Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem
NGO | Defunct
1113 CE to 1309 CE
The Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Hospitallers, Order of Hospitallers, Knights of Saint John and Order of Saint John, are among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders during the Middle Ages.The Hospitallers probably arose as a group of individuals associated with an Amalfitan hospital in the Muristan district of Jerusalem, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist and founded around 1023 by Blessed Gerard Thom to provide care for poor, sick or injured pilgrims to the Holy Land.
(Some scholars, however, consider that the Amalfitan order and Amalfitan hospital were different from Gerard's order and its hospital.)
After the Latin Christian conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade, the organization becomes a religious and military order under its own Papal charter, and it is charged with the care and defense of the Holy Land.
Following the conquest of the Holy Land by Islamic forces, the Order operates from Rhodes, over which it is sovereign, and later from Malta where it administers a vassal state under the Spanish viceroy of Sicily.The Order is weakened in the Reformation, when rich commanderies of the Order in northern Germany and the Netherlands become Protestant (and, largely separated from the Roman Catholic main stem, remain so to this day), and the Order is disestablished in England, Denmark, and elsewhere in northern Europe.
The Roman Catholic order is further damaged by Napoleon's capture of Malta in 1798 and becomes dispersed throughout Europe.
It regains strength during the early 19th century as it redirects itself toward humanitarian and religious causes.
In 1834, the order, by this time known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), acquires new headquarters in Rome where it has remained since.
As of 2013, the Roman Catholic order has about 13,500 members, 80000 volunteers, and 25000 mostly medical employees, and operates in about 120 countries across the world, including in Muslim nations; the Protestant branches of the order are smaller but engage in similar work.
Until recently the order focused mainly on developing countries, but following the introduction of austerity in the Eurozone and the United Kingdom which began in 2010, they have increasingly turned their attention to Europe, establishing shelters and soup kitchens to help the homeless and those suffering from hunger.
Five contemporary, state-recognized chivalric orders which claim modern inheritance of the Hospitaller tradition all assert that "The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is the original order" and that four non-Catholic orders stem from the same root: Protestant orders exist in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, and a non-denominational British revival is headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Related Events
Showing 10 events out of 181 total
French knights make up the bulk of the steady flow of reinforcements throughout the two-hundred-year span of the Crusades, in such a fashion that the Arabs uniformly refer to the crusaders as Franj caring little whether they really come from France.
The French Crusaders also import the French language into the Levant, making French the base of the lingua franca (lit. "Frankish language") of the Crusader states.
French knights also comprise the majority in both the Hospital and the Temple orders.
The latter, in particular, hold numerous properties throughout France and by the thirteenth century were the principal bankers for the French crown, until Philip IV annihilates the order in 1307.
The Albigensian Crusade is launched in 1209 to eliminate the heretical Cathars in the southwestern area of modern-day France.
In the end, the Cathars are exterminated and the autonomous County of Toulouse is annexed into the kingdom of France.
Later French kings expand their domain to cover over half of modern continental France, including most of the north, center and west of France.
Meanwhile, the royal authority become more and more assertive, centered on a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility, clergy, and commoners.
The Role of Military Orders in Securing the Portuguese Frontier
During the early years of Portuguese expansion, the Tagus Valley and the Alentejo remain too dangerous for the settlement of unarmed colonists due to frequent Muslim counterattacks. To secure these contested regions, the early Portuguese kings rely on religious-military orders, granting them large tracts of land in return for fortification, cultivation, and defense.
The Arrival of the Military Orders
Originally founded in the early 12th century to wage war against infidels and protect Christian pilgrims, these knight-monks have become powerful in both the Holy Land and Europe. In Portugal, their role is crucial, as the king lacks a standing army and must outsource military defense to these warrior-monks.
The Templars and the Fortification of Tomar
Among these military orders, the most successful is the Order of the Templars, which is granted territory along the Rio Zêzere, a tributary of the Tagus. Here, they construct a fortified monastery in Templar fashion at Tomar, establishing a stronghold that becomes a key military and administrative center.
The Expansion of the Templar Domain
Over time, the Templar-controlled lands grow to encompass a vast strategic region, stretching:
- North to Tomar,
- South to Santarém, and
- West to the Benedictine lands of Alcobaça.
The presence of these knightly orders plays a vital role in the stabilization and defense of Portuguese territory, ensuring that the Christian frontier remains secure as the kingdom expands southward.
The Order of the Knights of Saint James and Their Establishment at Palmela
As part of the Christian efforts to secure and settle Portugal's frontier, the Order of the Knights of Saint James (Ordem de Santiago) is granted lands at Palmela, a strategically located town south of the Tagus River.
Role of the Order in the Reconquista
- The Order of Santiago was founded to protect Christian pilgrims and fight against the Moors.
- Their presence at Palmela strengthens Christian control over the Setúbal Peninsula, securing the approaches to Lisbon from the south.
- The knights fortify Palmela, transforming it into a military and religious stronghold that plays a crucial role in the defense of newly conquered lands.
Over time, Palmela becomes one of the key commanderies of the Order of Santiago in Portugal, contributing to the military, agricultural, and administrative consolidation of the kingdom.
The Land Disputes Between the Portuguese Crown and the Nobility and Church (1211–1223 CE)
By the early 13th century, disputes over land ownership become a major source of conflict between the Portuguese crown, the upper nobility, and the Church.
The Importance of Land to the Crown
- The monarchy’s primary revenue comes from taxes on large estates and tithes from lands owned directly by the king.
- Unlike other medieval European kingdoms, Portugal lacks a developed legal framework for hereditary land ownership.
- As time passes, nobles and clergy increasingly believe they hold lands by hereditary right, even though these estates had originally been granted by the crown.
Afonso II’s Challenge to the Church and Nobility
The first major confrontation over land tenure occurs when Afonso II ascends the throne in 1211 and discovers that his father, Sancho I, had willed much of the royal patrimony to the Church.
In 1216, after a lengthy legal dispute, the pope formally recognizes Afonso II’s right to maintain the royal patrimony intact. From 1216 to 1221, the crown systematically:
- Reviews previous land grants, requiring nobles and clergy to apply for letters of confirmation to retain their estates.
- Establishes royal commissions to investigate land ownership, particularly in the north, where much feudal land tenure predates the creation of the Portuguese monarchy.
These inquiries gather evidence from local elders, bypassing the nobility and clergy, revealing:
- Widespread abuses,
- Improper extensions of land boundaries, and
- Conspiracies to defraud the crown of revenue.
Clash with the Church and Excommunication of Afonso II
The first major inquiry exposes the Church as the largest expropriator of royal property.
- In retaliation, the Archbishop of Braga excommunicates Afonso II in 1219.
- The king responds by seizing Church lands and forcing the archbishop to flee Portugal for Rome.
- In 1220, Pope Honorius III confirms the excommunication of Afonso II and releases him from his oath of fealty to the Holy See.
Resolution and Aftermath (1223 CE)
The conflict ends temporarily when Afonso II dies in 1223. His chancellor negotiates peace by:
- Returning seized Church property,
- Ensuring Afonso II receives an ecclesiastical burial, and
- Promising that future land inquiries will respect canon law.
This marks one of the earliest major conflicts between the Portuguese monarchy and the Church, setting a precedent for future struggles over land and royal authority.
The First Crusade has established the "crusader states" of Edessa, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Tripoli in Palestine and Syria (as well as allies along the Crusaders' route, such as the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia).
The crusader states initiate an extensive program of fortress construction.
The Knights Hospitaller, or Hospitallers, of Saint John of Jerusalem, are organized, as are the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, or Knights Templar.
The Knights Hospitaller, or Hospitallers, of Saint John of Jerusalem, are organized during this era, as are the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, or Knights Templar.
The Knights Hospitaller, or Hospitallers, of Saint John of Jerusalem, is formally named and recognized in a papal bull issued by Pope Paschal II on February 15, 1113, as an order of canons regular.
Italian merchants from Amalfi had in the last century founded a hospital in Jerusalem to care for sick and poor pilgrims.
After the Christian conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade, the hospital's superior, a monk named Gerard de Martignes, had intensified his work in Jerusalem and has founded hostels in Provençal and Italian cities on the route to the Holy Land.
Following the loss of the Holy Land by Christian forces, the Order will operate from Rhodes, over which it will be sovereign, and later from Malta where it will administer a vassal state under the Spanish viceroy of Sicily.
When Napoleon captures Malta in 1798, the Knights will cease to be associated with any one place, but will give rise to Christian successor successor organizations in existence until the present day.
Two knights, Hugues de Payens and Geoffroi de Saint-Omer, had in late 1118 or early 1120 established the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, or Knights Templar, as a religious community to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land; six or seven other join them in their mission.
Baldwin II, king of Jerusalem, had given them quarters in a wing of the royal palace in the area of the former Jewish Temple, and from this they derive their name.
By the pontificate of Honorius II, the Knights Templar had not yet received any official sanction from the papacy.
To rectify this situation, some members of the order appeared before the Council of Troyes in 1129, where the Council expressed its approval of the order and commissioned the influential Cistercian monk and mystic Bernard of Clairvaux to draw up the order’s rules, which he hopes will serve as a model of Christian chivalry, and which now include the notion of fighting the enemies of God under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
The order and the rules are subsequently approved by Pope Honorius.
Their habit is a white cloak with a red cross, the Templars, divided into knights, chaplains, sergeants, and craftsmen, organized under a grand master and general council, are responsible only to the pope, not secular rulers.
Although both Templars and Hospitallers take monastic vows, their principal function is soldiering.
In a papal bull issued by Pope Paschal II, Raymond de Puy, who had succeeded Gerard in 1120 as head of the Hospitallers, substitutes the Augustinian rule for the Benedictine and begins building the power of the organization.
It will soon acquire wealth and lands and combine the task of tending the sick with waging war on Islam.
Along with the Templars, the Hospitallers will rapidly become the most formidable military order in the Holy Land.
The kings of Aragón and the counts of Barcelona and of Urgell have since the second half of the eleventh century tried with great obstinacy to conquer the Muslim held towns and frontier fortresses of the Marca Superior.
Specifically, they have targeted the low lands around the Segre and Cinca Rivers all the way to the mouth of the Ebro, an active and prosperous region with direct access to the Mediterranean Sea.
The most important towns in this region are Lleida, …
…Mequinenza, …