The Knight Of Malta

This is a complete history of the Order of St John or Knights of Malta. Founded as a hospice for pilgrims in Jerusalem in the 11th Century, the Order has in succeeding centuries played an important military, religious and political role in the history of Europe and the Mediterranean.

An authoritative history of the Knights of St. John, from Jerusalem to Malta, told by the bestselling author of The Great Siege. Known by many names through their centuries-long career, The Knights Hospitaller of Saint John dedicated themselves to defending the poor and sick. First formed in Jerusalem during the Crusades of the eleventh century, the Order of Saint John grew in wealth and power rivaled only by the Knights Templar. They survived exile from the Holy Land, settling first in Rhodes and then in Malta, which they famously defended against the Ottoman Empire’s epic invasion of 1565. Even after losing Malta to Napoleon Bonaparte two centuries later, the Order of Saint John continued its mission. Ernle Bradford, whose bestselling book The Great Siege recounts their historic battle for Malta, follows the Knights of Saint John through centuries of war, politics, rivalry, and perseverance in The Shield and the Sword.

The presence and history of the Order of St John in various regions of the lands of Germany and East Europe has been researched in several aspects but a comphrensive work on the langue of Germany as such has never been written. This book presents an overview of the 800 years of the history of the Hospitallers in Germany and in the lands of the former 'Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation'. Because of the vastness of the subject, the book does not pretend to be an in-depth study of this subject but is a basic outline of the development of the institution and of the most important events connected with it. The book is aimed at the general reader as well as at the specialist, who will find indications for further reading on single aspects and events.