History UsefulNotes / TheKnightsHospitallers

->'''Caspar Gutman:''' ''What do you know, sir, about the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, later known as the Knights of Rhodes and other things?''
->'''Sam Spade:''' ''Crusaders or something, weren't they?''
-->-- ''Film/{{The Maltese Falcon|1941}}''

* The Knights of Malta are one of the more noteworthy conspiracies in the ''TabletopGame/DarkMatter'' campaign setting. Like most conspiracies in the setting, their goals are multifaceted, thus they can serve as allies (Defending the world from extradimensional influence) and enemies. (Control the world to prevent the decay of society)

In 1523, after six months of siege and fierce combat against the fleet and army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the Knights were forced to surrender and abandon Rhodes. The Order remained without a territory of its own until 1530, when Grand Master Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle Adam took possession of the island of UsefulNotes/{{Malta}}, granted to the Order by [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire Emperor Charles V]] with the approval of [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope Clement VII]]. In 1565 the Knights, led by Grand Master Jean de la Vallette (after whom the capital of Malta, Valletta, was named), defended the island for more than three months during the [[http://www.gatewaytotheclassics.com/browse/display.php?author=finnemore&book=barbary&story=knights1 Great Siege]] by the Turks. In 1571, the fleet of the Order, then one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean, contributed to the ultimate destruction of the Ottoman naval power in the UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto.

Curiously, the Order is treated as an nation of its own right with their own monarch (their Grand Master also doubles as a Prince), passports, currency, diplomats, military and ''air force'', is recognized by more than a hundred countries (most of them belong to the Catholic world) and has an observant status in the United Nations, but they control no country of their own - unlike what their name indicates, they have no sovereignty over UsefulNotes/{{Malta}}, which is an separate independent republic. Their only possessions are two buildings in Rome which enjoys extraterritoriality status and an fort that was temporarily granted by the Republic of Malta in an 2001 agreement, which will expire in a century though the Maltese are allowed to terminate it at any time after 50 years have passed in 2051.

It should be noted that there are various Protestant honorary societies, such as the German and Dutch ''Johanniterorden'' and the English Venerable Order of St. John, that claim descent from the original Roman Catholic military order.[[note]]The German and Dutch groups splintered directly from the Order of Malta at the time of the Reformation and have continued ever since, while the British group has a more tenuous origin, having been originally founded in the early nineteenth century as part of an effort to raise cash for Greek nationalist rebels against the Ottoman Empire[[/note]] These groups served largely as honors for the nobility of their respective countries, but have also performed important charitable works, such as the well-known St. John Ambulance service.

In popular culture, the Knights Hospitallers are much less used than their brother orders, the [[UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar Templars]] and UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights. They tend to be used more as local color, their distinctive habits adding a note of pageantry to a historical setting (as, for example, in John Webster's ''The White Devil'', whence the picture quote). When they '''do''' appear, they are apt to appear as gentler, more likable figures than those other knights, perhaps because of the emphasis on their hospitaller function, or possibly because they never alienated powerful secular figures, as the Templars did the King of France and the Teutonic Knights the King of Poland (incidentally, a great many Templars who survived that organization's destruction promptly joined the Hospitallers, because...well, what else is a WarriorMonk with no order of his own going to do?). Interestingly, there are a surprising number of extremely fine paintings of Knights of Malta by distinguished artists such as Titian and Caravaggio (who was himself for a brief time a member of the Order).

* In the "Muses' Almanac" of 1799, Friedrich Schiller's "The Fight with the Dragon" („''Der Kampf mit dem Drachen''“) appeared, which details the story of [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Dieudonné de Gozon]], a young Hospitaller knight who, against the orders of the Grand Master, slays a [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon]] that threatens the people of Rhodes, and, as a result of his disobedience, is cast out of the order; however, he receives his punishment with such humility that he is reinstated, and eventually becomes Grand Master himself.

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (SMOM), known also as ''The Knights Hospitaller'', the Knights of St. John, the Knights of Rhodes, the Knights of Malta, and [[IHaveManyNames about a dozen variations thereon]], is a Roman Catholic religious order and the oldest and perhaps most important of the three great orders of crusading knights, the other two being UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar and UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights.

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (SMOM), known also as ''The Knights Hospitallers'', the Knights of St. John, the Knights of Rhodes, the Knights of Malta, and [[IHaveManyNames about a dozen variations thereon]], is a Roman Catholic religious order and the oldest and perhaps most important of the three great orders of crusading knights, the other two being UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar and UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights.

** Played straight in the Ottoman assault on Fort Saint Elmo, during the Siege of Malta. Though outnumbered, out gunned, and under constant pressure. Hospitalis Knights and Maltese Militia defended Fort Elmo even after Ottoman Artillery reduced it to ruble. It was even recorded that the militiamen fought with as much bravery as the professional Knights. However, with the cover of artillery and sniper fire, the Ottoman Janissaries were able to breach and overwhelm the defenders. They held that Fort for 28 days.

-->-- ''Film/TheMalteseFalcon''

* ''Film/TheMalteseFalcon'': They were the original owners of The Black Bird.

* Literature/{{The Maltese Falcon}} - the original owners of the [[MacGuffin Falcon]] - as in the [[Film/TheMalteseFalcon Film of The Book]].

When the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land fell in 1291, the Order settled first in UsefulNotes/{{Cyprus}} and then, in 1310, led by Grand Master Foulques de Villaret, on the island of Rhodes. The military role of the Order shifted from land-based to naval-based operations in the Mediterranean, serving as a sort of Catholic Coast Guard against both Muslim navies and {{pirate}}s and sometimes engaging in something very like piracy against Muslims themselves. They'd cease their operations on Anatolia after being driven out by the Mongol-Turkic warlord UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame when he besieged their fortress in Syrmna.

Curiously, the Order is treated as an nation of its own right with their own monarch (their Grand Master also doubles as a Prince), passports, currency, diplomats, military and ''air force'', is recognized by more than a hundred countries (most of them belong to the Catholic world) and has an observant status in the United Nations, but they control no country of their own - unlike what their name indicates, they have no sovereignty over UsefulNotes/{{Malta}}, which is an separate independent republic. Their only possessions are two buildings in Rome which are enjoys status of extraterritoriality and an fort that was temporarily granted by the Republic of Malta in an 2001 agreement, which will expire in a century though the Maltese are allowed to terminate it at any time after 50 years have passed in 2051.

When the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land fell in 1291, the Order settled first in UsefulNotes/{{Cyprus}} and then, in 1310, led by Grand Master Foulques de Villaret, on the island of Rhodes. The military role of the Order shifted from land-based to naval-based operations in the Mediterranean, serving as a sort of Catholic Coast Guard against both Muslim navies and {{pirate}}s and sometimes engaging in something very like piracy against Muslims themselves.

In 1523, after six months of siege and fierce combat against the fleet and army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the Knights were forced to surrender and abandon Rhodes. The Order remained without a territory of its own until 1530, when Grand Master Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle Adam took possession of the island of UsefulNotes/{{Malta}}, granted to the Order by [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire Emperor Charles V]] with the approval of [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope Clement VII]]. In 1565 the Knights, led by Grand Master Jean de la Vallette (after whom the capital of Malta, Valletta, was named), defended the island for more than three months during the [http://www.gatewaytotheclassics.com/browse/display.php?author=finnemore&book=barbary&story=knights1 Great Siege]] by the Turks. In 1571, the fleet of the Order, then one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean, contributed to the ultimate destruction of the Ottoman naval power in the UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto.