(Vol. vii., p. 407.)
R. L. P. asks "What members of the British language were present, when, in
1546, the English commander Upton attacked and defeated the famous corsair
Dragut at Tarschien, in Malta?" {81}
In answer to the above question I would beg to remark, that in September,
1536, John d'Omedes ascended the Maltese throne on the decease of Didier de
Saint Jaille; and his reign continued seventeen years, _i. e._ to 1553. In
looking through several histories of the order, I am unable to find any
mention made of a Turkish descent on the island in 1546. Had such an
occurrence taken place, it doubtless would have been recorded; but as it is
not, it would have been impossible for the Commander Upton to have
distinguished himself in any such conflict as your correspondent supposes.
R. L. P. then asks, "What members of it were present (that is, the British
language) when the Chevalier Repton, Grand Prior of England in 1551, was
killed, after signally defeating the Turks in another attack on the
island?"
With all due deference I would beg to state, that there was not in July,
1551, when Dragut made an attack on Malta, any English knight of the name
of Repton; and it can be satisfactorily shown by the following extract,
that at the period referred to by R. L. P., Nicholas Upton was Grand Prior
of England, and _was not_ "killed" after signally defeating the Turks, but
died from the effects of a _coup de soleil_:
"L'isola del Gozzo fu presa da Sinam Bassa, a persuasione di Dragutte,
il 1551, essendosi renduto a discrezione F. Galaziano de Sesse
Aragonese, Governatore, che vi rimase schiavo. Ma poco dopo il
Cavaliere F. Pietro d'Olivares, la ristaurò da danni patiti e vi
richiamò nuove famiglie a ripopolarla. Sinam, prima di andare al Gozzo,
fece una discesa in Malta, ma fu rispinto da Cavaliere: _nella quale
azione pel molto caldo sofferto, mori Nicolas Vpton, Gran Priore
d'Inghilterra._"--Vide _Codice Dip._, vol. ii. p. 573.; as also
Vertot's _History of the Order_, vol. iv. p. 144., date July, 1551.
That Sir Nicholas Upton was Grand Prior of England in 1551, is sufficiently
shown in the above extract; and that _he was_ Commander of Repton, or
Ripston, will be as readily seen by the following lines translated from the
Latin, and to be found in a book of manuscripts of the years 1547, 1548,
1549, now in the Record Office. (Vide Lib. Bull. M. M. F. J. Homedes.)
"On the 15th November, 1547, Nicholas Upton was appointed by the Grand
Master Omedes Commander of Ripston in the language of England. And on
the 5th of November, 1548, he was exalted to the dignity of
Turcopolier, in place of the knight Russell deceased."
I am unable to inform R. L. P. what English knights were present in Malta
in 1551; but enough has already appeared in "N. & Q." to show that they
were few in number, and poor as regards their worldly effects. The
Reformation had destroyed the British language, and caused the ruin of its
members. The first severe blow against the Order of St. John of Jerusalem
was given by Henry VIII., and the last by Queen Elizabeth in the first year
of her reign. (Vide "N. & Q.," Vol. viii., pp. 189. 193.)