Small Camping Propane Tanks

travel writer in the past

Malta in the footsteps of the Knights of St. John

Going through this little pebble arid the meager crops of cotton, wheat and vegetables than 320 km2, one is struck by the magnificence of its architecture: a profusion of splendid baroque churches, even in the smallest villages, sumptuous palaces but most powerful fortifications, many works of the Knights of St. John arrived here in the sixteenth century. A long and rich history ...

The floor of the Cathedral of St. John
is made of tombstones of the Knights

well fortified port of La Valetta

From Christian kingdom of Jerusalem in the execution of Jacques de Molay

When Jerusalem fell to the Crusaders during the First Crusade, July 15, 1099, the wounded were numerous in the ranks of Christian fighters. The Benedictine monks who followed the knights in their journey then erected the first Catholic hospital in Jerusalem, near the Holy Sepulchre. Hospital asserting their vocation, their abbot, Blessed Gerard whom we know in fact not much, then founded the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem to 1113 and became its first Grand Master. Slowly, with growing insecurity, these monks following always the Benedictine rule in turn became fighters, monks, knights to the safety of pilgrims, without losing their vocation hospital. During the Council of Troyes convened in 1129, the pope praised them and said their status. To differentiate itself from other Benedictine monks knights then hoisted their black robes with a cross with eight points, now known as the Maltese Cross.

So far from their European bases, knights and monks, soldiers became very vulnerable, once the momentum of the crusade fell and the small kingdom of Jerusalem well exposed. At the end of June 1187, the Muslim sultan Saladin, while reigning over Egypt and Syria, besieged Jerusalem. The forces were prodigious for the time, knights and more than 1500 16 000 infantrymen from the Christian side, probably double the Muslim side. The siege was long and bloody and Jerusalem fell October 2, 1187. All the knights were executed prisoners. Driven from Jerusalem, the Knights of St. John, who succeeded in escaping regrouped in Acre and founded a new hospital.

Peace had not returned so far between Christians and Muslims. The assault was given in Acre April 5, 1291 and the Knights of St. John had to abandon their new fortress-monastery on May 8 to win the island of Cyprus, where they continued their fight against the Muslims, this time at sea . In 1309, they left Cyprus and moved to the island of Rhodes, easier to defend.

In France, King Philip the Fair, worried about the growing power and wealth of another warrior, the Templars, was arrested Friday, October 13, 1307 all present Knights Templars on French soil and Grand Master Jacques de Molay. It was a shameful trial and falsified, the Templars being unjustly accused of all crimes, including witchcraft and buggery, that is to say, homosexuality. All their possessions were of course forfeited to the crown. Jacques de Molay and Geoffrey of Charney, commander of Normandy, were burned alive in Paris March 18, 1314 by continuing to proclaim their innocence after confessions extracted by torture.

Rendered cautious by this horrible example, and other orders Knights Hospitallers of St. John refrained from returning to their country and entrenched themselves in their various strongholds.

The area in Vittoriosa

And that of Three Cities

The authority of Grandmaster

Born of the First Crusade, the Military and Hospitaller Knights of Saint John welcomed members of the nobility from all the empires and kingdoms of Christendom. To become a member, he should at least prove four quarters of nobility, that is to say, be noble for four generations. Sovereign Order ruled by a Grand Master elected for life by all the knights, the Order of the Knights of St. John was and is still considered a true state. Grandmaster concentrated all powers in his hands as guardian of strict observance of the rule of St. Benedict, director of the immense wealth of the order, each knight on his death bequeathed his estate to his command, master of the general chapter that it convened and chaired by rendering justice and finally military leader of his knights. His reputation for piety and bravery attracting ever many more knights, the order consisted of about four hundred knights during such period of Rhodes.

Auberge de Castille

Everyone belonging to a distinct nationality and speak a different language, although French was long their official language They were grouped by language , living in hostels together all the knights of the same country or, if too many of the same province and charged with the defense military territory where their hostel was situated.

But we should not believe that Knights Hospitallers of St. John remained stationed in Rhodes. As to its growing power, about his commanderies swarmed all over Europe, always under the orders of the Grand Master that he resided in Rhodes.

From their heavily fortified base of Rhodes, the knights and their galleys on the sea constantly harassing the powerful Ottoman ship, so the Sultan Soliman decided to lay siege to the island and arrived June 24, 1522 . After a heroic resistance that lasted six months and forced the admiration of Suleiman, the Grand Master Philippe de l'Isle Adam had to go with his knights. He was given the honors of war, life saving for him and all his people, the right to carry on their galleys all their wealth.

The small fortified town of Victoria

Blue Lagoon, a magical bay

Arrival in Malta and the Great Siege

After seven years of wandering without knowing where to set the Knights of St John were finally given the hands of the Emperor Charles V the free enjoyment of the Maltese archipelago, composed of Malta, Gozo and Comino, the cons of a nominal fee Maltese falcon a year!

When reached Malta in 1530, the knights were generally well received by the people who lived in fear of pirate attacks, less well by the local nobility who guessed the end of its prerogatives. Initially disappointed by the aridity of Island, the Knights quickly realized the strategic importance of the roads to the ten loops that today the port of Valletta and its environs, where they anchored their galleys, while organizing the fortifications of the city of Medina, inland. They then turned their attention from defenses this natural harbor, building the first site of an old fort, the current castle of St. Angelo, and the mighty fort of St. Elmo at the tip of the peninsula separating the two main bays. Finally, extending the current quarter Birgu Vittoriosa they built a hospital and another fort.

Around Fort Comino

Soliman, although older, bitterly regretted having lost their lives saving the Knights defeated and launched two attacks against the order in 1547 and 1551, only managing to take the island of Gozo where all the inhabitants were taken into slavery. The old Sultan regrouped his forces and launched forty-eight thousand of his best soldiers against Malta 18 May 1565. Opposite him, there were only eight thousand men, 540 Knights, 4000 Maltese and mercenaries.

The heroic Jean de la Valette

Grand Master Jean de la Valette, withdrew its troops thin on the fortified places of Medina and the new port. Besieged on all sides, Fort St. Elmo was forced to surrender after a fierce resistance for 31 days. Resistant to all the Turkish attacks in other strongholds, the Knights were able to await the arrival of reinforcements from Sicily who demoralized Ottoman forces and forced them to resume the sea holding the lock Malta, Jean de la Valette and his Knights had saved Christendom and were feted as heroes. Significant financial support came from everywhere and Jean de la Valette was finally able to realize his dream of building a beautiful city that bore his name across the harbor so well defended. Pope Pius IV sent him even his best military architect Francesco Laparelli, who drew the plans for the future town, as it can still be seen today, with its straight streets, its churches and its magnificent palaces, hostels to house the knights. Then, six years after the Great Siege, the sea battle of Lepanto which was attended by the knights and their galleys consumers the Ottoman defeat.

Fort Comino, powerful war machine

With the Ottoman defeat, the Knights gradually lost their warrior mission and softened in luxury, so when Napoleon came to invade Malta in 1798, the German Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch, do not resist him. That was because of the supremacy of the Order of St. John in Malta, but the presence of two and a half centuries was the beauty and richness of the island. We owe to the Knights most of the monuments: the stunning Co-Cathedral of St. John, the Grand Masters Palace became a museum of arms, hospices, inns, forts and bunkers, the innumerable churches and convents on the island.