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Knights of Malta, 1523-1798
Excerpt from Knights of Malta, 1523-1798
The Hospitallers had realised, as early as 1300, that their former r61e of mounted Knights fighting on land was gone for ever. From their seizure of Rhodes, in 1310, they became predominantly sea men, 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 by sea he was still vulnerable. The Knights took up their new part with all their old energy and 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 VIL, gave the Knights a powerful protector. He assigned Viterbo as a residence for the Order till a permanent home had been discovered.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
The Hospitallers had realised, as early as 1300, that their former r61e of mounted Knights fighting on land was gone for ever. From their seizure of Rhodes, in 1310, they became predominantly sea men, 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 by sea he was still vulnerable. The Knights took up their new part with all their old energy and 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 VIL, gave the Knights a powerful protector. He assigned Viterbo as a residence for the Order till a permanent home had been discovered.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
- GenresHistory
70 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1920
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February 16, 2021
This is a balanced and intriguing study, if at times somewhat dry. My view of the Knights of Malta has always been coloured by the one I formed on my first and only visit to Malta as a child of nine. Then, and for a long time afterwards, I thought of them as the heirs to the distilled essence of pious chivalry which was at the heart of Western civilisation, and the heroic defenders of their island against the Islamic hordes, until the wicked tyrant Bonaparte finally and unjustly evicted them.
Probably only a nine year old could really believe that. Cohen (whose surname suggests impartiality when dealing with affairs of Christians and Muslims) gives some much needed correction to my childish visions. The Barbary corsairs may have been bloodthirsty pirates but the roots of their antipathy lay in their historical experience of centuries of persecution by Christians – many were the descendants of Muslims expelled from Spain. The Knights themselves were often little better than pirates. In their last two hundred years, they were generally rich, idle, and perpetually quarrelling amongst themselves – not an edifying spectacle. Their rule of Malta did little for the Maltese, who had no say in the matter, and who generally had a hearty and understandable dislike for them. Some knights behaved with despicable lack of chivalry towards some Maltese women.
All of this may dim, but does not entirely extinguish, the heroic splendour of the performance of the Knights and the Maltese in the Great Siege. I had not known that Elizabeth I ordered prayers to be said for them in English churches – a surprisingly ecumenical gesture from a Queen notorious for her difficult relationship with Roman Catholicism. This study, and the passage of almost fifty years, causes me to make many revisions to the opinions I had as a nine year old. (But I still think Bonaparte was a wicked tyrant).
Probably only a nine year old could really believe that. Cohen (whose surname suggests impartiality when dealing with affairs of Christians and Muslims) gives some much needed correction to my childish visions. The Barbary corsairs may have been bloodthirsty pirates but the roots of their antipathy lay in their historical experience of centuries of persecution by Christians – many were the descendants of Muslims expelled from Spain. The Knights themselves were often little better than pirates. In their last two hundred years, they were generally rich, idle, and perpetually quarrelling amongst themselves – not an edifying spectacle. Their rule of Malta did little for the Maltese, who had no say in the matter, and who generally had a hearty and understandable dislike for them. Some knights behaved with despicable lack of chivalry towards some Maltese women.
All of this may dim, but does not entirely extinguish, the heroic splendour of the performance of the Knights and the Maltese in the Great Siege. I had not known that Elizabeth I ordered prayers to be said for them in English churches – a surprisingly ecumenical gesture from a Queen notorious for her difficult relationship with Roman Catholicism. This study, and the passage of almost fifty years, causes me to make many revisions to the opinions I had as a nine year old. (But I still think Bonaparte was a wicked tyrant).
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