“The Knights of the Order: St. John * Jerusalem * Rhodes * Malta”, by Ernle Bradford

 

245 pages, Dorset Press, ISBN-13: 978-0880297271

The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem – or, if you prefer, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani…or maybe Cavalieri dell’Ordine dell’Ospedale di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme…more simply the Order of Saint John, the Order of Hospitallers, the Knights Hospitaller, the Knights Hospitalier or just Hospitallers – c’mon, just pick one, already! – is the world’s oldest order of chivalry. A modern-day hospice group originally founded to care for the sick and the poor in the Holy Land during the Crusades, the Knights of St. John later rose up to seize the sword of Christendom in the war against Islam. Uprooted from Jerusalem…then from Rhodes…and then again from Malta…the Order survives into the present day where knights – or perhaps “knights” is more appropriate – have redefined their charitable mission by serving as medical and relief workers all over the world – even the Near and Middle East, the very countries against which they once took up arms (oh, irony, how I love ya). The Knights of the Order: St. John * Jerusalem * Rhodes * Malta by Ernle Bradford recounts such famous battles as the Siege of Malta – in which a contingent of 9,000 Knights routed an overwhelming Ottoman force of 40,000 led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent – and all of the other more famous things the Knights have done throughout the centuries. And as far as it goes, it’s alright; just a general history of a knightly order that is not only still in existence, but that is still pursuing its original aim of caring for the sick and the infirm…and not slaughtering the infidel on the side. For a deeper, more in-depth history, I’m just going to have to look elsewhere. I’ll let you know.