CHAPTER II

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THE KNIGHTS HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN.

Masters of Rhodes.--Driven from Rhodes.--Established at Malta.--Menaced by Solyman.--La Valette.--His Preparations for Defence.

1565.

The order of the Knights of Malta traces its origin to a remote period--to the time of the first crusade, in the eleventh century. A religious association was then formed in Palestine, under the title of Hospitallers of St. John the Baptist, the object of which, as the name imports, was to minister to the wants of the sick. There was a good harvest of these among the poor pilgrims who wandered from all parts of Europe to the Holy Land. It was not long before the society assumed other duties, of a military nature, designed for the defence of the pilgrim no less than his relief; and the new society, under the name of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John, besides the usual monastic vows, pledged themselves to defend the Holy Sepulchre, and to maintain perpetual war against the infidel.[1289]

In its new form, so consonant with the spirit of the age, the institution found favor with the bold crusaders, and the accession of members from different parts of Christendom greatly enlarged its power and political consequence. It soon rivalled the fraternity of the Templars, and, like that body, became one of the principal pillars of the throne of Jerusalem. After the fall of that kingdom, and the expulsion of the Christians from Palestine, the Knights of St. John remained a short while in Cyprus, when they succeeded in conquering Rhodes from the Turks, and thus secured to themselves a permanent residence.

Placed in the undisputed sovereignty of this little island, the Knights of Rhodes, as they were now usually called, found themselves on a new and independent theatre of action, where they could display all the resources of their institutions, and accomplish their glorious destinies. Thrown into the midst of the Mussulmans, on the borders of the Ottoman Empire, their sword was never in the scabbard. Their galleys spread over the Levant, and, whether alone or with the Venetians,--the rivals of the Turks in those seas,--they faithfully fulfilled their vow of incessant war with the infidel. Every week saw their victorious galleys returning to port with the rich prizes taken from the enemy; and every year the fraternity received fresh accessions of princes and nobles from every part of Christendom, eager to obtain admission into so illustrious an order. Many of these were possessed of large estates, which, on their admission, were absorbed in those of the community. Their manors, scattered over Europe, far exceeded in number those of their rivals, the Templars, in their most palmy state.[1290] And on the suppression of that order, such of its vast possessions as were not seized by the rapacious princes in whose territories they were lodged, were suffered to pass into the hands of the Knights of St. John. The commanderies of the latter--those conventual establishments which faithfully reflected the parent institution in their discipline--were so prudently administered, that a large surplus from their revenues was annually remitted to enrich the treasury of the order.

The government of this chivalrous fraternity, as provided by the statutes which formed its written constitution, was in its nature aristocratical. At the head was the grand-master, elected by the knights from their own body, and, like the doge of Venice, holding his office for life, with an authority scarcely larger than that of this dignitary. The legislative and judicial functions were vested in councils, in which the grand-master enjoyed no higher privilege than that of a double vote. But his patronage was extensive, for he had the nomination to the most important offices, both at home and abroad. The variety and high-sounding titles of these offices may provoke a smile in the reader, who might fancy himself occupied with the concerns of a great empire, rather than those of a little brotherhood of monks. The grand-master, indeed, in his manner of living, affected the state of a sovereign prince. He sent his ambassadors to the principal European courts; and a rank was conceded to him next to that of crowned heads,--above that of any ducal potentate.[1291]

He was enabled to maintain this position by the wealth which, from the sources already enumerated, flowed into the exchequer. Great sums were spent in placing the island in the best state of defence, in constructing public works, palaces for the grand-master, aad ample accommodations for the various _languages_,--a technical term, denoting the classification of the members according to their respective nations; finally, in the embellishment of the capital, which vied in the splendor of its architecture with the finest cities of Christendom.

Yet, with this show of pomp and magnificence, the Knights of Rhodes did not sink into the enervating luxury which was charged on the Templars, nor did they engage in those worldly, ambitious schemes which provoked the jealousy of princes, and brought ruin on that proud order. In prosperity as in poverty, they were still true to the principles of their institution. Their galleys still spread over the Levant, and came back victorious from their _caravans_, as their cruises against the Moslems were termed. In every enterprise set on foot by the Christian powers against the enemies of the Faith, the red banner of St. John, with his eight-pointed cross of white, was still to be seen glittering in the front of battle. There is no example of a military institution having religion for its object which, under every change of condition, and for so many centuries, maintained so inflexibly the purity of its principles, and so conscientiously devoted itself to the great object for which it was created.

[Sidenote: MASTERS OF RHODES.]

It was not to be expected that a mighty power, like that of the Turks, would patiently endure the existence of a petty enemy on its borders, which, if not formidable from extent of population and empire, like Venice, was even more annoying by its incessant hostilities, and its depredations on the Turkish commerce. More than one sultan, accordingly, hoping to rid themselves of the annoyance, fitted out expeditions against the island, with the design of crushing the hornets in their nest. But in every attempt they were foiled by the valor of this little band of Christian chivalry. At length, in 1522, Solyman the Second led an expedition in person against Rhodes. For six months the brave knights, with their own good swords, unaided by a single European power, withstood the whole array of the Ottoman empire; and when at length, compelled to surrender, they obtained such honorable terms from Solyman as showed he knew how to respect valor, though in a Christian foe.

Once more without a home, the Knights of St. John were abroad on the world. The European princes, affecting to consider the order as now extinct, prepared to confiscate whatever possessions it had in their several dominions. From this ruin it was saved by the exertions of L'Isle Adam, the grand-master, who showed, at this crisis, as much skill in diplomacy as he had before shown prowess in the field. He visited the principal courts in person, and by his insinuating address, as well as arguments, not only turned the sovereigns from their purpose, but secured effectual aid for his unfortunate brethren. The pope offered them a temporary asylum in the papal territory; and Charles the Fifth was induced to cede to the order the island of Malta, and its dependencies, with entire jurisdiction over them, for their permanent residence.

Malta, which had been annexed by Charles's predecessors to Sicily, had descended to that monarch as part of the dominions of the crown of Aragon. In thus ceding it to the Knights of St. John, the politic prince consulted his own interests quite as much as those of the order. He drew no revenue from the rocky isle, but, on the contrary, was charged with its defence against the Moorish corsairs, who made frequent descents on the spot, wasting the country, and dragging off the miserable people into slavery. By this transfer of the island to the military order of St. John, he not only relieved himself of all further expense on its account, but secured a permanent bulwark for the protection of his own dominions.

It was wise in the emperor to consent that the gift should be burdened with no other condition than the annual payment of a falcon in token of his feudal supremacy. It was also stipulated, that the order should at no time bear arms against Sicily; a stipulation hardly necessary with men who, by their vows, were pledged to fight in defence of Christendom, and not against it.[1292]

In October, 1530, L'Isle Adam and his brave associates took possession of their new domain. Their hearts sunk within them, as their eyes wandered over the rocky expanse, forming a sad contrast to the beautiful "land of roses" which had so long been their abode.[1293] But it was not very long before the wilderness before them was to blossom like the rose under their diligent culture.[1294] Earth was brought in large quantities, and at great cost, from Sicily. Terraces to receive it were hewn in the steep sides of the rock; and the soil, quickened by the ardent sun of Malta, was soon clothed with the glowing vegetation of the south. Still, it did not raise the grain necessary for the consumption of the island. This was regularly imported from Sicily, and stored in large pits or caverns, excavated in the rock, which, hermetically closed, preserved their contents unimpaired for years. In a short time, too, the island bristled with fortifications, which, combined with its natural defences, enabled its garrison to defy the attacks of the corsair. To these works was added the construction of suitable dwellings for the accommodation of the order. But it was long after, and not until the land had been desolated by the siege on which we are now to enter, that it was crowned with the stately edifices which eclipsed those of Rhodes itself, and made Malta the pride of the Mediterranean.[1295]

In their new position the knights were not very differently situated from what they had been in the Levant. They were still encamped amongst the infidel, with the watch-fires of the enemy blazing around them. Again their galleys sailed forth to battle with the corsairs, and returned laden with the spoils of victory. Still the white cross of St. John was to be seen in the post of danger. In all the expeditions of Charles the Fifth and Philip the Second against the Barbary Moors, from the siege of Tunis to the capture of Peñon de Velez, they bore a prominent part. With the bravery of the soldier, they combined the skill of the mariner; and on that disastrous day when the Christian navy was scattered before Algiers, the Maltese galleys were among the few that rode out the tempest.[1296] It was not long before the name of the Knights of Malta became as formidable on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, as that of the Knights of Rhodes had been in the East.

[Sidenote: LA VALETTE.]

Occasionally their galleys, sweeping by the mouth of the Adriatic, passed into the Levant, and boldly encountered their old enemy on his own seas, even with odds greatly against them.[1297] The Moors of the Barbary coast, smarting under the losses inflicted on them by their indefatigable foe, more than once besought the sultan to come to their aid, and avenge the insults offered to his religion on the heads of the offenders. At this juncture occurred the capture of a Turkish galleon in the Levant. It was a huge vessel, richly laden, and defended by twenty guns and two hundred janizaries. After a desperate action, she was taken by the Maltese galleys, and borne off, a welcome prize, to the island. She belonged to the chief eunuch of the imperial harem, some of the fair inmates of which were said to have had an interest in the precious freight.[1298] These persons now joined with the Moors in the demand for vengeance. Solyman shared in the general indignation at the insult offered to him under the walls, as it were, of his own capital; and he resolved to signalize the close of his reign by driving the knights from Malta, as he had the commencement of it by driving them from Rhodes.

As it was not improbable that the Christian princes would rally in support of an order which had fought so many battles for Christendom, Solyman made his preparations on a formidable scale. Rumors of these spread far and wide; and, as their object was unknown, the great powers on the Mediterranean, each fancying that its own dominions might be the point of attack, lost no time in placing their coasts in a state of defence. The king of Spain sent orders to his viceroy in Sicily to equip such a fleet as would secure the safety of that island.

Meanwhile, the grand-master of Malta, by means of spies whom he secretly employed in Constantinople, received intelligence of the real purpose of the expedition. The post of grand-master, at this time, was held by Jean Parisot de la Valette, a man whose extraordinary character, no less than the circumstances in which he was placed, has secured him an imperishable name on the page of history. He was of an ancient family from the south of France, being of the _language_ of Provence. He was now in the sixty-eighth year of his age.[1299] In his youth he had witnessed the memorable siege of Rhodes, and had passed successively through every post in the order, from the humblest to the highest, which he now occupied. With large experience he combined a singular discretion, and an inflexible spirit, founded on entire devotion to the great cause in which he was engaged. It was the conviction of this self-devotion which, in part, at least, may have given La Valette that ascendancy over the minds of his brethren, which was so important at a crisis like the present. It may have been the anticipation of such a crisis that led to his election as grand-master in 1557, when the darkness coming over the waters showed the necessity of an experienced pilot to weather the storm.

No sooner had the grand-master learned the true destination of the Turkish armament, than he sent his emissaries to the different Christian powers, soliciting aid for the order in its extremity. He summoned the knights absent in foreign lands to return to Malta, and take part with their brethren in the coming struggle. He imported large supplies of provisions and military stores from Sicily and Spain. He drilled the militia of the island, and formed an effective body of more than three thousand men; to which was added a still greater number of Spanish and Italian troops, raised for him by the knights who were abroad. This force was augmented by the extraordinary addition of five hundred galley-slaves, whom La Valette withdrew from the oar, promising to give them their freedom if they served him faithfully. Lastly, the fortifications were put in repair, strengthened with outworks, and placed in the best condition for resisting the enemy. All classes of the inhabitants joined in this work. The knights themselves took their part in the toilsome drudgery; and the grand-master did not disdain to labor with the humblest of his followers. He not only directed, but, as hands were wanted, he set the example of carrying his own orders into execution. Wherever his presence was needed, he was to be found,--ministering to the sick, cheering the desponding, stimulating the indifferent, chiding the dilatory, watching over the interests of the little community intrusted to his care with parental solicitude.

While thus employed, La Valette received a visit from the Sicilian viceroy, Don Garcia de Toledo, the conqueror of Peñon de Velez. He came, by Philip's orders, to concert with the grand-master the best means of defence. He assured the latter that, so soon as he had assembled a fleet, he would come to his relief; and he left his natural son with him, to learn the art of war under so experienced a commander. La Valette was comforted by the viceroy's promises of succor. But he well knew that it was not to the promises of others he was to trust, in his present exigency, but to his own efforts and those of his brave companions.

The knights, in obedience to his call, had for the most part now arrived, each bringing with him a number of servants and other followers. Some few of the more aged and infirm remained behind; but this not so much from infirmity and age, as from the importance of having some of its members to watch over the interests of the community at foreign courts. La Valette was touched by the alacrity with which his brethren repaired to their posts, to stand by their order in the dark hour of its fortunes. He tenderly embraced them; and soon afterwards, calling them together, he discoursed with them on the perilous position in which they stood, with the whole strength of the Moorish and Turkish empires mustering against them. "It was the great battle of the Cross and the Koran," he said, "that was now to be fought. They were the chosen soldiers of the Cross; and, if Heaven required the sacrifice of their lives, there could be no better time than this glorious occasion." The grand-master then led the way to the chapel of the convent, where he and his brethren, after devoutly confessing, partook of the sacrament, and, at the foot of the altar, solemnly renewed their vows to defend the Church against the infidel. With minds exalted by these spiritual exercises, all worldly interests seemed, from that moment, says their historian, to lose their hold on their affections. They stood like a company of martyrs,--the forlorn hope of Christendom, prepared, as their chief had said, to offer up their lives a sacrifice to the great cause in which they were engaged. Such were the feelings with which La Valette and his companions, having completed their preparations, now calmly awaited the coming of the enemy.[1300]

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