History UsefulNotes / TheKnightsHospitallers

In 1523, after six months of siege and fierce combat against the fleet and army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the Knights were forced to surrender and abandon Rhodes. The Order remained without a territory of its own until 1530, when Grand Master Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle Adam took possession of the island of UsefulNotes/{{Malta}}, granted to the Order by [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire Emperor Charles V]] with the approval of [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope Clement VII]]. In 1565 the Knights, led by Grand Master Jean de la Vallette (after whom the capital of Malta, Valletta, was named), defended the island for more than three months during the [[http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=finnemore&book=barbary&story=knights1 Great Siege]] by the Turks. In 1571, the fleet of the Order, then one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean, contributed to the ultimate destruction of the Ottoman naval power in the UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto.

* Morgan Black, a protagonist in VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresIII, is a Hospitaller and embarks on a quest on which one of the objectives is finding a way to rebuild the order. The Knights set up shop in the [[WelcomeToTheCarribeanMon Carribean]], which as noted above [[AluminumChristmasTrees actually happened]]. [[spoiler:Oddly enough it turns out to be the Hospitallers rather than the Templars the ones behind the AncientConspiracy this time.]]

* Morgan Black, a protagonist in VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresIII, is a Hospitaller and embarks on a quest on which one of the objectives is finding a way to rebuild the order. The Knights set up shop in the [[WelcomeToTheCarribeanMonCarribean]], which as noted above [[AluminumChristmasTrees actually happened]]. [[spoiler:Oddly enough it turns out to be the Hospitallers rather than the Templars the ones behind the AncientConspiracy this time.]]

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (SMOM), known also as '''The Knights Hospitallers''', the Knights of St. John, the Knights of Rhodes, the Knights of Malta, and [[IHaveManyNames about a dozen variations thereon]], is a Roman Catholic religious order and the oldest and perhaps most important of the three great orders of crusading knights, the other two being UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar and UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights.

The birth of the Order dates back to around 1048. Merchants from the ancient Marine Republic of Amalfi obtained from the Caliph of Egypt the authorization to build a church, convent, and hospital in Jerusalem to care for pilgrims. The Order of St. John of Jerusalem -- the monastic community that ran the hospital for the pilgrims in the Holy Land -- became independent under the guidance of its founder, Blessed Gérard. With the Bull of 15 February 1113, [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope Paschal II]] approved the foundation of the Hospital and placed it under the ægis of the Holy See, granting it the right to freely elect its superiors without interference from other secular or religious authorities. By virtue of the Papal Bull, the Hospital became an Order exempt from all Church authority except for the pope's, and paid no tithes. All the Knights were religious, bound by the three monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The habit of the order consisted of a black cloak with a white cross, which by the thirteenth century had assumed the eight-pointed form familiar today as the Maltese Cross.

* Morgan Black, a protagonist in VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresIII, is a Hospitaller and embarks on a quest on which one of the objectives is finding a way to rebuild the order. [[spoiler:Oddly enough it turns out to be the Hospitallers rather than the Templars the ones behind the AncientConspiracy this time.]]

* ''VideoGame/EuropaUniversalis'' III features the Knights Hospitaller (referred to simply as ''The Knights') as a playable country among over 200 others, controlling the island of Rhodes. Thanks to the Ottoman Turks they are quite difficult to play as, but they are moderately popular among players.
* Both ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings'' games feature the Hosptiallers as a crusading order alongside their Teutonic and Templar brethren. While they're not directly playable in either game, the second game's expansion ''Sons of Abraham'' allows rulers to interact with them (and all Holy Orders) in various unique ways, including giving them lands of their own and sending "spare" sons off to join them.

[[OverlyLongName The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta]] (SMOM), known also as '''UsefulNotes/TheKnightsHospitallers''', the Knights of St. John, the Knights of Rhodes, the Knights of Malta, and [[IHaveManyNames about a dozen variations thereon]], is a Roman Catholic religious order and the oldest and perhaps most important of the three great orders of crusading knights, the other two being UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar and UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights.

* CelibateHero: The Knights were required to take a vow of celibacy.

* LongRunners: It's been around since 1099 and its lands outlasted all the other Crusader states until Napoleon's invasion.

* David Thewlis plays a nameless but profound Hospitaller in ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven''. At various points he is implied to be [[spoiler:an angel]]. Some extended material calls him Brother John. Which tells us next to nothing, other than that he bears the [[FridgeBrilliance same name]] as [[spoiler:the Saint upon which the Order is based, fueling the angelic implication further.]] In the DVD commentary screenwriter William Monahan outright conforms his nature:

* BringMyRedJacket: Their combat uniform was, and is still, a red surcoat with a white Maltese cross. The famous black habit was changed around 1248 due to practical considerations (Fighting is kind of hard while wearing a bulky monk's robe!)

* Incredibly tenuous, yet obligatory ''Series/DoctorWho'' example: the original TARDIS prop had a [[http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45219000/jpg/_45219570_hartnell_466.jpg St. John's Ambulance badge]] on the door. It made a [[http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/thegeekfiles/Matt-Smith-Tardis.jpg reappearance]] when the TARDIS rebuilt itself in the [[Creator/MattSmith Eleventh Doctor]]'s premiere.

It should be noted that there are various Protestant honorary societies, such as the German and Dutch ''Johanniterorden'' and the English Venerable Order of St. John, that claim descent from the original Roman Catholic military order.[[note]]The German and Dutch group splintered directly from the Order of Malta at the time of the Reformation and have continued ever since, while the British group has a more tenuous origin, having been originally founded in the early nineteenth century as part of an effort to raise cash for Greek nationalist rebels against the Ottoman Empire[[/note]] These groups served largely as honors for the nobility of their respective countries, but have also performed important charitable works, such as the well-known St. John Ambulance service.

It should be noted that there are various Protestant honorary societies, such as the German and Dutch ''Johanniterorden'' and the English Venerable Order of St. John, that claim descent from the original Roman Catholic military order. These groups served largely as honors for the nobility of their respective countries, but have also performed important charitable works, such as the well-known St. John Ambulance service.

In popular culture, the Knights Hospitallers are much less used than their brother orders, the [[UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar Templars]] and TheTeutonicKnights. They tend to be used more as local color, their distinctive habits adding a note of pageantry to a historical setting (as, for example, in John Webster's ''The White Devil'', whence the picture quote). When they '''do''' appear, they are apt to appear as gentler, more likable figures than those other knights, perhaps because of the emphasis on their hospitaller function, or possibly because they never alienated powerful secular figures, as the Templars did the King of France and the Teutonic Knights the King of Poland (incidentally, a great many Templars who survived that organization's destruction promptly joined the Hospitallers, because...well, what else is a WarriorMonk with no order of his own going to do?). Interestingly, there are a surprising number of extremely fine paintings of Knights of Malta by distinguished artists such as Titian and Caravaggio (who was himself for a brief time a member of the Order).

In 1523, after six months of siege and fierce combat against the fleet and army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the Knights were forced to surrender and abandon Rhodes. The Order remained without a territory of its own until 1530, when Grand Master Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle Adam took possession of the island of UsefulNotes/{{Malta}}, granted to the Order by [[HolyRomanEmpire Emperor Charles V]] with the approval of [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope Clement VII]]. In 1565 the Knights, led by Grand Master Jean de la Vallette (after whom the capital of Malta, Valletta, was named), defended the island for more than three months during the [[http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=finnemore&book=barbary&story=knights1 Great Siege]] by the Turks. In 1571, the fleet of the Order, then one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean, contributed to the ultimate destruction of the Ottoman naval power in the UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto.

[[OverlyLongName The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta]] (SMOM), known also as '''UsefulNotes/TheKnightsHospitallers''', the Knights of St. John, the Knights of Rhodes, the Knights of Malta, and [[IHaveManyNames about a dozen variations thereon]], is a Roman Catholic religious order and the oldest and perhaps most important of the three great orders of crusading knights, the other two being TheKnightsTemplar and UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights.

In popular culture, the Knights Hospitallers are much less used than their brother orders, the [[TheKnightsTemplar Templars]] and TheTeutonicKnights. They tend to be used more as local color, their distinctive habits adding a note of pageantry to a historical setting (as, for example, in John Webster's ''The White Devil'', whence the picture quote). When they '''do''' appear, they are apt to appear as gentler, more likable figures than those other knights, perhaps because of the emphasis on their hospitaller function, or possibly because they never alienated powerful secular figures, as the Templars did the King of France and the Teutonic Knights the King of Poland (incidentally, a great many Templars who survived that organization's destruction promptly joined the Hospitallers, because...well, what else is a WarriorMonk with no order of his own going to do?). Interestingly, there are a surprising number of extremely fine paintings of Knights of Malta by distinguished artists such as Titian and Caravaggio (who was himself for a brief time a member of the Order).

The constitution of the Kingdom of Jerusalem regarding TheCrusades obliged the Order to take on the military defense of the sick, the pilgrims and the territories that the crusaders had conquered from the Muslims. The Order thus added military operations to its hospitaller mission.

* TheCrusades: Participated in most of them.

The birth of the Order dates back to around 1048. Merchants from the ancient Marine Republic of Amalfi obtained from the Caliph of Egypt the authorization to build a church, convent, and hospital in Jerusalem to care for pilgrims. The Order of St. John of Jerusalem -- the monastic community that ran the hospital for the pilgrims in the Holy Land -- became independent under the guidance of its founder, Blessed Gérard. With the Bull of 15 February 1113, [[ThePope Pope Paschal II]] approved the foundation of the Hospital and placed it under the ægis of the Holy See, granting it the right to freely elect its superiors without interference from other secular or religious authorities. By virtue of the Papal Bull, the Hospital became an Order exempt from all Church authority except for the pope's, and paid no tithes. All the Knights were religious, bound by the three monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The habit of the order consisted of a black cloak with a white cross, which by the thirteenth century had assumed the eight-pointed form familiar today as the Maltese Cross.

In 1523, after six months of siege and fierce combat against the fleet and army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the Knights were forced to surrender and abandon Rhodes. The Order remained without a territory of its own until 1530, when Grand Master Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle Adam took possession of the island of UsefulNotes/{{Malta}}, granted to the Order by [[HolyRomanEmpire Emperor Charles V]] with the approval of [[ThePope Pope Clement VII]]. In 1565 the Knights, led by Grand Master Jean de la Vallette (after whom the capital of Malta, Valletta, was named), defended the island for more than three months during the [[http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=finnemore&book=barbary&story=knights1 Great Siege]] by the Turks. In 1571, the fleet of the Order, then one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean, contributed to the ultimate destruction of the Ottoman naval power in the UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto.

Two hundred years later, in 1798, NapoleonBonaparte occupied the island for its strategic value during his Egyptian campaign. Because of the Order's Rule prohibiting them from raising weapons against other Christians, the knights were forced to leave Malta (ironically, the very anti-Christian sentiment of the [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution Revolutionary French]] helped provoke a rebellion among the Maltese only two years afterwards). Although the sovereign rights of the Order in the island of Malta had been reaffirmed by the Treaty of Amiens (1802), the Order has never been able to return. After having temporarily resided in Messina, Catania and Ferrara, in 1834 the Order settled definitively in Rome. In the 20th century the original Hospitaller mission became once again the main activity of the Order and lives on today as the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_Military_Order_of_Malta Sovereign Order of Malta]].

[[OverlyLongName The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta]] (SMOM), known also as '''UsefulNotes/TheKnightsHospitallers''', the Knights of St. John, the Knights of Rhodes, the Knights of Malta, and [[IHaveManyNames about a dozen variations thereon]], is a Roman Catholic religious order and the oldest and perhaps most important of the three great orders of crusading knights, the other two being TheKnightsTemplar and TheTeutonicKnights.

[[OverlyLongName The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta]] (SMOM), known also as '''TheKnightsHospitallers''', the Knights of St. John, the Knights of Rhodes, the Knights of Malta, and [[IHaveManyNames about a dozen variations thereon]], is a Roman Catholic religious order and the oldest and perhaps most important of the three great orders of crusading knights, the other two being TheKnightsTemplar and TheTeutonicKnights.

!!Tropes Associated With The Knights Hospitallers:
* AllMonksKnowKungFu
* BadassPreacher
* BadassBookworm: All Brethren were well educated and knew philosophy, sciences and arts. During the times when literacy was reserved to the upper layers of the society, the brethren formed both a military and intellectual elite.
* BlackKnight: They favoured blackened armour as it stood better against rust at sea than if it had been polished.
* BringMyRedJacket: Their combat uniform was, and is still, a red surcoat with a white Maltese cross. The famous black habit was changed around 1248 due to practical considerations (Fighting is kind of hard while wearing a bulky monk's robe!)
* CelibateHero: The Knights were required to take a vow of celibacy.
* ChestInsignia: Just look at the picture.
* ChurchMilitant: One of the three {{Trope Codifier}}s.
* CombatMedic: They got their start as a monastic order that cared for the sick and wounded and from then on the order trained its members with the best medical knowledge available at the time. This is actually what saved the order after they lost Malta, and they now fulfill this role within the Italian military.
* TheCrusades: Participated in most of them.
* ForensicPhlebotinum: By tradition Hospitallers would deed their bodies over to be dissected [[ForScience For Medical Knowledge]] after their deaths. JustThinkOfThePotential.
* HeroicVow: The knights take a vow of celibacy, poverty, obedience and a vow to defend Christians.
* HonorBeforeReason: Instead of trying to defend Malta from Napoleon's army, the knights surrendered and left because of a rule that forbid fighting against Christians. This is despite the fact that Napoleon and his government were so anti-Christian that they arguably were more of a threat to Christendom than the Ottomans.
* LastStand: During the siege of Malta in 1565, only 6100 Knights and Maltese soldiers defended their island against 48,000 Ottoman soldiers. The knights were able to hold out against insurmountable odds [[SubvertedTrope until the Ottomans were forced to give up and return home.]]
* LongRunners: It's been around since 1099 and its lands outlasted all the other Crusader states until Napoleon's invasion.
* TheMigration: After being forced from Jerusalem, they took up residence in Rhodes. After being forced from Rhodes, they took up residence in Malta. After being forced from Malta, they were finally able to take up residence in Rome.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: For much of their history, they were essentially crusader knight pirate scholar doctors.
* VestigialEmpire: Even after having lost control over Malta, the knights are still considered a sovereign state in and of themselves with observer status in the United Nations.
* WarriorMonk
* WoodenShipsAndIronMen: The Hospitallers are unique in offering examples of sea-faring knights.
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* LastStand: During the siege of Malta in 1565, only 6100 Knights and Maltese soldiers defended their island against 48,000 Ottoman soldiers. The knights were able to hold out against insurmountable odds until the Ottomans were forced to give up and return home.