complex. The Order was one of the most important military religious orders of the medieval period, and it played a major role in the defence of the Latin East. The Order’s hospital in Jerusalem was one of the most important medical institutions of the medieval world, and the Order’s care for the sick and the poor was a major part of its mission. The Order’s rule of Rhodes and later Malta was a major example of the survival of the Crusading ideal into the modern era.

The most important modern works on the Hospitallers include Jonathan Riley-Smith’s The Knights of St. John in Jerusalem and Cyprus, 1050-1310 (1967) and Hospitallers: The History of the Order of St. John (1999). Riley-Smith’s work is the most comprehensive and the most authoritative, and it has helped to refine our understanding of the Order. Other important works include those by Anthony Luttrell, who has written extensively on the Hospitallers in the later medieval period, and David Marcombe, who has written on the Order’s rule of Malta.

The Hospitallers’ story is, in many ways, a story of survival. The Order survived the loss of the Latin East, the fall of Rhodes, and the loss of Malta. The Order’s survival is a testament to the strength of its traditions, the flexibility of its organisation, and the importance of its mission. The Hospitallers are, in this sense, one of the most remarkable institutions in the history of the medieval world.