About Hospitallers Knight

1. HUMANITY OF THE KNIGHTS
THE NATIONAL COLLEGE
CONSTANTIN BRATESCU
CONSTANTA

2. HISTORY
In 1530 the emperor Charles V gave To the knights the
Maltese archipelago in return for the annual presentation of
a falcon to his viceroy of Sicily and the obligation of securing
Tripoli in Libya against the Muslims. Their failure to hold
Tripoli in 1551 led to Suleiman the Magnificent's attempt to
dislodge them from Malta in 1565. The superb leadership of
the grand master Jean Parisot de I.a Valette, the sustained
heroism of the members of the order, and the endurance of
the Maltese population prevented one of the most famous
sieges of history from ending in disaster. (see MALTA:
History). What was left of the Turkish Navy as a striking
force was permanently crippled. In 1571 at the Battle of
Lepanto by the combined fleets of Philip II, the Knights of St.
John, Venice, Genoa, Savoy, and the pope.

3. THE HOSPITAL
By the twelfth century, there was a tradition of
hospices in Jerusalem for weary Christian
pilgrims. These hospices provided a place to rest,
to recover, or to die in dignity. In 1113, Pope
Paschal II granted a papal bull to Brother Gerard,
founder of the Hospital of St. John. This papal
recognition marked the beginning of the Knights
Hospitallers of the Order of St. John. Throughout
the tumultuous history of the Order, the Knights
always maintained a hospital, and hospitaller work
continues today as the foremost mission of the
modern Knights.

8. After the victory, the knights
proceeded with the building of their
new capital, which they named after
La Valetta; the hero of the siege (see
VALETTA), and with their work on the
defenses of both sides .of the grand
harbour. The hospital, with its ward
602 ft. in length, attracted many
patients from outside Malta.

9. The Knights in Malta constructed a new hospital,
the Sacra Infermeria, after they moved to Valletta.
The new hospital was not completed until 1575,
three years after the city was built.
These were well cared for, with no more than one
to a bed, their food was well planned, and the
mentally sick were treated humanely. Surgical and
medical cases were kept separate, infectious
diseases were isolated, and ophthalmology was a
speciality. In 1674 the d master founded a school
of anatomy and medicine for the order's
physicians. Anatomy was studied with the bodies
of deceased knights and patients, at a time when
dissection elsewhere tended to be forbidden.

10. HOSPITAL IN MALTA
The hospital in Valletta received
honors for being one of the best
hospitals in all of Europe, possibly
because it innovated higher
standards of hygiene. Unfortunately,
the Sacra Infermeria was terribly
damaged during World War II. It has
been rebuilt and was reopened in
1979 as the Mediterranean
Conference Center.

12. WORK OF THE KNIGHTS
Today the Knights of Malta continue
their long tradition of hospital work.
Their work includes relief efforts for
refugees, ambulance services, food
relief to the starving, disease control
in Africa, and aid to Latin America
and elsewhere in the world.