The Project Gutenberg EBook of Knights of Malta, 1523-1798, by R. Cohen

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Title: Knights of Malta, 1523-1798

Author: R. Cohen

Release Date: April 15, 2004 [EBook #12034]

Language: English

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Produced by Julie Barkley, Bill Hershey and PG Distributed Proofreaders

KNIGHTS OF MALTA

1523-1798

BY R. COHEN LATE SCHOLAR OF WADHAM COLLEGE, OXFORD

1920

THE LOTHIAN PRIZE ESSAY FOR 1920 (UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

SETTLEMENT AT MALTA, 1523-1565

Departure from Rhodes—Residence in Italy—Settlement in
Malta, 1530—Condition of the Mediterranean—The
corsairs—Turkey—Fortification of Malta—Loss of English
"Langue"—Enterprises of the Order—Solyman decides to attack Malta

CHAPTER II

THE SIEGE OF MALTA, 1565

Preparations—Size of opposing forces—Siege of St. Elmo—Arrival of
Dragut—Capture of St. Elmo, June 23—Death of Dragut—Siege of main
fortresses—Great losses on both sides—Arrival of reinforcements from
Sicily—Turks evacuate island

CHAPTER III

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ORDER OF ST. JOHN

Classes in the Order—Langues—Chapter-General—Councils—Grand
Master—Bishop of Malta—Finances—Justice—Criminal Council—Court of
Égard—The Hospital

CHAPTER IV

THE DECLINE, 1565-1789

Decadence of Turkey—Knights become anachronism—Valetta built—Fortifying the island—Disturbances in the Order—Quarrels with different Powers—Treatment of the Maltese—Buildings in Valetta—Papal interference—Naval operations—Independence of the Order

CHAPTER V

THE FALL, 1789-1798

Attacks on the Order during the French Revolution—French estates confiscated—Poverty of the Order—Tsar Paul I.—French schemes—Napoleon appears off Malta—Condition of the island—Its capture—Dispersion of the Order

APPENDIX I.

APPENDIX II.

BOOKS CONSULTED

NOTE ON THE AUTHORITIES

KNIGHTS OF MALTA

CHAPTER I

SETTLEMENT AT MALTA 1523-1565.

On January 1, 1523, a fleet of fifty vessels put out from the harbour at Rhodes for an unknown destination in the West. On board were the shattered remnants of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, accompanied by 4,000 Rhodians, who preferred the Knights and destitution to security under the rule of the Sultan Solyman. The little fleet was in a sad and piteous condition. Many of those on board were wounded; all—Knights and Rhodians alike—were in a state of extreme poverty. For six months they had resisted the full might of the Ottoman Empire under its greatest Sultan, Solyman the Magnificent; Europe had looked on in amazed admiration, but had not ventured to move to its rescue. Now they were leaving the home their Order had possessed for 212 years, and were sailing out to beg from Christendom another station from which to attack the infidel once again.

The Knights of Rhodes—as they were called at the time—were the only real survivors of the militant Order of Chivalry. Two centuries earlier their great rivals, the Templars, had been dissolved, and a large part of their endowments handed over to the Hospitallers. The great secret of the long and enduring success of the Order of St. John was their capacity for adapting themselves to the changing needs of the times. The final expulsion of the Christians from Syria had left the Templars idle and helpless, and the loss of the outlets for their energy soon brought corruption and decay with the swift consequence of dissolution. All through the history of the great Orders we find the Kings of Europe on the lookout for a chance to seize their possessions: any excuse or pretext is used, sometimes most shamelessly. An Order of Knighthood that failed to perform the duties for which it was founded was soon overtaken by disaster.

The Hospitallers had realised, as early as 1300, that their former rôle of mounted Knights fighting on land was gone for ever. From their seizure of Rhodes, in 1310, they became predominantly seamen, whose flag, with its eight-pointed cross, struck terror into every infidel heart. Nothing but a combination of Christian monarchs could cope with the superiority of the Turk on land: by sea he was still vulnerable. The Knights took up their new part with all their old energy and determination: it is but typical that henceforward we never hear of the "Knights" of Malta fighting as cavalry.

After various adventures the fleet found itself united at Messina, whence it proceeded to Baiae. The election to the papacy of the Cardinal de' Medici—one of their own Order—as Clement VII., gave the Knights a powerful protector. He assigned Viterbo as a residence for the Order till a permanent home had been discovered.

Villiers de L'Isle Adam, Grand Master of the Order, was faced with many difficulties. Remembering the fate of the Templars, he was afraid that the Order would disperse, and its present helpless condition was surely tending to disintegration. At this time the war between Charles V. and Francis I. was at its height, and the quarrel between France and Spain was reflected within the ranks of the Hospitallers. As the French and Spanish Knights formed the greater part of the members, the unity of the Order was threatened by the quarrels between them that arose out of national sentiment. The Reformation was rapidly spreading, and was likely to prove dangerous to the lands of the Order in Northern Europe, and various monarchs were meditating the seizure of the Hospitallers' estates now that the Order was temporarily without a justification for its existence.

The Grand Master showed himself a skilful diplomat, as well as a brave soldier. From 1523 to 1530 the Order remained without a home, while L'Isle Adam visited the different European courts to stay the grasping hands of the various Kings. All this time negotiations were proceeding between Charles V. and the Knights for the cession of Malta. The harsh conditions which the Emperor insisted upon in his offer made the Knights reluctant to accept, while his preoccupation with the war against France made negotiations difficult. Further, the cause of the Knights had been damaged when the Pope—who had acted as their intercessor—joined the ranks of Charles's enemies, and Clement VII. was now a prisoner in the Emperor's hands. In March, 1530, an agreement was finally arrived at, which was the most favourable the Emperor would grant. One harassing burden the Knights could not escape: Charles insisted that Tripoli must go with Malta, a gift which meant a