The Knights Hospitaller

A Military History of the Knights of St John

John Carr

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781473858909
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

A military history of the medieval Catholic order that arose during the Crusades in the Holy Land. The Knights of St John evolved during the Crusades from a monastic order providing hostels for Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. The need to provide armed escorts to the pilgrims began their transformation into a Military Order. Their fervor and discipline made them an elite component of most Crusader armies and Hospitaller Knights (as they were also known) took part in most of the major engagements, including Hattin, Acre and Arsuf. After the Muslims had re-conquered the Crusader Kingdoms, the Order continued to fight from a new base, first in Rhodes and then in Malta. Taking to the sea, the Hospitallers became one of the major naval powers in the Mediterranean, defending Christian shipping from the Barbary Pirates (and increasingly turning to piracy themselves as funding from their estates in Europe dried up). They provided a crucial bulwark against Islamic expansion in the Mediterranean, obstinately resisting a massive siege of Malta by the Ottoman Turks in 1565. The Order remained a significant power in the Mediterranean until their defeat by Napoleon in 1798. Praise for The Knights Hospitaller "John's book gives us a rare insight into the monastic order that gave birth to the Knights Hospitaller, charting their history and exploits from their formation to the Napoleonic wars at the end of the eighteenth century. History doesn't get any better than this." —Books Monthly "In the process of telling this story, Carr also gives us an overview of military practice and trends in the Mediterranean world from the Crusades through the age of Revolution. This is a good read for anyone unfamiliar with the knights." — New York Military Affairs "A deftly written, impressively comprehensive history that is thoroughly "reader friendly" in organization and presentation." —Midwest Book Review

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Prologue: The Pope’s Divisions
• List of Illustrations
• Chapter 1 Unfinished Business
• Chapter 2 Birth of a Military Order
• Chapter 3 Europe and the Middle East in the Twelfth Century
• Chapter 4 Gaining Experience
• Chapter 5 The Horns of Blood
• Chapter 6 ‘In Vi Sancti Spiritus’
• Chapter 7 Exodus
• Chapter 8 Back to Square One
• Chapter 9 Rhodes: The Good Years
• Chapter 10 Rhodes: The Sieges
• Chapter 11 The Order in Europe
• Chapter 12 Malta and Lepanto
• Chapter 13 The Navy of the Religion
• Chapter 14 The Price of Louis’ Head
• Chapter 15 Swords into Ploughshares
• Chapter 16 Back to the Wars
• Epilogue
• Appendix
• Notes and References
• Bibliography
• Plate section