Grandmaster Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII meet up

Crac des Chevaliers

In 1142 Crac des Chevaliers, a Crusader castle in Syria was built by the Knights Hospitaller.  The Order of St John was founded around 1023 to provide care for sick, poor or injured pilgrims coming to the Holy Land.  The recent war in Syria has brought the conflict very close to this ancient and unique UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The Knights of St John have left their mark through much of this area and examples of their fortresses are also found in Rhodes and Malta.  Their history is a rich and varied tale.

some of the bastions at Rhodes

On the 15th June in 1522 Knights of St John defended their bastion on the island of Rhodes.  The Tower of the Virgin is surrounded by a polygon bastion and Suleiman the Sultan must have almost given up hope of ever taking this strategically vital part of the walled city. 

When the Turkish invasion force of 400 ships arrived on Rhodes on 26 June 1522, they were commanded by Çoban Mustafa Pasha. Sultan Suleiman himself arrived with the army of 100,000 men on 28 July to take personal charge.  An early description of Suleiman, a few weeks following his accession, is provided by the Venetian envoy Bartolomeo Contarini: "He is twenty-six years of age, tall, but wiry, and of a delicate complexion. His neck is a little too long, his face thin, and his nose aquiline. He has a shade of a moustache and a small beard; nevertheless he has a pleasant mien, though his skin tends to be a light pallor.”  By the time he reached Rhodes and the siege began, Suleiman was still only 28 years old.

"The Turks blockaded the harbour and bombarded the town with field artillery from the land side, followed by almost daily infantry attacks. They also sought to undermine the fortifications through tunnels and mines. The artillery fire was slow in inflicting serious damage to the massive walls, but after five weeks, on 4 September, two large gunpowder mines exploded under the bastion of England, causing a 12 yards (11 m) portion of the wall to fall and to fill the moat. The attackers immediately assaulted this breach and soon gained control of it, but a counterattack by the English brothers under Fra' Nicholas Hussey and Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam succeeded in driving them back again. Twice more the Turks assaulted the breach that day, but each time the English brothers, aided by German brothers, held the gap. " It is important to note here that the Grandmaster Villiers de L’Isle-Adam was fifty eight years old during this battle.

During these assaults the Ottomans lost over 2000 men and Mustafa himself had to be rescued by his own men as they fled the bitter conflict. The siege of Rhodes involved 600 knights and 4500 soldiers who resisted the invasion force of the Ottoman’s immense force of 100,000 men for six months. When the island was eventually defeated the grandmaster and remaining knights were allowed to leave the island with their weapons and valuables. Guarantees were given that no church would be desecrated or turned into a mosque and any individuals who decided to remain on the island would be free of Ottoman taxation for five years. On the first of January 1523 Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam and his Knights marched out of Rhodes and took 50 ships with them.  During this siege half of the invasion force had been vanquished. The Sultan was quoted as saying as he watched the elderly Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam leave with his knights “It gives me no pleasure to force this fearless old man from his home”. 

Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam

Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam spent seven more years wondering from place to place facing political intrigue, plagues, division and infighting among his own knights and was heard to proclaim “I am miserable weary and breathless old man and after so many efforts spent in vain may prove to be the last grandmaster!” at this he broke down in tears and could not go on. The determination that the grandmaster showed in subsequent years demonstrated his clear vision to find a new centre for the Knights of St John. Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam had long called for support and supplies for Rhodes knowing invasion troops were on their way.  It was said that on the very day that Rhodes succumbed to attack, part of the architecture of the Pope's Chapel, in Rome, fell down and a piece of marble killed the guard walking just in front of the the Pope. It was taken by many as a sign of the wrath of God especially by the knights who defended Rhodes so valiantly and felt that support for them in their endeavour had been lacking from many in power throughout Europe. 

Many times Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam spoke to his Knights to try and unite them while they wandered from location to location after losing the island of Rhodes. On one memorable occasion the whole multitude had their eyes fixed “on the venerable old man whose constancy and resolution made him as illustrious under his misfortunes as his bravery in the defence of Rhodes had made him glorious”. In his talks he strove to knit together the divided and dispirited knights. In order to obtain permission to move the Knights of St John to Malta and Gozo the grandmaster had to win the support of many of the kings of Europe and indeed Pope Clement VII. In addition to dealing with royalty like Charles V and the king of France, who were at war with one another, he had to convince competing sides that his order deserved support. In these confusing times Pope Clement VII was actually held in prison for six months by Charles V. It was the dictates of those days that Popes had to be clean-shaven but during the six months of his imprisonment Pope Clement VII grew a long beard which he kept for the remainder of his life to signal his despair at his imprisonment and the destruction of Rome. Not only did he kept his beard until his death but the next 24 popes all grew a beards as well! 

Pope Clement VII

After meeting with royalty of Portugal, Spain, Frances and the pope  Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam set off to England to meet with Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey. By now the grandmaster was 66 years old and considered a venerable old man who had fought a glorious battle. His reputation was known to all throughout Europe. In 1529 he travelled to England and met with Henry VIII (38 years old). Henry VIII was proud and arrogant and at 6 foot 2 inches cut an impressive figure but despite his passion for competitions and hunting he was unused to real battles and hardship. 

Cardinal Wolsey (56 years old) dressed like a king, ate like a horse and drank like a fish. 

In his household Wolsey had 500 servants. He was known for his intelligence and avarice.  He had graduated from Oxford at the age of just fifteen. Within a year of this meeting with the Grandmaster Wolsey would be dead with all his great power seized from him by Henry VIII because of his inability to provide his King with the divorce he wanted from Catherine of Aragon. 

It was in this environment  of greed and power and riches that the Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam had to navigate.  Here was a Cardinal of the church Wolsey, with his immense riches and illegitimate children and on the other hand Henry VIII who would marry so many women and make a habit of beheading a few. As the elderly Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam  who had taken not only a vow of poverty,celibacy and obedience approached King Henry VII’s court they went out and greeted the old warrior with great pomp and ceremony. King Henry went out of his way to show favour to the elderly hero and the Grandmaster’s presence had a real impact on the court. He made a huge impression on those present, as he had on the pope and others and through his determination a centre for the knights would be created in Malta on 26 October 1530.  Within a few years the grandmaster died at a convent in Rabat on Malta on 21 August 1534 with his mission complete. The room in which he died has been preserved along with his belongings in a simple manner befitting the dignity and simplicity of this unusually fearless character.  

Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam's room, Rabat

"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time."

Leo Tolstoy

Maritime Museum Birgu - Malta

I wanted to explore the Maritime Museum in Birgu, Malta and decided not to do the trip by bus from Sliema.  Last time I explored the Inquisitors palace in Birgu I had to take a bus to Valetta and then follow it up with another windy bus route to Birgu. The whole journey had taken an extraordinary length of time.  So this time I decided to do it by ferry all the way.  Starting at Sliema I caught the ferry to Valetta.

Arriving in Valetta, I climbed the hill towards the centre of Valetta.  The last time I came here with guests a huge argument broke out between two families on opposite balconies.  My friends were so mesmerised by the loud shouting and families pouring out of doorways to continue the shouting match it was hard to drag them away.

Eventually, I reach the main entrance of Valetta and the new parliament building.  There has been much controversy over this building with some calling it a monstrosity and others a work of art.  I've experimented with my guests and have to say it is 50/50.  Roughly half hate it and half love it.  I have to confess I don't like it myself and much prefer the old building style opposite.  It is all those tiny windows that offend me.

Here is the view of the opposite side of the street, giving a more traditional feel.  To my eye they seem so much more elegant than the carbuncle facing them.

Mind you, I would have loved to see the old opera house rebuilt.  That looked to be a really grand building from the remaining ruins.

You can tell really lovely architecture, even when bombed to pieces it retains a beauty and presence. Here's a reminder of how it used to look before the war.

Nice to see Valetta look so busy with people, it makes it feel a city that is very much alive.

Heading up towards the saluting battery I see that now the horses have shade to stand in.  One local wit pointed out in the Malta Times that if the local councillors had to stand in blazing sunshine like the horses all day then canopies would have been quickly provided.  Sometimes it takes smart comments to win the day!  

The Saluting Battery is a lovely place to be in Valetta and everyday at noon you can hear the cannons being fired.  Lovely to have the shelter of the trees and the sound of water from the fountain.  

But it the view that greets you as you emerge through the arches, that takes the breath away.

From here I can see my goal, Birgu, and must descend to sea level using the lift provided new this year.  It is free to go down but you pay coming up, unless you are willing to walk up all the endless flights of steps.

Lovely view out of the glass fronted lift as you descend.  Once you reach the bottom you only have to cross the road and you'll see the sign for the ferry to the Three Cities.

Always nice to see you have timed it nicely and the ferry is on its way to pick you up.  At only 1.50 euros these ferry tickets are value for money.  Note the oil rig in for repairs in the harbour.  At such times you realise this is a working harbour with huge dry docks.

This is a much nicer way to arrive at Birgu than by bus.  I have to admire all the yauchts on display as we pass.

There is so much to explore here and I have only investgated a small part, Malta is bigger than it seems.

As I walk along the pier from the ferry I am approaching my goal the Maritime Museum.  On the way I pass on of the few churches to survive the World War 2 bombing.  As this harbour was the major goal of the bombers, this area was blasted severly and very little left standing.

A little further along the pier and here is the Maritime Museum housed in a very fine building that used to be the old naval bakery.

Inside there are displays on all aspects of sailing history.  I am shocked to find I am the only one visiting today and have the entire buidlng to myself.

My grandfather used to use a smaller table top version of this in our old corner shop.  This is my height.  When goods came through the port this kind of device came into its own.  Need to use the toilet in the museum which is nice and clean but has this weird notice on the back of the toilet door.

It shows some one perched with their feet on top of the toilet.  I remember my mother telling me of an aunt who would stand on the toilet when using it.  It somehow made me look at this aunt very differently because it seemed such an odd and tricky thing to do.  To be honest, I kept quiet about this whole business, it was one of those family secrets you carry but need not share.  To discover that there are so many people out there who do this, that a notice is placed to warn them off makes me feel better. Obviously, it is much more common than I thought!

The rooms are filled with models of ships and I'm wondering if being stuck indoors when the sun is shining outside is a wise move.  Then, I discover this Lateen, rigged boat and am cheered.  Love the angles of the sails.  Such a chirpy chappy.  But rounding a corner I come across this brazen cartoon character that seems way over the top - almost theaterical.

It is from the HMS Hibernia, which was flagship of the British Mediterranean Fleet from 1816 until 1855, when she became the flagship for the Royal Navy's base at Malta.  Later she was used to transport convicts to Australia.  Finally scrapped in 1902 the wood was used in bakeries in Malta and caused lead poisoning!  Toxic stuff despite the cartoon-like figurehead.  Here is a model of the actual ship.

In 1523 When the Knights of St John had to flee Rhodes to Malta, they had a huge ship called the Carrack Santa Maria which helped them carry many men and supplies.  The Santa Anna was an even larger Carrack and had a lead lined hull which shots never were able to penetrate.  The mast of the Santa Anna was so large it took seven men to embrace the huge mast.  It had its own mill, bakery (providing fresh bread daily), a large chapel blacksmith and even had gardens of citrus fruit trees and plants on the stern galleries.  It had seven decks and must have dwarfed every other ship around it.  There is a likeness of the carrack in the refectory of the Order of St John’s Palace in Rome but the closest I could find is this one below, which hardly does it justice.

There is a lot to see in this museum including the largest Roman anchor ever found, uniforms, implements used at sea including a surgeon's operating kit.  It is hard to be excited about display after display of stuff and I began to long to be outside in the fresh air.  How I wish there were audio tracks to bring all this alive.  I did ask at the door but was told to just read the information written on each display.  A great audio account can transform a museum experience and bring it all to life with sound effects and personal stories.  Without that it becomes rather dead and dusty.  Here is an example of the information given.

Such a shame when huge posters are carefully printed and laminated but with mistakes everywhere.  'Russia retreated its stand'  'Due to the ranging plague', 'raking havoc'? If it was just one display ,what odds, but there seemed to be errors on so many.  I begin to feel like one of those critical ex pats finding things to complain about. I know so many Maltese whose English is so excellent it makes mistakes like these very strange.  I liked this lovely rowing boat on display with lovely long lines.

Time to head home.  I shall enjoy the ferries all the way back.  It seemed appropriate to visit the maritime museum by sea.

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;"

from Sea Fever BY JOHN MASEFIELD