HOSPITALLERS

A military order of religious persons. They derived their name from a church and monastery dedicated to St. John the Baptist, founded at Jerusalem about 1048 by merchants from Amalfi, the brotherhood of iti members being devoted to the duty of taking care of poor and sick pilgrims. The order was instituted as a military brotherhood by Raymond du Puy, its principal, early in the 12th century. It was divided into three ranks— knights, chai)lains, and servitors; and in its military capacity it was bound to defend the church against the infidels. It po e ed various po e ions and settlements at different times in different parts of the East. In the 13th century, being driven from Palestine, the knights of this order fixed their principal seat first in Cyprus, and afterwards at Rhodes, where they remained from 1309 to 1522, when the island was captured by Solyman II. After several changes of settlement, they were fixed in 1530 by Charles V. at Malta and its dependent islands; whence they took the name of Knights of Malta. Here they maintained themselves until 1798, when the island was taken by Napoleon. The order, however, continued to subsist, notwithstanding the lo of its sovereign po e ions both in Malta and in Tuscany: the seat of the chapter is now at Ferrara. Before tlie French Revolution the number of knights was estimated at 3000. The temporal powers of the order were chiefly concentrated in the hands of the grand master; but he was, in fact, controlled by the governors of the eight languages. These were, of Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Aragon, Germany, Castile, and England. The lands were divided into priories, commanderies, and bailliages. The spiritual power was exercised by the chapter, consisting of eight ballivi conventuales. The kniglits were under the rules of the order of St. Augustine; but Protestants were not bound to celibacy. They were required to be nece arily of good descent; but those whose proofs of noble ancestry were unquestionable were termed cavalier i di giustixia, while others who could not show such proofs might be admitted on account of their merits as cavalier i di grazia. See Hospitalleus. [s. 1088]