The Hospitallers' historical activities : 1400-1530

Abstract

The Hospitallers apparently produced only one general history of their Order during their period at Rhodes from 1306 to 1523; furthermore that single work remained in manuscript, and was lost or forgotten long before the end of the sixteenth century. During the fourteenth century the standard of education and literacy among the brethren, especially the fratres presbiteri, had improved considerably; a few developed interest in theology or the classics, while after 1356 the Hospital regularly trained some of its chaplains in Canon Law at Paris and other universities. Yet, with a few exceptions, there was no serious interest in history, though the brethren preserved their records and registers, and they continued to extend their crude lists of the deceased Masters, which contained a few remarks about each Master. The Hospitallers' general failure to publicize their own achievements was partly responsible for their bad reputation in Europe, where unjustified criticism of the Order was readily accepted. The public had to rely largely on the accounts of travellers and pilgrims, which often included interesting scraps of historical information but scarcely provided a history of Rhodes.