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| 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.
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| 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”.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam's room, Rabat |
"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time."
Leo Tolstoy
