The Chivalric Order of St. John.--Humble Beginning of the
Organization.--Hospitallers.--Days of the Crusades.--Motto
of the Brotherhood.--Peter Gerard.--The Monk lost in the
Soldier.--At Acre, Cyprus, and Rhodes.--Naval Operations.
--Siege of Rhodes.--Garden of the Levant.--Piratical Days.
--Six Months of Bloodshed.--Awful Destruction of Human
Life.--A Famous Fighting Knight.--Final Evacuation of
Rhodes by the Order.
Our story of Malta would be incomplete unless we gave a succinct and
consecutive account of the famous Order of the Knights of St. John, to
whom we have so often alluded in the foregoing pages, and who have left
upon this island more of their personality than all the other
sovereignties that preceded or have succeeded them. While we freely
reprehend their many and glaring faults, we are forced to admire and
praise their energy, their heroic bravery, and their undoubted spirit of
enterprise. Providence saw fit to raise up this fraternity for its own
good purpose, and perhaps it was the one element needed to cope with the
exigencies of the troublous times in which they flourished. They played
their important and tragic part in the great drama of the ages, and
passed away. The ashes of their last representatives now lie beneath the
mortuary mosaics of the church of St. John.
The beginning of the organization was, as already intimated, of a very
humble character, but being in its purpose founded upon true Christian
principles, it challenged at the outset the just admiration of many
sincere and devout people, who gladly joined in furthering its estimable
object, and thus it grew, though very slowly at first, until finally it
became a great power throughout the civilized nations, exercising in its
day a vast degree of both religious and political influence. The Grand
Masters of the order took position among the highest potentates of the
age, and were given the post of honor next to that of royalty itself, at
all assemblies of state to which they were called.
A few sincere, energetic, and practical individuals, said to have been
Italian merchants from Amalfi, then belonging to the kingdom of Naples,
impressed by the peculiar exigencies of the time and place, solemnly
joined themselves together as a sacred fraternity, at Jerusalem, by
taking upon themselves vows of indissoluble brotherhood, and of chastity
and poverty. Little did the pious, self-abnegating Peter Gerard, the
accredited father of the Hospitallers, when collecting a few friends
together at his own humble dwelling in the latter part of the tenth
century, realize that he was then and there founding an order whose
power should presently become the main prop of Christianity, as
sustained against the energetic inroads of the Ottoman power. The avowed
purpose of these men thus banded together was to devote their lives to
the care and protection of poor, oppressed, and sick pilgrims, who had
come from afar to the sacred city as the Mecca of their religious
faith. After a considerable period of usefulness in the direction
indicated, and seeing the possibilities before them, they obtained
permission from the Caliph of Egypt to found a hospital for the use of
the sick and the needy, but especially in behalf of those who came from
foreign lands to visit the Holy Sepulchre. The rapid increase in the
service they had assumed soon demanded the erection of a second
hospital, or annex, one being devoted to women and the other to men.
This enlarged capacity soon rendered it necessary to create a sisterhood
of regular nurses, composed of self-devoted women actuated by the same
Christian sentiments which had given rise to the formation of the
brotherhood. The hospice prospered beyond the most sanguine hopes of its
originators. Grateful pilgrims who had shared its hospitalities, on
returning to their distant homes, spread the fame of its charities all
over Europe, thus arousing the warmest enthusiasm, and liberal
contributions of money were freely given in its behalf. To meet the
necessities of the case, a chapel was in time duly added to the hospice,
thus forming a very complete and well-organized whole, which may be said
to have been the cradle of the afterward famous Order of the Knights of
Malta.
There can be no reasonable doubt that the early members of the
fraternity, when they were best known as Hospitallers, were entirely
consistent in their object, as it was announced to the world, and that
they were actuated solely by the highest sense of duty and of Christian
endeavor. The sick were healed, the hungry fed, an economical and
unostentatious hospitality was exercised toward one and all, and good,
effective, charitable work was constantly performed. These
self-appointed servants of the poor and unfortunate were sincere
followers of the Master, and devoted to his service. Those who were at
this time in power at Jerusalem, though professed Mohammedans, were
apparently won by the liberality of the organization, in freely
extending its charities to all of the native population who applied for
aid. Christian and infidel fared alike in sharing the benefits of the
hospice. No unfortunate one was turned away from its gates empty-handed,
when actual want drove him to supplicate for the Christian's aid. If
such were poor and needy, these were the only credentials required to
command the free services of the brotherhood of Hospitallers, who
derived this name from their special care of the sick, and by it they
were solely known in the early days at Jerusalem. Their governing motto
was: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my
brethren, ye have done it unto me."
As we have said, generous, sympathetic people all over Europe subscribed
liberally toward the support of this sacred charity; the Hospitallers
became the almoners of their spontaneous bounty. Prince and peasant alike
contributed, each one in accordance with his means. All were enthusiastic
and cheerful givers. This condition of affairs was, however, abruptly
changed by the new conquerors of the country,--warlike Turks, who
ignored the tolerance of their Mussulman predecessors. They at once
instituted a system of persecution with regard to the Christians which
became intolerable, and which almost entirely obstructed the design and
the operations of the organization of the Hospitallers. It was thus in
self-defense that the fraternity gradually developed into a band of
soldier-monks and armed physicians, adding to their original vows a new
and important clause, binding themselves to combat with warlike weapons
on all suitable occasions in behalf of their religious faith, and to
protect themselves with arms in their hands from their infidel
oppressors.
It was not long after the Hospitallers were driven from the sacred city,
and their leader, Peter Gerard, imprisoned, that the remarkable
expeditions known in history as the Crusades were organized, their
object being the rescue of Jerusalem from the possession of the Turks.
This uprising of Europeans finally resulted in the capture by them of
the ancient city, under the command of Godefroi de Bouillon, the
illustrious leader of the first Crusade, in 1099. All Christendom
rejoiced. Peter Gerard was released from his dungeon, and the banner of
the cross superseded that of the crescent in the province of Judaea. One
of the great epochs of history at the close of the tenth century was
when Godefroi was proclaimed first Christian king of Jerusalem.
Nearly eight hundred years have passed away since this interesting era
of the world's progress, and one pauses reflectively to realize and to
moralize over the fact that the "Holy Land" is still Mohammedan. It is
the crescent, not the cross, which floats to-day upon the breezes of
Palestine. No Peter the Hermit preaches a new Crusade in this nineteenth
century, to recover possession of the Holy Sepulchre.
We are writing of a period when personal prowess was considered the
great essential of true manhood. Learning and the sciences were left to
monks and the cloister. The profession of arms, therefore, attracted all
noble and ambitious youths,--it was in fact the only path open to
chivalric purposes, and which led to high preferment. The spirit of the
age was one of superstition and veneration combined, so that it was easy
to raise a host of brave followers for the purpose of fighting the
Moslems, and of rescuing Jerusalem from their possession. A belief that
the shedding of one's blood in such a cause not only purchased
forgiveness for all sins, but also insured to the soldiers of the cross
the future joys of heaven, prevailed in those days among high and low,
throughout Europe. Recruits for the ranks of the Crusaders required no
urging. They marched at first, like an impetuous mob, in myriads toward
the East, and were defeated, as a matter of course; but learning wisdom
by experience, they duly organized themselves, and victory followed.
Though the avowed purpose of the brotherhood of whom we write was one of
charity, peace, and good-will toward men, of self-abnegation and
devotion to good works, especially embracing the idea of nursing the
sick, still, owing to the exigencies of the situation, as we have shown,
the organization gradually developed into a complete military order, and
presently came to be known the world over as the Knights of St. John;
the significant and at first strictly appropriate title of Hospitallers
was over-shadowed by the more soldierly one of Knights. Their first
military duty was that of escorting pilgrims to and from the coast,
guarding them from the frequently fatal violence of the natives. The
field of their operation became rapidly enlarged, and they grew to be
more and more warlike, until presently the soldier got the better of the
monk, and from acting only in self-defense at the outset, the order
eventually became boldly aggressive. Their ranks were recruited by
soldierly additions from among the Crusaders, and their banner of the
white cross floated victoriously over many a hard fought field of
battle, when the Christians were fiercely struggling with the possessors
of Palestine.
From Jerusalem the order removed to Acre, in Syria, about the year 1187,
where Richard Coeur de Lion established a headquarters for the
Knights, and here they remained as an organization for about one hundred
years, devoting themselves only in part to their original design as a
religious and charitable body, but redoubling their belligerency toward
the Moslems. An opportunity for conflict was never avoided by these
military monks, and unless they were beset by ten times their own
numbers, the Knights were almost certain to be victorious. Finally,
overpowered by the Turks, in a terrific and decisive battle, they were
expelled from Acre, those who escaped the awful massacre taking refuge
in Cyprus. This was in the year 1291. In this island, which Richard I.
of England captured from the Saracens, the order maintained itself for
the comparatively brief period of twenty years; but at last, forced to
abandon the place, they seized upon the island of Rhodes, about the year
1310, which was then in the possession of Mohammedan pirates and Greek
rebels. The Knights were not in open warfare against Greece, though they
bore its people no special good-will. The Greeks had secretly opposed
the Crusaders, and by treachery had aided the Turks on more than one
important occasion.
We were speaking of the seizure of the island of Rhodes, which was a
matter of no small importance, and to accomplish which involved
herculean efforts at the very outset.
The enemy were so well organized and so thoroughly equipped with
defensive material, that it required four years of incessant and
vigorous warfare before the Knights finally gained undisputed
sovereignty on the island. In this sanguinary and protracted struggle
the order was nearly exterminated, losing hundreds of its best and
bravest members, but their places were gradually filled by fresh
acquisitions from Europe. There was a spirit of emulation in the ranks
of the Knights, as to the exhibition of bravery and prowess exercised
against the enemy, which often led them to great personal exposure, and
to the performance of heroic deeds. The individual conflicts were
frequently characterized more by rashness than by good judgment and
bravery. In the period of which we write, the mode of warfare and of
military organization left much freer scope for individual gallantry and
originality of purpose, much freer play for personal prowess. Men fought
less like machines and more like heroes than it is possible for them to
do under our modern system of combinations and of implicit obedience to
orders. The hope of successful and gallant adventure spurred on the most
indifferent to do something which should lead to distinction. Emulation
is an instinctive quality in those who make a profession of arms, and
fighting is an appetite which grows by what it feeds upon. Emulation and
imitation have been called twins.
It was after almost incredible suffering and persistency of effort that
the Order of St. John was finally settled at Rhodes upon a firmer basis
than it had ever before enjoyed, and here it remained sovereign for over
two centuries, becoming so identified with the place as to be known
throughout Christendom as the Knights of Rhodes. They had little
opportunity for the exercise of those Christian virtues which they had
heretofore claimed for their fraternity, but their character as a
warlike brotherhood did not suffer by want of aggressiveness upon their
part.
This most beautiful island of Rhodes, which was about one third larger
than Malta, embowered with palms and citron groves, flourished
wonderfully under the sovereignty of the Knights, while the order itself
steadily increased in numbers, power, and wealth. The neighboring
islands of Telos, Syme, Nisyros, Cos, Leros, and Calymna, known on the
old charts as the Sporades, were conquered one after another and annexed
to the island of Rhodes, thus coming under the governorship of the Grand
Masters of the Knights. While establishing themselves in this island and
strengthening its half-ruined defenses, the most profitable employment
of the Knights was privateering, or, more correctly, active piracy. They
cruised against all Mohammedan and Greek vessels. True, their vows only
bound them to perpetual warfare against the Turks, but a very little
stretching of their consciences enabled them to see no wrong in
capturing the commercial property of the Greeks also. It must be
admitted that the latter people, as a maritime nation, were themselves
ever a predatory race. Might alone made right in the waters of the
Levant, and especially so in the Grecian archipelago. No candid writer
can defend the marine policy of the Greeks, and perhaps the Knights of
St. John only meted to these rovers the same treatment which they (the
Greeks) were used to accord to others. All history shows that the
eastern basin of the Mediterranean was for centuries a swarming nest of
corsairs of various nationalities, Greeks, Turks, and Algerines. Any
attempt to transfer a legitimate cargo of merchandise from an Asiatic to
a European port by way of the Straits of Gibraltar was to run the
gauntlet of a fleet of piratical vessels which preyed indiscriminately
upon the commerce of all nations. Those we have named were the most
numerous among these sea robbers, the Turks and Algerines making war
together upon the Knights of Rhodes, who retaliated upon them with
interest, both on the land and on the sea. The Knights pursued these
powers with most unchristianlike vengeance, pertinacity, and success.
The adventurous life followed by the order proved to be terribly
demoralizing to the individual members, and especially incompatible with
the observance of their religious vows and discipline. The frequent
division of prize money, the constant capture of luxuries of all sorts,
and of female prisoners, led to gambling, drinking, and debauchery on
shore, until all semblance of respect for monastic ties utterly
vanished. This was not because the Knights were so much worse than the
average people of their time, for lawlessness was the characteristic of
the age, but it was the natural outgrowth of the extraordinary
circumstances in which they were involved,--circumstances which created
an overstrained energy neither natural nor healthful. Insubordination
and jealousies frequently broke out among the order, to quell which the
severest measures were promptly adopted. The Grand Masters more than
once resorted to the extremest punishment, even including the death
penalty.
Following up their supremacy on the sea, the Knights continued to fight
the Turks and Greeks, wherever found, until at last scarcely a vessel
bearing the flag of either of them dared to venture out of port. Four
times the Mussulmans made prodigious efforts to dislodge the Knights
from Rhodes; but on each occasion they were signally defeated. The
warlike Turks grew more and more formidable, while they were constantly
goaded by the fresh aggressions of the Knights.
Besides being actuated by a desire for revenge upon an enemy who had not
only so nearly ruined the commerce of Turkey, but who had raided so many
of the unprotected coast towns, carrying off the inhabitants and selling
them into slavery, Solyman, Sultan of Turkey, was burning with envy. He
coveted the island, which, under the Knights of St. John, had been made
to "blossom like the rose." So he "swore by his own head," says an
ancient writer, that he would possess Rhodes, if it cost the lives of
half his army to conquer it. Vast preparations were therefore made to
carry on, if necessary, a protracted siege. At great labor and expense
all the available forces of the Ottoman navy and army were brought
together and organized for this purpose, in the year 1522. The writers
of that period tell us that two hundred thousand men were transported to
Rhodes from Constantinople, commanded by the emperor in person. To
oppose this gigantic host the order could bring but six or seven hundred
Knights and less than six thousand men-at-arms. But every Knight was a
host in himself, while the common soldiers were well armed and
thoroughly disciplined.
The army of the Sultan took position before the fortifications of Rhodes
with all their implements of war, in a manner which showed that they had
come to stay until victory should perch upon their banners. They stormed
the stout defenses again and again, with great loss of life on their
part. The Knights gallantly withstood all their furious and frenzied
efforts for a period of six months, often sallying forth and
slaughtering myriads of the Ottomans in hand-to-hand conflicts. The
Turks did not lack for courage. They always fought with desperation; but
in personal conflict, man to man, they were no match for the stout
cavaliers of the white cross, who, besides having the advantage of
weight and physical strength, were protected by impenetrable steel
armor, while the Orientals wore only their flowing robes and turbans of
linen. Vastly outnumbering the Knights, this very disproportion was to
their disadvantage, often causing them to be swept out of existence by
the score, from the solid phalanx which they presented to the keen
weapons of the Christians. The light arms and the agility of the
soldiers of the Sultan were of little comparative avail when met by the
heavy blows and ponderous battle-axes wielded by stout Europeans. Among
the vows of the Knights was a most significant one, namely, "never to
reckon the number of an enemy." Vast superiority of numbers, however,
told at last, for the besieged were utterly worn out. Quarter was
neither asked nor given by either side; but when the combatants met,
they fought to the last gasp. It was a war of extermination on the part
of both Christians and Turks. The latter, being really the weaker party,
went down by hundreds.
Including the killed and severely wounded, together with those who died
of fever and various diseases incident to camp life, it is
authoritatively stated that the Turks lost one hundred and sixty
thousand men in the six months' siege of Rhodes, showing a dogged
persistency which was probably never surpassed, if it has been equaled,
in warfare. It should be remembered that the enormous host of the
Ottomans was opposed by only about five or six thousand men, who,
however, mostly fought from behind protecting stone walls.
In order to show the spirit which actuated the Knights, and their
unscrupulous mode of warfare, we will relate a well-authenticated
instance connected with this remarkable siege.
One of the famous fighters in the ranks of the Order of St. John was a
Frenchman who bore the name of Fornonius, who is declared to have killed
over six hundred of the enemy during the six months' contest! His
prowess was not only marvelous in the open field and upon the ramparts
when engaged in repelling an assault, but he would lie in wait, like a
hunter of wild beasts, for hours together, to obtain the chance of
killing a Mussulman. When a sortie was made against the besiegers,
Fornonius was always found in the van, rushing among the enemy, and with
one terrible sweeping reach of his keen-edged battle-axe, he would sever
three or four heads from their bodies, keeping up a shower of these
frightful blows, aimed right and left, until the astonished Ottomans,
notwithstanding their usually reckless bravery, fled in utter dismay
before what seemed to them a superhuman power. Even his comrades
believed that he bore a charmed life; for, although he received many
slight wounds, he was never touched in a vital part, and he boasted that
he had not been out of "fighting trim" during the whole of that long
siege, night or day. His example was in a degree contagious, and the
Knights, thoroughly trained to the use of arms, vied with each other in
their murderous efforts against the common enemy.
This gallant, though in one sense useless defense of the island was
sustained so long and so successfully against such desperate odds, as to
establish the fame of the Knights for persistent bravery, commanding
even the respect and admiration of their enemies. The Turks had resolved
upon the conquest of the place, let it cost what blood it might, and
were constantly reinforced by fresh troops from Constantinople. Although
the Knights were finally obliged to yield, they were enabled to retire
from Rhodes upon advantageous terms, or to use the military phrase, upon
"honorable" terms. It was on this historic occasion that Charles V.
exclaimed in admiration: "There has been nothing so well lost in the
world as Rhodes."
The Sultan of Turkey, to the great surprise of all the world, which had
been looking on with deepest interest at this sanguinary struggle upon
the most beautiful island of the Levant, proved himself to be, as an
enemy, brave and persistent; as a conqueror, mild and merciful. The
Knights, during the long period in which they had possessed Rhodes, had
not failed to attack every galley bearing the Ottoman flag which they
sighted, nor hesitated to destroy every coast town belonging to that
power which they could reach, or to burn any Mohammedan mosque when they
got near enough to apply the torch. Added to all this, they had
constantly captured and carried into slavery Turkish men, women, and
children by the hundreds. The Sultan, under such aggravating
circumstances, would have been fully justified, according to the code of
warfare practiced in those days, in putting every belligerent whom he
found in Rhodes to the sword. To conquer the island had cost him a vast
amount of treasure, together with a hundred and sixty thousand of his
best soldiers,--a terrible price to pay for victory. Notwithstanding
this long list of bitter aggressions, according to our idea, Sultan
Solyman showed himself to be far more humane and generous than did the
professed Christians of the Order of St. John.
The liberal and remarkable terms granted by the conquerors of Rhodes
were in brief as follows:--
The Knights agreed to promptly and peaceably evacuate the island and its
dependencies within twelve days, being permitted to take with them their
arms and personal effects, even including such church ornaments and
treasures as they chose to move. Those of the citizens of Rhodes who
desired to do so could depart in the same manner, while the Christians
who remained were to be unmolested, and permitted to worship in their
usual manner. The Sultan was to provide ships, and to provision them,
with which to transport to Crete all who desired to go thither. These
liberal, not to say generous terms were faithfully adhered to, except in
one instance,--all the Christian churches in Rhodes were promptly turned
into Mohammedan mosques.
It is said that less than a hundred of the Knights of the order remained
alive to avail themselves of the Sultan's clemency! What a comment upon
the gallant and protracted fight which they had made! Of course there
were numerous men-at-arms attached to the brotherhood, who also followed
its fortunes into exile, saying nothing of the non-combatants who
accompanied them.
The fall of Rhodes left Sultan Solyman for the time being sole master of
the eastern basin of the Mediterranean. There were now none to dispute
his power in the AEgean, Ionian, or Adriatic seas. The Greeks were of
small account, while the Algerines were in fact his allies. The Turks,
who were by no means originally a maritime people, had gradually, by
force of circumstances, become so, and at this time they were as daring
pirates as the dreaded Algerines of the African coast.
From this period the Order of St. John was homeless, and continued so
for six or seven years, maintaining temporary headquarters at Candia,
Messina, Cumae, and Viterbo. Its officers, dispersed among the several
courts of Europe, strove ceaselessly for recognition and reorganization.
The long siege through which they had so lately passed had quite
exhausted their immediate resources, and reduced their number to a mere
nucleus. It had been, as we have shown, a fearful and most destructive
warfare. The aged Grand Master, L'Isle Adam, repaired to Rome, where he
did not cease his endeavors to influence the Pope in behalf of the
order; that functionary either did not desire, or does not seem to have
been able to do anything in its behalf. Finally, the island of Malta,
having fallen into the possession of Charles V. of Germany, was
presented by him in perpetuity to the homeless Knights of St. John. To
an order which had no local habitation, and which was just then so
universally ignored by the reigning monarchs, and even by the Pope, this
was seemingly a great boon, a noble gift; but the real facts of the case
rob the act of any spirit of true generosity. The royal owner cared very
little for the possession of Malta, Gozo, and Tripoli, the latter
situated on the adjacent coast of Barbary. He was in reality glad to get
rid of dependencies which cost him a large sum of money annually to
garrison and maintain, but from which he received no equivalent
whatever. They were empty possessions to him, ministering neither to his
pride nor his treasury. The emperor, nevertheless, made a virtue of
their relinquishment, and bound the order, as a condition of the gift,
never under any circumstances to take up arms against his lineage. These
terms were acceded to, and were ever after scrupulously observed, though
on more than one occasion the loyalty of the Knights was sorely tried.
As to Tripoli, the order did not desire to possess it at all, and would
have been glad not to have taken charge of it. Tripoli was indeed a
white elephant, to speak figuratively, but the emperor was
persistent,--the three dependencies must go together. His pride would
not permit him to abandon the place to the Turks, so he insisted on its
going with Malta and Gozo into the custody of the Order of St. John. He
knew very well that the Knights were in no condition to dictate terms,
and he took advantage accordingly. So the fraternity in their then
weakened condition were forced to take charge of a distant dependency,
the maintenance of which must draw heavily upon their circumscribed
resources.
The order is said to have been upon the point of making a permanent
settlement at Genoa, where it had long before established one of its
most successful commanderies, but the decision was finally made in favor
of Malta. The Grand Master was influenced by the strategic situation,
and also on account of the advantages it presented for being most
effectually fortified. Against these considerations, however, he was
obliged to weigh the sterile character of the rocky group, which at that
time presented a most inhospitable aspect. The latter cause so affected
a large portion of the Knights, who looked more to the present than the
future, that a strong party was raised in open opposition to the choice
of this group for their future home, but the decision of the Grand
Master was final; there was no appeal from his mandate when it had been
issued. L'Isle Adam's decision proved ultimately to be the grandest move
ever made by the order, viewed from the results which were thus brought
about.
As regarded Tripoli, its situation was more than precarious from the
very first, having often to be defended against savage onslaughts made
by the warlike Algerines. It was an outpost which only a rich and
numerous people could afford to hold, and to the Knights of St. John it
was worse than worthless. When the loss of the place occurred,
therefore, some twenty years subsequent, in 1551, at which time it was
surrendered after much hard fighting, to Dragut, the most daring and
successful corsair of the century, it was a positive advantage to the
Knights. Thereafter they were enabled to concentrate all their energies
and means upon what was of infinitely more importance, namely, the
fortification and strengthening of their principal holdings, the islands
of Malta and Gozo.