If you are planning a trip to the island nation of Malta, you may find that many of the suggested sights and landmarks to see have to do with an organization called The Knights of Malta. This order was highly significant in turning Malta into the country it is today, and they are one of the main defining pieces of its history.
But who exactly were the Knights of Malta? Let’s find out by going all the way back to the beginning.
The Knights Hospitaller
Before the Knights came to Malta, they were known as the Knights Hospitaller. Created in the 11th century, they were a Roman Catholic “chivalric society” whose main purpose was tending to those returning from pilgrimages to the Holy Land of present-day Israel and Pakistan, many of whom were ill or injured.
After the First Crusade, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was established and the Knights Hospitaller changed into, not just a religious order, but a military one as well. It was formed by the order of the Pope, who tasked the Knights with protecting the Holy Land as well as tending to the sick and injured pilgrims.
As time went on, the Knights separated into several different “langues” or branches, each of which had a headquarters in a different place in the world. One Knight, known as the Grand Master, led the entire order.
The Knights of Rhodes
After the Kingdom of Jerusalem fell in 1291, the Knights moved their main headquarters to Cyprus, which they did not find to be ideal. Over the course of the next four years, they fought to create a new place for themselves in Rhodes, Greece. Once their push was complete, they became known as the Knights of Rhodes, and maintained a strong presence in the region until 1522, when the Ottoman Empire attacked and the few Knights who could escape went to Sicily.
The Knights of Malta
The Knights finally arrived in Malta in 1530, when the King of Sicily, Charles V of Spain, offered them a deal. They could have the islands of Malta and Gozo, as well as the port of Tripoli in North Africa, for the small fee of one Maltese falcon per year, which was to be sent to Sicily on All Soul’s Day.
The Knights accepted, although their situation was, again, not ideal. The lands they were given didn’t have many resources, but they would have to make the best of it, at least for the time being. So, they set about fortifying the island, building stunning fortresses and other structures that are still standing today. They also established Fort St. Angelo, transforming it from a Medieval castle into their main base.
The Ottomans were unhappy that the Knights they had allowed to escape now had such a nice set-up on the Maltese Islands, so they continued to attack. The Knights of Malta (sometimes known as the Knights of St. John), though, had built such strong forts and citadels (and continued to build even more) that they were able to hold them off and maintain their hold on Malta, something they saw as a huge win for Christianity.
The Fall of the Knights
In the 1700s, the Knights secured sovereign control over Malta, severing themselves from the Kingdom of Sicily that had once had control over their order. This control only lasted for a short time, however. A combination of Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise and the then-current Grand Master of the Knights, Manuel Pinto de Fonseca, losing the faith of the people with his excessive spending habits and bankruptcy led to the Knights being seized by French forces in 1798, without much of a fight from the Knights.
The French were then pushed out by revolutionaries in Malta and their ally Great Britain, but then Malta became a colony of the British Empire, and the Knights were left without a base once again.
The Knights’ Legacy
The Knights’ reign in Malta, during which they protected the island from numerous threats and helped to shape its land and culture in a lasting way, lasted for 268 years. The country’s capital city of Valletta was named in honor of Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette, the Knights’ leader who kept the territory strong under the Ottomans’ siege, and numerous fortifications were built and remain upright even now.
Never losing sight of their humanitarian goals and their duties as caregivers, the Knights also established multiple hospitals, the most famous of which is La Sacra Infermeria, which was once known as one of the top hospitals in all of Europe. This hospital also served as a school for surgery and anatomy in the 1600s, further providing residents of the area with knowledge, skill, and compassion.
Although the Knights officially left the area in the 1700s, there is one remaining Knight there today who has taken all of the necessary vows. This Knight, Fra Critien, still upholds the order’s commitment to chivalry and helping others, so that the Knights of Malta’s legacy continues to live on.
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